Another "day in the life" post. : )
Pretty smooth morning getting everyone up and ready. Although, the first thing out of Henry's mouth this morning was, "I wish Orion was still here." I told him we all wished that and gave him big hugs. Luke was actually able to see everyone this morning before taking off, which doesn't always happen. I was sure to save the toilet paper roll for William, who has taken to being a scavenger to "build things in my lab." His "lab" is his room, which he has suddenly taken a liking to since I cleaned it two weeks ago. Later in the morning, we walked William to school for the first time in forever because it was not frigid this morning. Henry seemed to think this was an open invitation to wear a sleeveless vest thingy instead of the jacket I told him to wear. So, most of the walk was accompanied by "I'm so cold, Mom!" On the other hand, William insisted on wearing his winter coat, a hat, and gloves. I'm sure he was sweating by the time he walked into his classroom. And Jack wanted to be carried the whole time. I think when he looks at me, he must see a camel.
Back home, I fired up the computer to "go to work." Henry picked out which worksheets he wanted to do and Jack said he really wanted to watch "that big Clifford show", which means he didn't want to watch the Clifford episodes on PBS, he wanted to watch the full-length movie on DVD. So, the early morning was spent with me bothering my co-workers with far too many e-mails, Henry doing four or five worksheets and Jack watching Clifford. Then came a Mario Brothers break. Anyone who has talked to Henry for even a minute since Christmas knows that this kid is totally obsessed with the new Mario Brothers Wii game. I have instated an every-other-day rule to try to squelch some of the obsession. Basically, it just results in me hearing "today is a video game day" or "I can play video games tomorrow" constantly, but oh well. So, Henry and I played for a little bit with Jack on my lap (kind of hinders my game, but he is too cute to deny). Then it was laundry time and then more work.
At lunch I decided it was too beautiful to be inside any longer, and we packed up for the zoo. When I suggested this to Henry he said, "can't we go when William gets out of school? He loves the zoo." How sweet! I explained that it is supposed to rain later, so we couldn't wait for William, so Henry agreed to go. I made the boys sandwiches for the car. Jack shredded his and handed it back to me in pieces. From what I could see of the remains, he didn't actually take one bite. I told the boys it would be a quick zoo trip because I needed to be back working, so they could each pick two things to do. The playground was the first choice for both of them. Why do we go to the zoo? To play on the playground. One fun moment came when Henry was running around a corner and crashed into a lady who was running to stop her 2 year old from touching some stranger's baby. The lady fell in slow motion and, in order to not crush him, she managed to pick Henry up as he fell and kind of did an army roll when she hit the ground. Henry bounced up and ran off to play. The lady said, "oh geez, I hope that little boy is okay." I replied, "He is very durable, don't worry." The lady then turned to her husband and said, "okay, I'm embarrassed, let's go." I thought the whole thing was rather impressive!
Jack picked dolphins. Henry then chose the lions, which are as far away from the entrance of the zoo as is possible. As we were walking back from the lions (a VERY long walk) Henry said he needed to be carried. I told him he was too big. He said, "I heard mommies can carry big boys for a while." "Where did you hear that?" "I read it in a book when I was at the library." "You can't read yet." "Yes, I can. I read that." Then later, as he was balancing on a log and I told him to be careful, he said, "I don't have to be careful. My body is made of metal and you just can't see it." He also informed me on the way home that he has super x-ray eyes and can see into outer space. What world does this kid live in? Henryland, that's where. I hope you all can visit one day, because it is a magical place! Of course, the tall tales are easier to deal with than the questions that he was stuck on yesterday. "Mom, what is gravity?" "Then how come I can jump?" "What makes me walk?" "Why can't I touch the sun?" "Why can't I feel the hot of the sun?"
Home again and snacks were in order. Then more laundry, back to work, and Henry back on the Wii for a bit. Then I needed to vacuum the living room. Not sure why I needed to do that at 1:30 exactly, but the mood struck, so I followed. I need a new vacuum desperately. Luke was actually going to get me one for Valentine's day, but was afraid of what people would say/think when I told them he got me a vacuum for Valentine's day. I told him it didn't matter because that is what I want/need. He disagreed. : )
A quick call to William's school to let them know I'd be picking him up by car today. More laundry that Jack helped me with ("this goes with William's shirts", "this is a Henry shirt", "these are Daddy pants"). More work. Went to pick up William, who quickly burst into tears upon hearing we went to the zoo without him. I asked if he had had a bad day and he said that his friend, Elijah, had said they weren't friends anymore (which happens about once every six weeks with Elijah) and all he did was work all day. Poor kid! Sun Chips for snack time cheered him up a little.
After reminding William 75 times to sit down and do his homework, he finally finished it. Then it was an evening of boys running around and playing. Dinner was grilled cheese and french fries, which I thought would go over big, but no one ate much. If anyone can ever find a pattern to my children's eating habits, please let me know!
Henry did puzzles, and Luke helped him. Jack played up in their bedroom and screamed like a banshee (see I got that word in there, Ellie!) when he saw a ladybug fly across the room. William listened to his MP3 player and danced around like a maniac. Luke made the inadvisable mistake of getting down on the floor and he was promptly overtaken with boys. It was like watching someone disappear in quicksand.
I had exhausted my patience by bedtime and was starting to snap at the boys, so I hurried them along to bed. Three stories later, I'm back down here finishing this blog, that I've been writing as the day has unfolded. I'm ready to sit down with my husband and be able to talk to him without, "but Mom, I really want to know how gravity works!" interrupting us.
