Our Day, in Pictures

What happened today? Nothing big. Just this stuff...

Found this in our bedroom floor and assumed Mal had unrolled the coins; he's kind of obsessed with them, and with putting money in his "pingy bank." But, no. Look at the moisture and the telltale teeth marks. Yeah. The dog did it.

Later, before we went to the library for story time, we needed to take Shelby on a quick walk. Mal was insistent that we take the car. I tried to explain that we couldn't walk Shelby using the car, and offered to push him in his bike (which is usually his preferred means of transportation), but he wouldn't sit on it. I asked him to come with us on a quick walk, and although he initially declined, he started following me, crying and yelling dramatically, "No, Mommy! Come back!" 

All the way down the street. 

Then, when we got around the corner, he started saying, "Go back to the house!" I assured him we WERE going back; there's a kind of triangle block we can walk, and we were on our way back home, with the added bonus of walking past a home under construction. They're digging for the septic tank now, so there are two diggers in the yard, and it's a boon for any little kid obsessed with construction vehicles.

But I guess he decided he was heading back the "right" way (even though, by that point, we were closer to the house going the way we were going than the way he decided to return). I stopped to check a message James had sent me, and looked up to see this:

Finally, he decided to join me. I carried him a lot of the way (he weighs almost 40 pounds, plus I had the leash for a 70 pound dog!), and when we got home, he wanted to take the car instead of the bike, as we usually do. Okay, whatever.

I took the "long" way (we live about 3 blocks from the library), circling past the park. "Hello, Lake!" he said happily. He was so excited to be in the car, that even though we quickly arrived at our destination, he elected to sit in his carseat for a few moments, savoring some Veggie Sticks.

We were stopped in the parking lot. That's why he isn't buckled in, see.

He was kind of restless at story time, but got through a few board books. On the way in, when the librarian told us it was time, I asked Mal if he could show me where the room was. He did lead me in there. And he colored part of a picture, but mostly, he told me to color it.

In the end, we were sitting back out in the main library, looking at pictures in a book, when Mal saw a grackle out on the sidewalk. He happily walked over to the door to see it, but that spooked it and it hopped away. Before I could even stand up, Mal was outside and running after the grackle... into the parking lot... with no heed of his surroundings.

Of course, the desk staff all drew in their collective breaths. I mean, it *was* potentially dangerous. Sigh.

After collecting Mal and calmly (really; it's my stress strategy) reminding him that he couldn't just run out into traffic -- he responded by singing the line from Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood: "Stop and listen to stay safe!" -- I took Mal to lunch at Subway. We ate a bit of our meal out on the patio overlooking the lake, then Mal wanted to sit inside. I finished my half long before Mal did, and he said, "Mommy all done? Mommy not hungry no more." 

We went out to the car, but Mal rushed from his seat to the driver's seat (I typically buckle him in from my seat; it's easier with such a small car), so I let him "drive" for a few minutes. He was complaining that the steering wheel wasn't "working," which it was definitely turning; I think he meant he wasn't able to actually drive the car. He was going into a sadness spiral when I suggested we leave and he could "drive" more at home.

He rigidly rejected my putting him in the back, saying, "Mommy, deedees!" (He wanted to nurse.) I let him, and said we really needed to get home. Every city and construction worker in Jonestown apparently has lunch at Subway, and I was getting self-conscious breastfeeding there. He was upset. UP. SET. 

First, I had the bright idea to order him a steering wheel he can play with in the back seat. We looked on Amazon and he helped me pick one out. We got one that wasn't my favorite, but it was his favorite.

Then I tried to help him calm down by stroking his head and playing with his hair.

It didn't work, but, dang, his hair is getting long, isn't it?

We had one more nursing session, then I just made him cry and we headed home. When we got to the house, he wanted to nurse some more. I thought he might just take a nap.

Lots of togetherness here, but no nap.

However, Mal did seem to feel a little better once we got settled in. It was then that I noticed the next thing our dog decided to mouth:

Sigh.

I made my second Amazon order of the day, a new pair of sunglasses for Mal. Then we took his leftover lunch, my soda, and some fruit snacks out onto the back patio and hung out for a while.

These plants are all brothers. The transplanted ones are thriving; we need to get more potting mix this weekend!

Shelby does this thing when we're eating. First, she's very aggressively interested in our food, so we have to say, "Shelby, back off!" A LOT, especially when we first sit down or when Mal's walking around with a snack. She also steals food the second we're not actively paying attention. So we're getting more vigilant about that.

But she does this adorable thing where she will step back from the table, but it's like she wants us to know she's serious about needing, I mean REALLY NEEDING some of our dang food. She will wait for us to make eye contact with her, and she'll start "talking." After she talks for a few moments, she'll start barking, and it's not her "THERE IS SOMEONE OUTSIDE" bark. It's much deeper and more conversational. And it CRACKS Mal up. He will imitate her "chat" and try to get her going again once she has wound down.

After we got back in, I found another victim of the dog's chewing. Kind of. I mean, she does mouth these things, but these are rice support pads James' mom made him. If Shelby wanted to destroy these, she easily could. I think chewing is how she experiences things. And she's really into wood: sticks, rolling pin, wine bow... I need to look that up and see if it's a mineral deficiency. Anyway, this was after I'd stuck the bags in the dryer for a few moments. They were SOAKED when I found them in the floor.

We got bubble bath in the mail today, having been out for almost two weeks. So Mal did get a bath, and I redressed him in hopes of going to the Dr. Suess birthday evening at the library. Earlier today, though, the librarian told me that she would save a craft project for Mal if we didn't make it back. 

At about 3, Mal wanted to watch ChuChuTV, which is not my favorite, but I needed a mental health break, so I let him. While he watched that, then kept clicking on suggested videos until he ended up on some Portuguese video of a Baby Alive eating "french fries" (bread) from a McDonald's home fry-maker. I kept monitoring it because the sounds were... suspicious? But it was all just cute kid stuff. Weird. But whatever.

While he was doing that, I got to make these surprisingly fluffy (to me) peanut butter protein muffins. And I ordered pizza. Then I got a text from James that he was coming home early. Yay! He was also going to try to go by the garden center to get more potting mix if his foot wasn't bothering him too much, but... soon, I got a Waze notification that he was on his way home. Fortunately, we have a podiatrist appointment tomorrow, for his second opinion before *gulp* surgery. I'm ready for him not to have to make decisions based on pain. It'll be a trick staying off of his feet for three weeks, though, having a toddler around.

Anyway, at about 6 PM, I told Mal that if he wanted to see the waterfall (which he wanted to do yesterday, but I'd accidentally worn my house shoes on our walk, and the waterfall trail has several areas where you have to walk through water, but those shoes have zero traction), we needed to leave soon because the trail closes at sunset.

He wanted to nurse before we headed out, though, and... he fell asleep. So James and I made plans to start catching up on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (we fell behind when I had the month-long Netflix free trial), and I stepped outside for a quick peak at this gorgeous "good night."

So there you have it. Just a normal, ordinary day in the life of a semi-rural family. Oh, the teenager slept all day but I just let the cat out of there and... we have signs of life! So we're all doing fine; thanks for asking.