The consequences of an unattended toddler

Remember in my last blog post how I said that I couldn't take my eyes off of Hayes?  Let me show you why...
On Friday morning, I took him upstairs so that I could get dressed and he got into my perfumes.  He smelled like a mixture of every scent possible. Then he refused to take his morning nap which is when I usually make breakfast and have coffee.  Since he didn't want to sleep, I had to go out on a limb and focus on cooking and not on Hayes.  This is what happens:

Hayes decided to get the party started a little early and dump a full bottle of vodka on his feet and the floor.  The mixture of the perfume and the vodka now made Hayes smell like he was working the late shift at the Hustler club.

Yes, Hayes.  I was looking longingly at the bottle at this point as well.  It was 9:40am.

So, I started to clean up the vodka, leaving Hayes unattended once again.  As I threw away the last paper towel, I started to look for him and couldn't find him.  Because he decided to go INSIDE of my coat closet. 

I did a better job of monitoring him until that dreaded moment came: I had to go to the bathroom.  I'm always stuck in a conundrum here, weighing my options.  Do I bring him in the bathroom with me, knowing that he will take the plunger, wave it around the room, throw a tantrum when I take it away, then get up and climb onto the stool in front of the sink to grab and squeeze toothpaste?  Or do I just leave the door open and hope for the best?  I opted for #2.  It got really quiet.....

He found a pacifier and climbed up the steps onto Hudson's bed.  I could not believe it and told him "no Hayes, it's not safe to go up there!!!".  He smiled and crouched down on the bed, so that I couldn't see him.  "No", now that the meaning is understood, has started to elicit that type of response - let me look really cute and sorta hide so she can't be mad at me.

#hairturninggrey

Things To Not Forget: TTNF

So the blur of November and December has passed, and wait, it looks like January is gone too.  Having three kids' birthdays within 6 weeks of each other, sandwiched between Thanksgiving and Christmas, along with a Type A birthday-momzilla is not a good combo.  I had a first birthday party to plan in another state.  And those who know me well know that the Prichard family motto is "Go big or go home".  I had been pinning things for Hayes's monster birthday party for months while at the same time going on a creative binge of all things Lego for Hudson's 6th birthday.  Between the hand made minifig chocolates and gummies, the personalized Lego coloring sheets, and every possible monster-themed item known to man for Hayes's party, I was spent.  My poor middle child, who already gets the short end of my attention stick, was given the unfortunate position of having a birthday after the boys and right before Christmas.  She didn't have a theme in mind, so she ended up with a pre-packaged party at a bounce house and was no less happy for it.  I had every intention of an awesome blog post of each of their parties, partly because I wanted to have a record of the day and partly because I was proud of all my hard work, but it seems silly at this point, so I won't look behind and just keep on truckin' forward.

I've been thinking about this blog for days (weeks?) now and have been wanting to write, but I've been struggling with the time.  Hayes hasn't been taking naps in solid chunks (waking after 30-40 mins, yet still tired, so I have to hold him in order for him to get in another 30-40 mins).  When he's awake, my eyes are fixated on him. His newfound mobility has left me on high alert all day long.  In one day a few weeks ago, he managed to fall down the stairs, open a bottle of kids' nail polish and eat the brush, eat hand sanitizer, eat hand cream....do you see the trend here?  I can't take my eyes off of him.  So forget about sitting down at my desk and focusing on coherent words.  Not. Happening.

That leaves post-bedtime.  I would love to hear how other moms' nights go, but this is what mine looks like.
5p - scrambling to finish dinner and get it to the whining, hungry kids
5:30p - give dinner to the kids
5:45p - Ryan gets home, changes, and scarfs down some food
6:15p - Ryan gets Hayes into the bath, I eat cold food while standing and cleaning the kitchen
6:45p - Do the Hayes handoff back to me.  Good night kisses for brother and sister
7p - Nursing Hayes in the dark, checking email and Facebook
7:30p - Hayes is asleep in his crib and I sneak back downstairs to find the kids and Ryan sitting on the couch or getting out of the bath, urging them to brush their teeth
7:45p - still waiting for teeth to be brushed while listening to every excuse possible
8p - Ryan and Hadley are reading books on the bottom bunk and me and Hudson reading on the top
8:20p - I leave Hudson to read alone for a little bit while Ryan lays with Hadley. I either finish cleaning the kitchen or take a shower
9p - Finish shower/ get dressed.  Start to clean up the rest of the house
9:30p - Look at the clock and curse at the fact that there is still stuff everywhere.  How am I not done cleaning yet?!?
9:45p - Time to relax! At least until Hayes wakes up in 45 minutes.

As you can see, there's not much time carved out to blog.  I could start at 10p (like tonight), but my brain is usually fried and I just want to drink wine and watch TV with Ryan (this is usually my first chance to talk with him without constant interruptions) or jump in bed and read a little.

Anyways, that was a VERY longwinded way to say I'm still trying to figure out how to fit blogging into my life.  There are so many things that I want to remember about being a mom.  I see this as a place to store that.  Sorta like a never ending baby book.  A place to share all of those things that the kids do or say that don't have a pre-designated space in a dusty book that I barely open anyways.  I spent my shower trying to think of a good acronym for those quotes/moments and the best I could come up with is TTNF - "Things To Not Forget".  I hope to make quick updates tagged TTNF so that I can go back and read these things and smile at the memory.

Today, Hudson gave me a perfect example of a TTNF post.  Hadley had ballet today, so it was just me and Hudson (and Hayes) walking home from school.  This was our conversation:
Me: How was your day?
Hudson: Good.  There's a girl, Aliza, in my class and she wants to marry me.  [This was said right as we passed another mom.  She put her hand over her mouth to hide her giggle as I smile].
Me: Oh, wow! Why does she want to marry you?
Hudson: Because I'm nice to her. Mom, can you come to pick me up a little later tomorrow [School ends at 3:15p and I got there around 3:05p today]
Me: Sure.  Why do you want me to come later?
Hudson: So that I can spend time with her (referring to Aliza).

I was loving this conversation and tried to extend it, but Hudson didn't have much more to say.  Later, we got into the house and he said "Mom, can you remind me to talk with Aliza tomorrow?  I need to talk to her about this."

I am still smiling thinking about this.  What struck me so much and made me so happy was the innocence with which he spoke. It was so nonchalant.  "Yeah, there's a girl who wants to marry me."  It was said the same way he would talk about how his friends gave each other ninja names.  It was such a stark contrast to hear him talk about something so mature like that.  It made me realize that he's growing up.  That kids are starting to talk about adult things.  And that one day, in the near future, he will be giddy and shy and bashful talking about girls with me.  So I just relished in the moment and am happy relive it.