Bubbles

Soap bubbles are cool.  Bubbles that come from the little bottle with a wand aren't as cool (I know they are soap water too). Given the opportunity to make bubbles, Aaron will take it every time.  A few minutes ago he saw his opportunity.  Older brother just got a set of used golf clubs, so he is out on the deck washing them with soapy water.  He makes the "mistake" of coming in the house to grab something really quick while Aaron is still outside.  10 seconds max.  No joke.  No exaggeration.  Aaron grabbed the bucket of soapy water, dumped it out into the lawn, then took the top off of the soap container dumped the remainder of the COSTCO sized soap into the dog water bowl, and then added that to his water mess.  Of course after that he had to jump and play in it, and seeing as how it was already there I just let him have at it.  Luckily I caught him right as he was about to get the refill bucket that brother filled up.  He kind of gave me this mischievous "what?" sort of look and then ran back to his puddle.  No more than 2 minutes later he was running around naked because he got his clothes wet!  AWESOME.  He's currently soapy clean, dry and re-clothed! 

Netflix

I like Netflix.  I like the fact that you can keep a movie for months before you have to send it back.  I may do that frequently.  Then when you get a new movie, it's like Christmas--I've completely forgotten what I've put on my list because it was so long ago!  What I don't like about Netflix is Aaron.  I know, that doesn't make sense.  Stick with me.  Aaron also likes Netflix.  He has his videos that he likes to stream, but he also likes to add movies to the queue--movies that I have NO desire to watch.  Every time I send a movie back I forget this.  I was all excited that I finally sent my last movie back (Temple Grandin--which if you haven't seen it--you HAVE TO--it was awesome) and would get another one.  Imagine my disappointment when I got the email that says, "Shipped: Bob the Builder: The LIVE Show".  SUCK!  Despite wasting a few transit days for a lousy movie, I did manage to have a little fun with the situation.  Oldest son grabbed the mail and saw that there was a Netflix movie and I acted all excited that I was glad "it" was finally here.  HA HA HA HA  he was equally disappointed in the movie choice!  :)  So we immediately put it back in the mail, and hopefully we'll get a movie of OUR choice next week!

The Rip Rider

Life has been crazy over the past couple of days as we have put our house on the market and have made an offer on another one, so I've been cleaning, and doing this whole "staging" thing--which is basically lying to people who come into your house.  My house NEVER looks like it currently looks--there is WAY more crap and dirt!  But my house is super clean, and the extra crap is in a storage unit just waiting to be put into a new house.  :)  Anyhow--not sure where I was going with that. 

On with today's story!  This afternoon I decided that I was going to tackle the garage a bit, so I would have Aaron go in the front and ride his Rip Rider around the cul-de-sac while oldest son watched him.  I ended up watching him because he got into this whole routine thing that was funny to watch.  First he would ride part way up the neighbor's driveway (it's not steep, but it's got a slope) and then the rest of the driveway he would walk the trike up with it in between his legs.  Then he would come flying down the driveway and make a turn down the street.  He would go down as far as he could push it to the end of the street and then crash (on purpose) into the curb, hop off the trike and lay down in the grass like a super model.  Then he would throw some grass around, get back on the trike and ride back, parking his trike next to a really nice Audi (NOT mine--I wish) to check out his reflection in the freshly waxed car.  (Meanwhile I'm praying that he doesn't scratch the car up because that would be expensive).  He would flip around and then do the whole routine again.  Over and over and over and over and over....you get the idea.  Finally he got tired of doing that, and Aaron left the Rip Rider in the middle of the street so he could go back into the house.  I got on it and started riding it back to the house (hey it's a fun little trike--you should Google it).  Aaron saw me riding it and started running behind me.  He grabbed my hair to pull the pony tail out of it (stinker), and while I was stopped he figured I may as well give him a ride.  So he plopped himself on top of me (I'm pretty sure we exceeded the weight limit at this point) and tried to get me to go.  At 5' 2" (ok 5' 1.5") I'm a little too tall for the thing, so you put the both of us on and it's not a good thing.  On top of that, the big warning label on the trike says "Must wear a helmet and shoes"--of which neither of us possessed.  We were quite the sight--so much so that my oldest decided to take a picture of us for your viewing pleasure.  He thought it was all fun and games until he started riding the trike and I had Aaron sit on HIS lap.  Then he didn't think it was so funny, and kept complaining that "he couldn't breathe" or some nonsense like that.  I just said, "it doesn't feel so good, does it?"  and then made Aaron get off.   :)  Good times! 

Shopping because of Aaron

Here are four items on my shopping list that keep recurring, and today's shopping trip wouldn't have been complete without purchasing them AGAIN!

Well ok, the Red Bull has nothing to do with Aaron....there is NO WAY I am going to let him have one of those!  My neighbor got me hooked on Raspberry Red Bull sodas.  (You add raspberry Italian soda flavoring to a Red Bull--it's delicious!)  Not only are they tasty, but they (as in 2-ish) give me a little kick that I need to get through the day.  But of course the other things (shaving cream, shampoo, hand soap) are replacing what is missing in my house because "someone" dumped them out.  The bummer is--I took my mom's advice (weird huh? but that's not the bummer part so don't freak out Mom) and bought a refill container of soap--the plan is to only fill up enough in the container so that when he dumps it I don't lose the whole container (she's a genius).  Well, I went to put soap in the empty container only to realize that I had thrown away the empty container and now have nothing to put the soap in.  So if you come to my house for a visit, you'll still have to go to the kitchen sink to wash your hands after you use the restroom until I buy a new container that he can dump out and I can refill only partway. 

I don't really realize how crazy my day is when I'm in the middle of the trenches, but as I look back over my day--holy cow!  Today I needed groceries, so I took Aaron with me (there's my first mistake).  We made it to Lowe's and Office Depot.  In all of my 13 years of parenting, I have never had to deal with a kid puking in a store.  Until today.  Yay.  I'll spare you the details, but not before I tell you it was EVERYWHERE--me, him, the copy machine, the floor.  The poor gal at the counter asked if I needed a trash can (uh, yeah), and hands me a roll of paper towels as he's continuing to lose the Dr. Pepper and doughnut he had for breakfast.  I'm hoping the stain comes out of my pretty white shirt.  Needless to say, that cut my Costco and Target portion of the trip.  I checked out at Office Depot (seeing as how I was already in there), and asked for an extra bag "just in case"--luckily I didn't need it.  He ended up being fine--it was once again one of his weird puke things. 

Then after we got home he wanted my glasses (which I had on), so he came up to me and said, "I want gwasses".  I hadn't taught him that one, so I was very excited and gladly handed over my glasses.  For him to label an object, use the words appropriately, and be clear enough that I can understand him all without us teaching it to him--it was awesome awesome awesome!  The problem is I can't see without them.  So I would take them back, and then he would come back over to me and say "I want gwasses"....I would do as much work as I could stand without being able to see, and then I would go back and get them.  We played this "game" for a while, and then I think he got bored--he came back to it later on though.

I ended up leaving him in the mostly-capable hands of the other family members and went to finish the errands that were cut short by the "incident" at Office Depot.  It was nicer to be alone anyway.  When I got home, there was Aaron in the bathroom with the water running and his head under the faucet.  He'd get his head wet, spike his hair, look at himself in the mirror and make faces, dry it off with a towel, and then do it all over again.  He's so funny! 

26

...more days until school starts!  Not that I'm counting or anything.  Ok, maybe I have been checking the school district website daily to find out when the first day of school is--guilty as charged.  (Our teacher's union was finalizing negotiations or something like that, so we didn't know when school was going to start in the fall--until TODAY!!!)  The only bummer to that is I have 26 days to plan a school year for my other two!!!  Anyhow, I'm praying that the next 26 days fly by.  I hesitate writing anything before Aaron goes to bed; however, I need to get some stuff done after he's asleep, so I'm going to take the chance.  (Although the last time I did that it didn't work out so well.) 

Our day started out strong, but as soon as I decided to wash the windows, Aaron decided to wash the bathroom with shaving cream--again.  It's kind of boring even writing it.  I happens so often.  Yet, here I am--again--writing about shaving cream.  When I came in from window washing the outside, I decided to check on Aaron and found this:

AAHHHHHHHH....anyhow.  Today he knew how displeased I was at the mess he made, and he spent some "quality time" in his bedroom while I cleaned up (and for a little bit afterwards).  Anyhow, I cleaned it up and later that evening Husband decided to take me to dinner.  Very nice.  No one ended up dying :).  When we got home Aaron was on the computer with an open bottle of Dr. Pepper next to him.  I moved the liquid to where it belongs so that the computer wouldn't be ruined!  Safety first.  I'm ready for bed!  Oh wait--I have a ton of laundry to do because "SOMEONE" decided to play in my bathroom and now I don't have a shower curtain...

Silly boy

For as naughty as Aaron is, I am blessed to have an affectionate boy!  He loves to be tickled, and will often come up to you and say, "more tickle" in this super cute voice.  I was up early this morning (um, that would be 6:00 am--I am NOT a morning person).  So this afternoon I was laying face down, dreaming about sleeping, when I hear Aaron walk into my room.  He climbs on the side of the bed has this evil giggle and then body slams me!

I won't disclose my weight because I don't care to be humiliated in front of a lot of people, but I can disclose Aaron's, and he comes in at probably 110lbs.  A friend who hadn't seen him in a bit says to me yesterday, "man, he bulked up"--the nice way of saying "man, your kid got fat".  Yes, he weighs double his 12 year-old sister.  He could stand to lose a few pounds.

Anyhow,  after he body slams me, he just stays laying on top of me laughing and then kind of bounces just to make it a little worse.  He can be particular about the way I wear my hair, and today I had it up.  So, it had to come down--which meant he had to pull the rubber band out of my hair, and that never feels good.  I have to watch him when he takes my hair down because a couple of times he's flushed my hair clips down the toilet.  Yeah--for reals.  After he takes my ponytail down (and I quickly grab the rubber band from him before he flushes it), he has to arrange my hair "just so".  Then he turns my head, body slams me again and presses his cheek up against mine.  He can see us in the mirror so he's making all of these faces and being super cute.  He gets tired of this, so he tells me "come here" and drags me off of the bed.  My closet doors are mirrored, so he gives me a hug and then tries to jump up.  How can I resist that?  He's my baby.  So I do a, "1, 2, 3 jump!", and then lift with my legs!  :)  He wraps his legs around my waist like a boa constrictor and then starts using the wall to push us in the direction he wants to go.  We play that game for a while until my sister comes over and I tell him to jump on her.  She couldn't lift him--wuss--and everyone thinks she's stronger than me....(oops, she's probably going to read this and then beat me up).  So I pick him back up and he "pushes" us to a chair.  He doesn't let go and just keeps looking at us in the mirror.  He flips my eyelids and I'm trying to make sure I walk away with the crappy eye sight I currently have.  I figure crappy eye sight is better than none.  Can you imagine being blind with an autistic child?  Just found something else to be thankful for!!!  But I digress.  He eventually gives me a big kiss on the lips and then a kiss on the cheek while watching us in the mirror--then just runs away.  It was about the cutest thing ever!

A few other things on his list for today: shaving cream in my bathroom (of course--no day would be complete without a little shaving cream), chewing a popsicle stick and getting it caught in his throat, letting that same popsicle melt on the NEW FLOOR and STAIN it ORANGE (I love Magic Erasers) , convincing Husband to jump with him on the trampoline in exchange for a kiss (Aaron, not me), and finishing off the night by jumping on the trampoline with a red inner tube around his waist.

"I've got good news and I've got bad news"

Daughter and I went away for two nights to a cute little town in Washington.  She is such a big helper with her brother and carries a big burden with him, so she needed a little R & R.  So we packed up and left the boys behind while we had some fun.  I checked in throughout our trip, and no "incidents" were reported--until today--the last day--a few hours before we were going to come home.  Husband calls and says, "I've got good news, and I've got bad news."  Crap!  My brain starts going crazy (faster than he is able to talk), and before he's able to get anything out I've concluded that it's all okay because he said there was good news.  So the conversation goes something like this:

Husband: I have good news and I have bad news.
Me: Uh oh, what happened?
Husband: Wellllllll the bad news is (long pause)
Me: Just tell me!!!
Husband: Aaron got into some paint on the deck and it's splattered everywhere. Other son and I tried to clean it up the best we could, but there is still paint on the deck.  Oh, and he got paint on the dogs.
Me: What paint?
Husband: White paint.
Me: From WHERE?
Husband: Well, that's the good news.
Me: (In my head) Huh?
Husband: I painted the laundry room for you.
Me: Thank you (in a genuinely sincere tone).  So how did he get into the paint?
Husband: Well, I went to do something and I put the paint out on the deck for a minute.  I go back into the room to work on something and I hear other son say, "Aaron Reid, no sir".  (The paint was literally only out there for 5 minutes.)  I know that's not a good sign so I went out there to see Aaron covered in paint.  We hosed him off in the grass and tried to clean the deck off the best we could.
Me: Oh well, we were planning on pressure washing it this weekend anyway, hopefully it'll come off.

This picture does not do the paint job justice.  It's all over her ears and the other side of her!

Pippin got away with one spot on his forehead!

Fast forward to this evening.  I get home and there is Aaron--naked with a blanket cape on, sitting at the computer with a bag of Cheetoes spilled all around him.  The bag of sugar is out and has some sort of liquid poured into it.  Aaron runs to the bag of sugar and scoops out some of the gooey sugary mess.  The dog follows him to his chair, and licks the sugar off of him after he's smeared it all over his body.  (I guess he knows how good a sugar scrub is for your skin).  I go to the backyard to assess the damage (of course after saying hi).  Husband neglected to tell me that Aaron made hand prints on the deck bench as well.  As promised, the dogs were painted, with Lucy taking the brunt end of the painting.  I then walk into my bathroom, and it's obvious that Aaron has had fun with Q-tips and shaving cream in my bathroom while older brother was "watching" him. 

When I ask how the rest of the weekend went, I get the report that Aaron decided to mix sun tea and milk (and then throw the tea bags down the sink)....but other than that he was fine.  :)  I'm trying to decide if I'm ready for another "vacation" yet! Oh--and while we were there we went to the famous taffy shop and I picked up some banana taffy.  :)