We are back home from Colorado and have been for a week now. I finally gave up on ever getting caught up on chores etc and decided to TRY to get caught up on the blog/journal.
The week that Zak left I decided to take a hiatus from most household chores and focus on keeping the boys busy with activities and adventures. We went to parks, took a canoe trip, had friends over, ate out more than I would care to admit and generally kept VERY busy. One of our adventures was not intended to be an adventure, but a quick errand that went awry. We ran to Vancouver, WA "real quickly" to pick up some bamboo some friends were needing to off-load. By the time we got up there it was POURING rain! We got our bamboo and some frozen strawberries and cherries from them and then headed back home.
The errand itself went pretty smoothly other than the sogginess involved. We headed back toward home only to discover that traffic was AWFUL! There are two bridges into Vancouver and one of them is undergoing major construction. I guess that, coupled with the rain was a bad combination. So, I decided rather than sit in traffic forever we would find something interesting to do. I called a friend and she recommended a little coffee shop with a play area. We found it...eventually...and headed in for some play and refreshment. I stepped to the counter to order a beverage for Koa and me and apparently also paid for the kids to play (didn't know that was part of the deal, but ok). As I was walking away from the counter the lady says, "The kids need to leave their socks on and take their shoes off." Oh, I guess that means they need to be wearing socks? Kids who wear slippers don't typically wear socks. Well, unless you're Koa and then even if you are wearing rain boots you don't typically wear socks. So, play area nixed.
We sat down at a table with our beverages and there were some cartoons on a TV, so Koa was perfectly content. Caspian was not. Koa's chocolate milk was just too enticing. So, I thought to myself, "I'll just get another chocolate milk in exchange for the play time in which we are not partaking." By the way, no one in their right mind lets an 18 month old who never eats processed sugar consume chocolate milk in public. I should just clear that up. Oh, and this establishment had a keiki potty (a child sized regular toilet) that both kids were totally obsessed with and between the two of them we made about 19 trips to the bathroom in less than 1 hour's time. Oh, and I only brought one diaper (remember this was a quick errand) which Caspian promptly pooped in seconds after I applied it to his behind since he wouldn't actually USE the keiki potty.
In between trips to the potty and Caspian climbing on and off his chair like a monkey on crack he managed to spill his chocolate milk three different times. I can't even figure out how the minute amount that he consumed made him act so crazy! I even insisted that he leave it sitting on the table and drink from the straw and he still managed to spill it THREE times. The fourth and final time he had picked it up and as I was insisting he put it back on the table, he dumped it right over his head. As I was frantically cleaning up and scurrying out of there I made a mental note to myself that sitting in traffic is a much better alternative to losing your mind.
We didn't get to it that day, but soon after, we used the bamboo we picked up to build a trellis for the garden that also serves as a teepee for the boys. Not that I am kicking them out of the house, yet, but just a way to make the stump in the middle of our garden a more interesting and useful fixture. You can see pictures of it and some of the pea trellises I built in our latest garden photo album. I didn't get a picture of it, but as soon as I built the teepee Caspian climbed up and started singing like it was some sort of stage. I really wish I had kids with just a little bit of confidence!
As we came home from one of our adventures, we were walking in the house and Caspian walked to the edge of the driveway just to see what I would do and stepped one foot into the street. Koa, in a most encouraging tone told Caspian, "You shouldn't do that. The cars come by here fast and they will squish you, then we won't have a little brother any more and we will have to use the new baby."
