Terrific Tuesday

Well, I have some catching up to do. It's been a while and I can't figure out why I haven't had the chance to sit down and blog. I've had lots to blog about, but I guess no time to do it.

Last Tuesday, we had the privilege of taking a day trip to the beach with my wonderful mother-in-law, Bern. She wanted to treat us - and boy, did we have fun! We spent the day playing in the sand and splashing in the water. Then we showered and went up to the boardwalk for pizza and rides. Evan & Ryan had a blast on the rides - Ryan had NO fear - he even wanted to ride on the little roller coaster and almost met the height requirement - poor little man cried because he was too short. [Gosh, I hope he grows soon :)] Nathan was content to hang out and watch from his comfy stroller seat. They enjoyed ice cream and blue cotton candy to end the evening. We didn't get home until midnight!! :) They were so wiped out, they didn't wake up until 9:00 the next day [maybe I should do that every night] Thank you so much, Bern! We had a blast! Here's a few pics of our "adventure" as we called it:

Today, we went to the park where they've started their summer preschool program. It's a weekly event through August and it's FREE - gotta love that! We saw a magic show, which was part comedy act and part balloon animal tricks. I think the kids liked it - most of the comedy was for the moms :) Afterwards, we had lunch and played on the playground with our friends. We were the last ones there [it was so stinking hot!] Hoping the kids sleep well tonight!

IMITATION CROC UPDATE....the last lost shoe has been found. In the playroom. On the floor. With all the millions [o.k., maybe I'm exaggerating, but not much] of toys. You may be asking yourself why it took us over 2 weeks to uncover it there ~ drum roll, please ~ I've given up cleaning the room because it stays clean for about 2 seconds. There - I said it :) O.K. Maybe not given up completely...every once in a while we clean up to vaccuum, but that's the extent of it...

...and Found [sort of]

Well, one of Evan's pairs of sandals turned up at Grandma & Pop-Pop's house. OOPS! Mommy's fault :)

AND, we found one of his fake crocs. Completely random - it was sitting on top of the dryer with a hat and 2 pairs of the kids' sunglasses. Still haven't found its mate, but at least I don't feel quite as crazy as I did earlier in the week. All I have to say is I'm glad I only paid $5 for the imitation crocs :)

Two more things....

1. A late addition to the list of things I HATE LOSING: MY MIND!!!!!!!

2. What is it about Play-Doh that I. keep. finding. bits. and. pieces. all. over. my. house. even though we cleaned it up 4 days ago??????

Lost...

I HATE losing.

I HATE losing games [I'm very competitive :)].

And I HATE losing things. Spent the better part of today searching high and low for not 1, but 2 pairs of Evan's sandals.

He has no idea where he left them. I have no idea where else to look. Talk about frustrating. I've been through the house at least 3 times, searched outside in the yard, asked my neighbor to check her house/garage/etc. to no avail.

How in the world do you LOSE 2 pairs of shoes??? We're talking 4 shoes here, people!?! Not just 1 missing shoe - 4 missing shoes???? I'm beginning to think they sprouted feet and walked away - tee, hee!

Here's to hoping they'll turn up somewhere/somehow and sooner rather than later...

The Abyss

Everyone has one, right?? That one place in the house that things disappear into and never seem to be found again. It might be the dryer, the junk drawer, an entire room (or rooms - I've seen it happen), or, in my case, a hole in the floor. Technically, I guess it's really not a hole in the floor - it's a heating vent without a cover. You know - the old "take the baseboards off to paint the room and replace them later" trick. But it's been almost 2 years now....gotta love it!

With 3 little monkeys, many things have disappeared down into our abyss. I know there's several balls down there and matchbox cars I couldn't reach. Probably lots of other interesting items that Mark will find when he opens the duct from the basement crawl space. The other day, I had noticed that the matchbox car case was empty and I couldn't seem to find more than 1 or 2 cars lying around. Ryan led me to the abyss and said, "Down here, Mom." Notice the MOM, not MOMMY, btw.

Well, I stuck my hand down there and proceeded to pull out 18, yes 18!, cars! No wonder I couldn't find any! Ryan thought this was so funny when I kept reaching down and bringing up another handful. I actually think there's a few more there that I just couldn't reach. I was afraid that my arm was going to get stuck in the vent ~ and that would be a whole other story!

I guess I know where to start looking the next time something goes missing around here...

411

411....everyone uses it - to find a phone number, get an address. Just dial it and there's someone on the other end of the line to help you out.

Here's a thought - wouldn't it be nice if there were a 411 moms could call when they need to find something? The phone, the car keys, the lone shoe, the binky, the blankets that our children cannot sleep without, so-and-so's sippy cup full of milk that will soon curdle and start to stink....
I have wasted more time than I'd like to admit looking for things that are lost or things that we THINK are lost.

Friday, I was frantically running around attempting to get myself packed for a well-deserved girls' weekend getaway to the beach while also trying to get the boys' lunch, keep them from killing one another, and write down any pertinent information Mark might need while I was gone. Ryan sweetly brings me a magnetic clip that we use to keep chip & pretzel bags airtight - JUST the clip. So, I ask him where the bag is that the clip was attached to - he tells me (in his 2 year old language) "the pay-oom" (playroom). I run in the playroom, do a quick glance around, and can't find the bag of Pirate Booty I was eating last night (weak PMS moment). After asking Ryan several more times where the bag is and running back and forth between our family room and playroom to see if I can find it, I give up and figure Mark will come across it after I'm gone.

While all this is transpiring, Mark asks me to call the car dealership to see if our car is finished being inspected. "SURE, I don't have ANYTHING else to do," I lovingly answered....

Can't find the number in the phone book, get frustrated at yet another thing I CAN'T FIND and tell Mark I give up. He suggests I call 411 to get the number. Easy as pie. As I'm dialing the dealership, it dawns on me how valuable such a service would be for mothers such as myself who waste lots of time looking for "lost" items. IF ONLY....

Never did find that bag of Pirate Booty - come to find out that Mark finished the bag after I went to bed and left the magnetic clip in the family room....gotta love it!