Yesterday I cleaned and cleaned and cleaned. It didn't make that much of a difference. I can't keep up. As I busied myself with folding laundry and decluttering I suddenly smelled something toxic. A familiar smell. A toxic smell. A bad smell. An ominous smell.
What could it be? I thought all the kids were in the back, playing. As it turns out all but one was in the back playing. One small child had realized she'd been left to her own devices and was busily taking full advantage of this fact.
I followed the strong and ominous smell which led me to the bathroom. The room the lone indoor child had just left. Nail polish remover? No... nail polish. The floor sparkled. The floor did not sparkle because it was clean. The floor sparkled because it had been smeared with sparkly nail polish.
I went out and grabbed Laurel.
" What were you doing in the bathroom?"
" Nothing."
Her fingers and toes sparkled. Not just her fingernails and toenails, but her fingers and toes and feet all sparkled. She had gone to town. She had painted the town sparkly pink.
" Did you put on nail polish?" I asked the obvious.
" Yes" she managed to whisper before bursting into tears.
" Where is the nail polish now?"
Sob sob sob..
" Laurel! Tell me where it is!"
" I put it hic..sob sob..hic sob...away"
At least she put it away when she was done.
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Monday, March 1, 2010
The Trap
Everyone now has bunk beds. I love bunk beds. The rooms are all larger. Toys can stay in the bedrooms, in theory anyway.
Laurel and Griffin's bunk beds arrived last week. They are awesome. They have stairs rather than a ladder and the height is lower than a standard bunk bed. They are perfect.
The arrival of the bunk beds was quite a production. They arrived on a single palate but there were many pieces. Assembly was not included but fortunately the delivery men were happy to put it together for some extra cash.
The men arrived with the palate of bed pieces and it took about 30 minutes for them to unload all the pieces into the house. I shut my bedroom door because I saw that Chloe and Walle were sleeping on my bed. Paddington usually hides in the darkest Peru, or the darkest Peru equivalent, which is usually under my bed. At the slightest hint that a new person has arrived at the house he is gone. I assumed Paddington was under the bed.
The front door was open and shut and open again as the men trudged back and forth with large bits of things and tools and boxes and headboards and steps.
Eventually the bed was assembled, the boxes dismantled and carted off , the men were paid, ( I even threw in some children's clothing because one of them mentioned he had six kids and I had just cleared out some outgrown clothes). The men left.
I then discovered the lower bunk was put in head first rather than foot first. The room is so tight I had to turn it on its end to reverse it. Fun.
I opened the door to let the cats out. Chloe and Walle came to inspect. Paddington did not.
I made the beds. I put away clothing etc in the attached drawers. I folded sheets and put them in the armoire.
No sign of Paddington.
He could not have gotten out. Not again. We can't have lost him again. That was all too traumatic.
I put out plates of tuna. Chloe and Walle ate it ravenously and appreciatively.
No sign of Paddington. I called him. Nothing. I looked in all his usual hiding spots. Under the beds, in closets, behind toy boxes, behind curtains. Nope, no sign of him. I looked outside, in bushes, under hedges. Nothing.
Oliver came home from school. I needed to go get Laurel and Griffin. Oliver and I got in the car and the gas light came on. So I hurried to the nearest gas station, which had no gas. I went to pick up Laurel and Griffin, figuring after I got them I'd head to a different gas station. So we did that. I pulled in to the next gas station and there was caution tape on all the tanks. They didn't have gas either. Um... is it 1972?
We went to pick up Holden then we drove to a third gas station which I was relieved to find actually had gas.
Although Holden's swim team practice was meant to start at 4 I decided to take him to the 4:30 session because I had to go pick up an animal trap to try and get Paddinton back. We've been through this before and I knew the system. Wait til dusk, bait with Kentucky Fried Chicken, listen for the snap of the metal doors. Hertz Equipment Rental closes at 4:30 so I needed to get this trap.
I left the kids in the car, ran in, picked up the paper work, drove to the pick up area and the man loaded the trap into the car for me.
Our house is on the way to the pool so I pulled over by our house and ran over to set the trap. I might as well set it early with a little tuna, and reset it at dusk with KFC. I carefully set it up while the kids watched from the car.
I ran back to the car to drive to swim practice and Holden said " Isn't that Paddington?"
Sure enough, there he was. He watched me set up the trap...from the window. He was inside, where he had been all along.
Laurel and Griffin were amazed that the trap worked so well. They are still talking about it.
Laurel and Griffin's bunk beds arrived last week. They are awesome. They have stairs rather than a ladder and the height is lower than a standard bunk bed. They are perfect.
The arrival of the bunk beds was quite a production. They arrived on a single palate but there were many pieces. Assembly was not included but fortunately the delivery men were happy to put it together for some extra cash.
The men arrived with the palate of bed pieces and it took about 30 minutes for them to unload all the pieces into the house. I shut my bedroom door because I saw that Chloe and Walle were sleeping on my bed. Paddington usually hides in the darkest Peru, or the darkest Peru equivalent, which is usually under my bed. At the slightest hint that a new person has arrived at the house he is gone. I assumed Paddington was under the bed.
The front door was open and shut and open again as the men trudged back and forth with large bits of things and tools and boxes and headboards and steps.
Eventually the bed was assembled, the boxes dismantled and carted off , the men were paid, ( I even threw in some children's clothing because one of them mentioned he had six kids and I had just cleared out some outgrown clothes). The men left.
I then discovered the lower bunk was put in head first rather than foot first. The room is so tight I had to turn it on its end to reverse it. Fun.
I opened the door to let the cats out. Chloe and Walle came to inspect. Paddington did not.
I made the beds. I put away clothing etc in the attached drawers. I folded sheets and put them in the armoire.
No sign of Paddington.
He could not have gotten out. Not again. We can't have lost him again. That was all too traumatic.
I put out plates of tuna. Chloe and Walle ate it ravenously and appreciatively.
No sign of Paddington. I called him. Nothing. I looked in all his usual hiding spots. Under the beds, in closets, behind toy boxes, behind curtains. Nope, no sign of him. I looked outside, in bushes, under hedges. Nothing.
Oliver came home from school. I needed to go get Laurel and Griffin. Oliver and I got in the car and the gas light came on. So I hurried to the nearest gas station, which had no gas. I went to pick up Laurel and Griffin, figuring after I got them I'd head to a different gas station. So we did that. I pulled in to the next gas station and there was caution tape on all the tanks. They didn't have gas either. Um... is it 1972?
We went to pick up Holden then we drove to a third gas station which I was relieved to find actually had gas.
Although Holden's swim team practice was meant to start at 4 I decided to take him to the 4:30 session because I had to go pick up an animal trap to try and get Paddinton back. We've been through this before and I knew the system. Wait til dusk, bait with Kentucky Fried Chicken, listen for the snap of the metal doors. Hertz Equipment Rental closes at 4:30 so I needed to get this trap.
I left the kids in the car, ran in, picked up the paper work, drove to the pick up area and the man loaded the trap into the car for me.
Our house is on the way to the pool so I pulled over by our house and ran over to set the trap. I might as well set it early with a little tuna, and reset it at dusk with KFC. I carefully set it up while the kids watched from the car.
I ran back to the car to drive to swim practice and Holden said " Isn't that Paddington?"
Sure enough, there he was. He watched me set up the trap...from the window. He was inside, where he had been all along.
Laurel and Griffin were amazed that the trap worked so well. They are still talking about it.
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