Watering the Plants....

They say that ignorance is bliss.  If that is true, it must be true that ignorance is only bliss so long as you remain in ignorance.  Once the ignorance is gone, so is the bliss.

One such moment in my life occurred last week.

I suppose many mothers of toddlers and babies have mornings similar to mine.  Depending on the chosen order, each day consists of waking up, eating breakfast, sitting there enticing your toddler to eat, giving the baby a bottle, and eventually getting around to showering and getting dressed for the day.

Typically, I bring Baby Girl into the bathroom with me when I shower.  Sometimes I lock the door to keep Little Man out, but most of the time I just leave it unlocked and he comes and goes as he pleases.  But so long as Baby Girl is in the bathroom, I can at least hear if he is about to kill her.  Most mornings, Little Man goes in and out of the bathroom half a dozen times in my 10-20 minute shower.

Last Thursday, however, he didn't come in at all.  During the shower I was thinking how nice it was that he wasn't opening the door and letting all the heat out and that I was finally making it through a shower without Baby Girl getting tortured to death. I figured he was getting into a little bit of mischief, but for the moment....it was bliss ;)  Little did I know what was waiting for me.

After exiting the shower, I decided I had better take a quick peak at what Little Man was up to before I got dressed.  As I peaked through the doorway of the (other) bathroom, I noticed my Little Man happily watering the plants next to my kitchen sink.  Then I noticed the water was spilling over the kitchen counter. I let my eyes follow the water down the counters, across the kitchen floor, through the laundry room and nearly to my feet.  I was probably standing 40 feet from the kitchen sink.    Apparently, Little Man had been watering my plants the ENTIRE time I was in the shower.

Needless to say, I got dressed in record speed that morning.

As I rushed back to the kitchen, I grabbed the mop.  Yeah, that didn't work out so well as I quickly realized cleaning up all that water with the mop would probably take until Jake got home 7 hours later.

Next I reached for the dust pan and small broom and started sweeping up the water and dumping it in a bucket.  That was definitely faster, but then I remembered we recently bought a wet/dry shop vac!!!  I was saved!  That would be so much faster!

I rushed downstairs to grab it.  But wait, what was that strange sound I heard as I got to the bottom of the stairs....it sounded like DRIPPING!!!!

Oh no!  It was dripping!  The water was flowing into the heat ducts and dripping from the kitchen and bathroom into the downstairs bathroom and spare bedroom.  I grabbed the shopvac, ran back upstairs, and put towels over the heating vents....hopefully that would stop/slow the dripping into the (totally finished) basement.

Now I had one more problem, I had never used the shopvac for wet clean up.  I knew I had to do something different than for dry clean up, but what was it????  There was no way I would have time to FIND and READ the instructions.

Thank heaven for Father-in-laws!  I called Jake's dad and he was able to tell me what do to....he was also able to take a break from work and come up and hold Baby Girl and keep Little Man from traipsing through the 1/4 inch of water covering nearly a quarter of my upstairs floor.

After about 45 minutes of vacuuming up the water, I finally had it cleaned up enough that air drying was a possibility and was able to focus on the other things that needed attention....like the water that had dripped downstairs.  Thankfully, nearly all of that had gone to the the bathroom, which has linoleum flooring.  The other vent had miraculously dripped onto a table instead of soaking the carpet.

With the more urgent matters taken care of, I noticed and was able to attend to one last item that needed attention:  cleaning the soil off the counter-top, walls, and cupboards where it had either been sprayed to in some volcanic like explosion when Little Man put the sprayer in the plant or flowed to as the water cascaded over the edge of the counter.

Gratefully, the experience is over now and is something I have no trouble laughing about.  However, I'm not really sure that the 20 minutes of bliss in the shower was worth the hour plus of clean up time.

That's Not Pizza!

Dinner time with a toddler can be so amusing.

My Little Monkey  happens to be fairly picky about the foods he will actually allow to pass his lips.  Of course he has his favorites....oddly enough his happens to be salsa with a small side of chips.  But we can' have chips and salsa (or even tacos) for dinner every night, so we have been making increasingly stronger attempts at getting him to try  new foods.

Even knowing that he won't so much as touch a food, we will stick some of it on his plate.  Most nights he manages to dump the plate upside down before the prayer is over.  We are hoping that eventually he will have seen a food enough times to get curious and taste it.

One food we recently succeeded in convincing him to try was pizza.  And surprisingly, he didn't spit it out.  (Hurray!)  Yesterday, we had pizza again and  he at 1 1/2 slices!!! (which is actually kind of a lot for him).  Early this morning, he asked to have pizza again.  Of course, I told him we would not be having pizza for dinner again because we had it yesterday.

Because of school/work circumstances, today became one of those as-easy-as-it-can-be dinners...meaning we had mac and cheese.  Of course we put some on his plate (before the prayer so it could cool).  No sooner had we closed our eyes than the plate got dumped.  During the prayer he leans over and whispers to me, "I want chips and salsa.....chips and salsa."  After the prayer, we scooped the mac and cheese back up onto his plate and told him he didn't have to eat it if he didn't like it, but he did have to look at it.

Then he did something unusual......he sat down.  After a minute he he casually put his right elbow on the table and put his chin in his hand and asked "What food we got for dinner?"

I replied, "We have mac and cheese for dinner."

In total innocence (still with his chin in his hand) he says, "That's not pizza."

Jake and I just burst out laughing.  Yes, Little Man, mac and cheese is not pizza.

Adventures in the Bathroom

Did you know, it is quite possible the bathroom is the most entertaining room in your house???

Don't believe me?  Let's examine some evidence from a toddler's point of view (okay, Mom of a toddler's point of view).

1- Bathrooms have toilets.  Toilets are a pretty essential aspect of the bathroom, but its normal function for adults is just the beginning of the adventures to potty-training toddlers.  And let's face it, the adventures with toilets begin long before the potty-training.  In addition to being a place to potty, you can also read on the toilet (Sheep in Jeep is a great one), you can clean a toilet (which probably means you'll need to mop the floor---but Mom might freak out if you use the readily available water from the toilet).  You can climb on toilets (made easier if you put the lid down first).  Perhaps most importantly, you can flush the toilet, and what toddler doesn't enjoy that?

2- The bathroom houses the toilet paper.  Toilet paper has some obvious uses, but to a toddler the possibilities are endless.  For example, most adults only use a small amount of toilet paper per visit.  Toddlers on the other hand find joy in putting square after square after square into the toilet.  If you're lucky, your parents will be distracted just long enough to enjoy putting the whole roll into the toilet!  (Not to mention the fact that putting toilet paper in the toilet means you'll need to flush it!)

3- Toilet paper is long.  If you have a semi-straight shot at it, you can get the toilet paper from the bathroom on the north end of the house to the wall on the south end of the house in about 3 seconds.  (It only takes a little longer if you have corners to maneuver).  But the best part is, if Mom is busy with the baby, you can probably make two or three runs and get the whole roll out before she can stop you.

4- Bathrooms have showers.  Most toddlers don't actually like showers because the water sprays on their heads.....however, shower-heads make spreading water all over the bathroom  really fast!  Additionally, Moms and Dads typically do like showers which provides adequate time to explore EVERYTHING they have told you not to touch in the past week.

5- Bathrooms have bathtubs.  Unlike showers, many toddlers LOVE baths.This is a great time to play with the tub toys provided by Mom and Dad.  Once you have become bored with the designed functions of the tub toys, most of them make great splashing tools for soaking Mom and Dad.  Most likely, you'll have to suffer through Mom or Dad using a cup to dump water on your head.  DO NOT BE DISMAYED, most likely, they will forget to take the cup with them when they go to check on your baby sister.  You can then use the cup to relocate the water from the tub to the floor!

6- Bathrooms have sinks.  Sinks are like mini bathtubs, but you don't have to take your clothes off to use them (and soggy clothes are great for carrying water all over the house!).


7- Bathrooms have mirrors. Mirrors are awesome.  They show a reflection of the MOST ADORABLE person in the world!  They also make a great surface for artwork (soap is usually a readily available paint substitute).  Not only will you be able to enjoy your reflection and artwork at the same time, you'll probably also get to hear Mom's screams of delight when she discovers your master piece.

8- Bathrooms have soap.  Not only is soap a great paint substitute (see above), it is great for making bubbles!  The more the better.  Pump soap has become quite  popular in recent years and is of course the best for bubble-making.  These bubbles can be used to enhance your artwork, add embellishments to your face, put on your hair like a hat, eaten, or just spread all over.

9-Bathrooms have makeup.  Makeup is great.  Most Mom's put makeup on and you can barely tell.  That is SO BORING!  Makeup was designed to be seen.  Mascara is the best because you can make war faces with it.

10- Last, but certainly not least: Bathrooms have toothbrushes and toothpaste.  Many parents will buy you your own wonderfully tasting toothpaste and attempt to brush your teeth with it.   Don't let them!  That is such a waste of toothpaste!  Toothpaste should be generously applied to the toothbrush and used to enhance the artwork on the mirror.  Once the master piece is completed you can use it to detail the toilet (Mom will be so grateful!).

Picture of the bathroom that prompted the blog post....please note the foggy mirror covered in soap and lotion and the gathered up toilet paper on the back of the toilet.

Teddy Bear Traditions

One fun tradition in my family is that on a baby's first Christmas, he or she gets a Teddy Bear.  Quite honestly, I'm not sure when or how that tradition got started since I don't have my own "First Christmas" Bear. (At least not one that Mom specifically told me was my first Christmas Bear)  But I do know I have an affinity for soft cuddly Teddy Bears......and it would seem I am not the first in my ancestry line to have it.

Jake's family also seems to have a Teddy Bear tradition going and his mom makes each of her grandchildren a bear when they are born.

This past Christmas was (of course) Baby Girl's first Christmas.  And just like my Little Man's first Christmas, this was her "Teddy Bear Christmas."  She received a Christmas bear from Mommy, Grandma Jensen, and Great Grandma Brinkherhoff--maybe we should call her Goldilocks :)

Isn't she cute with all those bears :)  The bear in the blue dress was the one from Mommy (and Daddy).  The sleeping "prayin' bear" in the front was from her Great Grandma Brinkerhoff,  The bear in the red dress was from her Grandma Jensen.  The yellow bear was her being born bear from Grandma Hathaway.


We also decided to take a picture of Little Man with his first year bears.  He has his "prayin' bear" from Great Grandma Brinkerhoff, Buster the blue bear Grandma Hathaway made him, the Brown bear from Grandma Jensen, and the white bear in the blue tux from Mommy.

 Remember how I said I have an affinity for teddy bears.....well, since we were taking pictures of the kids with bears, we brought out all their BEARS (not all their stuffed animals). 

 And here is what happens when we add Mommy and Daddy's BEARS......

Don't worry, Baby Girl isn't buried under the bears.....she decided she was done being gorgeous for the camera.

Let's Do It Again!

Toddlers can be so persistent.

Have you ever had to watch a toddler for a while?  Particularly one who wants something he should not have?  Or been playing with a toddler who is learning a new skill or doing something a little bit new?

If so, you know that repetition is pretty much a way of life for toddlers.  They can ask for candy a thousand times and seem not to be deterred in the slightest that you have said no all one thousand times.  If you are "helping" them build a tower, just as you are finishing it, they'll want to knock it over and have you "build it again."

Tonight, we were teaching Little Man about the roll of prophets in the Lord's church.  To demonstrate Jake helped Little Man build a house on a board, then he took the board out from under the house.  Of course the house fell down.  I don't think the dust had settled before Little Man exclaimed, "Let's do it again!"

Jake commented on how the Lord probably said the same thing each time He called a prophet to establish/re-establish His church.

Jake's comment made me think about how often the Lord has had to re-establish His church here upon the earth because wickedness overtook its members.

It also made me grateful God is willing to try over and over again with each of us, much like that loving parent who builds the tower over and over again.

But it also made me think about how we need to be persistent like little children in our attempts to live the gospel.  We need to have the persistence to start over when our spiritual towers fall down.  We need to have the enthusiasm to try over and over again to get something right.  And when we aren't quite perfect, hopefully we can have that youthful energy to say "Let's do it again!"