At least they cleaned up

Isaac came downstairs proudly saying, "I have kleenex in my pocket! I cleaned up!" Uh oh. Patrick and Isaac were just upstairs, playing by themselves. The last time they played by themselves two days ago, they got into a bit of trouble for putting pens, old kleenex, toys, and the rest of the water from a water bottle on Dad's nightstand down Mom and Dad's air vent. Clearly playing by themselves signals trouble.

table 1a. gradient of trouble (when left by themselves)

least trouble
|
isaac and sam
patrick and sam
isaac
patrick, isaac and sam
patrick
sam
patrick and isaac
|
most trouble

So back to the kleenex. I went upstairs and found a previously brand-new full kleenex box on the floor, empty. Not a sign of a single kleenex. But sure enough, when I went to the bathroom where they were directing me, I found the previously-empty garbage can:














I don't think they could have gotten even one more in, it must have taken them a while to balance those.

Even bees do it

Under the tree, watching the bees! I'm explaining over and over how honeybees gather that wonderful delightful smelling nectar and take it back to their hive to make honey. Patrick gets it- "They make honey with it?" he says in wonderment. "Yeah," says Isaac excictedly, "they make honey, and sometimes, they share!"

Glug glug!

Turning into a kid

I keep absent-mindedly cutting my toast into squares. I feel uncomfortable if I'm not sitting on the floor. I get inexplicably excited whenever I see a big vehicle and involuntarily yell "Fire engine!" and "Car carrier!" even if no kid is around. I start to notice things previously ignored, like the really really tiny flowers strewn on the ground from trees, the array of colorful things hanging from the ceilings in stores, the squirrels and bunnies that I'd written off as mundane. The other day, I hit my elbow on the doorframe carrying in bags from the car. "Ouch!" I yelled. Then, I leaned over and actually gave my own elbow a kiss. Hilarious! I guess I think of myself as one of them.

Is it a dryer?

Or is it a rock tumbler?

You can't believe how hard it is to find a couple
of rocks in the dryer when you cram it as full
as I do. After looking a long time, I gave up
and finished the really loud load in the morning.
Did I mention it's not our dryer :)

Beautiful Tree!

And it smells dreamy, lovely, wonderful...I could sit out
here all day!

The boys having fun 'feeding' an inchworm.