wups

Dan likes to play this game where he pegs Angus with this little blue bouncy ball. Angus gets the ball, throws it at Dan and runs away as fast as he can before the ball hits him. I am not a fan of the game but Angus loves it. He says ow! Again! And they play till I make them stop. Well we lost the ball and couldn’t find it anywhere so Dan told the girls the first one to find the ball would get a special surprise. Mya found it. Winter and Addie were not happy...

No one likes to lose around here.

In general, I would say that Dan and I are pretty good parents. He's probably a little too safe when it comes to letting them take risks and I'm probably a little too relaxed. We balance each other out that way. We feed them healthy-ish food for the most part and correct them when they are being jerks. Some more than others. But we aren't perfect. Shocking I know. Sometimes things happen that, to an onlooker, may seem like we may not be the greatest parents. And when they happen I don't really like to share them with everyone for obvious reasons. 

BUT, for some reason I feel the urge to share them today so lucky you. Please don't judge me. And if you do, just go ahead and keep it to yourself. And don't call CPS.

Several months ago, Angus could have easily fallen out of our two story window onto the concrete. But he didn't because God totally protects our kids when we fall short. I still shudder at the thought of Addie so nearly falling in between the giant Catalina express and the dock. Again, God. 

Anyway, a few months ago, we got a knock on our door that Angus had pushed our window screen out onto the driveway. Not thinking too much of it, Dan said thank you to our neighbor and put the screen inside to attend to later. I usually leave my bedroom window cracked open about 5 inches or so, especially in the spring when it's super lovely out. We figured he just pushed it out with his little hand. Another knock came urgently. The same neighbor looking a bit concerned informed us that Angus was standing close to the open window. Dan and I looked at each other and I ran upstairs to see the window all the way open, about four feet wide, and Angus and Addie jumping on my bed, waving to the neighbors, a few inches from the giant open space. Spectators gathered below, probably to catch any littles that were sure to fall in the next few seconds. 

I walked calmly toward Addie and Angus so I wouldn't startle them and quickly reached out and grabbed both of them backward onto the bed. I waved at all the neighbors and closed the window, totally mortified. 

Dan asked, "How open was it?" 

I replied, "Umm pretty open." 

He gave me a look and walked away. Probably because I'm the window opener around here. But I honestly cannot remember if I opened the heavy window all the way or if one of the big girls did. If it was me, I blame sleep deprivation. Like when I forget to shampoo my hair in the shower and go straight to conditioning and wind up with a greasy nice smelling head of hair and wonder why.

Another slightly embarrassing mom day was when Dan wasn't home. It was probably like the 3rd or 4th day of summer break and I was upstairs in denial. I got a knock on the door. A different neighbor this time, informed me that Angus had been out front for a while now, all by himself, with no pants. No undies, just a bare butt playing with his trucks in the driveway. Awesome.

Okay one more story that actually happened about 2 years ago or so. Maybe like one and a half. It was cold out and Angus was still in a stroller. Mari and I decided to take all the kids to Sante Fe Dam to play on the playground and feed the aggressive geese. Mya was mad about something when we got there. I forget what. I put Angus in his stroller and all the kids ran toward the playground. I yelled, everybody out?! And took a look around the van and closed the doors. 

Mari and I got to the playground, put our things down, started chatting about something and then some one's car alarm started going off. The parking lot was not close to the playground. It was probably like 50 yards away. I don't know. I'm not good with distance. I asked Mari if she had an alarm. She shook her head. I didn't see any other cars besides ours in the parking lot. Then Mari asked, "Where's Mya?" I looked around and realized that she was still in the car, causing it to make the anti theft alarm go off. I sprinted toward the van, feeling tremendous guilt and anger at the same time. When I opened the door, Mya was fuming and in tears. Instantly, I started yelling at her because I'm such a great mom. And she yelled back. We calmed down after a while and both accepted half the blame. She chose to pout and stay in the car. I did not make sure that I had all four kids with me at the playground. Thank goodness it was cold out.

That's all for now. My kids are all alive and I thank God everyday for keeping them safe.