Toddler Times


Last week I started a new thing called, "Bad Decision Thursday". It was a great idea, considering I do make bad decisions on a daily basis...plenty of which, make excellent stories. But as this week has gone on, the events of each day have left me longing for Friday. (Is it really only Wednesday??) And even though a few of these events have occurred because of my regular bad decisions, most of them have not. Most of them have been caused by the curious little boy who is...my son.

And so, as I sat down this morning thinking about which bad decision of mine would make it to my Bad Decision Thursday post, I realized...
 
I don't really need to vent about those bad decisions. 
 
I can live with my bad decisions and their following consequences. I've had to do so for my entire 23 years. But the thing I can't seem to live with, without venting to at least one pal and always to my Mother...is the endless stream of terrible awfuls that come from the sweet little hands of my toddler.

Thus the beginning of 'Toddler Times'. And so long to the regular, weekly 'Bad Decisions'. I'm sure there will be one or two along the way that I simply can't go without sharing. But seriously, I NEED this outlet when it comes to the mischief that is had by Aden.

So, for today...let's begin with this...


Yesterday, I took advantage of the lovely 62 degree & sunny weather to go outside and get our yard cleaned up. Winter blues have bogged me down and the chance to rake away the ugly and mow down the yuck was simply irresistible. Also, a chance to let my little guy release his energy in the wide open spaces of the yard was a nice, juicy cherry on top of my sunshine sundae.

6 bags of leaves, 3 hours and a swept driveway later...
After a long, exhausting but highly rewarding morning of yardwork, Aden and I decided to head inside for some lunch. And just as we finished up the driveway, my husband got home. Perfect timing! Because Mama was tired and had a serious headache. So after we had some lunch and Aden was napping, I laid down for a nap myself, hoping to sleep off the aching. Long story short...it didn't work, and after getting Aden up and dressed once he woke up from his nap, I sent him outside with Daddy and went back to sleep. ONLY TO WAKE UP...to this...

That's right. Nail polish. My FAVORITE nail polish. My only $4 bottle of nail polish that I have ever owned, usually tucked safely away in my purse, which is usually hanging in our entry closet.

Of course this day, my purse was on Harold's desk in the living room. Where he had left Aden...while he ran out to the garage 'only for a minute!'

Ok, ok, so it could have been worse. It really could have. And I've made this same mistake before, thinking that Aden would behave himself if I just run to the other room 'only for a minute'.

Not every man can pull off this shade of pink...

And me making that same mistake is exactly why I am writing this post.

Because yesterday, I have to admit, I was annoyed.

I was annoyed with my husband because he made this mistake. You can't leave a toddler alone! Not even for a minute! It's exhausting, it's frustrating, sometimes it's just a downright bother. But that's life! That is life with a toddler. And after I finished my mini-tirade, spouting all of these things at my husband, who I love and adore and can't thank enough for putting up with me, I did feel a little bit guilty...because I AM guilty. I am guilty of doing exactly what he did. But I left it alone and we moved on...

...and now, I am eating my words. Big time.



So, today I decided to finish up the yardwork. It's 70 something, sunny and breezy...perfect for another day of raking & mowing. Aden came outside with me, dressed in his rain boots and ready to work! He was helping me for awhile, raking while I mowed, pretending to mow while I raked. He would disappear every once in awhile and I would have to stop and go find him. Almost every time, he was sitting in our little garden area, picking weeds and digging with a little shovel while the dogs sat next to him, lazily basking in the sunshine. I left him there, pausing every so often to go and check on him. But then...after checking, and checking, and checking...I made my mistake. I decided to just keep mowing instead of shutting it off to peek around the corner to see that he was still in the garden. 

What could he get into, anyway??

Almost as quickly as I thought those words, I shut off the mower and went to check on him.

The garden was...empty.

No Aden. No dogs. PANIC.

I ran to the back door, knowing my son and knowing that he would remember that we still had tools in there from our laundry room project.

But before I got there, I turned the corner and was stopped...and I gasped...literally gasped for air...

That would be paint. Fresh from the paint roller I so carelessly left in the laundry room.
It gets better...


See the dog door? My sweet son broke in through there...and all those muddy prints? That's from the muddy dogs who followed him in and rolled around...fortunately BEFORE his little paint job.

Look who popped out from behind the door? "Oops..."
And this is what this look says..."Um...are you mad? You look mad...should I cry??"
And this is what he really said..."UH OH...SOWWY MAMA!!"
And now...I will be cleaning paint for the rest of the afternoon. 


And apologizing to my husband.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, January 30, 2013. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response.

6 Responses to “Toddler Times”

  1. Oh Allison! All I can say is good thing you are a photographer so you can document all of these wonderful little "joys" to remind him later in life that you are a very patient mom! Aden is his fathers son and is always looking to get into something hahaha. Im sorry you have to clean up paint but I have to say that I am laughing hysterically on the inside :) Love you little family!

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    1. Hahaha, thanks Casey! He just can't seem to sit still for long EVERRR!! Oh well. I will have plenty of dirt on him for the future teen days...and girlfriend days...and wedding day...and for the days when he has his own mischievous kiddos...

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  2. Oh my gosh! You poor thing! I've had the nail polish thing happen more than I can count (the sparkly purple all over my comforter proves it), but I've never had the paint roller happen! I hope it's not too horrible to clean!

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    1. Sparkly purple!! Uggh...I feel for you! The cleaning hasn't been too bad...but our back patio stones will probably be white for awhile...

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  3. Well...I would feel bad for you but...like I said earlier...I can't help but notice that you encourage said behavior for the sake of a good (ok great) photo...so...eat.your.words.lady.and.reap.what.you.sow.

    And maybe, just maybe, in another year, you can copy and paste that line onto one of my blog posts :))

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    1. Chewed and swallowed. Consider them eaten. And yes, I will most definitely be referring to this come next January! Licking soccer balls is the least of your worries...

      DUN, DUN, DUN....

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