One of Those Days!

Okay, so with a little prodding by my sister, I am blogging about our day in the Ballard house this past Monday. I warn this will be a lengthy one...Not a lot of pictures, but a LOT of narrative! To think I once thought I escaped those crazy Mondays when I left the workplace to stay home! These are the kinds of days that one should really leave OUT of the blog! But then that wouldn't be real life now, would it?

So our day was proceeding as planned on a beautiful spring day (FINALLY, a beautiful spring day!) I was feeding Mitchell a mid-morning bottle and told the boys that we could go outside when Mitch was done eating and they should both go potty and get their shoes. Both excited about the idea of going outside and taking Mitchell on his 1st stroller ride with us, Nolan and Brayden both bolted for the bathroom. This doesn't always happen! It often takes several requests to get the boys to hop to it and complete any task...so I thought we were off to a good start. Moments later Brayden returns with a guilty smirk on his face and whispers, "Mommy, I peed in the garbage can." "You what in the where?!!" "Noney told me to." Oh those little stinkers! Nolan thinks it's 1st class entertainment to con Brayden into doing naughty little things and more often than not, little bro can't resist! Well, fortunately there was a liner in the trash can, Brayden's aim was good, and clean up was easy! There is always a bright side! But this is just the beginning!

Needless to say the boys were not rewarded with outside-time concluding that little stunt and I offered that if they were good boys we could try it again after lunch. So our day proceeded and toys of all sorts made their way from one end of the house to the other, but we were having fun again. Soon it was lunch time and things were looking up. Mitchell was taking a little siesta so I decided that I would actually sit at the table and join the boys for lunch as I enjoy doing, but don't always accomplish. I thought a nice cold glass of chocolate milk would really hit the spot too. Well, at some point during the meal I got up for some reason...The details have blurred. I looked back toward the table just in time to see that beautiful, tall glass of chocolate milk nudged to the table's edge just far enough to CRASH to the ground, shatter, and of course spill that precious milk everywhere. Brayden Daniel was at it again! In his defense I saw enough to know it wasn't intentional. One of those crazy little accidents, but no less difficult to clean up. I have never seen glass shatter in such tiny pieces! Just my luck today, it was also time for Mitchell to eat now, so I did my best to do a quick clean up and instructed the boys not to get down from their chairs until I could finish completely or carry them away from the danger zone! Fortunately they did listen and there are no injuries to report!

After all the boys were through with lunch I really thought we NEEDED out of the house, so out we went... lunch dishes still on the table, breakfast dishes still on the counter, and shards of glass still hiding about the kitchen floor. That could all wait. We needed refuge! So into the great outdoors! We got to the potty without incident this time, plunked our shoes on (no coats, hats, or mittens!!!) and we were out the door! I pushed Mitchell out the door in the stroller and no sooner than I squeezed out, I gust of wind caught the door and it slammed shut. No it didn't hit anyone in the head or pinch any tiny fingers...but it was locked! No big deal I thought...We have a spare. But on this glorious day, of course, the spare was no where to be found. I tried every door, including the shop which wouldn't get us in the house, but at least would have a phone...All locked! We knocked on every neighbor's door on our street...nobody home! I started to get alarmed when I realized that though Nolan or Brayden could spend hours on end outside, sooner or later Mitchell would need to eat! Our rescue would begin when our heaven sent neighbors pulled up in their van. After several phone calls to see if I could locate a spare key within the vicinity and a good while at trying to pick our lock, we finally made entry when our 70-year-old neighbor climbed up onto our deck and got in our screen door. We love you Tom! I was praying the whole time that he would NOT fall the way our day was going! Alleluia! We were back inside our shipwreck of a house. Remnants of our chaotic day were strewn about, but at least we were in and Mitchell could dine as scheduled!

Ahh! I could breathe easy! I was seated in a cozy rocker cuddling and nourishing an adorable little baby. The boys were playing nicely in their rooms. It was hard to believe that with all that had gone on, I hadn't a care in the world... for a very fleeting moment. Then I heard that cry... Not an irritated, frustrated, or tired cry, but that one when you know he really hurts! As I rushed to Brayden's aid, I first saw Nolan bolting from the room (which is always a very incriminating reaction.) And next I saw that Bray's eye was already purple and swollen. Poor little guy! What had happened? "Noney threw that book at me" - between sobs. It is always frustrating when these boys who obviously love each other so much hurt each other! But now for the icing on the crazy day cake... The book that was central to this misfortune? The Bible! I could not believe my eyes! As Nolan and I discussed the gravity of this situation, he reassured me that it wasn't so bad because "it wasn't a paper page book." Gotta love those board books...no pages were ripped, torn, or damaged in the attack of his brother. Nolan was genuinely troubled and apologetic for hurting is brother...And eventually for using the "Good Book" as a weapon too.

Now how's that for a day?

This picture was taken 3 days after the craziest day ever. The swelling has gone down and the color subsiding.

In case you're curious, the rest of our week has been so much better. We spent some nice time outdoors today and got back in without incident!