The Great Escape, II

Yep, we (by "we" I really mean Brennan) lost Benjamin at Church again. Once again, it was right after Sacrament Meeting, Brennan brought Ben back in from being out in the hall with him and set him down, pointed him at me and told him to go to Mom. I was unaware of any of this as I gathered up 1,403 coloring books and 20,003 crayons. When I finally managed to stuff everything into our three bags I turned around to see my whole family minus the baby. I started interrogating, "Where's Ben?" Brennan replied, "I sent him to you." At that point I knew we had a problem. We quickly and frantically searched the chapel then ran out into the closest hall to the foyer, then finally back through the chapel to the other foyer and there he sat while some woman I don't know was kindly fixing his shoe for him. He saw me and smiled as if to say, "Oh, hi Mom, what are you doing?" I thanked the woman and shot Brennan a look. He was visibly relieved and said again, "I sent him to you." Oh dear.

Mac and Ben

Here are some photos of the lovefest that's been going on around here:

Lots of hugs

a fun new game where Benny holds on to Mac's tail and then pushes him forward so he can be pulled around by Mac.

lots of kisses

Benny Whistling

Okay, be prepared to be amazed. He's been doing this for quite some time now, but I finally put him in the bathtub so I could contain him and film it. Enjoy.

Tired

I'm too tired to go to bed. It's got to be a form of insanity. My head hurts, my eyes sting, and there's a nice soft bed waiting for me, but here I sit on a mildly comfortable folding chair hunched over my laptop. I can't even boast productivity. Here's the deal, it was Wal-mart day today and there was a total of eight kids in and out of my house today, I'm dog sitting and Brennan's mad at me because the dog didn't get enough water today. I told Abby to give the dog some fresh water which she did, but then put his bowl up so Benny wouldn't get into it and forgot to put it back down. I feel bad, no wonder I caught him lapping up water from the toilet.

Earlier the dog was looking out the window and getting whiny and restless. Anna told me he needed to go out. I had just taken him out while she was at swimming lessons so I told her with confidence that he didn't need to go out that he was just restless. She told me that I didn't know what I was talking about, and that she does because she's read books about dogs. I argued with her about how I did know and that my Dad was stronger than hers etc., and then I remembered I wasn't eight.

Benjamin and Mac, the dog, worked out a neat and mutually beneficial system. Whenever Benny is downstairs Mac graciously allows Ben to help himself to his food (which Ben seems to really enjoy) and whenever Benny is eating, Mac is more than welcome to stand at the high chair and partake of whatever food Ben generously places in Mac's open mouth. The golden rule has never worked so well.

At Wal-mart I pushed the cart while Benjamin threw whatever I put in out while Nate walked behind us collecting Benny's rejects and passed them back to me. I then tried to place the retrieved items back in the cart out of Ben's reach without smashing the bread while trying to remember what it was I needed to buy. Half-way through this very relaxing stroll through the grocery store we added a little chant just to kick it up a notch. The chant consisted of Nate saying "Mom, I need to go potty, now." over and over. Which was my cue to say, "Okay, Nate, hold on, grab that cool-whip behind you, I'll get you to the bathroom as soon as I can." I forgot a few things. Oh good, another trip to the grocery store.

I came home from Wal-mart and spent a long time preparing the FHE lesson which my parents, sister, brother-in-law and nephew were invited to. My lesson didn't exactly wow the kids and so they came up with plenty to say and do to stay busy throughout the duration of my lesson. Industrious little people.

Before we know it it's 9:00, our guests have gone home (fleeing for peace and sanity) and now the real fun begins, bedtime. Anna has to shower because she can't sleep unless she knows she's clean. Adding a shower to the bedtime routine is fun because it's like adding 10 miles to a marathon for a snail. Abby can't go downstairs (which is where her bedroom happens to be) until Anna does. Nate decides he's scared and can't go to sleep. Just when we think we've finally got them all in bed, Anna and Abby pop in for a visit upstairs because Anna has to go to the bathroom and the one downstairs isn't on the approved bathroom list and Abby can't be downstairs by herself.

I'm tired.

Resourcefulness

Last night we were at a picnic in a park pavilion. There was a bag of ice on one of the table benches that was dripping. On Benny's travels he noticed the drip and sat down to get a closer look. I watched him sit down and watch the water drip onto the ground. When I looked again I saw he had managed to find a cup and was sitting down again holding the cup under the drip and then drinking what he collected every few seconds. Cracked me up. What a kid, we love Benny.

Parade

Yesterday was our little city's Festival Days. I think they have a race and a breakfast to kick of the festivities, but for us it begins with the parade. I love the parade. I wrote about attending the neighboring city's parade on the 4th, it's fun, but it's bigger and way more crowded and later on in the day so miserably hot. Our little parade comes right down our beautiful tree-lined Main Street at 10:00 in the morning. We sat in the shade of an enormous tree surrounded by neighbors and friends and this year John and Jamie (Brennan's parents) too. Our local high schools' marching bands, local dance groups, all-start baseball teams, lots of horses and a handful of floats pass by while the kids all scramble for the candy. Benny sits completely enthralled for the whole hour which is saying something, that child doesn't sit still for anything! Nate happily sits on the curb and manages to procure plenty of candy from his sort of defensive position. Anna and Abby aggressively pursue it out in the street, keeping a singular focus and fighting whatever foes necessary to get the precious spoils. Every now and then one of the girls comes back to us either dejected and sad about her frustrated attempts or loaded with success and willing to share.

After the parade there's a carnival at the main park. We always go and find some fun, but for me it starts and ends with the parade. We leave feeling full -- of community, patriotism, family, fun and candy. What more is there?

Dog Sitting

Yep, we're dog sitting again. I was actually totally on board because we were at our friends' house and watching Nate follow Mac around devotedly convinced me that I could do the dog thing for a week. So far so good. Mac is a big strong boxer and unlike the other boxer in our life, Glory, is a really good dog. He's obedient and mellow. Brennan, Anna, Abby and Nate are really enjoying him and I will admit to having twinges of guilt for being the obstacle in the way of them living their dog dream permanently. Oh well.

Benjamin is LOVING Mac. Poor Mac. Benny follows the dog around making extremely high pitched "Wa wa, wa wa" noises (his version of a bark), he's fascinated with his tail and constantly grabbing it, he also loves to get as close as he can and then push Mac's face away. It's sort of a combination of curiosity and power play. Benny is trying to assert himself as the Alpha Male. Poor Mac.