Good news and bad news

We are up at our Laurium house for the next two weeks. I love being up here, with a few exceptions. One is the basement. I haven't been down there since we walked through with the realtor and I hope to keep it that way. To say it's creepy is putting it mildly. Another thing is taking the dog out at night. It is pitch black in the backyard and there is no outside light on the back step. The sun doesn't set until after 10:00, so if I take the dog out at 10, I can still see. Tonight I was busy watching a movie so I didn't get her outside until after 11:00. 

Copper isn't crazy about how dark it is either. She usually does her business in the small part of the yard that is illuminated from the kitchen window. She did exactly that and started heading back toward the deck steps when she and I heard a noise. 

What happened next was pretty chaotic. As soon as I saw the skunk stepping out of the shadows, I sprinted up the steps and yelled frantically for her to come with me. But I didn't have her leash locked so easily pulled more length out as she headed off to meet the skunk (Copper is always anxious to meet new friends).  I still don't know how I got her to change directions but she did come up on the deck. But her leash had gotten tangled all around the deck posts and in my haste, I couldn't get it untangled. 

Judging by where Copper was looking, I was pretty sure the skunk was still headed in our direction. So I unclipped her leash, dragged her inside, and slammed the door.

Bill was in the living room, watching a movie ('The Sixth Sense'....seriously? I wouldn't be able to sleep if I watched that right before bedtime). I told him I had good news and bad news. The good news is that the dog was not sprayed by a skunk. The bad news is her leash is somewhere in the back yard. He told me to go ahead and leave it out there. He'll look for it in the morning. 

Up until last October, we had a small shed in the backyard. We knew there was a family of skunks living under it. We thought they would go away once the shed was gone. Apparently not. Now I have 12 more nights to avoid this (revenge-seeking?) skunk. Lovely. 

A loving hazard

Copper knows our daily routines pretty well. She loves when I get coffee, because she gets a Milk Bone. She loves lunchtime because she gets to sit outside and sniff the breeze (seriously...one of her favorite things to do). And she really loves 3:30, because that means we are walking down to the bus stop to retrieve her boys.

So at 3:30 today, when I was heading downstairs, Copper was more than a little excited. With every step I went down, she would nip my toes. I was getting annoyed. She wasn't hurting me, but I didn't particularly want to trip and fall. I stopped about 3/4 of the way down and gave her a lecture about being nice. She sheepishly slunk down the rest of the stairs. 

Wouldn't you know it...I forgot something and had to run back upstairs. So Copper's excitement was reset. She ran back up with me and then accompanied me back down. But she took my lecture seriously. With each step I took, she licked my toes. 

So I likely will still trip and fall one of these days, courtesy of the dog. But it's all done in love, right?

Tense?

TJ was working on a homework assignment after dinner. He had a paper full of verbs in the present tense and he had to write down the word in past tense. Blow? Blew. Throw? Threw. Lead? Led. 

He was zipping right along. He was coming up with all of the answers on his own; he just wanted my assistance on the spelling every once in awhile. 

When he got to 'spend', he only hesitated for a second before he blurted out 'spought!' He immediately realized his error but not before we all had a good laugh. Bill said he should get extra credit for inventing a new word. 

Sam's Choice-Reflection Sheet

Today was a beautiful spring day. Copper and I met the boys at the bus stop after school and Nolan walked alongside me and chattered away. We got home and Sam had gotten there ahead of time and was sitting forlornly at the edge of the driveway. I walked over to him and asked him how his day went. His response was a heavy sigh. He told me I'd better check his backpack. 

Sam has had a good year. We haven't had days where I'd 'better check his backpack.'  Curiosity (and concern) got the better of me so I went inside to check said backpack.

What I found was a "Choice-Reflection Sheet" where Sam had carefully written out his transgression. 

What Happened? "I drank some water out of droppers for science." (I raised my eyebrows at this)

When that happened, what did you want? "A drink of water" (I snickered)

What will you do next time? "Ignore the dropper" 

By the time I got to the last answer, I was laughing out loud. TJ wanted to know what was funny so I showed him the  form. He also started laughing. This was just so vintage Sam. 

Sam chose this moment to walk inside. He already had a defensive look on his face and was clearly bracing himself for a lecture. He looked surprised that both TJ and I were laughing. 

Maybe that wasn't the most mature or responsible reaction on my part, but it was what Sam needed. He relaxed, smiled, and dropped the attitude. 

We then discussed how it could be disruptive to the science lesson if kids were all drinking from the droppers. We also discussed how sometimes dangerous liquids are in the droppers and it's best to never risk it by assuming it is clean water. Sam agreed that he had learned his lesson and wouldn't do it again. 

I'm still laughing over the question "what did you want?" and Sam's response of "a drink of water". He's just so matter-of-fact. 

Q.O.D. (Question of the day)

Wednesday's question of the day comes from Nolan (of course). 

"Mom? Do bad guys throw up?"

Cha Cha?

In honor of Cinco de Mayo, I made enchiladas, guacamole, refried beans, and a homemade salsa. Bill and I were pretty excited about dinner. Sam and Nolan were not (TJ is away at camp). As a result, they were having a hard time sitting still. 

At one point, Nolan was doing toe-touches and ignoring my requests to sit down. He suddenly stood up and said, "Mom? Is doing the Cha Cha important to you?"

I hate it when he makes me laugh when I'm trying to scold him. 

Things that make you go 'Hmmmm'...

Last week, Nolan asked me to fill his water bottle as he was getting ready for bed. My boys are just like their mom...they like to have water nearby at night in case they get thirsty. So I took Nolan's water bottle in the bathroom, unscrewed the top, and reached for the faucet. But then something inside the bottle caught my eye. I looked closer and saw there was definitely something in the bottom of the bottle. I tipped it and shook out...a Nerf bullet. What the??

I brought it to Nolan and asked him why he was storing a Nerf bullet in his water bottle. He didn't know how it got there but he didn't seem to concerned about it either. 

My kids are weird.