Remind Me: She BEGGED to go skating

My sweet and adorable husband just came down the stairs carrying toilet bowl cleaner. He was upstairs putting Sam to bed. It was my turn for the human tornado that is Kamryn and I technically finished before him as I read her about eighty stories before we went up to bed so she only got one story in the actual bed. That and I don't have to sit and rock her to sleep. I say technically because I just heard little footsteps upstairs and she might not be in bed anymore.

Why is it so gosh darn charming that Daniel is walking around carrying toilet bowl cleaner? Well first Daniel is far from a neat freak. His normal idea of cleaning the bathroom is to make sure there aren't any towels on the floor. Secondly, the cleaning ladies (we have two that come twice a month) were here today. Anyway he didn't like the way they "cleaned" of downstairs bathroom and thus did something about it while I sat on the couch doing nothing. Now I feel like a slug. lol A slug with a super husband.

He was a godsend today. On those Fridays that the cleaning ladies come I try to leave the house with both kids before they arrive. This is for several reasons, first because I'm embarrassed that someone is cleaning my mess; second, because we get in the way; and third, because I am embarrassed that someone is cleaning my mess. It's always tough though since I don't really know when they will get here. They tend to arrive anytime after 10:00 and generally leave before 2:00 give or take 15 minutes. The house has to be pretty orderly for them to clean and well we aren't an orderly family. Laundry must be put away, dishes shelved, toys tucked away etc. etc.

Now I have plenty of time to do that on Thursday but invariably Friday morning roles around and there is so much left to be done. I then run around like a mad chicken straightening so when my "friends" as Kamryn refers to them come I'm not even more embarrassed about my lousy housekeeping skills. Having an extra set of hands to help with the mad scramble helps immensely.

The next wonderful thing about having Daniel about on a Friday is that keeping two under-4s entertained for 4 hours outside the house on a rainy Friday is harder than it may seem. Last time we visited the Museum. Today the plan was skating and then shopping. Both were being cranky and uncooperative. We left early for skating with an idea that we could hang out in the library for a half hour and maybe they could learn a little too. Ummmm... what were we thinking. We walked into the bright cheery and QUIET library and I knew we were doomed. I saw what I thought was a cool book for Sam. It was about trains and was super wide. Turns out it was to be read with the book turned on it's edge. Sam couldn't care less. What he wanted to do most was pull books off the shelves and throw them on the floor (he generally likes reading just not this morning). So I put him on my hip and went in search of some books I wanted to read (Lemony Snicket's A series of Unfortunate Events; yup I'm into reading kids books of late). He wasn't really happy with this turn of events so regular shrieks filled the library. Kamryn on the other hands wasn't much better. She had no interest in reading but much interest in torturing her brother and invoking more shrieks. We didn't last long at the library and headed for the rink a little earlier than planned (they are in the same complex). Turns out that wasn't such a bad idea. Took FOREVER to get tickets for skating and then there is all the effort involved in suiting up a preschooler and a toddler for skating.

Kamryn has real skates and has been skating since last January. Kamryn was skating pretty well at the end of last season. She started in January and by March (maybe 6 skating sessions later) could easily make a lap of the arena without tumbling over. Today wasn't all that successful. She got out there and was skating along doing not so bad when she had her first tumble, maybe 15 feet into her first skate. Boom! Down on her posterior, her previously well padded and diapered posterior and now gloriously diaper free and bony as can be. Ouch! She was done right then and there. After drying her tears, I managed to convince her to skate a little more with the reassurance brought on by the skating frame (metal frame about the size of a folding chair intended to help new skaters stay upright; we hadn't been using it up to that point) but in general she was determined not to have any fun until just before we were about to go when I had the brilliant idea of faking a fall myself to show her that it didn't have to hurt if she fell "right." She skated off the ice (about 30 feet) under her own steam (no skating frame that is) but it took a bribe of promised candy to get her to do that.

We got Sam bobskates (which are pretty useless in my opinion). Sam really seemed to enjoy himself, not that he did all that much skating. He could go about 2 steps before he would tumble over even on the bob skates. He spent most of the session being held between either Daniel or myself and a skating frame and whizzing about the ice with his feet occasionally touching the ice. Midway through the session and old guy who you could tell had done some serious figure skating in his day (circa 1823) came over to explain to me that I shouldn't have him on bob skates but real skates because he would learn the wrong feel. Ummmm... he's not even 17-months old yet and hasn't even been walking 4 full months yet. Give the kid a break. In the old guy's defence we did try him in Kamryn's skates (her skates are adjustable and fit size 8 though 11 so not terribly big on him) in our family room and didn't think it would work so we did think about it. Additionally, having seen how dismally the bobskates perform we may still go out and but him "real" skates.

We finished off our day-out with an uneventful but whiney-post-skating-tired-kid-what-were-you-thinking trip to the mall (can't go home because my friends were still cleaning). Which wasn't all that bad except Kamryn was denied a trip to the indoor park because she was being a whiney post skating tired kid (lol Daniel had no patience today). She cleaned up though on clothes. I got her a super cute Christmas "all-day" outfit (I always plan two outfits. A "drop dead gorgeous Christmas card go to church outfit" and a "I'm a kid and need to be comfortable but still cute and Christmassy" outfit). I stood in the store staring at their Halloween stuff while waiting to pay for this Christmas outfit thinking hmmm... Halloween, I should buy them some stuff for next year when it occurred to me that Halloween hasn't even come yet. Geez. I remember the days when nothing Christmassy went up until after US Thanksgiving. Soon they will be putting Christmas stuff up in July.

I must admit that as I take my regular place on the couch I'm a little stiff and sore from our skating sojourn (much time spent bent over to the height of the skating frame supporting little bodies.) Daniel (who is storing up major points here) has darted out to the store to get some milk for the kids and chocolate (well he WAS going out anyways. The house is quiet except for the patter of little feet that should be in bed. Off to scold the owner of those feet. Cheers. :)