What can I say? Everything was going so well. Abby had her first solo trip to a friend's house without incident. We had reciprocated and had Chacha over here without incident. So I have to admit I was feeling pretty good. I felt like we had passed the first daunting hurdles with ease and it should be smooth sailng from here. I was actually very excited that Abby had made such fast friends with a child a couple hundred feet away. How handy is it to have the best friend be right across the back yard? Pretty damn handy I'd say. It was all good.
Yesterday was another gorgeous day. Mike and I spent the afternoon reoragnizing the back yard. We had positioned Abby's swing set in a spot that didn't offer a much in the way of visual contact from the kitchen window. Now that she's older I don't worry so much about having to pop in the house while she's outside playing, but I would feel better if the swingset was in a better spot. While in the midst of the reorganization Chacha wandered over from her yard bringing her older brother "Him" with her. Him had been horribly disappointed that I was only bringing his sister back to my house the other day and not Him as well. No problem. The more the merrier I thought. Yep, I was feeling rather full of myself, no question. I do have to admit that this is exactly the path I want to be on. I want ours to be the house that Abby and Maya's friends hang out at. Why? Because then I know where they are. I want their friends to say... "Abby/Maya your Mom/Dad is so cool." Even if Abby and Maya roll their eyes in disbelief.
So yeah, yesterday was pretty good. While we moved stuff the kids ran around chasing each other, waiting patiently for the swing set and Adventure Climber to be functional again. Once it was all set up again it was a swinging free-for-all. For some reason Maya will nap peacefully in the baby swing outside for hours, but the mechanical swing inside, 30 minutes if I'm lucky. Really lucky. I have no idea why. They're both swings. So anyway Maya was happily swinging away in the baby swing. Mike and I were taking turns pushing the other three on the various other swinging devices. Well we were until Mike pulled his trademark.... "I just have to go inside for a minute," and disappeared in the house, never to be seen from again. Here I was outside with 4 kids, which annoyed me for a minute or two until I realized that Mike was setting himself up to be the un-cool parent. Which will only make me cooler by comparison. Is it wrong that I was excited about that?
There I was revelling in my role of "cool mom", even if they were too young to realize that's what I was. I was suitably frightened when Chacha was the "1-year-old-baby-monster" and chasing the others around the yard. I squealed realistically when she then turned into a "1-year-old-baby-alligator and began "eating" my feet and legs. I gamely played referee in disputes over who's turn it was to use each swing. I listened with interest as Him told me about how much he loved school. I praised Him's ability to add and subtract. I agreed with Chacha's assertation that Him was a genius which prompted both girls to start chanting "him's a gen-eeee-ussssss" at the top of their lungs. I doled out pushes to whoever was in need of them. Which really was just the three girls. Him was big enough to "do it himself, I don't need help".
It was during a swing pushing session that the wheels fell off the whole operation. Abby's just beginning to understand the whole "pumping your legs" principle of powering the swing herself. She only needs one good push after that she can sustain the speed of the swing herself while chanting "push and pull". Chacha, however, hasn't quite figured the whole "push and pull" method out and as such she required lots of pushing. Before each session she would request a number of pushes (always 5) by holding up her hand. Then she would count off each push. Once I wasn't paying attention, distracted briefly by pushing Maya and settling a who's turn it was on the glider swing argument between Abby and Him. "Umm that was only 4," she was very quick to point out. For some inexplicable reason, in mid-swing, she decided to request 10 pushes. Can you see where this train wreck is headed? Yep, that's right. She let go of the swing chains with both hands so she could indicate her 10 pushes with all 10 fingers.
OH. MY. GOD. Chacha just fell backwards off my swing, in my back yard, while in my care. OH. MY. GOD. I have to act fast, I thought, before she starts wailing in a way that will surely bring her mother sprinting across the yard. So I scooped her up and stood her on her feet. Poor little thing was rubbing her head and blinking back tears. Are you okay? I asked. She shakes her head no. I quickly check her over, no bruises or bumps. Pheww I think. Well I figure she's probably scared herself more than anything which is better than her actually hurting herself. The tears still seem like they could be immenient so I decide to bribe... ooops I mean offer her a drink of Kool Aid. I race in the house for the jug and 3 cups, knowing the other two will want drinks as well. I take care of Chacha first, who in the time I have been gone has started to cry just a little bit. Here you go, I singsong, have some of my magic juice. Take a look, I say handing her the cup, it looks like water, but what does it taste like? It was invisible Kool-Aid that mixes up clear, but is actually watermelon/kiwi or something. Abby and Him are also intrigued by the "magic juice" and in seconds Chacha is 100% better and they're all trying to guess how I made the magic juice.
Once everything was back to normal it struck me that maybe Chacha and Him's mom doesn't like them to have kool-aid (sugar). While I was in the midst of worrying about that Him pipes up with.. "I'm sick today."
Me: Oh you are? What's the matter?
Him: I threw up my rice last night. Mommy only gives me yougurt and soda crackers. I don't throw them up.
PERFECT! Just perfect!
Me: Have you thrown up today?
Him: A couple of times.
Great. Not only have I pushed her daughter off the swing now I've given kool aid to the kid that couldn't keep down rice. Their Mom is never going to let them come over to play ever EVER again. It would be at this precise moment that Michael decides to reappear to ask if I'm planning on getting dinner started anytime soon. Yes, his timing is impecable. He's lucky I can't shoot a death ray with my eyes. After some "discussion" it is agreed that I will retreat inside and cook dinner and Mike will stay outside with the kids. Not long after the switch Chacha and Him headed home, I knew instantly they had left by Abby's heartbroken sobs. Only time will tell if they're allowed to come back otherwise my "Cool Mom" campaign will be over before it gets started.
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