A Near Miss

Tye has been so very good at school.  Not perfect.  But very good.  And a home and everywhere really.  The days leading up to Christmas were just as good as many other days we've had this fall.  And then it hit, about 8pm on Christmas Eve...

Jacob, Rosie and my dad came over and had pizza.  I had been wrapping presents all day, considering I hadn't started before that morning!  I was sitting upstairs chatting when Tye came up to get a drink.  I noticed right away.  A chunk out of the front of his hair.  A big chunk.  Actually a few big chunks down to the scalp.

Me: TYE! Did you cut your hair?

Tye: I accidentally did it!

Me: (pulling an Ann Heflin) If you need a haircut, tell me.

Tye: Mom, I need a haircut.

Me: Well, now you do!  I don't know if Santa will come. (I know, it was mean, but it was the first thing I thought of.)

Tye: (in hysterics) What!? (crying)

Me...thinking jeez, it is just hair, and does it cancel all the other great things he has improved on?

Me: Ok, so just go sit on your bed for now.

Later...

Tye: Can I get up?

Me: Not until your hair grows back (another Ann Heflin).

Tye: What!?

Me: You better start praying.

Silence.

Tye: Can I go to the bathroom?

Me: Yes.

A few seconds later...

Tye: (somewhat bewildered) Mom! My hair isn't growing.  I said some prayers!

So I decide to put him out of his misery and let him get up.  I left his hair like that for a few days and let his sisters and everyone else make comments about how bad it looked!  We finally trimmed it a little today because I didn't want to buzz it off completely in this weather, and I can get by with it for Christmas break!

Get Out of Jail Free, or Not

Hopefully it is ok that I reveal this info...

Tye and Amberlea went home with Phillip and Denise after the Christmas program.  I had a bunch of things to get ready for the weekend in Unionville, and Rachel was babysitting for her little sisters, so that worked great for me.  Just before Albany, Phillip met a patrolman, who happened to think he was driving too fast and stopped him.  More on what happened later.

So Phillip went up to sit with the patrolman in his car, and Denise and the kids waited.  Tye told Grandma..."My dad told my mom that if I get in jail, just leave him there."  We were just cracking up because I have told Tye that Daddy wants him to stay out of jail and that I shouldn't bail him out.  Mind you, this has just been in funny conversations...like once he was arguing about putting on his seatbelt.  I finally said...the cops will get you.  He said...will you come get me out of jail?  And I said...nope, Daddy said to leave you there if you end up in jail!

Tye spilled the beans to me the second I got here today!  Papa had a nice chat with the patrolman and a verbal warning (lucky)!  That was after blaming his lead foot on the kids wanting ice cream at DQ in Bethany!  Ha!

Holy Smoly

Today was yet ANOTHER wonderful day of leaving school so late that it was already dark!  As I turned from 7th street up Dewey and crested the hill, I could see shadows in front of me.  The top of the hill was essentially between street lights, so it was dark.  To the east is a large plot of tree-covered land, and deer often trot back and forth from east to west right through there.  I slowed all the way down and said...Tye, look!  5 fairly decent sized deer crossed infront of us.

Tye: WOW, holy crap!

I am agast!  I am choking on my gasps, and trying not to laugh, while still trying to figure out how he hears this stuff.  I have nixed the crap talk in our house and we've been working so hard.

So we went back to practicing...holy moly, holy cow, holy smoly, oh my, oh goodness...no holy crap.

Sigh.

Also, Amberlea threw up in the night last night around 2:30.  I got her and the bathroom all cleaned up, but it woke Tye.  Amberlea was back to bed snoring, while Tye was a chatterbox and trying to figure out if she felt ok.  Then this morning he jumped out of bed and went in to check on her, then came back and said...Mom, she's not good, she needs to stay home today, so who is staying with her?

He was very concerned with her!  Then I ran into Josie, the girls' little sister who is in Tye's class (yes, I know, it is odd but actually nice) and she was worried about Amberlea being sick, and asked me if I thought she was feeling better.

It was really cute.

Signs that I am TOO busy!

Today I did not start the washer, add detergent and forget to close the lid.  No, because that would seem like something that could easily happen. I did not walk into the laundry room and notice that the washer was full of suds.  I did not cuss and then close the lid so it would finish washing.  I did not hurry and empty the dryer so it would be ready for the next load out of the washer.  And I certainly did not stand there in the laundry room reading my romance novel, waiting for the washer to stop.  That would totally be crazy, considering there was nothing in the washing machine.  And that would mean I am so busy that all I can get done is imaginary laundry, which would in turn mean that I might be losing it a little, and I can't ever imagine that to be the case.

Amberlea's Late Night Adventure

T'was the night before Friday, when all through the house, not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse...

Amberlea was nestled all snug in her bed out on the lawn in the middle of the night, apparently.

No joke.

As I said, we were all snug in our beds.  I was startled awake by the sound of my front door opening.  I jumped out of bed and hollered.

Amberlea replied...it's just me Mom.

I raced in through the hall toward Tye and Amberlea's rooms, and met Amberlea in the livingroom.

Amberlea...I was just checking to see if I left my coat on the front porch.

Me...No, you didn't, your coat is in here.

By then I could see she was sleep walking, and I just ushered her back to her bedroom.  I looked towards the front door, which was closed, and went on back to bed.  My alarm clock said 12:50 a.m. I laid there trying to think what exactly had just happened!

Fast forward to this morning...

Everyone was getting ready as usual. I noticed that the front door was unlocked, and kind of chuckled at myself about last night, thinking that I was going to say something to Amberlea about her coat to see if she remembered.  I backed out of the garage and got quite the surprise!

On the lawn, near the sidewalk and close to the front bushes...was Amberlea's comforter from her bed!

Me...hey, Amberlea, what is up with that?  (and I pointed)

The look on her face was priceless!  I told her what had happened with the front door.

Amberlea...I have no idea how that got there! 

Then she went on to tell me that she didn't remember anything about the coat or getting out of bed.  She did remember waking up and feeling like she was freezing.  I said...yeah, freezing like 17 degrees!  She has no memory of going outside, and based on where the bedding ended up, she was well off the porch and onto the front sidewalk.

I am reviewing my options for an alarm.  Her dad suggested a set of jinglebells on her ankles to alert us!  My sister wondered if she has ever done this before, God forbid!  I was thinking, I sure hope not!