A friend of mine has two boys and she told me once that being their mother introduced one huge mystery into her life. How is it that boys can get mud INSIDE their pants pockets?
Johnny was still a baby at the time and I thought, "Ewwwww, I hope Johnny doesn't do that, it sounds like it would complicate my laundry."
He's four now and suddenly my laundry has gotten more complicated.
Oh, don't worry, he hasn't figured out how to get mud inside his pockets yet. But his latest interest is proving to be extremely messy.
A few weeks ago, we went for a walk before dinner and Johnny was dragging along behind me, whining about being tired and the walk was too far and could we go to the playground instead. I was doing my best to ignore the whining when he stopped suddenly and said, "Hey! What's that thing?" It was an acorn and he thought it was the coolest thing ever. The whining was a thing of the past, as we searched the ground for acorns all the way home. That led to looking up acorns online, and that led to looking up squirrels.
Ever since then, each time we go outside, if he finds an acorn, he picks it up. And puts it in his pocket.
I discovered this yesterday when doing laundry. I tossed a pair of his pants into the washer, then fished them out again to find out why they clanged against the metal. His pockets were filled with acorns.
Today I got the stroller out of the van so we could walk to school, and when I unfolded it, a shower of acorns fell out of the bottom. They're all over the inside of the van too.
When Maureen and I came home and stepped into the house, my foot came down on something small, hard and slippery and I almost fell. Another darn acorn. This one was being used as a cat toy.
Then tonight I cleaned out my purse. Among the diapers, wipes, my phone, wallet and keys were more acorns. In my purse. He put acorns in my purse.
If you come over and see me shuffling around while looking at my feet, it's because I'm watching where I'm stepping.
In the meantime, maybe the squirrels will find and bury all those stray acorns that haven't found their way into my house. And I guess I should be glad it's not mud?
Johnny was still a baby at the time and I thought, "Ewwwww, I hope Johnny doesn't do that, it sounds like it would complicate my laundry."
He's four now and suddenly my laundry has gotten more complicated.
Oh, don't worry, he hasn't figured out how to get mud inside his pockets yet. But his latest interest is proving to be extremely messy.
A few weeks ago, we went for a walk before dinner and Johnny was dragging along behind me, whining about being tired and the walk was too far and could we go to the playground instead. I was doing my best to ignore the whining when he stopped suddenly and said, "Hey! What's that thing?" It was an acorn and he thought it was the coolest thing ever. The whining was a thing of the past, as we searched the ground for acorns all the way home. That led to looking up acorns online, and that led to looking up squirrels.
Ever since then, each time we go outside, if he finds an acorn, he picks it up. And puts it in his pocket.
I discovered this yesterday when doing laundry. I tossed a pair of his pants into the washer, then fished them out again to find out why they clanged against the metal. His pockets were filled with acorns.
Today I got the stroller out of the van so we could walk to school, and when I unfolded it, a shower of acorns fell out of the bottom. They're all over the inside of the van too.
When Maureen and I came home and stepped into the house, my foot came down on something small, hard and slippery and I almost fell. Another darn acorn. This one was being used as a cat toy.
Then tonight I cleaned out my purse. Among the diapers, wipes, my phone, wallet and keys were more acorns. In my purse. He put acorns in my purse.
If you come over and see me shuffling around while looking at my feet, it's because I'm watching where I'm stepping.
In the meantime, maybe the squirrels will find and bury all those stray acorns that haven't found their way into my house. And I guess I should be glad it's not mud?
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8 comments:
I usually find rocks...or money. I keep the money, I figure it is my tip for doing the laundry :)
I think this is the sweetest thing!! :) Maybe you could start a shelter for homeless squirrels..?
How cute! You could glue all the acorns to a paper and let him have a collection. That's what we had to do with all the rocks that find their way into my house, but people have objections to my throwing out of the house.
my little one is obsessed with leaves. leaves are everywhere in our house. my diaper bag. our bathrooms. the living room. her bedroom. during our walks through our neighborhood, she carefully holds a leaf in each hand. if she finds one that is "better" she examines it and swamps. it makes our walks really long but it's so cute.
We have acorns all over the playground at daycare. Last fall one made it's way into my baby room, where two of the babies tried to eat it! When we were kids, I still remember a trip to Sam's Club that ended in disaster when my brother pulled his hand out of his pocket...bleeding. He's picked up a razor blade that he found on the floor and put it in his pocket! he was somewhere between 4 and 6 I think. Gabe always leaves toys in his pockets, usually cars, and I find them in my washing machine!
Rocks. I think acorns are better than rocks.
And dandelion heads.
Oh, and the mostly-dead mouse in a play purse. Yeah, I think that one was the worst.
This is so funny - I was always contending with rocks and shells - and the killer to step on was the old fashioned ("choke your baby style") Fisher Price Little People - my husband was convinced they were procreating at night and taking over the house!
For stepping on? The biggest rule is that the smaller it is, the more it will hurt. And the more likely it will be that your child will hear words come out of Daddy's mouth that she'll repeat. At church. Loudly. During the sermon.
Legos are the worst thing EVER for stepping on. (Do you realize how SMALL most of those pieces are?)
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