Sunday, April 26, 2009

Crib Checks

I am having a rather unmotivated day. Dishes are piled in the sink. There are probably blueberry pancake remains under Raegan's high chair (just little ones, mind you) and the bookshelf I emptied and had Richard move two days ago is still empty...with books piled all around it. Yes, definitely not feeling the urge to do...anything.
So after a chilly April walk, while Raegan napped, Richard and I lounged in our usual places in the living room (me on the giant couch and him folded up on the large chair) and watched Dateline reruns...not good for me, by the way. It came to pass sometime after Richard and I dozed off for a Sunday nap that I heard some chirping from the direction of Raegan's room. Then I heard adorable Raegan giggles and...scraping noises. Not wanting to budge from my comfy spot on the couch, I snuggled my blanket closer and enjoyed the giggling...and furrowed my brow at the continued scraping. Hmmmm...must be running her pacie along the wall...or something.
Eventually I got off my lazy...well, you know, and headed into my daughter's bedroom. She was lying on her back, holding her bear above her head and having the most delightful conversation. I almost backed out of the room so as not to interrupt, but, alas, I smelled...well, you know, so I had to press on in my Mommy duties. To take care of my baby's doodies. (sorry, couldn't resist!)
As I leaned down to scoop her and Teddy up, I noticed she also had a crayon in her hand. Lovely. Suddenly the scraping noises became all too clear in my memory and that's when I noticed this:

The joys. Living my dreams. Honestly. Another milestone, albeit a common one. Your child coloring on the walls feels a bit like a right of passage in parenthood. Rates right up there with getting peed on in the front seat of your car: twice in 10 minutes, being screamed at (may I mention ear-piercing, blood-curdling screams at the top of her sweet little lungs) in the middle of the quiet grocery store (right behind the sweet little lady innocently perusing the pickles), and discovering that your child has had diarrhea all over themselves at your old friend from high school's house - right at the beginning of the visit.
The funniest thing to me is that Richard put Raegan down for her nap, so naturally I asked him if she had a crayon in her hand when he took her to bed. He, being the good police officer he is, immediately proclaimed that she must have hidden the crayon in the folds of her blanket before she was led away to bed. Before you know it we will have to start surprise crib checks to make sure no shanks -er, I mean crayons - are hiding beneath the mattress.

3 comments:

Lisa said...

That's funny! Aiden did the same thing back when we were renting a house in Nampa. We got docked for it because we forgot to paint over it when we left. Aren't they fun?

Adrian said...

Ahh-haaaa, yep, I think most parents have one of those stories! I understand your beginning of the story, attempting to come out of a similar funk (as John called my general attitude the other day). I posted about it this a.m. Hmmm. Love you, girl! XO

Amy said...

Just wait until she doesn't have the crayon and uses other things to spread over the walls and the crib...you know where I am going with this...all 3 of my kids did this for a while so even though thoes chirps are fun to listen to if they go silent RUN and take plenty of wipes with ya if you know what I mean.