Articles by Erin-Go-Braghless!

Recently, I actually cooked.  Will wonders never cease?  The microwave is growing jealous of the stove these days. I made an amazing dinner of baked chicken with a side of vegetables, since the girls and I wanted to surprise DH for his 31st birthday.  I also made a favorite dessert in our home: cherry-chocolate squares.  I thought for sure my daughters would eat whatever I put in front of them, knowing that they must finish their small portions before getting any dessert.  Halie (7), and Catie (5), quickly finished every bite (as did their father), and asked for dessert.  Rosie, on the other hand, scarfed down every morsel of vegetables, but left the chicken untouched. As the rest of us continued visiting over the dinner table, my two year old slid down from her booster chair and disappeared, only to reappear in the living room a few minutes later.  DH called out to her, “Rose, come sit down and eat this chicken.”  (when she hears ‘Rose‘, she knows we mean business)  Rosie walked into the kitchen, head hanging and shoulders slouched, climbed into her chair, looked at the chicken on her plate, gave a heavy *sigh*, and picked a bite up on her fork.  She studied the meat on the end of her fork for a moment before poking it into her mouth.  What happened in the few minutes afterward is best described by my husband: 

 ”Rosie looks like she’s a contestant on Fear Factor trying to choke down horse rectum for the grand prize!”

I was laughing hard for a few minutes, but was finally able to say: “That’s blogworthy!”

The first afternoon, much fun was had by all. The next day: 7AM, Catie wakes me and is wearing her bathing suit. “Can we go in the pool Mommy?” **DH was already gone. What was I going to tell her? The sun was still waking up? I hadn’t even had my first cup of coffee yet?**

The creaky wheels in my mind must’ve woken the other two girls, because they both seemed to suddenly appear beside Catie - in their suits. My eyes immediately went to the clock beside the bed, and it read 7:02AM. I told the girls that, out of respect for our neighbors, I’d like them to wait until at least 8:00. So it’s really my fault that as I gathered three towels and sat with them for the next hour, I kept hearing “How much longer, Mom?” Also heard was : “I think the clock in the living room is actually broken, ’cause the hands are not even moving!” *sigh* And I still had not managed to make my first cup of coffee when the one-minute countdown began. As I approached the sliding glass doors, the energy rose behind me, like we were at Texas Motor Speedway : “Gentlemen, start your engines!” **vroom, Vroom, VROOM! ** When I opened the door, three little girls squealed and streaked past me into the backyard, splashing into the pool. They were all splashing and having a great time. I decided to take advantage of this moment! I started the coffeemaker, got out my favorite mug, sprinkled a little Splenda in the bottom in preparation for fresh coffee, grabbed this month’s Redbook and sat down at the kitchen table to begin reading. No, I haven’t read it yet. I now that it’s already 2 weeks into June! If you read my blog regularly, it’s easy to see why.

Fast forward 15 minutes:
When I look up from reading my magazine, I see water spraying everywhere. Out of the garden hose. At full pressure. Halie was holding the nozzle, pointing it at her sisters like a carnival game. My oldest daughter would knock one her sisters down, then aim at the sister still standing. When the first casualty had recovered and stood again, Halie would blow her over again. Holy Water, Batman! I walked outside to turn off the hose, and noticed that the pool was overflowing, and had made our yard quite swampy. I told the girls to come inside, and as I turned to grab the towels I had brought out earlier - they were not there. Catie saw the confusion and frustration on my face as she sheepishly pulled hers from under the water and held it up for me to see. **WHAT?!**

Luckily, I had just finished a load of towels, so my girls got warm towels directly from the dryer. They spent the rest of the day INSIDE. DH came home that evening, and when I told him about the day, he said we should call it ‘The Apocalypse Pool’.