Bubbles Unbound

Well the Bubble Generator got cranky today and I spent the better part of the evening trying to get it to work again. I kept at it only because I would not be bested by a $10 bubble machine. I finally discovered that the 'fall' it took from Emma resulted in tiny rocks getting jammed in the gears, which then would not turn. I felt much better after that, although cleaning up residue from bubble solution is a true test of perseverance. But then, what isn't with toddlers?

Today was a beautiful summer-like day, so I pulled out the mini kiddie pool and repeated the tradition my parents and many others have performed numerous times during the warmer months: ran the hose into the pool and let the sun warm the water up. Emma was more than enthralled with the new development and took the opportunity to strip down to her diaper (well, you see, my little anal retentive daughter will not tolerate a mess, even if it is just pool water on her clothes). Surprisingly, I let it go. So after being slathered with sun block, she spent a glorious morning jumping in, splashing in, laying in and transferring to the grass the water in her little pool. Mary sat on the outside and generally benefited from Emma's splashing, while capturing the toys from the pool and sucking any water off of them. Again, the whole tasting thing. When it was time to go in for lunch and naps, Emma threw a FIT. That's how the bubble generator ended up on it's side in the gravel with the motor running. She was so mad she didn't even eat lunch. After naps, my neighbor friend Tricia came over with her 14 month old daughter Zoe and she and Emma ignored each other completely while playing in the yard, and Mary took up sucking on the pool toys again. It was a nice afternoon.

I am baffled, however, how it can be that a day spent playing with water ends up in the dire need for baths that evening. Aside from the sun block - I just can't figure it out. You would think that splashing and jumping and sitting and laying in water would mostly keep off the dirt, but my toddler proved that theory WRONG. And since the pool was in the middle of the lawn, apparently the dirt from the grass is really pervasive.

My house is a mess. The oddest thing of it is that my bed is made up (which it NEVER is), and the guest room bed is not. My walk-in closet has been straightened and the pile of cast off cooler weather clothes has been folded and neatly put away (I like to have an ongoing pile of clothes- it saves on time when you are freezing in the middle of the night and trying to respond to an infant - plus, it is my own little rebellion against the natzi neatness I try to impose on the rest of the house), but my laundry room is buried under things that are not laundry. Now you would only have to have been in my house a few times to realize that any part of the house some one might casually see must always be museum perfect. So the closet vs. The laundry room is in direct violation of Annland policies and procedures. Don't even talk to me about the family room - where Emma and Mary sorted through the media cabinet full of DVD's, videos, CD's and Leap Pad books. And during all of this, the most shocking thing yet, I let someone else into the mayhem. I did not even apologize for the disarray. I don't think it is a progression or even a growing experience. I think I am wholly unapologetic for what occurs while I am doing the single Mom thing with two demanding, very young children.

On that note, I got to talk to Jim today and it sounds like his trip is becoming more challenging than he would like. This indicates a later home bound date, which I am sure he is just as unhappy about as I am.

The Amazing Emma Story for the day involves the television. While Sesame Street was on during breakfast this morning, they panned across a beach on one of the US's coasts. Emma said, "Mumma, oh-tin". I stopped, looked, thought about it, and said, 'What, Emma?'. I got a sigh and, "Mumma, oh-tin water there - look, there!". She was telling me it was an ocean. An Ocean? When and where would my daughter learn THAT word? I don't recall talking about oceans and she has never seen one in person. Honest to God I think she is reading things behind my back just to see that shocked look on my face. She proves to me every day, it seems, that assuming she doesn't understand EVERYTHING she sees and hears is seriously short-selling my child. She is amazing.