Library Misadventures

Background Info: Paid $30 for a PLAC (Public Library Access Card) so we're able to use any library in the state.
Reason: We live 7 minutes from a library which we are not allowed to use because we live on the wrong side of the tracks. We live 25 minutes from our county library.

Now on with the post:

Today we went to the library nearest our home. There is never anyone in the library except the librarian. She just sits behind her desk waiting for patrons who rarely come in. It has the potential for a Stephen King book. It is a brand new library in a very nice, new building with about 300 books that are about 100 years old. It still has a paper card catalog. It is housed in one room with a librarian desk about 8 foot from the front door. On one side of her desk is the "Children's Library" (I use that title loosely) and the other side is the adult side. I was looking at books while my children ages 9, 6, and 3 were looking at books and playing on the large structure decorated like a pirate ship. The 3 year old picked up a "Clifford" dog that made a barking noise off of one of the shelves. Of course, he pressed the button to make the dog bark about 10 times in a row. By this time, a young man probably 19 or 20 had walked in to the library to use the internet. I took the three year old across the library to look for a certain book on the adult side. My three year old was still happily playing with "Clifford". The librarian stood and walked over to where we were standing and asked my son if he could pretend that "Clifford" was taking a nap because there were "other's" using the internet and we needed to be quiet. I looked for the "off" button, but there wasn't one, so I had to trust that he wouldn't push the button anymore. The young man got up from his chair and walked out of the library. We walked the 12 steps back over to the "Children's Library". I see my daughter frantically picking up white chunks of what appeared to be chalk off of the floor. One of the flags off of the pirate ship had been housed in a beer "coozie" with plaster of paris in it to hold the flag up. Well, it fell and broke into a million pieces. I decided it was time to go. I took her and the three year old to the librarian's desk to leave our books and to ask for a broom. I explained that she had knocked over the flag. She insisted that she would clean it up. I told her I was happy to do it, but she stated that she would need to vacuum it up. (What is this 'vacuum' you speak of? That concept is unfamiliar to me) She then proceeded to ask me how old my oldest son was. I stated that he was nine. I asked her why she was asking, thinking that there might possibly be a program at the library for kids his age. She then says to me, "The library has a policy to not leave children under a certain age unattended." So I in return say to her, "So what you're saying is that I shouldn't have left those two over there while I walked across the room to look at another book." She says to me, "Well, we really can't see them over there and there are a lot of displays and things." Keep in mind that my children were within 12 feet of me. I said to her, "You know the thing that she knocked over is on the children's play area right?"
She says to me, "Yes, I know exactly what you're talking about."
OK. Glad we had this little talk. This woman made me feel like I dropped them off at the library and ran to Starbucks for a latte! I could feel my heart beating fast and my face turning red. My judgment and good sense had been called into question in the one-room, empty library with the lone librarian and 300, 100 year old books! I had violated their "policy" and left my child out of arm's reach. I need invisible fencing so I know where my boundaries are. I clearly cannot be trusted.

Something I read today

"There was a man all alone;
he had neither son nor brother.
There was no end to his toil,
yet his eyes were not content with
his wealth.
"For whom am I toiling," he asked,
"and why am I depriving myself of enjoyment?"
This too is meaningless-
a miserable business!

Two are better than one,
because they have a good return for
their work:
If one falls down,
his friend can help him up!
Also, if two lie down together, they
will keep warm.
But how can one keep warm alone?
Though one may be overpowered,
two can defend themselves.
A cord of three strands is not quickly
broken.
Ecclesiastes 5:8-12

Thank you Lord, for a loving husband and wonderful family and friends who lift me up. Thank you for helping me to realize that I wasn't meant to do this alone.

The Six Pack

I was in the dining room working on something when my oldest comes out of the bathroom and says to me, "Mom, you can have a 2 pack, a 4 pack, or a 6 pack. I told Jeremy that I have an 8 pack and he said 'you can't have an 8 pack' ." Here's how the rest of the conversation went:

me: "Is this something for a video game? I really have no idea what your talking about."
(At our home, we routinely begin conversations without prefacing them, just to keep everyone guessing)
OS: " No, I'm talking about muscles!" (of course)
me: "Oh, I see. Does Jeremy have a '6 pack'?"
OS: "Yeah, but so do I."
me: "Let me see."

He precedes to lift up his shirt and squish down his cute little belly. Well, let's just say, he takes after his momma and he has more of a 'case'. How do I gently tell him the news without a future therapy bill? I told him that most people don't have '6 packs' and that those who do are just really, really little or they have to do lots of exercise to get them. He stand there with an animal cracker hanging out of his mouth and starts jogging in place. Yes, son, that is precisely how one gets the '6pack' that you speak of.

School Mascot

We were driving in a nearby town this afternoon when my daughter made a casual observation that all of the street signs were purple and had a bulldog on them. I explained to her that the bulldog was the local high school's mascot. Our children are home educated, so the concept is a little foreign. But I thought maybe they'd like to have a mascot. I asked the kids what our mascot should be. My daughter excitedly screams, "DADDY!!!"

Funny!

All Boy

We pretty much have our kids figured out. Yep, we're awesome like that. Our oldest is going to be a missionary, our middle child will be in the performing arts, and our youngest will either be a stuntman or a comedian. He's only two so we can't quite categorize him. Maybe he'll be both. Yesterday, I caught him standing tip-toe on a barstool, clad only in a diaper and pajama top, scooping icing from the top of a piece of cake with a hotwheel and licking it off of the car. When I said, "What are you doing?"(in my best surprised mother voice) He replied,"Nuffing" with the biggest grin on his face, sparkle in his eye, and a mischievous giggle. He clamored down and ran off to perform his next act while I rinsed pink icing off of the hood scoop.

Wun Fow Youw Wives!

Hewe awe a few of my favowite things my two yeaw owd says:

Wincoln Wogs
When asked about his favowite pawt of Gweat Woof Wodge, he said:
"The Wazy Wivew" (The Lazy River)
I Wove you!
When playing "Staw Waws" with his bwothew and neighbow boy:
"Wun Fow Youw Wives!!" (Run for Your Lives)
"Mama, wiww you pway 'Wight Sabews' wif me?" (Light Sabers)

Can I bottle this time?

Misunderstanding

My children will sit for hours and draw on scrap paper. One day, I asked my daughter what she was drawing. She informed me that she was drawing pictures of me. I didn't ask to see them and went on about my day. While I was making dinner, I stumbled across this:

Wow! I started thinking about the day. Had I yelled at them for something? Am I that menacing? This is an outrage and completely unjustified? Mature, huh? I marched into her room and asked her if this was the picture she drew of Mama? She said, "No, silly. That's a girl T-Rex! This one is you!"

Did I mention I really love that little girl?

Jesus Loves Me

Last weekend, we went to Pizza Hut to celebrate my sister-in-law's birthday. My sister-in-law is 16 years younger than my husband. She's 19 and... well, he's not. All of the adults were eating and our older two asked if they could go look at the jukebox. Of course, that's not what they call it because anyone born after 1985 doesn't know what a "jukebox" is. Normally we don't allow our children to run amok in public places, but the place almost empty except for one other family who had three little boys. Those three little boys were playing with our kids at the jukebox. For about ten minutes, my daughter was trying to type in a song and the boys would hit the "delete" button when she would get near the end. She let her irritation be known to everyone as is her style. But she was persistent. She kept trying and trying and still saying, "Ugh" (Charlie Brown style) each time. Finally, I went over to see what was going on. She was typing in , "Jesus Loves Me" and couldn't understand why that song wasn't in the jukebox. I really love that little girl.

Overheard

My son and our neighbor boy were playing the other day. I overheard their conversation about a young girl in our neighborhood. This girl has some spunk (this is a nice way of saying "crazy"). She is about the size of a 4 year old, but she's 9, so she has to keep her defenses up. Here's how the conversation went.
(NB=neighbor boy, MS=my son)
NB: "She is soooo mean!"
MS: "She's not that bad."
NB: "No, she's mean!"
MS: " I bet she wouldn't hurt a fly."
NB: "Hurt a fly! Heck, I bet she'd kill a cat!"