Household Hindrances

Everyday around the house, inanimate objects are trying to change my day from a cloud of contentment into a puddle of discouragement. Sometimes the inanimate objects are acted upon, and sometimes the inanimate objects act up all on their own. The following are some examples:

There is a hole in the wall in Alison's room, and the children deny all responsibility in its creation. Yet, I know the wall didn't make the hole on its own because the wall has been sick for ages (from the use of cheap primer and clumsy furniture moving), and it just doesn't have the energy to gouge a hole in itself. If you look at the picture of the wall below, I'm sure you'll notice the missing outlet cover and the lack of baseboard trim. Both are gone to help draw the eye away from the hole and possibly prevent Alison from shoving money and knick-knacks into the hole. We'll probably get the hole covered once we get the toilet replaced and a sink installed downstairs (ha!).

On Valentine's Day, James received a mylar balloon. I'm used to the kids getting the regular helium filled ones, which usually quit floating after one day. I appreciate the regular balloons' quick deaths because then I'm not swatting balloons out of the way constantly and listening to the kids argue over them. However, the Valentine's Day mylar balloon had a much longer life cycle, complete with the kids punching its shiny tummy, wrestling over it (literally), and hiding it in closets. You'd open a closet door, and the balloon would slowly glide out at you (I know...not quite as menacing as leaping, but it's still irritating). Here's the sharp silver lining—the balloon's life was cut short last Friday when it met its end with a pair of James's safety scissors.

The next household issue involves one of the electrical circuits. The circuit doesn't seem to give steady power because the microwave used to make a slower/faster sound when running and its lights would dim. Then one day, I opened the door, and the microwave turned off and refused to run again. I moved the microwave to an outlet on a different circuit, and it seems much happier. I never hear the slower/faster sound. However, our tiny IKEA kitchen table now supports the microwave, so we have to eat on the floor or other flat surfaces until we call an electrician (our kitchen is so small). We do still run the Smiley Toaster on the bad circuit. I think the Smiley Toaster's positive attitude allows it to run despite adversity. Plus, it gets added energy from its main purpose in life—making my mornings miserable with its overly cheerful grinning.

Hole in Wall, Mylar Balloon, Microwave, Fluctuating Circuit, and Smiley Toaster.

Here are some random pictures from last week. Enjoy!

Alison enjoys picking out her own clothes. These are a few of her choices.

James decided to create a toga of sorts (at least, that is what I think it is) out of a plastic bag. He also enjoys rolling on the floor like a puppy, building zoos out of blocks and other miscellaneous objects, and posing strangely for pictures.

Phil's two favorite activities are crawling and shoving things in his mouth. Here are some of the things that I've taken out of his mouth recently: toy dog, blasting caps for a cap gun, polished rock, rubber band, tree bark, wad of dental floss, and ribbon. Alison is mainly responsible for these items finding their way to Phil. She leaves an inedible trail of toy crumbs throughout the house at 15 minute intervals. If she'd been with Hansel and Gretel, they would never have gotten lost...as long as Phil wasn't following behind.