Mysterious Smell

So Monday morning, as I went in to Emma's closet to get her clothes, I was hit in the face with a God-awful horrendous smell. And I mean horrendous. It smelled like soiled meat. It was so potent, I almost gagged right then and there. However, seeing as how it was 6:00 in the morning, and I had to get the kids up and to daycare and myself to work, I couldn't worry about it.

But as I'm relaying the story to my friends at work, I equated the smell to a dead animal. And then it hit me like a ton of bricks...."Oh, just great. We probably have a dead animal inbetween our drywall!" So when I got home, I told Andy my fear, and he was like, "Chris. It's not a dead animal. It smells like pee."

Fabulous.

So we get on our hands and knees (okay, well maybe "we" didn't...) and start sniffing the carpet to pinpoint the exact point of contact. And sure enough, there's a wet spot that is just skanking of smell. So we douse it with carpet cleaner in hopes that we can get the smell out. What's wierd, though, is that there wasn't a dark spot where the mysterious liquid "spilled" from. Obviously there wasn't, otherwise I wouldn't have left it there to rot all during the day!

So anyway, the night passes and the next morning when I go to get Emma's clothes out of her closet, I carefully open my nostrils. And--BAM--the smell's still there. And it's not gotten any better. So I'm like, "Andy, we need to rip the carpet out. There's no way around this. If, in fact, it is pee then it's saturated the carpet and all we'd be doing is masking the odor." So after much debate, he finally agrees to pull the carpet up. Well, actually. I shouldn't say that. He didn't agree. I just threatened to pull it up myself. He was determined to think that a professional carpet cleaner and deodorizer could fix the problem. I, however, knew otherwise.

So we rip the carpet up and you wouldn't believe what we saw....this mysterious liquid had seeped all the way through the carpet, all the way through the pad....to the floorboard. WTH?!?

Now, you may be wondering what happened. Good question. I'm still trying to figure that one out myself. It's gotta be one of two things.

1) Emma was sleep walking, and thought that her closet was the bathroom. So she gets up, walks to her closet, opens the door, sits down on the carpet/toilet, and empties her bladder. All 2 liters of it (gheesh, you'd think she'd released at least that much due to the stain left!). And this theory isn't so far-fetched because she gets up in the middle of the night every night to go to the bathroom by herself.

2) She did it out of spite. Let me explain. Sunday afternoon we went to the mall to get some shoes for Andy. Emma decided that she was going to run around the store, hide in the window display, then yell and cause a scene all throughout the store. Oh, hell no. After racing all throughout the store to get her, I immediately snatch her up and take her to the van. Yes, I was that mom who drags her kid through the mall. Yes, I was that mom who had steam rolling out of her head. This was the 3rd day in a row where Emma had acted up in public. And you will NOT act up in public and embarrass me like that! She knows better. So as soon as we got her, I made her go straight up to her room, and she was not coming out until after nap time (side note---it was nap time and she was tired and kranky, so a nap was in order). Of course, she cried and screamed, wanting to get out but I was NOT having it.

Soooooo, she could have gone pee in her closet out of spite, or perhaps fear. I can kinda see her doing that....but then I think, "No way. She wouldn't do that!" But I don't know....kids ARE amazing.  And Emma loves to push Mommy's buttons...

But, after all was said and done, I definitely needed to take a picture of this, as I know it's going to be a funny story years down the road from now. Just not now. Not when we have to rip the carpet up!

Kids. The Not-So-Glamorous Side.

So I always like to "keep it real" and tell not only the wonderful things that my children do (as there are many!), but also the things that might make one wonder why they chose to have kids. Don't get me wrong---I NEVER think that (well, for more than 5 minutes at least)....it's just as my sweet little girl gets older and more, ahem, vocal, I'm learning that there are times I wonder what in world made me think I was qualified to raise a mini-me. I mean, seriously. This "sweet" little girl pushes Mommy's buttons at least 5 times a day now. She has truly become her own person now, knows what makes Mommy tick, and knows how to manipulate her Daddy. And she's not even 4 yet!

So I can only imagine what it's going to be like in 10 years. Lord, help me now. I am extending extra apologies and prayers up-front, as I know my patience will get tested and certain choice words just may roll out of my mouth. Behind closed doors, of course. And never in front of my all-too-innocent "sweet" little girl.

So, anyway---back to title of my post. Last night, I encountered two funny/gross/what-the-heck moments that I must share. The first involves poop. Or as Emma would say, "POOPEY." As I'm hanging up her clothes in her closet from doing her laundry, I don't hear anything for about 5 minutes. We all know that's the first sign that something is up. Silence is only golden when they're sleeping. So I venture into the bathroom just as Emma is flushing the toilet. And I see a plastic bag swirling down in the bowl. I immediately grab the bag out of the bowl, only to realize that she had pooped in it. Great. FanTAStic. And, as you can imagine, the poop feel out of the bag and on to me and the floor. I think I'll stop here, as I'll let your imagination finish the story. It's probably better than the real outcome, anyway.

Have you stopped laughing yet? Cause I got another for you.

So, I'm sitting on the couch, stitching up some of the dresses that I'm making Emma. Emma and Drew are playing in the living room, both have a snack in hand. Emma has string cheese, Drewbie has his milk. When I look up I see Emma bent over. With her string cheese down her panties. I immediately say, "EMMA." And she jumps. (You KNOW she's up to no good when she jumps at the sound of her name....guilty reaction.) Upon asking her what she's doing, she says, "I'm putting my string cheese in my privates." It's at the very moment that I don't know whether to burst out laughing or get mad or get scared. So I do none of those things. I just say, "Emma we don't put things in our privates. You can hurt yourself that way." My mom always tells me that you don't make a big deal out of certain things. Like when your kid says a bad word. Or when they're sticking objects up their privates. The bigger deal you make out of it, the more they realize that that's something that gets your attention. And in my case, when you're dealing with little Miss Emma, she caught on to that concept at birth.

Now can I laugh out loud?!? Andy was in the next room, and we made eye contact, and I just know that we both wanted to laugh out loud! I mean, come on---string cheese in your privates?

Andy's First Triathlon

I'm so proud of him. Andy finished his first Spring Triathlon at Eagle Creek Park this past weekend. And he did it without any training. I know, I know...one shouldn't do that! But he's been running now for over 3 years on a consistent basis, with his shortest run being 4 miles, so he figured he could do this short sprint tri. Well--actually. I shouldn't say he didn't do any training. He did swim for 30 minutes a week before hand. :)


Since it is a "sprint" Triathlon, he had to swim for 500 meters, bike for 10 miles, and run for 3 miles. And he did it all in 1 hr, 19 min. Which is pretty good for his first tri. And I'm happy to report that he'll be doing many more! And I'll be doing some too!

State Fair 2010

On Sunday, we made our annual trip to the State Fair. And why we chose to go in such hot weather is a question that even I am trying to answer! Gheesh, the heat index said that it was 104 degrees yesterday! And we lasted 4 whole hours there! But Emma really enjoys it, and in fact, she's been asking about it ever since the first train whistle blew. (Our house is close to the train tracks, so you can hear it all day long.)


Even though we have to drive up north to catch the train, it's worth it to see and experience the joy that it brings Emma. And next year, Drew will be able to understand the excitement of the train. Right now, he doesn't like it too much because he's restricted to just his seat....poor kid just wants to explore the train! But it was fun for Emma; she loved it when we went over 96th Street. She knows "96th Street" because that's where her gymnastic class is and or course, where Wal-Mart is!

Once we got to the fair, she immediately wanted to ride all the fun rides. I think Emma thinks that the fair is really just an amusement park. She had no interest in seeing the pigs and cows. She just wanted to ride the rides and tractors! And about a million bucks later, Andy & I had to pry her away from all the rides. She's such a coaster girl....she thrives off the thrill and adventure of the Tilt-A-Wheel and Scary Coaster!

And Drew did such an amazing job of staying in his stroller. We let him out to push his stroller, as that's a fun game for him, but overall he was just a content little man in his stroller!

Symphony on the Prairie

For the past two years, we have gone to Symphony on the Prairie at Conner Prairie. It is such a good time. This year, it was the music of Michael Jackson! They had a great singer who covered a lot of MJ's songs, all the way from his early years, "ABC," to a hit off his most-recently released CD, "This is It". We do it right, by renting a table, so our seats are up front and center. You can bring your own food and beverages, so of course Karen provided all the yummy food and wine. I'm sure everything was delicious, but I chose to stick to my fantastic salad and cashews. Nothing beats a good head of lettuce on a hot summer night!

First Day of Preschool

Yesterday was the kid's first official day of Preschool. We have been hyping this up all summer long...so needless to say, Emma couldn't wait to go to her "big girl" school! She woke up at 5:30, in anticipation of the big day! Naturally, I always have the kid's clothes laid out for the week, but Emma is on a kick where all she wants to wear are dresses. And yesterday was definitely not an exception. So instead of the cute little outfit I had scheduled for her to wear, she insisted on wearing the dress that she got her picture taken in.

And even though Drew didn't wake up early in anticipation, Emma couldn't wait to tell her baby brother what a special day it was. So she storms on in, saying "Drewbie, it's time to get up, handsome man!" Good thing he's such a happy little guy.....if I were her sister and she woke me up, she definitely wouldn't be getting a big toothy smile from me!

So we preceded the morning as usual, except for the fact that Emma didn't eat breakfast before leaving. Instead, they serve breakfast at her school, so she was excited to see what that was all about. Turns out, the food isn't as--shall we say--sophisticated as Emma is used to. Not that there's anything wrong with what they serve (cold cereal, milk, juice, and toast)....Emma's just used to oatmeal, waffles, breakfast bars, or pancakes. All homemade of course (insert sarcasm here).

After checking both kids in, and saying my goodbyes, I was off to let them enjoy their new life in daycare. Both kids have daily schedules, with curriculum, bible study, dance class (Emma), Spanish emersion (Emma again), songs, and computers infused throughout the course of their day. I'm so excited for them, and love that they are going to the place that I went to as a child myself.

EMMA'S SCHEDULE
7:00-8:00 Inside Free Time
8:00-8:30 Coloring/Puzzles/Crafts/Cutting
8:30-9:00 AM Snack
9:00-9:30 Outside Time
9:30-10:00 Bible Study
10:00-10:30 Curriulum (alphabet & numbers)
10:30-10:45 Bathroom
10:45-11:15 Outside Time
11:15-11:30 Wash up for Lunch
11:30-11:45 Story Time
11:45-12:15 Lunch
12:15-12:45 Outside Time
12:45-1:00 Bathroom
1:00-2:30 Naptime
2:30-2:45 Bathroom
2:45-3:00 PM Snack
3:00-pickup Afternoon Aide

Short Hair

Emma has been begging for me to get her hair cut. So I finally took the plunge and got it cut short. We went for a cute little bob, with it being angled. Shorter in the back, longer in front. And for the most part Danielle at Cookie Cuters did a good job. Emma has extremely thick hair (like her Momma), so you really need someone who has experience with short hair cuts. So I think I'm going to have my girl Jasmine fix her up at my next appointment. Jasmine did a great job with my stacked hair cut, so we'll see!

Family Pictures

Indiana Beach

We took Emma to her first amusement park, and boy can I just say IT WAS AMUSING....as our destination of choice was Indiana Beach. And I use the word amusing in a loving manner. (Let me be frank: I think all mobile home residences in a 120-mile of Monicello were there. I kid, I kid. Kinda.)

Anyway, we didn't tell Emma about our trip until she got in the car. I didn't want to hype anything up, because I didn't want to disappoint. (And plus, there are enough things I hang over her head when she's being a bad girl.) So we packed the car up, swimming suits included. However, we went into it thinking we probably wouldn't do any of the water rides because there are plenty of other rides to do in one day....and history proves that we only last 3 hours at things like these. And it turns out, the rides were plenty!

Just as soon as we got there, we jumped right into the rides. Emma has no fear. Both Andy & I have known this for some time now, but she shows just how unafraid she is at almost every single ride she went on. She's 44" high, right at the cut-off for almost every ride there, so she was able to go on all the "THRILL" ones. The Scrambler, Flying Bobs, Tilt-A-Whirl, Galaxi Coaster.....all were enjoyed with "no hands." And I don't know if it's age, but Mommy had to sit out for a couple of rides while her stomach settled! But not Emma....