Excitement before Eight O'Clock

Yesterday afternoon, we picked up Little Man from preschool, and on the ride home, he informed me that while some of his classmates sat down, he got to stand up, because "I'm veh-wy tall for my age." It took me a second to register what he was talking about, and then I remembered that it had been class picture day.

He did look rather dapper yesterday.

Little Lady was dressed up, too, for a morning playing with the other babies at MOMS Connection.

After I had tucked B in for his nap, A had her afternoon snack by the kitchen window. It is probably her favorite lookout spot in the entire house, because quite often, there are squirrels, bunnies, and all manner of birds out there (doves, bluejays, cardinals, and robins are the most frequent visitors). We also catch frequent glimpses of our dear neighbors, because they have a friendly, low iron fence around their yard, and they enjoy gardening and have beautiful blooms throughout the warmer season.

Yesterday, she watched with great fascination as a couple men mowed our neighbors' yard. In fact, she was so enthralled with the proceedings next door that, when she got thirsty, she signed for water and took her cup without taking her eyes off of the lawn mower. Those guys have no idea what a captivated audience they had!

After snack time, we went outside for some swinging and saw that a few of our irises had opened up. I had noticed the buds a few days ago, and I have been anticipating the first blooms for some cut flowers.

So this morning, while B was having his breakfast, I grabbed some scissors and popped out back to gather some flowers for our dining room table.

Soon thereafter, I heard B come outside, the dog trotting after him. He was holding a picture he had been working on during breakfast, some rubber bands, electrical tape and scissors.

"What are you up to, bud?" I called.

"I'm putting up a sign to remind our neighbors to slow down and be careful," he replied.

I smiled while gathering up my things. Then, upon turning the handle to the patio door, I realized we were locked out. Again.

And that, my friends, is why we have a lock box now.

Except our code didn't work. So I tried every combination I could think of, on the possibility that N may have changed it and forgotten to tell me. Nothing worked.

I weighed my options. I could keep trying to figure out the combination and risk Little Lady waking up in the meantime, with me being out of earshot, or I could swallow my pride and walk over to the neighbors' and ask to use their phone to call my husband.

Because not only did I look like a raccoon because I had not yet taken off the make up residue that always appears in the morning, no matter how well I wash my face at night, but I was wearing these:

Yep. My husband's men's size 12 flip flops were oh-so-gracefully adorning my size 5 feet. I mean, I had thought I would only be outside for maybe two minutes!

Never have I been more thankful that I had gotten showered and dressed before breakfast!

I decided that our neighbors were kind enough and had a good enough sense of humor that they would laugh with me about this. After all, they had raised their own kids and they have a good number of grandsons to their name. So after telling B to stay put and not leave the backyard under any circumstances, I ran over to the neighbors'. And of course they were gracious, even though I had interrupted their breakfast and had shown up looking all sorts of ridiculous.

N agreed to come home right away to let us in, so I went back to our house to wait. And I decided to try the code one more time.

Click!

Wha---?!

Friends, sometimes, I'm pretty sure some things happen just so we will remember to take a chill pill.

I ran inside to call N and let him know he didn't have to come home after all.

And I took a deep breath and smiled at my worried little boy. Because he hadn't meant to lock us out. In fact, he was doing the right thing, because we are forever reminding him to close the door because once it gets warm enough to hang out in the back yard for extended periods of time, the mosquitoes appear in droves.

Plus, this is the same little boy who, when he was still sick, was so concerned that I had poked my finger while making dinner, that he ran to bring me one of his own special band aids, bought with his own earned money, without a second thought. The same little boy who plays quietly and creatively on his own while his sister takes her morning nap, who, when crayons get broken, takes the initiative to repair them with tape so he doesn't interrupt me.

I will end this with pictures of those pretty blooms and B's thoughtful sign. I never took notice of irises until we discovered that we had an abundance of them in our backyard the first spring after we moved in here. And now, although I probably wouldn't ever choose them to purchase, I think they are a lovely addition to our flora. And B's sign reminds me that it is good to look out for one another.