Learning to Surf

Every now and then I go through some sort of phase with Liberty. I never can see it coming. It just sort of begins to appear and establishes a pattern that we endure anywhere from a few days to a few weeks. You think I'd feel the ground twitch or the faint honk of a horn as the freight train approaches.

But no.

Libby came home from school on Friday with a sniffle that looked like it would turn into a bad cold. Luckily, I gave him some of what I call our "magic" potions his doctor gave us, and it nipped the cold in the bud by morning. But, along with this cold, he has had a few loose stools that has made it even more interesting, as he just takes his underwear off anywhere he happens to be.

And, you know THE MOMENT I turn my back something happens --

Little brown hands.
A flash of a streaker out of the corner of my eye.

Needless to say, I have LOTS of laundry going constantly.

To say that I am beat is an understatement. Weary or maybe world-worn is a little more like it.

Lib also took an interest in the bathroom cabinet items again. He enjoys removing everything and inspecting it for size, shape and color, then he arranges it all in various places throughout the house.

I had to go on a scavenger hunt for my lipstick and eyeliner the other day in my own hallway. Suddenly, the most used phrases in our house are "Have you seen...?" and "I found it!"

We make him put everything back and play the "clean-up game," but eventually, there he is again, removing my shampoo from the bathroom, my husband's aftershave, etc. It's the never ending game. And there sit the Legos, the tools, the puzzles, the figurines, etc. unplayed with in his room. When he's got a good bottle of shampoo or a compact of powder, he's a happy little camper.

I bet you don't know what 300 Q-tips really look like. But I do! When they are spread out individually across the floor, boy howdy, that's a lot of Q-tips!

And it's amazing how many tissues there really are in one of those cute little boxes of Kleenex. He must have had an absent-minded ball removing each one and throwing them over his shoulder as he watched a video. We stuffed them back in, and by God, he uses them to wipe his nose! A minor miracle.

To top it all off, I made the mistake of offering him one of his little people to play with in his bath the other day. Instantly, you could see the light bulb go off in his little brain. Quick as a flash he was up out of the tub and rounding up ALL of his little people and figurines, etc. So, now the shower phase is over because he likes to bathe with his STUFF.

And, for some reason, after doing so well with potty training, he is suddenly removing his pants and having accidents. Is this normal? It's like he does not want to stop what he is doing to have to go that pesky old bathroom. What gives?

I am coping only because I have another really good book going (The Love Season by Elin Hilderbrand). Thank you, God.

Oh---and the spitting skill is growing strong. He understands that it is not cool to spit down the front of your shirt. He gets that he must go outside to spit, but lately, he has found that he can spit in the toilet. This is not all bad because one day, I found that he had stripped down to nothing and was standing at the potty spitting into the toilet when suddenly, he began to urinate in the toilet standing up. It surprised even him. It had never occured to him that he could stand up while going to the potty. He looked over at me and smiled.

In the middle of it all, he is learning about his world, his body. Soon, this phase will be over and another one will take its place.

It's ebb and flow. Big waves and little waves.

I'm learning to surf.

If I can just hang 10 a little longer...

By the way, I welcome all good book and movie recommendations.