(sigh........)

Sometimes I think about how long it's been since I've had a toddler girl in the house and I try to remember how "stationary" they are. (never mind about the talking and dramatics, I don't miss that.) My boys wear me out. I know this is a well-known fact, but some days I want to throw my hands in the air and say, "Why do I do even try?"

Eli is so adapt at getting into the food and opening the fridge it just amazes me. He will drag chairs over, climb on counters, crawl up shelves, empty cupboards, jump on the tables, pull milk out of the fridge.......you name it, he can do it. Well, he had already had a rice crispy treat this morning (I bought them especially for Riley's field trip today) and 2 granola bars (one of which he bit so many times through the wrapper that it was in crumbs when I opened it) and was mad that I wouldn't get him a 15th slice of cheese. I offered him a sippy cup of water (he had to be thirsty after all of that!) but he threw it on the floor. "Alright, whatever......." I walked out of the kitchen with him yelling at me and tried to get on the computer to answer emails. Well, then I heard a way too familiar sound.......a kitchen chair scraping the tile, being moved somewhere....and then a crash. "Oh, boy......." I slowly walk towards the kitchen again, thinking about where the broom was because that had to be the sound of dishes breaking, and saw Eli on a kitchen chair. He had dumped out our "junk" drawer on the floor. "Alright, no broken glass......that's good....." I try to get him to help me pick up old screws, a nail file, ratty pencils, tons of pens, plastic forks, scattered receipts and lots of loose change. Well, as I'm slowly picking up these little things, I notice out of the corner of my eye, that Eli is lowering his head to the floor. Now, I just mopped last week, so my floor isn't filthy, but it certainly is not clean enough to lick. But as I watch, he is picking up all the pennies with his mouth! Then he spits them out in the drawer. Now that is nasty! And what in this world is dirtier than money? (other than port-o-potties and the sewers.....) So now I'm digging disgusting coins out of my toddler's mouth........not my idea of getting things done on a Monday morning. But, hey......I've got little boys in my house right now so why should I be surprised? One of the little joys of motherhood........(well, little boys motherhood!)