A Red Bull or Two Will Do

People usually say that the twos are terrible, but I say they’re a WILD and CRAZY party at all times, at least that’s how it is with Luke. I never know what is going to happen, what will be destroyed or how much fun we will have in the process. He is my little mischief maker and some would say, my pay back from when I was younger. When Luke was a baby, he would scream from early afternoon until bedtime and then wake up around 2 am, super happy. Geoff and I had a joke going, he needed a onesie that said, “Party in my crib, 2 am.”

Last week, we had a stomach virus going in our house. I got it first, then the boys and Geoff. On Monday, Tyler was sent home from school because he had vomited. As soon as he got home, I put Luke down for a nap. Then I got the puke bucket ready and Tyler in bed and down for a nap. He vomited several times, but was feeling better after his nap. To boost his mood, I put in a Curious George DVD in our bedroom. Both boys love George and I thought it would be wonderful downtime for them after nap. At the time, I was partaking in my daily afternoon ritual of online chatting with my friend Amber. All of a sudden, I heard “let’s give the puppy a bath.” This was not music to my ears, for we do not have a puppy and the only water in my bedroom was in the vomit bucket. I run in there, bracing for the worst. There are my two handsome boys, with Puppy Grumbles (Tyler’s stuffed animal he sleeps with at school) and Luke’s softy, both are drenched -- they have been baptized in the vomit bucket. I nearly hurl, but instead I take the yucky things away and message Amber. She is mortified and that was the end of our daily chat. The boys and I were about to go downstairs and as I bend down to pick up Luke, I notice his shorts are soaking wet. He jumped in the bucket! I am horrified, but not surprised, so I change him. It's times like these when you don't know whether to laugh or cry.

Lately, Luke has been a spitfire and a bouncy ball full of energy. I wish I had as much energy as Luke; I think if I did, I could take out Al-Qaeda, solve the Arab-Israeli conflict and bring about world peace. But seriously, just keeping up with him I feel like I need a Red Bull or two. He has been in rebellion mode and refuses to take a nap. Naptime is one of my favorite times of the day because it is when I get some much needed down time.

Yesterday, Luke was exhausted from school, so I decided to put him in his crib and continue his nap. I went downstairs and baked a cake; as the mixer was going, I could hear him yelling, “mommy, where are you?” I refused to give in, finished the cake and got Tyler from the bus. When we got inside, I told Tyler to go upstairs and wake-up his brother, something he really enjoys doing. Tyler goes upstairs and opens the door and then leaves because he is looking for his “black thing” which goes on his lanyard. I stop what I am doing and help him, meanwhile, Luke is waiting, but not patiently. When I got back into the room he had chunked his aquarium and thrown one of his pictures on the floor. I pick it up and there are shards of glass everywhere! I take him out, clean up the shards and change his bedding. Completely absorbed in clean-up duty, I forgot to check Luke to make sure he wasn’t cut. A few minutes later, I notice he had cut his finger and is bleeding, so I doctor it. The little man is tough! He stood there, extremely still and didn’t flinch as I cleaned up his cut and put a Buzz Light Year band-aid on his finger. At that moment, I was feeling lucky and thankful that we did not end up in the emergency room. I have a feeling that we may have a field-trip there one day.

These are just a few of many stories I have of my wild, little man. There is certainly never a dull moment in our house, Luke makes sure of it!