Bath Time

Things are going along "swimmingly."

Em is very much the young lady, with a few relapses. But she is a great helper.

Jr. is learning to wipe his chin (from drooling) and his nose (from allergies). He likes to be right by my side. When his mom calls, he is all smiles and waves even though he doesn't say anything to her.

Abs is, well, Abs is Abs. She stays up until about 10 p.m. every night in spite of everything I try. She is up early in the morning, still singing, playing, and reading. She manages to get ready at the last minute when I threaten to take her to school in her pajamas. NOTE: I had threatened to leave her home but she informed me that was illegal.

Homework is a challenge. She is bored with math and tries to trick me into giving her the answer. Actually, I think her boredom is with the numbers on paper. She does just fine with word problems. She doesn't have the patience to listen to explanations; she wants immediate gratification. I got out a small container of pull tabs the kids are saving for GS, and showed Abs how to line up the proper number plus / minus the other number and figure out the answer. She loved the idea! Unfortunately, she spent more time lining all the tabs up in a certain way than she did working problems with them. PLUS, she wanted to go back and recheck all the ones she had finished over my assurance they were definitely correct.

Abs LOVES her bath and will play for as long as I allow it. I keep hoping she will be so relaxed she will fall right asleep. I left her in an extra long time last night, playing happily with her dinosaurs, the water running slightly to keep it warm. I spent some extra time with Jr. and Em while Abs was occupied.
"Abs are you o.k.?" I called several times from the next room.
"Yes," she called back each time.
"What are you doing?"
"Playing," she answered happily.
"It's time to get out," I announced a little later.
I guess I trust too much and waited too long. When I went in to enforce her exit, I stepped in a huge puddle of water. The water in the tub was about 1" below the top and the "puddle" covered the entire bathroom. Abs looked up at me with her big, blue, innocent eyes and waited. Fortunately, the flood was contained in the bathroom thanks to an extra thick bath mat and quick action with some bath towels. Dear little Abs, anything to add excitement to the day even when the day is almost over.