good oral hygiene.

this morning C was brushing his teeth and holding the babe at the same time. little c loves to be involved in the teeth brushing process. they use a sonicare.. 'nuf said. 

C seemed to be a bit on edge this morning (i think it was from the lack of sleep since the little man decided he'd wake up at midnight and be ready to party... all the way until 9 am--wowza!) and he seemed to be annoyed by the little guy grabbing at the toothbrush, yet wouldn't put him down. i asked the babe if he wanted to brush his teeth, as i was getting out his toothbrush to hand to him. C was elated, it distracted the little guy long enough so he could finish his oral care.

C finished up his business and then put little c down to return to his wandering. obviously little c isn't going to just stand in one place and gnaw on his toothbrush--much more fun to do while roaming your territory! C suddenly yells at me, "HEY!!! YOU CAN'T LET HIM WALK AROUND WITH THE TOOTHBRUSH IN HIS MOUTH!!!! HE COULD FALL AND CHOKE!!!" whoa, brah! simmer down! 

i turned to look at him and said, "um.. remember how you're the one who just put him down instead of finishing up the job..?"

he picked up the babe, finished brushing his teeth, and acted as tho nothing had happened. aye! some people!

strollin'

one day the little man and i were out on a walk. they have one of those fancy pants jogger strollers and he was cruising along in there. he ended up falling asleep and just looked so cute. i snapped a photo with my phone and sent it to M. 

a few minutes later, my phone rang. it was M. this is out our convo went..

M: hey, hi. i have a really random question for you..

me: hi. ok, go.

M: when you are on a walk, do you wear the leash around your wrist, the one that connects to the stroller?

me: ah.. no. not really that often. or ever. it just gets in the way.

M: really? you don't?

me: no, i don't. we go on leisurely walks. i don't think he's going to roll away from me..

M: well, whenever we walk with him in there, we're sure to wear the leash. it's there for safety reasons. 

me: alright, well, good to know.. i wasn't going to say 'well, in that case i guess i'll wear it all the time.'

we hung up and i started laughing. out loud. walking down the sidewalk. 

C got home before M that night. this is what he said to me. "so, M told me about the leash conversation earlier. while we do use the leash every time we use the stroller, i know it's not necessary. please don't feel obligated to do so." hey, thanks for your permission. i wasn't going to, anyway.. oops :)

on a side note.. i need to cut my finger nails. they're getting to be a little long. hopefully M doesn't notice and think i'm doing it just for her peace of mind. ha!

attack of the cat.

as previously mentioned, little C loves to love/terrorize the cats. what child doesn't want to attack a big fluffy wandering ball of fur, right?

one of the cats loves to sit on the arm of the sofa, the perfect eyesight/reach for the little man to attack. the cat wears a collar that has a bell on it; the perfect baby toy. little C loves to grab onto said collar and make the bell jingle. 

one afternoon, i was across the room and the little man approached the cat. he's not quite to the age where he understands when you warn him not to do something so i was walking over to him and i was literally about 4 steps away when the cat clawed the top of his (very bald) head. and hissed, loudly. he didn't pull/scratch. just 5 perfect puncture wounds where his claws hit. little C looked at me while gasping for breath and then screamed. naturally. 

he calmed down as soon as i got him. it didn't really bleed, just a tiny speck popped thru. i rinsed off the battle scars and applied some neosporin (the kind WITHOUT pain reliever because they've got both and i've been told, numerously over the past year [imagine that], that that kind is not intended for kids). he was fine and on his way. and, of course, walked right back to the cat with a huge grin on his face.

when M got home from work that evening she about shit her pants when she saw the 5 seriously tiny scabs atop the little man's head. i told her the story, and she reacted as tho i had drug the child across the pavement. why am i not surprised? when C got home a few minutes later, M quickly said to him, "look at his head..... apparently the cat scratched him." i looked at her and said, "the cat DID scratch him. you can tell those 5 dots are from the cat's claws."

the next morning when i got to work, C gave me a lecture about how if i'm not going to be in the same room as little C, then i need to lock the cats in the basement because they don't want him to get scratched again. or worse yet, to get his eyes clawed out. his words, not mine. those are some vicious cats, man! wow..

he has since been scratched twice more. one on my time, one on theirs. guess i'm not the only one who doesn't "pay attention" every second.. ;)

just in: downtown library deemed unsafe for story time.

as i mentioned before, little C and i regularly attend a story time group at the little neighborhood library branch. he really enjoys seeing his little friends, and his other favorite nanny as well :)

as summer was winding down and the weather was cooling off, i was trying to figure some other options of activities that we could do that fit our public transportation routes and/or neighborhood walk about area. i was browsing the library website and saw that the downtown central library building had a story time earlier in the week; the one we go to is on thursday. so i thought that'd be fun. we could ride the train downtown, enjoy some stories, get some coffee, and head back home for nap time.

M and i were talking about cold weather activities and i suggested downtown story time. she stopped dead in her tracks and said to me, "oh.. i don't think i want him going to that library. it's really gross how many homeless/drug addict people hang around in and outside there." somehow i knew she was going to say something to this extent. 

ok, while it is true that often times outside the downtown library there are a handful of homeless people hanging out. b.s.ing with one another, smoking cigarettes, just doing their thing. it's not a place where i've ever been hassled for money. they usually keep to themselves. yes, i have seen some of them sleeping upstairs in a corner before but there is constantly security in there to keep them out and make it a safe place. plus, the last place you'll find them is in the children's library, in the story room. somehow i'm just not convinced that the librarian is going to let them stick around for story time..

i have taken other kids to this exact same library. it's got the best selection of books, being the main library and not just some lowly branch. and.. prepare for this.. WE ALL CAME OUT ALIVE AND UNHARMED! 

it makes me think that M doesn't trust my judgement and that i might take little C to some place deemed unsafe. not only do i care about his life and well being, i happen to value my own. it's an amazing thing..

M continues to say no, that she'd prefer us to not go downtown. something about the air quality not being as good since the traffic is heavier down there.. really, i just can't win. ;)