Answers, Debt Crisis and a Duel

Mollen wanted to make a fancy little lunch for her daddy.  She made french toast with syrup and... (you guessed it, Jen)... a teeny heart shaped dish of icing sugar. 

Yum found Neil's discarded remains before i cleaned them up.  i think that's french toast in the cup too.  Gross. 

His shirt says 'genius' - i'm not gonna disagree...

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i'm finding that a 10 minute phone conversation at 7pm just isn't enough. 

Communication with a husband on the road is hard for us 'opposites attract' couples. 

i hate talking on the phone. 

He hates reading and writing.

Add to that the fact that he packs his 'away' days so full that i doubt he has time to pee...

& you've got what we've got. 

Some trips are harder than others.  Sometimes you start on a deficit... & you wonder if you'll go bankrupt before he walks through that door. 

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Last night, i gave Ephraim a bath.  It had been too long, and his hair thanked me by springing white and fluffy from his sweet brown face. 

i decided for lack of Neil's company, to clean.  As i cleaned the kitchen, ephraim emptied his tiny toy box.  i loaded dishes into the dishwasher and he worked furiously pulling out sticky knives and forks. i swept the floor and he pulled all the crayons out of the craft cupboard.  i opened the back door to wipe down it's window and he escaped to the backyard.  i went to clean the bathroom and he pulled out the plunger and put Gagey's shoes in it's garbage can.

Every tiny chore he undid made me work faster, and as i flew around the house, he caught my energy and picked up his pace too, till we were both working feverishly.  i emptied the garbage cans, he hid them in the front entrance.  i wiped down the couch, he opened all the bottom cupboard doors.  i wiped down the floors, he pulled all the shoes out of the closet.  Sometimes our eyes would meet across the room, and i'd say in a low voice, "noooo, ephraim.  Don't do that, mommy's tidying..."  And he would reply with a suck, suck on his soother - wide blue eyes only resting on me for a moment before finding more havoc in need of a wreak. 

Finally - my sheer size must have tipped the balance, and as i closed one final closet door, i decided to call it a night.  Neil won't be home for another couple of days - and who am i kidding?  The 15 minutes it stays tidy weren't worth another moment of my evening.  i snuck upstairs and checked my email... i thought ephraim was right behind me...

About one minute later, he swung into my room like a cowboy through the swinging doors of a saloon.  He had *that* much swagger!  His face was green.  And he had an open marker in his hand.  It was his coup de grâce. 

Touché, my tiny one. 

Mama knows when to admit defeat. 

The end. 

(ps - full disclosure: this picture was taken the *last time* he coloured his face with the green marker.  This time, he did a much more thorough job... Why green?  Well, i think it's the only stinking marker in the whole house.)