5 crazy things you don't anticpate about a day...

But when you have a toddler (or a Nate), you should totally plan for.

1. Sometimes, in the middle of the night, your toddler might get hungry. And so, he'll wake up. What you don't expect is for him to open the door to his bedroom, walk down the hallway, open the fridge and start to open a yogurt. At 3 in the morning.

2. Often, you and your toddler will battle wills over things that are not okay to do (like throwing magnets). What you do not expect is for your toddler to close his eyes, turn his chin up and very clearly pronounce "No!". And then fall into a million little giggles. (It's the giggles that saves him.)

3. When you insist on staying in bed just for five more minutes, but your toddler insists that 6am is the perfect time to stay his play day, you may have an suspicion that he may need some help. What you do not anticipate is for there to be a small "uh-oh" from another room in the house (remember, you're not sure which one, because you're still snuggled under the covers), and when you go looking for him after five more minutes of him calling "uh-oh", you find him standing on the desk unable to get down because in the process of getting up, he inadvertently pushed the chair too far away from the desk.

4. While you're making dinner, you are silently rejoicing at the wonderful quiet, polite playing with his toys that your toddler is currently engaged in. What you cannot anticipate is for that quiet play to actually be in the bathroom (how did he get from one room tot he other so fast?!?!) and you know this is true when he comes toddling down the hallway with a full bottle of soap ... without the cap on. And who knows where the cap went to. (Now the silent rejoicing is that none of the soap spilled. Miraculously.)

5. In the event you are bold enough to take your toddler (inevitably, you will also have other kids, too) to a restaurant, you know that you will encounter food and toys on the floor, some louder-than-you'd-like-it-to-be yelps, and persistence to not eat the dinner you'd ordered for your toddler. What you cannot anticipate is that the car you've given your toddler to amuse himself while you finish stuffing your face (because at this point, that's what "eating" has amounted to) has now become the coolest flying car. And it has flown right into another diner's dinner. Bumper on the car side up. (Thank goodness the other dining is also dining with children. And boys at that.)

True stories, my friends, all true. You can't make these things up! If you're wondering why it's been so long since I've emailed/called/caught up with you, it may be because any of the reasons above. =)