Babes in the Woods
So. Hans got home from Poland on Friday evening. Yes, he was in Warsaw for two weeks. Staying in fancy hotels and eating beef and cabbage every day, going to museums and shopping. And doing some military-type stuff in between. Like hanging out at the consulate and briefing people and doing PowerPoint presentations. Anyway, most guys would want a nice home-cooked meal after being stuck in a hotel for two weeks, but not Hans. He wanted mac-n-cheese.
We ran some errands Saturday, to the PX (I'm just going to go Army here and stop calling it the NEX) and then out to Leonberg to our second-favorite McDonald's. They have an outdoor seating area and playground for the kids. It was sunny and warm all weekend. It's sunny and warm today! I'm still in shock. I'm already sporting a nice farmer's tan.
Anyway, our trip to the PX went much better on Saturday than it did for me and the kids on Friday morning. Let's just say that Josiah has developed a nasty habit of disappearing. On Friday, he wanted to look at some treats at the end of the aisle I was shopping in. So I, trying to be a not-completely-uptight-mother, told him that he could on one condition: THAT HE STAY GLUED TO THE SPOT. He must have went around the corner, just out of my sight and then ran off. I couldn't have been looking in the aisle for more than 30 seconds, honestly. When I turned the corner, he was gone. I tried not to freak out and start screaming his name, opting instead to calmly look through the next few aisles. He wasn't there. Nor was he in the toys, electronics or any other area I would have supposed. For a good five minutes, I looked for him, and then suddenly, there he was, wandering up from women's wear.
I calmly (really, I was amazingly calm) explained to him that when I tell him to stay PUT, I mean STAY PUT. He claimed that I left and he couldn't find me. Nice try...my goodness his little brain is already getting crafty! I told him that if he ever finds himself lost again, to tell a grown-up that he needs help. Preferably a grown-up who doesn't look like a kidnapper or child-molester.
Anyway, where was I? Oh, on Saturday we ran some errands and when we got home, we decided to go for a walk. We loaded Annika up in the uber-buggy, packed some water and hit the trails outside the gate. For awhile, we strolled along on the nice asphalt trail, then it turned into gravel. Hans wanted to follow along the base's outer fence to see if it would be appropriate as a running trail. The trail turned to gravel. No problem. But then it started getting more hilly and muddy. Very, very muddy (and I in my cute J Crew flip-flops). And still my stubborn husband argued that we should press on, following along the fence. He manhandled my new buggy, with Annika sleeping in it, through the muddy ruts and up the hills. Eventually, the trail just disappeared, though the fence was there. We were full-on wandering in the woods, alongside the fence, with no trail, lifting the buggy over fallen tree-trunks. Then, another, non-base fence turned up, intersecting the base fence and forcing us away from the base fence and deeper into the woods.
Just when I was getting worried that our pleasant walk would turn out like "The Blair Witch Project", I saw a blur of movement out of the corner of my eye and realized that there was a real trail about a hundred yards away. We were saved! And Hans has decided that that route probably won't work as a running trail. Well, thank heavens we got that errand off his list! We went home, did a tick check, hosed down the buggy and our shoes and collapsed.
In other news: Josiah spiked a high temp on Saturday evening and was throwing up yesterday, though he was fine as long as I kept the magical Tylenol/Motrin cocktail coming at appointed times. He slept on the floor in our room last night and woke up once at 3:00 a.m. to throw up, but he hasn't thrown up since and has been unusually sunshiney and pleasant today. He has been very busy throwing a "birthday party" for Annika and making her a cake with her play food. The talk is all about birthdays around here...
We ran some errands Saturday, to the PX (I'm just going to go Army here and stop calling it the NEX) and then out to Leonberg to our second-favorite McDonald's. They have an outdoor seating area and playground for the kids. It was sunny and warm all weekend. It's sunny and warm today! I'm still in shock. I'm already sporting a nice farmer's tan.
Anyway, our trip to the PX went much better on Saturday than it did for me and the kids on Friday morning. Let's just say that Josiah has developed a nasty habit of disappearing. On Friday, he wanted to look at some treats at the end of the aisle I was shopping in. So I, trying to be a not-completely-uptight-mother, told him that he could on one condition: THAT HE STAY GLUED TO THE SPOT. He must have went around the corner, just out of my sight and then ran off. I couldn't have been looking in the aisle for more than 30 seconds, honestly. When I turned the corner, he was gone. I tried not to freak out and start screaming his name, opting instead to calmly look through the next few aisles. He wasn't there. Nor was he in the toys, electronics or any other area I would have supposed. For a good five minutes, I looked for him, and then suddenly, there he was, wandering up from women's wear.
I calmly (really, I was amazingly calm) explained to him that when I tell him to stay PUT, I mean STAY PUT. He claimed that I left and he couldn't find me. Nice try...my goodness his little brain is already getting crafty! I told him that if he ever finds himself lost again, to tell a grown-up that he needs help. Preferably a grown-up who doesn't look like a kidnapper or child-molester.
Anyway, where was I? Oh, on Saturday we ran some errands and when we got home, we decided to go for a walk. We loaded Annika up in the uber-buggy, packed some water and hit the trails outside the gate. For awhile, we strolled along on the nice asphalt trail, then it turned into gravel. Hans wanted to follow along the base's outer fence to see if it would be appropriate as a running trail. The trail turned to gravel. No problem. But then it started getting more hilly and muddy. Very, very muddy (and I in my cute J Crew flip-flops). And still my stubborn husband argued that we should press on, following along the fence. He manhandled my new buggy, with Annika sleeping in it, through the muddy ruts and up the hills. Eventually, the trail just disappeared, though the fence was there. We were full-on wandering in the woods, alongside the fence, with no trail, lifting the buggy over fallen tree-trunks. Then, another, non-base fence turned up, intersecting the base fence and forcing us away from the base fence and deeper into the woods.
Just when I was getting worried that our pleasant walk would turn out like "The Blair Witch Project", I saw a blur of movement out of the corner of my eye and realized that there was a real trail about a hundred yards away. We were saved! And Hans has decided that that route probably won't work as a running trail. Well, thank heavens we got that errand off his list! We went home, did a tick check, hosed down the buggy and our shoes and collapsed.
In other news: Josiah spiked a high temp on Saturday evening and was throwing up yesterday, though he was fine as long as I kept the magical Tylenol/Motrin cocktail coming at appointed times. He slept on the floor in our room last night and woke up once at 3:00 a.m. to throw up, but he hasn't thrown up since and has been unusually sunshiney and pleasant today. He has been very busy throwing a "birthday party" for Annika and making her a cake with her play food. The talk is all about birthdays around here...
Comments