I’ve been finding all sorts of reasons for not getting around to writing a post but this was an incident that I couldn’t allow to pass without putting it on the record.
We were having a lazy Sunday morning. It’s a rare occasion that we have no plans and aren’t in a rush to be somewhere so I took full advantage by having a long breakfast and “spending quality time” with the boys. They were in playful mood and when I got on the floor with them Monkey Boy thought it would be fun to eat my nose. I must admit I was scared when I saw him bare his teeth, especially after he had left Hannah with bitemarks on her nose earlier on, but he had learned the lesson and it was more about slobbering on my nose than gripping with his teeth. Fat Chops heard his chuckles and thought he would get in on the act so I ended up pinned to the floor having my nose eaten by both of them in turns. I consoled myself with the fact that they were playing together and sharing as I wiped the slobber off my nose and cheeks.
Kids have an amazing capacity to laugh at the same thing over and over and I needed a break so I suggested a new flavour nose. The invite was gleefully accepted and they started running relays, Fat Chops would eat my nose while Monkey Boy ate Hannah’s and then they would swap over.
By now I was reaching the limits of my saliva tolerance not to mention I was wondering how long it would be before one of the boys got over excited and clamped down on my nose. I delayed Monkey Boy to let Fat Chops catch up with so both of them were chasing after their mother at the one time. Then I hid behind the curtains in the living room.
No matter how many times it happens, it’s always disappointing when you leave the boys and they carry on like they couldn’t care less. They stuck their heads into the living room and when they couldn’t see me, shrugged and decided that eating Hannah’s nose was more than enough entertainment. Hannah fancied a break too and when she realised what I had done she spotted an escape route.
“Daddy’s hiding, go and find him”
So it became a game of hide and seek. Well, kind of. I hid a couple of times but I’m 6’4” and there are limited hiding spots in the house for me. Even when you are playing with toddlers who don’t think to look behind the curtains. I crouched down behind a settee with my head clearly visible above it and my knees poking out the side and they still struggled to see me. I was getting uncomfortable so I decided it was their turn to hide.
I love the way a toddlers mind processes things. What Fat Chops did next makes perfect logical sense but an adult would never think this way. He “found” me behind the couch and bit my nose in a casual, matter of fact way . Then I told him it was his turn to go and hide and toddler logic kicked in.
-I need a hiding place
-Daddy’s in a hiding place
-I’ll just hide here beside him
And so he did. He parked himself beside me and turned to me with a look that was either challenging me to go and find him or waiting for me to praise him for his clever hiding spot. I couldn’t get up to “find him” though, I was laughing far too hard.
Hannah decided it was time to teach him to pick his hiding spots better so I was banished to the hall to count to 100.
“Ready or not, here I come!”
I came back into the kitchen and you didn’t have to be a hide and seek champion. You just had to follow the giddy chuckling. Monkey Boy was spotted first, as soon as he heard footsteps he poked his head out from underneath the chair in the sun room. I gave him a perfunctory tickle and looked around. The second chuckle had a metallic, echoing quality to it. I looked at the blanket draped over the dryer, surely Hannah wouldn’t have…
Turns out she would!
Turns out she wasn’t thinking of how much fun the boys have pressing buttons and twisting knobs!
Obviously the boys loved it in there. After I eventually persuaded Fat Chops to get out, Monkey Boy insisted on getting in and sure enough Fat Chops came over to shut the door and play with the buttons while he was in there. That is why we don’t leave the dryer plugged in unless we are using it anymore.
So for once, it wasn’t me being the irresponsible one which made me so happy that I rushed to write this blog. Then I started thinking, if Hannah starts being careless and isn’t keeping me in check, how will the boys ever survive??!!
