Tuesday, September 30, 2008

The Tornado that died at our house.

Did I ever tell you the story about the Tornado that got killed at our house? I didn't? Well pull up a chair!

I know what you're thinking. How do you kill a tornado? Well, I'm pretty sure that between the 6 of us, there's not a thing we can't accomplish if we work together.

It all began on a lazy Sunday afternoon. The daddy was taking a nap, the baby was taking a nap, the mommy was feeling guilt creep up inside her from all of the things she says she'll do someday but never actually does so she seized the moment, made a plan and went on a scavenger hunt of sorts to find her ingredients. Item #1: A glass jar. None in sight...not to be discouraged she bounds down the stairs to where her mom has other cool stuff hidden in the kitchen cabinets below and voila! A glass jar is found. CHECK! Item #2: Dish Soap. Check. Item #3: Food Coloring. CHECK! Item #4: Marble. CHECK! ...lest you think we're on a roll...Item#5: Lid for previously mentioned glass jar. Uh. Hmm. The only lid she can find is the one that roofed the teeny tiny jar "house" that held the captured grasshopper and 'Sam Proclaimed' newest member of our family (albeit for a VERY SHORT TIME) a few weeks prior, that had been lovingly adorned with a gazillion nail holes and rendered very un-waterproof. DARN! What to do what to do.. AHA! Again, not to be discouraged, the mommy remembers the yummy bear lake raspberry jam in the refrigerator and does a little switcheroo with the lids. (we are now the proud owners of bear lake raspberry jam with a seran wrapped and nail-holed lid) HOORAY! Now for the fun part! I excitedly gather the three boys beside me and start my commands. "Josh, fill this jar with water up to here", "Sam, pour three long squirts of dish soap here", "Gabe, stick this marble in here" (we forgot about the food coloring). Then they all watched with excited eyes as I spun the jar 'round and 'round in circles and then held it up for all to see! A TORNADO! WOW! OOH, AAH! WOAH! Happiness all around! Daddy wakes up and comes out to see what all the fuss is about, the baby wakes up and cries to come out and see what all the fuss is about and everyone takes a turn making the tornado in the jar. YIPPEE! And then, another idea starts brewing... Sam asks if we can add ANOTHER marble to the mix, to see if it makes an even BIGGER tornado. I say why not and they happily run off toward the marble stash, and then back to the kitchen. Happiness, happiness, glee, glee.

And then... it happens. Just like that, they killed the Tornado. "Oops" one of them says..."um, mom, dad, we broke the tornado" another one says. Mom and Dad (in unison) say "HOW?" another one says "we DON'T KNOW!" and that is their story. Nobody knows how, and nobody broke it, except that I think it was later determined that Sam broke it, but he still doesn't know how, and he still insists that it just broke "all by itself"...and then, we cleaned up broken glass, water, dish soap and marbles for a half an hour, and then Mark saved baby Will from nearly ingesting a broken piece of glass the size of his thumb (the NEXT DAY! - we REALLY thought we'd gotten it all!) and that is the story of the Tornado that died at our house.


The End.


ps. I'm saving this story for me to read the next time I have guilt creep up inside me for all the things I say I'll do but never actually do. See what can happen? Maybe it's better sometimes to just be lazy. After all...you just never know!

9 comments:

. said...

My vote is that us moms should all be a little bit more lazy. We'd certainly have less stuff to clean up if we spent our days on the couch! Let's do it!

AD said...

What a great mom you are. I have felt so inspired to be more creative and energetic ever since you introduced me to NieNie.
Last week I decided to draw little faces and notes on my kids' lunch sacks, to tell them I love them and to be silly, etc.
Jessica came home after about the third day and said, "Mom, I don't want to offend you, but please don't draw on my lunches anymore. It's embarrassing."

Couch potatoes, here I come!

Unknown said...

TOO funny! At least you tried, right?!

Anaise said...

They'll remember the tornado forever because of the "death." Now the story has been recorded and the re-tellings will bring joy to your family forever. I thing it was a delightful activity and a fun thing to do! And I'm waaaay glad that Will didn't get to eat the glass!!!!!!

Lisa said...

HAHAHA! I'm totally impressed that you did it in the first place! Joel always says "No good deed goes unpunished" That saying came to mind when I read your post. Since the jar broke, aren't you SO glad you forgot the food coloring now?! See, you didn't forget, you were inspired not to put it in! lol

Diane said...

Mother of the year award here you come. Please don't tell my children these fun ideas. They will realize what a boring mother they had growing up!

Shea said...

How fun! I love when the kids get so excited over something so small. It makes me want to do things like that everyday. However I am not a fan of the clean up part. My boys would have broke it as well-sad!You are the cutest Mommy I know and your boys are lucky to have you.

Jake B. Fam. said...

Melanie...I have a proposal for you. Why don't we swap kids for a day? You take our girls and we take your boys. If you agree, just make sure your boys are wearing cloths they can get dirty in! Let me know.

Camille said...

Love it!! I say let's be lazy, but love on our boys all the same. I don't know how you do it, but you give me hope that I can do it, too!