Liquid Entertainment

Drip, Drip, Drip...today we are having bit of rain, as the newspaper so eloquently puts it. A Bit my horses fanny! It is the kind of rain that only happens in the Pacific Northwest, a kind of drenching mist that leaves you soaked and cold, especially if the wind kicks up. Kirk is out playing baseball, the first game of the season, and Greg is taking pictures of the whole thing. I was terrified that they'd be home by now, but luckily the rain that started at game time stopped about 10 minutes later. Now we're just misting. There is a reason that everything is green around here...

Suzanne did not go to the game, partially because it started at nap time and mainly because the field that we are stuck at also doubles as an unofficial dog park. I'm used to people like my mother and Kathleen down the street who pick up after their dogs. Apparently the people who let their hairy beasts roam the ball field don't care that kids are going to be playing there--and in the case of Suzanne, rolling on the grass and picking up any little thing that catches her eye. ANYTHING! Suzanne has already eaten dog poop once in her life and lived to tell the tale (after a vigorous and probably unpleasant mouth scrubbing from me), but I have no desire to repeat the incident. What is wrong with those people? Dog poop for Heaven's sake. Today it's wet dog poop. And even if they mow, it only turns into a zillion bits of dog poop.

It's going to be a long baseball season...

Suzanne doesn't need help to get into trouble. She usually manages at least once a day to do something that makes me rear back in horror. Let's take yesterday--do you all remember what Otter Pops are? The are the poor man's popsicle, the kind that come in little tubes, about 200 for 5 bucks or something like that. If you go to Costco, you can get the giant economy last-all-summer-sized box. Greg brought some home on Thursday and we opened it and put some in the freezer to...well, I don't have to explain this part. Anyway, Friday morning Suzanne was being a little too quiet, so I went looking for her and lo and behold, she was sitting on the kitchen table merrily ripping the Otter Pops open. Now, it is important to note that I cannot get into the little suckers without the benefit of scissors. Suzanne seems to have found the magic way to open them, since (thankfully) there were no scissors in sight! I had the sticky goo all over the table, the floor, the pile of newspapers, Kirk's coat, etc... I have now mopped the floor 3 times and still I'm finding sticky places. And, the stuff dyes skin, so Suzanne has red and purple shins, making me look like a very baaaaaaad mommy. I'm hoping after the second bath today it all comes off. Otherwise she wears long pants until it disappears.

Well, the boys are back and Kirk got a hit so he's happy. He wasn't impressed with the after-game snack, though. Turns out the first mom on the list (also the mom who made the list and insists on "healthy" snacks) brought pretzels and some unappetizing juice. I have assured Kirk that when it is my turn I will disregard the black marker shouting "HEALTHY SNACKS!" and bring Capri Suns and chewy granola bars. Dion will be annoyed, but the boys will love me.

Kirk was also happy that there were warm cookies waiting for him when he got home. (Don't get too impressed, they were just the Pillsbury slice & bake kind.) I didn't know if the game was going to be rained out, so I prepared a treat just in case a sad little boy came home early. I believe strongly in the restorative power of cookies. My mom drilled this into me early in life--is there nothing a cooky can't do?