Wednesday, November 17, 2010

A Look Back (2 years earlier) - Ridiculous


Amanda was home with the little boys by herself. The day was going smoothly enough, although Justin, the 2-year-old, had managed to get his leg stuck on a sticky mousetrap when he fell off the side of the couch. He had hollered and fussed as she pulled it off, the thick glue not wanting to let go. A new use for eye-makeup remover was discovered when she used it to remove the sticky residue left on his leg. Amanda had chuckled to herself. I wonder just how good it is to put that on your face when it has that kind of power.

It was lunchtime now so Jesse, only a year old, was in his highchair while Amanda was making sandwiches in the kitchen. Jared, 6-years-old, was actually being helpful by putting Jesse’s bib on him.

A sudden scream right behind her caused Amanda to jump, startled. Spinning around, she saw Justin standing in front of the refrigerator, crying, with his foot stuck to yet another trap.

Amanda rolled her eyes, exasperated. She reached down to pull it off. “Justin, calm down. Hold still so I can….AAAHH!” There was a mouse stuck to the trap! Her yell scared Justin and he jerked away, dragging the mouse with him and crying harder.

“Ok! Ok, um….ew!...hold still!” Amanda cringed. She hated mice! Of course this would happen when the big boys are all gone! Now I have to deal with a dead mouse stuck to a 2-year-old. She gingerly stepped on the quarter inch edge around the glue with her slipper. There was no way she was going to put her hand near that thing. She reached down and took hold of Justin’s leg, pulling his foot off the trap.

Then, the mouse moved.

“AAAUUGH!!” Amanda’s hysterical scream was joined by Justin’s, although only she was stuck to the trap with the mouse now. Her moment of panic had caused her foot to slip just enough to touch the glue.

Jared came rushing into the kitchen, saw the mouse, and screamed too. A brief thought flashed through her head of how funny it must look to have a 20-year-old, a 2-year-old and a 6-year-old all screaming in the kitchen about a mouse.

“OK! JUST CALM DOWN!” Jared had stopped freaking out first and now stood with his hands out, yelling at Justin and Amanda so he could be heard. She quieted, almost wanting to laugh at how ridiculous it was to be told to “calm down” by a 6-year-old. Almost, but not quite. She was still stuck to a trap with a live mouse on it.

“Take your foot out of the slipper and I’ll pull it off!” Jared said, looking all business-like now. She followed his instruction, not a bit ashamed to let her little brother do the dirty work. Jared managed to pull the slipper off, holding onto the edges of the trap carefully with his small fingers.

Amanda shuddered. Mice were so nasty. “You can kill it if you want. Take it ou…”

Too late. WHACK-WHACK-WHACK!

“Stop! Jared, NO! Not with my slipper!”

He stopped and looked sheepish as he grinned. “Oops. Sorry. But it’s dead now!”

Amanda didn’t doubt him with how hard he had hit the thing. She groaned, not sure she ever wanted to wear his “weapon” again. And now the trap with the dead mouse was flipped over and stuck to the linoleum, thanks to the vigorous beating it had taken. She shook her head. “You’re cleaning that up since you flipped it over.”

“Aw, man!”

Jared took care of the trap and mouse as Amanda cleaned Justin’s foot and finished getting lunch together. Now that the panic was over, she kept laughing as she thought about how crazy the whole thing must have looked.

“If only there had been a video camera!”

Friday, November 5, 2010

Talent


The tortilla soup smelled great as Amanda turned off the stove and scooped some into the blender. She hadn’t used the blender very much and was excited to do so again.

Hold the lid, press the button…

Whrr-SPLAT!

She gasped as hot soup flew everywhere, but she somehow managed to keep the lid on and turn the blender off. It grew quiet as she stood there for a minute in disbelief, the soup dripping off the counter onto the floor.

What the heck?? How’d that happen? She opened it and looked at the soup, then replaced the lid. Maybe I just need to hold the lid tighter. She pressed the pulse button so it would only run for a split second when she pressed the puree button again.

Whrr-SPLAT!

“Ow!!” Amanda pranced around the kitchen before turning the cold water on full blast to rinse the hot soup off her wrist. As it took the sting away, she surveyed the mess. Soup on the sink. And on the clean dishes. And the counter, cabinets, rug…and herself. A red mark was beginning to show where the soup had almost burned her.

“Wow. That takes talent.” She shook her head. Apparently the hot air built up enough pressure in the blender that it forced the lid open when turned on.

I swear I’ve made more messes in my own kitchen than I did in all the years with Mom and Dad. This mess topped them all, though. A dropped spoon that slung melted chocolate all over the rug. Twice dropping eggs on the floor. Spilled water on the floor from sneezing while walking with an open pitcher. And an over-full quiche that spilled egg mess three times before Amanda managed to get it in the oven. The list went on and she had a feeling it wasn’t going to end with this bigger mess.

She swiped some soup off the side of the blender and licked her finger. Oh well. At least it still tastes good. She grinned. Besides, isn’t it true that a messy cook makes a good cook?