Noah and the Flood and Don't Forget the Animals

I have always hoped that Noah would follow the pattern of Noah and the Ark verses the wicked King Noah, but I am not sure I knew what that would mean. Noah loves to take showers in the mornings prior to attending school, (although if he had his choice, he would still prefer to stay in bed.) Some days he will just stand up and lean against the glass and let the warm water flow over his "I'm just not ready to get up" body. I usually wash his hair and he insists on 2 or 3 washcloths to protect his eyes from the "tear free" soap. He'll toss one down and grab another. Then it is his job to finish up--neck to toe. I then leave to go get ready myself and pack his lunch.

Before leaving the bathroom, the washcloths had covered the drain and Noah thought standing in a puddle was rather fun. I pulled the washcloths to the side so the water could drain and then explained to him why he needed to be careful.

While brushing my teeth downstairs the thought came--"Go check on Noah." The thought may have even come again, but I knew Rick was in bed and if Noah needed anything, he could and would ask his father. So, I brushed it off. It wan't long before I heard a noise... a rush of some sort and I could not figure out what it was. I stepped out into the kitchen and water was pouring out of the light fixture. Immediately, I yelled "Noah!' but what was yelling going to do? The flood was here and I did not take steps to prevent it. Sure enough, by the time I got to the top of the stairs, there was innocent Noah sitting in his puddle of water.

What I learned from Noah: You can't leave him with cookies in his hand and not expect him to eat them, you need to take them away--remove them--be firm. I should have taken his wash cloths.

What I learned from Rick: It is not a good idea to soak up water on the carpet with a navy blue towel and a few other things.:)

So, we were out looking at homes and Rick decided to call one of his friends that happened to live in the area. Rick and Noah (dressed as a Pirate???) stopped at his door. The gentleman was more than happy to walk us through his home, no his lodge, no his mansion, no maybe his museum. I could not fully appreciate the mass of his home until he stood at his own majestic door. He looked the part of the needle in the haystack and believe me when I say, he is fit. He does everything extreme--helicopter skiing, big game hunting in Alaska...so it was unusual for me to picture him so small.

We stepped into the family room and I felt as if I had lost 20 pounds in comparison. There upon the whatever foot walls were mounted animals of the wild. I wish I had taken the time to count the variety of heads and asked the names of each. I could recognize a few deer, antelope, buffalo, rams, cougars...mind you, these are animals that he has killed and not just trophies he had purchased at Cabellas.

Then he took us to the lower level--Noah was in stuffed animal heaven. There before our eyes stood a full size Mountain Ram and full size Brown Bear. Noah wanted to pet them and climb on their backs, but I said emphatically "NO!" and not why it is not a good idea as I had done earlier with the flood. Noah does have a love for animals of all sorts and now we know where to gather the animals for the next flood, but what about the Ark? Easy, we stepped into the lower level garage and there was a nice sized boat to enjoy while on their elegant houseboat in Powell. We are covered:) The home was ornate and decorated in grand scale. Noah kept asking me if certain things were real gold. I think he was on a treasure hunt and I hope we did not leave with anything belonging to Rick's friend.

What I learned from Noah: Dress like a Pirate, have an adventure and discover a treasure like a pirate and if there is a flood--we have a Noah, some animals, and Jeff's houseboat in Powell.

Obstacle Course

I have been so busy with my little projects. I am not proud to say that Noah has had to entertain himself at times. One evening while working on "Once Upon a Pig Chaser,"Noah got bored. His dad was on the computer as well. We busily worked away and Noah had it in his mind that he wanted to do an obstacle course.

He set up cones in the kitchen, filled buckets with water, and so forth. I did happen to watch him run it a few times.  In and out of the cones and then dipped his head in the first bucket of water, and then to the next bucket of water and on to the finish line. It was not the cleanest of activities, but I wasn't going to complain as I was getting some work done.

Rick came out and saw all the water on the floor..."and you let him do this?" "Yes I did!" I needed to mop the floors anyway.

What I learned from Noah: Sometimes the obstacle course is the obstacle, but the floor looked nice at the end of the day.

Yard Sale

I have been going through our closets and toys for items to sell. Rick's unemployment and the recession has taken it's toll. "Kid 2 Kid" will take items that are in good condition and buy them from you. I started rounding up the items. Some were hard to part with like Noah's high chair, but rediculous to hold on to--when would I ever use that again? Noah could see what was going on and I'm not so sure he was happy that I was going to sell some of his toys and clothes. He can barely get his big toe in his Cowboy Boots and he swears that they still fit him and he will wear them tomorrow.

I then went over to "Kid 2 Kid." They were looking over the items when my phone rang. "Mom, how do you spell yard sale? I want to have a yard sale today?" "Hunny, I'm busy at the cash register, I'll be home in a moment to help you then."That answer was not satisfactory enough. He continued his pleadings and I was left with no choice, I had to hang up.

By the time I arrived home, Noah had gathered a box full of stuff. I guess he didn't have such a hard time parting with toys when money was involved. Each item had a homemade price tag carefully placed on it. There was a wood plaque with the words "Yard Sale" in large black letters. I was really impressed with his ingenuity. If only Rick or myself were as ambitious as he was, we might not be in this delimma.

I convinced him that a yard sale needed time, planning, advertising and so forth and that weekends are better. I knew he would be disheartened if he didn't have customers and he was selling things like his "Happy Meal" toys. The next weekend it happened to rain, so we have been able to bypass the yard sale for the time being.  One day, maybe one day...

What I learned from Noah: He is an entrepreneur in the making.