At Home-Part 3: Elmo is Toddler Crack

Tuesday night I went to store after I'd put CJ to bed. We were planning a trip to our local splash pad water park the next day & CJ needed swim diapers. In our back yard he goes au naturale to play in the wading pool but that wouldnt fly in public. I put one of the swim diapers on him from last year but he looked like a sumo wrestler. I love to go for a drive on a cool summer night. It's so relaxing. I just love to roll down the windows and let the night air hit me. It reminds me of whenever we'd travel when I was a kid. We didnt vacation much but the few times we did we travelled by night. My dad worked nights all of my childhood and into early teens. So it was normal for him to be awake all night. Obviously its cooler and with less traffic made it the best choice for us. This was in the day before car seats and the seat belts were just decoration (beginning suggestion that people should wear them). Mom put pillows and blankets in the backseat and I would lay down and eventually drift off to sleep in the cool night air and the sound of the street and radio combined in a strange sort of lullaby. Jay complained I'd been gone for an hour but I could have stayed out much longer. CJ had gotten out of bed, he told me. He heard him fiddling with the door handle but couldnt open it. "Did you put him back to bed?"
"No." Therefore when we went to take WC to bed we had no idea where we'd find CJ in the room. I hoped he hadnt gotten in WC's bed. Jay went to open the door and couldnt. CJ was a sleeping human doorstop. Curled up on the floor with his blanket just behind the door. He didnt wake but stirred a little when he has hit with the door. It would clear his head but the security blanket stopped the door. I was able to squeaze in and then WC. When my sister was small she fell asleep in the living room floor and mom woke her taking her to bed and she spent the next few hours screaming, crying and refusing to go back to sleep. I remembered that I left him in the floor. But didnt like it. He slept there all night. Some point in the wee hours of the morn I heard him stirring and he hit the door a couple times. I couldnt go back to sleep.
We have a public park here that has what we call a splash pad. It's basically a small water park without a pool. Fountains that spray water in the air, water cannons, buckets that fill with water and dump it out, and a tunnel that has sprays of water coming in all directions to run through. WC has a thing about getting water in his face and hates to get water in his eyes. Jay took him there last year and he just stood there crying. A few weeks ago, on the way home, we passed it and he said he wanted to try it again. And he's mentioned it a few times after that wanting to try the splash pad again. Since it was his idea, I decided to take them while I was home this week. My sister decided that she wanted to go too. Yesterday morning she arrived and I sprayed the kids with sunscreen and off we went. They had a good time. WC did wonderfully, even allowed the bucket of water to dump out on his head. He still used mine, then Aunt Cat's shirt to dry his eyes but he didnt cry. CJ wanted to go in but didnt let go of my hand. My clothes were soaked through. I eventually convinced him that he could go in under the water and I'd stay right were I was. So he'd go in for a min or two then run back to me, his home base. I stood next to another woman who also had a two year old out there and CJ ran back, water in his eyes, grabbed her leg and stood there holding her. We laughed because he never figured out that it wasnt me. He let go of her and ran back in. They played about an hour and WC decided he was finished. It was a good time. We sat on our towels to dry- although an hour after I got home my undies were still wet (yes I then changed into dry clothes). After lunch I put CJ to nap and Cat and I watched the Twilight movie. I'd never seen it (or read the book) but she's a fan. I don't get it. But the action was good. I know you have to cut things that are in the book out for movie but I felt it was sort of choppy- I could pin point places where I knew things had to have been cut because the story flow was noticeably interrupted. Being I didnt read the book- that's not good.
Again, last night, we went to put WC to bed and had another human door stop. I dont know why he's getting out of bed and laying down behind his door. This time I did pick him and deposit him gently back into his bed. He stayed asleep. I felt better about it too.
And I have come to the realization that Elmo is a drug for toddlers. He received an Elmo dvd in his Easter basket. He's rarely watched it since. But this week being home with him everyday. He's had to watch it (or at least request it) more and more. We also have an VHS tape of Sesame Street songs (vhs/dvd combo player in our bedroom) and if he can't have the Elmo dvd he starts asking for the Sesame Street tape. Every few hours he gets twitchy and has to have another shot of Elmo. I'm ready to whip that dvd out the door like a Frisbee. I hid the dvd case last night just to see if out of sight out of mind. This morning I woke up to him sitting next to me in bed watching the vhs tape (Jay obviously put it in). I have been getting up the same time I usually do and at least make coffee for Jay. But I was out of it this morning. I can't quite seem to get going this morning. I don't have anything planned for today. Figured we'd just hang out here and I can get some laundry and mopping done (yay).

*Special note: Sending out all my love and prayers to Michele and the beautiful twins her womb, Maya & Bobby. Praise God for the stitch and the doctor who put it in.