Thursday, June 17, 2010

Survival Skills

It comforts me as a mother, to know that if I were to become incapacitated for a period of time, my children could take care of themselves (at least until Josh came home).

Just this morning, Yaks spilled orange juice on his favorite "Crabby Crawl" t-shirt (pictured below). Instead of crying about it or asking me to clean it, he simply took it off, tossed it in the dryer and pressed start. Problem solved. So, if something were to happen to me, he could take over the laundry.

I think I'll leave the cooking to Boo. She'd be sure all the kids ate the proper amounts of dairy by feeding them cheese sticks, Yoplait "flower" (vanilla) yogurt, milk with every meal, and chocolate ice cream for dessert. Yaks' tastes are a bit more complicated. He prefers concoctions of substances, such as this (photo taken a few months ago)

I think the dish is called, "Mom May Never Nap Again"
(Pancake mix, powdered sugar, cinnamon, crystal light, italian seasonings, and green food coloring)

Yaks could also use his lashing skills to fashion a bow and arrow and hunt for food.


I wish I could remember what that red plug was for.
It had a specific purpose, and I cannot remember what it was.
Drat.

Boo's skill set would be in the medical and personal hygiene field. She was so proud of herself for getting this elastic band around her princess doll's hair. It only took her about 20 minutes, and her doll was holding still! At least she can have a little empathy for when I try to fix her hair.

She also knows how to apply no less than seven band-aids to a rug burn, and will even use them as tape in a pinch. Most importantly, she's taught Yaks the survival skill of camouflage. Let me explain:

Although our street is relatively quiet (small town, you know), we do get cars coming or going. I noticed that whenever a car would approach, Boo would say, "Hurry, stand like a statue!".


And they would strike a pose of this sort. An arm outstretched, often gazing at the sky to avoid eye contact.
When the car was a safe distance away, they would calmly resume their activity. You can't be too careful around "strangers" these days.

Diddles is still discovering her gifts. Any ideas on how she could use this skill?


3 comments:

Dianna said...

I love it! Those are all great skills. The statue pose is so funny. One time I told my brother to rip his clothes, put dirt on his face, and sit by our lemonade table in a slump so we could boost our sales by appealing to the public's pity. It didn't work but it was fun watching him from the safety of the front door - notice I didn't rip my clothes etc. Keep these great posts coming. Your kids are a neverending supply of great material. I think Diddles' talent could be used in the laundry area to throw more orange juice saturated clothes into the dryer!

Amy said...

Great idea, Dianna! I hadn't thought of that. We could use all the laundry help we can around here!

Sarah said...

Clever post!! How was I late reading that?
It just gave me some greatly needed laughs to end my day.
Great kids.