The Letter "No" and the Toilet Master.

We were practicing Kiefer's spelling test when I decided I couldn't stand how his little "n"'s looked like "h"'s, so I took matters into my own hands.  We practiced n's hand over hand, and when he still forgot the concept of staying below the dotted line and starting at the top of your letter, I told him a story...

A story he can relate to, about a baby "n".  "n" stood for "no".  The baby "n" isn't allowed upstairs.  Upstairs is the place above the dotted line.  No going upstairs baby n!  Kiefer is giggling away as I explain that the dotted line is the baby gate to keep the baby downstairs.  We do some more n's.  Now I teach him the curve that goes with the n.  I tell him the baby "n" loves going upstairs so much, it reaches up and kisses the baby gate before going back down.  Kiefer is in a fit of giggles once again as we practice more "n's",  and I have a "yessss, I'm an awesome mom" moment.  For a brief moment.  

A very brief moment. 

All this talk about babies makes me realize that mine is no longer underfoot, and I know exactly where she is.  "ANEA!"  I exclaim.  Keyon starts giggling right away and chases after me as I charge up stairs, hoping I'd made it in time.

I hadn't.  My guess is she had been up there for at least a minute.  It was the worse one I'd seen yet.  The toilet hadn't been flushed and water was all over the toilet.  My eyes take in the peed in toilet, the pee water covered the toilet seat, and then my gaze follows her soaked sleeves all the way up to the toothbrush she held in her grubby hands.  A toothbrush I swore I threw out a few weeks ago, and either way, had been fished out of the garbage at one time or another.  A toothbrush that, if my deduction reasoning is up to par, I'm guessing was swirled around in the toilet before being placed in her mouth.  She just stood their grinning, her toilet water styled hair askew and a her toilet-water-garbage toothbrush dangling from her mouth, while Keyon jumped up and down, giggling and shouting his lastest nickname for her.  "Toilet Master!  Toilet Master!  Toilet Master!"

You may think you have an idea of the thoughts that went through my head at that moment, but my guess is you'd be a little off, for the first thought that ran through my head was, "I knew I shouldn't have bothered getting her dressed this morning!  All that work matching her entire outfit..."

So I stripped her, bathed her in the sink, redressed her, fed her, cheered at Kiefer's sweet "n's" and now I am thinking that baking cookies, banana bread and washing my floor can all wait for another day.  It's time for the Toilet Master's nap and to finish practicing Kiefer's spelling test.