Coffee for the Shower

My mornings begin the same way that mornings begin for other mothers.  I have to drag myself out of bed so that I can BOMB my Heathens out of bed on time.

Heathen #1 is not friendly in the morning.  At the Zoo, waking him up is referred to as "poking the bear."

Waking up Heathen #3 is taking your
own life in your hands.

Heathen #2 pops out of bed like fresh daisy in the morning.  Many times, he wakes me up.  "Momma, it's 6:30 and you aren't out of bed yet.  We are gonna be LATE."

Heathen #2 wakes up on his own and is
disgustingly cheerful.

Heathen #3 is somewhere in the middle.  He wakes up pleasant, but he wakes up very slowly and needs to be constantly prodded to get out of bed and dressed.

Heathen #3 has to be dragged out of bed,
but is not physically dangerous like Heathen #1.

After the morning battle has been waged (and WON!), and the Heathens have all boarded their buses and been whisked away to be someone else's trouble for a few hours, I trudge into the kitchen.

I may have already downed about 4 cups of coffee during the morning battle, but I will start a new pot.  And a cup of coffee goes to take a shower with me.  It is delightful to enjoy my coffee in w hot shower, and listen to the silence that has taken over the Zoo...

Recently, I forgot my empty coffee cup on the shelf in the shower.  Heathen #2 went to shower in the evening and brought me the cup.  He wanted to know why I was drinking coffee in the shower.

My response...  because I can.

Duct Tape INVASION

A few months ago, Heathen #2 developed a love of Duct Tape.  I don't have a clue as to where he first saw it.  One day, there was only the Asst. Zookeeper's duct tape in the house.  The next, Heathen #2 was watching youTube videos on how to make things.  It quickly turned into an addiction and became ALL he wanted to talk about.

Wallets, flowers, bows were all constructed of duct tape.  He quickly exhausted the Zoo's supply and was begging me to buy more.  So when I ran into the Dollar Tree for thank you notes, I saw a bin and grabbed him several roles.  Quite proud of myself for remembering, I presented Heathen #2 with my purchase.

Ten minutes later, Heathen #2 brought me back the tape.  I then received a lesson in why the brand of tape I had purchased was of poor quality (See Mom?  It doesn't tear easily.  It is too thin and it leaves all of these strings.  Duck Brand duct tape doesn't do THAT.)  He used the same voice for me that you use with small children while explaining why they shouldn't eat crayons.  I think of it as the "HOW could you be so stupid" voice. 

He then gave me back the generic tape and told me he would wait until we went to the store again.  So much for scoring "Momma points."

Yesterday after school, he spent the entire evening working on his Halloween costume.  His choice of costume has changed frequently over the past few months.  But it has always included "made of Duct Tape" or a "Duct Tape..." as part of it.  For example: a Duct Tape vampire, an army man made of Duct Tape.

Looks like it will be a Duct tape Halloween.