Keeping Up With The Little Man

Does anyone out there have any ideas as to activities that I can do with my 13-month-old, who’s at home all day… and within a very limited space? I have tried coloring, but he gets more crayon in his mouth than he does on the paper. I tried playing hide and seek, but he follows me everywhere and clings to my leg like a little monkey, so I really can’t hide from him. I tried to teach him about colors and shapes, but he takes the book from me, pretends to read it… and proceeds to eat it. He does the same with story books. We have tried singing and dancing, learning tunes, and following Elmo and Barney, but he’s done with that in 5 minutes. We tried playing with trucks, but he gets bored after 2 seconds. We tried playing with puppets, but he just wants to take them from me. He does the same with stuffed animals. He’s a really smart little man (he tried brushing his own teeth today- with the right up-down motion, too!!), so it’s getting quite challenging. Also, we can't really leave the house for too long, since he has a two-month-old sister... so any outdoor activities -especially in this heat- are restricted to about 30 minutes or so (because that's as long as it's humanly possible for me to deal with both of them at the same time in public!).

Any ideas would be great!!!!

Today on 'Richelle 77031'

We found out that Richelle has already taken the time to sound off on me to everyone who will give her the time of day. What she doesn't understand is just how incredibly annoying all this is -to everyone! After this particular episode, I have been approached by many of our mutual acquaintances and told just how tired they are of her continuous attempts to be vicious and brutal to others. Many of them have been victimized by her in the past and put through her *people grinder*, so they speak from the heart. In fact, I have had to change the subject of Richelle on a few ocassions out of plain embarrassment for her. Now, for me this is not about taking sides- I would NEVER put the people I love in that kind of pickle- but I know she tallies her life's worth on what others think about her... so -for her- this is a way to test other people's loyalties. What we call in high school a 'Popularity contest'. Soooooo sad!!!!

Honestly, I wish I had the kind of time that she obviously has... although -technically- she should be working. I would love to be able to volunteer with Child Advocates, or go to the homeless shelter and cook some meals. I would just LOVE to do volunteer work with cancer patients in the hospital's art program... hell, I would love the time to just breathe a little. Seriously. There's just so much hatred and violence in this world already, why bring it into your life? Again, soooo very sad!!!!

Anyway, and to finish the story off, I got a call from a lawyer today. A very nice young man who was entertained –yet concerned- by the severity of the wrath of Richelle over something so childish. Without my need to go into details with him, I sensed he was genuinely concerned for our safety. I couldn’t help but feel a bit ridiculous and think that I was wasting his time. All things aside, I think he picked up the anxiety in my voice so he demanded that I be on the lookout for certain verbage in any additional emails from Richelle, or any in further communication she might attempt, including phone calls. I am to call the sheriff’s department the moment such communication arrives to file a restraining order.

I think this makes for the season finale of ‘Richelle 77031’……