The Buttons

The buttons will be my demise. I can feel it. I can sense it.

It's been two days since I gave Trent the project of organizing the buttons. I thought it would be a fantastic little chore for him to do. I asked him to organize them by color and I gave him some plastic containers to put them in.

Baby Kat thought she was to grab buttons by the handfull and throw them.

I gave Baby Kat a couple of plastic bowls to help organize, too, all while smiling to myself.

My vision was that they would each play "Buttons" happily together.

This wasn't even close.

The bowls were filled and the buttons were thrown, bowl and all.

Trent and I got on our hands and knees and picked up the buttons. While we were picking these up one by one, Baby Kat took the containers that Trent had nearly full and dumped those upside down all over the floor. On the tile floor they scattered everywhere. They slid under the bench, they slid under the bookcase and some jumped into the carpet.

1 step forward, 3 steps back.

We put Baby Kat "away" and picked them up again.

This morning, they seemed to be everywhere again.

I asked Trent if he would keep picking up the buttons. He did without an argument. He obviously had more in store for me.

"What's this one?" he asked me a few minutes later. A button was pinched between his thumb and finger.

"It's a button?" I answered.

"It IS?"

A couple minutes later...

"What's this one?"

"It's another button, just a fancy one."

"Why?"

What kind of question is that? Why? Why what? Why is it fancy? Why is it a button?

A couple minutes later...

"Wow, Mommy! Look at this! It's an umbrella button!"

"Wow, Trent! That's really cool. Please put it in the jar."

A couple minutes later...this time I'm on the toilet.

"MOM! What's this?"

"It's a string of buttons."

"Can you take it apart for me?"

"No. Just put it in the jar."

"Why?"

I literally try to wipe the exasperation away from my face with my hand.

"Please go put it in the jar Trent."

He walks away looking at it in his hand.

I hear, "WOOOOSH". The sound of buttons hitting the tile floor again.

Then I hear, "BABY KAT!!!! NO!!!!"

I can't believe it. I pick up Baby Kat and put her in her crib. I'm sure I'll regret using her crib as "time out", but for now, we have a Button Emergency. I can feel the anxiety creeping up. These buttons MUST be picked up.

As Katrina screams in the background, Trent and I pick up the buttons again. Most of them are picked up so I go to retrieve Katrina from her crib.

You think she would have learned that now is the time to help pick up the buttons. I show her (again) how it's done. You pick up the button, you put it in the box. She surprises me and wipes her hand through the nice pile of buttons Trent has set up and ready to be boxed.

Buttons everywhere again. I was standing RIGHT THERE when it happened. I was right there.

It's been two days. I am a grown woman who has lost control of her button box.

The buttons are still there. I don't know how much longer they will be there for. I can see that someone is going to have to hold Ms. Poop while two others pick up those damned buttons.

So, if you were wondering what plans I had for the weekend....