One of these days

Maybe one of these days I'll get used to Ian's penchant for trouble.  One day last week, in preparation for Halloween, I was getting the kids' costumes together.  Ian decided to be a ghost, so I had a couple of white pillowcases out and about to put it together.  I had just come up from downstairs with a load of laundry and left the door to downstairs open.  (If you are my Grandmother, who constantly frets over the dangers of the stairs, even from a few hundred miles away, or my Mother-in-Law, who prays daily to protect the kids from the possible accident of falling down the stairs, stop reading now.)  I went into the kitchen to set up my costume making operation when I heard a scream followed by several loud bumps and bangs.  Instantly I knew Ian was falling down the stairs, but couldn't get to him fast enough to do anything about it.  At the time, I was scared to death and my knees were shaking like crazy.  But now that its been while and I know he was okay, I can see the situation in a little different light.  When I rounded the corner and saw Ian at the bottom of the stairs, I quickly saw what had happened.  Ian had put a white pillowcase over his head and was stumbling around the living room pretending to be a ghost.  But with no eye holes, he couldn't see where he was going and walked right off the landing at the top of the stairs.  Not only that, but the poor kid had his arms trapped at his side (inside the pillowcase, remember?) so he couldn't stop or catch himself.  Fortunately he didn't have anything worse than a bright purple bruise on his hip bone.  There is no doubt he is my child.  

Later that same day, Ian and Merry Grace were playing in my closet while I was out in my room folding clothes.  They love to hide behind my clothes, so I didn't think anything about it, until once again I heard a loud crash.  I ran into the closet and found Ian and Merry Grace lying on the closet floor on their backs, my lower closet rod and all the clothes hanging on it, smushed right on top of them, hangers jutting out every which way.  "What in the world?!" I said, to which Ian replied, "I was just doing a flip."  Good grief.  Too bad he didn't reccognize it for what it was, mistaking it for a gymnastics bar instead. :)

This past Sunday we went down to Cory's folks house for the day.  We pulled up to their house, only no one was home.  So the kids and I sat in the car while Cory tried to get inside.  Ian climbed into the front seat and was playing around like he always does.  All of a sudden I realized the car was moving forward.  It took me a second to figure out what had happened--it truly did shock me--and slammed the gearshift back into park...just as the car rolled into the brick side of their house.  Just then, Cory raised the garage door and saw the van touching the house.  Unbelievable.  Yep, Ian had put the car in drive and rolled us right into the house.  I guess the van wasn't any worse for wear, considering the other things that have happened to it and the house is fine.

So, maybe one day I'll get used to Ian's messes.  But it doesn't look like that day is coming anytime soon!!!