Things that go bump in the night

In a house that is populated in part by children, there are those things that go bump in the night. Having spent the past three weeks finding all sorts of things to do around the house that have managed to exhaust me and my family thoroughly, I have actually been forced to pause and pay attention to some of these things that indeed go bump in the night.

There is the prevailing winds that blow the hot weather in and steal it back. Currently, the deck furniture is being blown from one end of the deck to the other. In about thirty minutes, I am going to have a child that will want to wander in from her room as she hates storms. The deck furniture is right below her window too.

Often, I am trying to get myself to bed in the wee hours of the morning. Out of consideration for the sleepers in the house, I attempt the stealthy sneak from the stairs, to the bathroom, quietly brush teeth and hair etc, and then skitter to bed. Once in awhile, though, I am the thing that goes bump in the night. From bruised shins, to damaged toes or catching an elbow on the doorframe, there is something to be said for the benefits of light switches. Perhaps this is why I live in the land of the midnight sun, for a few months I have the option of going to bed in daylight no matter what!

Then, with all the rearranging of furniture and repairinng the dings in the walls, there have been obstacles of an unfamiliar nature. I have paint cans, and sanders. I have spackle and scrapers. Tape and paint brushes adorn various locations. It would be lovely if I could remember where I put the darned things when I am in a hurry or looking for something else. For three weeks, I have dodged the obstacle course, but the girls have not been so lucky. They have sleepily stumbled into paint prints and my eldest has a bruise on her knee that is wickedly pretty.

So, from there you have the cat. She yowls and prowls to the wee hours of the morning. She sings for her supper and demands cleanliness. This brown object of fluff blends into the carpet and prances on your feet in the middle of the night. Definately, she is a force to be reckoned with.

In every house, there are these peculiar things that go bump in the night. Santa Claus and the tooth fairy. Monsters under the bed. The feet from above you as you sip your cuppa before sleep. However, I have to say that lately this house takes the cake.

Tonight, my ambition is to go to bed and to sleep. With no noise...nor storm...nor cat. Fingers crossed!

Where is the Volume Switch?

My ears are ringing. The house is vibrating with the tremors caused by three pairs of feets that are jumping, bouncing and overall behaving in a tiggerish way. There are shrieks and giggles. Laughter and complaints. It sounds like elephants are pounding their way around the house over my head. What is really fascinating is that this is their version of keeping the volume down.

In the van on the way home from school, there was gobblygook speak coming from the mouths that were formerly children. They are now singers, fairies, fairleys and other things. Human doesn't seem to be one of them. They couldn't even hear me when I asked them to be quiet. Sigh. I wonder if the sound of their own voices is damaging to their hearing when they are that loud.

I have the weather channel on currently so that I could see if it was possible to go tobogganing some time soon. I can't hear the weather person, although I can see the lips moving. I can at least see the forecast. I have also turned on the closed captioning for the hearing impaired. I definately fit that bill at the moment. I can can them from two floors away. I can hear them when I shiver and freeze my way to the van to pick up the bag that I forgot. I can hear them - just not the phone ringing, the radio playing, the TV, the kettle popping, or anything else.

How do they do it? How is it that little people can escalate in volume and not notice? How do their teachers cope with the volume levels? Fascinating. And does it damage their hearing? I would be interested to know. These are the happy sounds, excited sounds and imaginations running free. "Lets pretend..."

In the meantime. If you want to talk to me - I can't hear you or anyone else. The children are in the house and they are making sure I pay attention to them. You might have to resort to texting me an email. At least they can't hear me chuckling away . . . they are too loud.