Storm Warning...

Step on a crack, break your mama's back! If you cross your eyes they will stay that way! And of course...the most used parental "warning" Santa's watching!

I actually remember carefully walking around the block paranoid that if my tiny toes touched a crack in the sidewalk, my mom would pay the price.  As a parent, I literally cannot wait to bust out the Santa warnings.  In fact, I mentioned him today.  Yep, on July 28 we had our first Santa threat. A little Christmas in July if you will.  "To get presents from Santa, you have to give him all your bb's (pacifiers)."  I'm pretty sure Colin doesn't even understand who Santa is and what he does, but he sure as heck wasn't buying it today as he yelled "nooooo" while furiously sucking on his pacifier. 

Side note, this reminds me that I need to buy an Elf on the Shelf for the upcoming holiday season.  I might have noticed just a few* posts on Pinterest last year for creative ways to position the Elf around the house (*understatement of the year). 

Some kids are afraid of the dark (or some adults, ahem, me), some fear characters in costume, others are afraid of falling asleep alone.  My kid?  Oh, he's afraid of "THE STORM".

The storm?  Like, as in thunderstorm?  Thunder, lightning, heavy rain?

No. He loves those. 

The storm.  Like, as in the 100% completely made up phrase Pat coined for the crack in the couch cushion. 

I have no idea how this started?  Or how Pat came up with this? Or why he'd instill this completely irrational fear into our toddler about a COUCH?

Regardless, it's turned into quite the event at our house.

First Colin will quietly declare,"I'm not afraid of the storm".  Then, pull us into the living room, point to the couch and ask us to "touch it".  A back and forth ensues in which we tell Colin how scared we are of "the storm", he laughs, he screams, he runs around in circles. 

Then we dramatically reach our hands in between the couch cushions, scream, and chaos ensues!  It's a mixture of fear, excitement, surprise, and always results in uncontrollable laughter. 

Colin pointing to..."the storm"



Colin claiming "I'm not afraid"

Pat pushing Colin into "the storm"

Ahhhhh!

"Again?"

I can't tell if Colin is seriously scared of "the storm", or if he's bluffing. 

At this point, it doesn't matter....as long as for the next ten years he doesn't know I'm bluffing about Santa.