I’m really trying to work on getting the kids to let me talk on the phone. I know, to them, it’s completely perplexing for me to walk around with a plastic thing held up to my face, shushing them. Still. It’s amazing how they’ll all be completely fine and then the minute I pick up the phone, they all start screaming and crying. I don’t even say, “Hello?” anymore, but just let the collective kid wail indicate that yes, I am here, and you can start talking, but I probably won’t be able to hear you. It’s amusing to the people I talk to on the phone the most (my mom and Dave), but not so much people calling to confirm dental appointments.
So, Henry, being the oldest, mostly understands what he’s supposed to do if I’m on the phone. But sometimes he feels like he really has an urgent message to convey, so he’ll bring me a note. This one is my favorite, not only for the content, but also for the fact that he clearly first just wrote “Eli’s eating chocolate chips” and then decided to make it more important by adding in “too much.”
i stumbled upon your blog about a year ago and since then i have been enjoying reading your posts :). i especially love the way you write your posts on parenting – i find them hilarious :)!….by the way, i can totally relate to this post – i have 2 little boys and i try to leave most of my phone calls to a time when either – one, or at best, both(!) of them are sleeping or to times when we go on a neighborhood walk…of course, neither of the alternatives are smooth-runners, especially the walking one, mainly because other interruptive factors are always envolved – our dog, our dog with other dogs, our neughbors, our neighbors and our dog, etc…
Thanks! I suppose there must be a way to get the kids to ignore you when you’re on the phone, but I can be hiding in a corner of the basement dialing very quietly, while they’re all in the attic listening to loud music, and as soon as I start talking they all appear, whining and demanding smoothies.