~ I'm a yo-yo dieter and exerciser (working to overcome)
~ My son loves Veggietales (Larry Boy being his favorite character)
~ We have a treadmill that occupies/collects dust in one of the corners of the living room
~My son loves crayons
~My son loves rocks
~ Crawlers and toddlers have little fingers that fit in little places
~ Marleigh's strength is masked in her small stature
~ Most days we are pretty sure we're crazy for having three kids!
Let the story begin!
Now, out of school for a couple weeks, I decided that a healthy diet and exercise routine must begin! You know it's time when your 4 year-old starts making comments about how you're looking a little chubby! So, today was the day! Having an unplanned late night yesterday, exercising did not take place this morning, but I was determined that it was on as soon as the kids went to bed tonight. I still did well throughout the day though with healthy eating decisions, and honestly looked forward to getting a good workout in for the day.
Bedtime finally rolled around and I filled my water bottle, changed into workout clothes, and popped in a video. Sadly, the video was a little too advanced for me. I've never claimed to be the most coordinated, and this video was out to prove that lack. Still determined to get a workout in, I retrieved the treadmill from the corner, blew off the inch of dust, and plugged it up. Ready to run! One small problem....the treadmill would not power on. Hmm??? I inspected the machine, the cord, and the power outlet, yet found nothing that would give reason for this mild inconvenience. I had to call in reinforcements. Wesley made all the same inspections and could find nothing out of the norm, so we figured it had to be the outlet. Lugging the treadmill across the room, we tried another outlet...once again, without success. Becoming a bit frustrated and now 15 minutes removed from my "start" time, we examined the machine further. I was ready to give up for the night, but if you know my husband then you know he HAD to fix it! It took us a good 10 minutes of further inspection before we finally recognized a small cord that had been pulled from the memory board INSIDE the machine, which was spotted from a tiny hole on the side of the treadmill.
Finding the right size screwdriver took awhile as well, but we found it, took everything apart and stared into the brains of the machine to see which receptor the cord had been pulled from. We found a half-chewed crayon and nice rock collection first before we could spot the receptor. Connecting it quickly, we popped the screws back in and I was FINALLY ready to run. Some not-so-nice thoughts ran through our heads about our two youngest and their hiding spot, but hopefully we were back in business. I was proud the hear the beeping noise of the treadmill as a turned it on and jumped on quickly, now 45 minutes into my "workout".
Oh but wait! It gets better! Not even up to a nice power walk, I realized something was still not right. As long as the belt was moving, it was making a horrible noise. Again, we opened up the brains and took a closer look inside. After further inspection, we decided the noise was coming from the belt. We watched and listened, watched and listened, and finally were able to pinpoint where the noise was coming from. Tucked quite forcibly between the belt and the rolling pins was our little plunger-eared hero.... Larry Boy! I'll let you imagine the frustrations we shared with one another about our precious little miracle, Nate!
At that point, almost one hour past my original workout time, I was ready to throw in the towel and eat some chocolate! But alas, I pushed through.
Always being the best detective in the board game CLUE, these are the conclusions I have made: In the three month time span that the treadmill has not been used, Nate and Marleigh have examined the equipment extensively, and made a comfy play corner. Marleigh yanked on the cord until it came loose thus showing Nate the small hole. After coloring on the belt, Nate tried to chew the crayon to dispose of the evidence, but then remembered the hole that Marleigh had discovered, which happened to be the perfect size for a crayon to fit through, which would officially hide all evidence. It also happened to serve as the safest hiding place for one of the many rock collections that Mommy would have already thrown out the door had she spotted them. Letting his sister Bella in on the hiding place, she became upset that this would hinder her chubby parents from working out and explained to Nate and Marleigh that they must surrender the treadmill corner. Nate would hear nothing of it though. He would fight for that spot! He knew just the guy for the job......Larry Boy! (It was Colonel Nate, in the living room, with the Larryboy figurine!) Ha!
Forget the movie! If you desire a family-fun comedy/drama, just rent my kids for a day! THEY WILL NOT DISAPPOINT!
