Time For a Break, Ladies

As I sit at the computer, one daughter is balanced on each leg, one chewing my hand that is wrapped around her waist as drool cascades down my wrist and the other is trying to climb me and help me type. I am calling a Mommy Break. Here is a cute video called "The Twelve Days of Christmas Break" by Jen Singer. Enjoy.

Goodnight One and All

Every night I tuck in 15 little ones. No, I don't have 15 kids (can you imagine???).

When my daughter got her own room (about 4 months ago), we didn't want to put a lot of stuff in it. Why? She just turned 2 in August and I've heard horror stories about children climbing furniture and having the furniture falling on them (I know you should secure it to the wall but I have thoughts about what if the straps fail...) and because I've read not too have to much in their room because you want them to sleep there and not play. She has a shelf with stuffed animals and knickknacks, her toddler bed, and a basket with stuffed animals.

Somehow she has managed to take every stuffed animal and doll in the house and pile them into her bed. I have tried sneaking one or two out at a time and she knows. How in the world is that possible? I've tried putting a few in the basket while she is downstairs, thinking she'll be okay since they are in the room with her, but oh, no, they must be in bed with her. She's even tried sneaking her three month old sister's stuffed animals into her bed. There is princess dolly, baby dolly, grammy dolly (a doll my MIL made for her), teddy, Easter bunny, bear, Leap frog froggy, puppy, big puppy, froggy blanket, Panda, ostrich, bunny, and the list goes on. She barely fits in the bed with all of the stuffed animals. Most of them are piled at the foot of her bed. Usually at some point in the night we hear a THUNK. We tense with our heads tilted, waiting for the crying to begin. When we hear none, we look at each other, say "it must have been a doll" and go back to what we were doing.

Beans for a Snack

My daughter this evening asked my husband for beans. She was referring to M & Ms. She thought they were beans. When my husband told her they were M & Ms. She looked at him and said Emmy. I guess I shouldn't call her my little M & M (EM is her nickname) any more since I seem to be confusing her.

Staying Sane in the Midst of Chaos

Did you ever wonder if you have more than your share of bad luck? It is as though Murphy's law was written just for me. Nothing seemed to go right yesterday. I attempted to give my 2 month old her vitamin (through a dropper of course). I set her in her swing where she loves to be thinking she would be more agreeable there. Note to self: Don't attempt this after just nursing her. It was going really well. I was dispensing it slowly. My older daughter used to hate this and would just spit it out. It has a horrendous cherry smell (probably why I am not fond of anything cherry, a holdover from my own childhood). I digress. As I finished squeezing the contents of the dropper into her mouth, she projectile vomited everywhere. At that moment I hear my two year old from the other room yelling out, "Mommy I got poopies". Seriously, Calgon take me away. I. MEAN. NOW.

Which crisis do I handle first? My youngest daughter whose clothes are soaked with vomit (who is smiling at me, can you believe it?) or my oldest who is known to strip off her clothes and go running around the room after having a poopy diaper? Since my oldest is getting better about keeping her clothes on, thank you potty training, I dealt with my youngest first and kept an ear and an eye out for a streaker. Needless to say I got both girls cleaned up and changed within ten minutes. I'm learning how fast I can really hustle when the need arises.

Is My Nose Growing

Should I feel guilty lying to my two year old, again. Nah. Is it really lying when it is for her own good? Seriously, how often in the course of a day do we lie to our kids? "Yes, dear, Dora is tired this morning and is still sleeping. She, Mickey Mouse, Oso, and all their friends were at a party last night so they didn't get to bed until late." It's nighty-night time for them. Yep, that is why you can't watch tv, my little addict. No one told me that once I opened the door to tvland that I would never be able to shut it again. O.K. maybe they did warn me and I just refused to listen. I did what I had to do in my last trimester before my second daughter was born. Yes, sitting my oldest in front of the tv for more than one hour a day is partly how I survived that time. I never meant for my child to be able to recite the lineup on Disney on weekday mornings.

What was my point, again??? Oh, yes, the lies we tell our children. Do we feel guilty for those little white lies. No, at least I don't. Okay so sometimes I feel a little niggle of guilt but I try to ignore it and tell myself she's too young to remember. It gives my husband and I a laugh sometimes when she wants to watch Dora and we tell her no. She looks at us. We wait for the tantrum to begin. But, all she says is, "tv...nappers". Yes, my little darling, the tv is tired and needs to take a nap.