Day 10: Toddler Activities

Javi is a little social butterfly. He thrives on interaction with other people, and for the most part is super happy and gets along great with other kids. He'd love it if we went somewhere every day and saw people.

I'm much more of a homebody, and my ideal day is staying home and working on projects. I make the effort to get out of the house because I know it helps Javi, but the reality right now is that we can't get out every day. Some days are just tired days, ya know?

So yesterday I worked on a list of activities that Javi and I can do together that are out of the ordinary, but not too difficult to accomplish in this stage of life. (This means that almost all of them can be done one handed, with a baby in the other arm!) Here's what I came up with:

• Playdough


• Watercolors


• Make roads for cars with masking tape on floor


• Blow up balloons and play volleyball


• Throw ice cubes onto cement and watch them break


• Cut up paper and use glue sticks to glue the pieces onto paper


• Make pizza dough (let Javi help!) and then let him play with the dough


• String pool noodles on a rope


• Stuff a water bottle with sticks


• Thread pipe cleaners through a colander


• Marshmallow shooters


• Blow bubbles


• Stamps and a stamp pad


• Dominoes - talk about colors, count dots, set them up and knock them over


• Tinkertoys


• Blokus


• Poker Chips (make towers, sort colors, make patterns)


• Hi Ho Cheerio

Pinterest can be overwhelming and frustrating sometimes, especially when it makes it seem that perfection is the "norm." But for something like this, coming up with ideas for toddler activities, it is the bomb. I spent about an hour looking for ideas yesterday, and now I have a fun list we can refer to when we need something to mix it up!

Day 8: 0n Finding Time to Clean

Most days so far I have found some time to clean. Or have the house picked up. Or have dinner made. I don't think I've achieved all three on any given day since we brought baby girl home. Or really, for a few weeks before that. I cleaned like an obsessive compulsive germophobe those last few weeks of pregnancy, but I think I only cooked dinner once.  So as I learn to juggle my two babes, along with the demands of housekeeping, here are a few things that are working for me:

1. Lower my expectations My goal is to get through each day with all of us fed, clean and not vegged out in front of the TV all day, not to have a clutter-free, spotless house.

2. Make smaller goals. Instead of "clean all the downstairs floors and vacuum", my goal for the day will be "vacuum living room rug." I then get bonus points if I do more than just the one rug. Winning!

3. Keep up with the dishes. Because we don't have a dishwasher, this is an area that can get out of hand really quickly, and then I feel like the house is really out of control. Case in point, my sink is full right now, we're out of spoons, and the glasses are breeding like rabbits on the counter. :)

4. Involve my toddler. Javi loves to clean, so it's pretty easy to hand him a rag and have him "help." And you know, he's actually becoming quite helpful!

5. Efficient, but not too efficient! I constantly fall into the trap of "Oh, I need to take out the kitchen garbage, it stinks. Oh, that reminds me, the basement garbages are full. Let me go grab those. And there's that bag in the attic that needs to be thrown out." And then by the time I've gathered all the garbage, the babies are awake or need something and now none of the garbage gets taken out. So I'm focusing on the most pressing things (stinky kitchen garbage!) so that I am completing some task when I have the time.

Those are some of the tips that are working for me right now. What are some of your best tips for efficient cleaning?

Day 7: 0n The Hard Days

If you look at the picture up there, you'd think we had the perfect morning. According to that picture, all three of us were happy and joyful all morning long! But the reality is that it was a really tough morning.



Last Friday both of the kids decided to skip their afternoon nap. After about an hour I gave up, brought them both downstairs, and turned on a movie to help the afternoon go by. It was rainy and yucky outside, so it was the perfect weather for snuggling. Fast forward to this morning, and Javi hadn't taken a good nap since Thursday and had stayed up super late on Saturday evening because Uncle Dan was in town. Toss in a 5 week old who is transitioning to a new schedule (what it will be, no one knows!) and it was...challenging.



I gave myself pep talks, but it didn't make things much easier. Javi was so tired that nothing could keep his attention more than a couple of minutes, and everything frustrated him. I pulled out the camera to snap a picture of Keilana in her cute little dress, and Javi perked right up. Picture?

So I set up the tripod and we took silly pictures for a few minutes. We laughed hysterically, made silly faces, and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. It was wonderful.



And no, the morning did not really improve after that. There was still whining and tantrums and lots of crying. "Afternoon" naptime became : it's 12:01! Time for bed! They are both sleeping like little angels now, and I'm soaking up the quiet.

When I look back on these pictures, I want to remember those moments of laughter in the midst of a difficult day. I want to hold on to that precious time. But I also want to remember that we took those pictures on a hard day that stretched me. Because, as one of my favorite quotes says,

"You never see the hard days in a photo album, but those are what get you from one happy picture to the next."

Day 6: 0n Loving the Little Moments

I love when a photo perfectly captures our life right now, and this photo is one of those. A messy room is the reality these days, but the important part of this picture? Those cute kiddos and handsome hubs in the middle. My blessings. :)

 

Day 5: The Week In Review

Favorite Moment of the Week:  I was sitting on the couch nursing Keilana, when Javi crawled up next to us, sat down and leaned his head on my shoulder. Then he kissed Keilana on the head. Melted my little heart, I tell ya.



What Javi is doing: Adding words to his vocabulary every day - some notable ones: apricot, floor, bless you! on and off Also, eating without making a colossal mess!



What Keilana is doing: Holding her head up and looking around wide eyed, and sleeping longer and longer stretches at night!



 

Day 4: 0n Feeling Inadequate

It sneaks up on me in the most unlikely of times. As I'm falling asleep at night in bed. I didn't get enough done today. When I am playing cars on the floor with Javi.  I should be teaching him his colors right now, while we play with these cars.  When I am doing the dishes. I should be holding Keilana right now. In the middle of dealing with a tantrum. I don't know how to handle this.

I so often struggle with feeling like I am not up to the task of mothering these little munchkins.  When I stop to consider the fact that, together with Lover, I am their greatest influence during their formative years, my heart races. What if I royally screw this up? How will they look back on their childhood? Will they have conversations with their friends when they are adults, discussing all of the ways that I failed them?

I haven't found the way to beat these feelings completely. I write out verses that contradict the thoughts in my mind, and tape them up on the wall  so I can focus on the truth. I'm working on dwelling on my successes, not my failures. And this reminder from Lover, written on the mirror above my dresser, makes me smile.



So I repeat it to myself in my head when those thoughts creep in. And I thank God for giving me a husband that encourages me to set aside my fears, and is a rock for me to depend on.

Day 3: 0n Dirty Jeans

Both kids are loaded up in the car, so I quickly run inside for my purse, and the enormous bag of diapers that absolutely MUST go in the trash today. As I walk down the driveway, I realize that there is baby poo dripped all the way down my jeans. But let me back up for a second.

...

Keilana was up most of the night with a stuffy nose that is keeping her (and me! and Lover!) from sleeping... well at all. We get through the night as best we can and Lover kisses me as he heads off to work, both of us bleary eyed. Javi scampers after Lover, chirping bye! daddy! and then runs back in the room, insisting that I come down so we can wave goodbye to Lover. I comply, and Lover is off.

The next hour is a whirlwind of nursing, changing and dressing for all three of us. I'm conflicted about how warmly we should dress, tricky fall temperatures have made me get it wrong for the last several days. Once the kids are dressed, I stand in front of my closet trying to figure out what to wear. I settle on a comfy shirt that works for nursing, and my one pair of clean(ish) jeans that fits. Keilana wants to nurse again, so I pull on the clothes and sit down to nurse. Two seconds later, she's blown thru the clothes I just dressed her in, and I'm rushing to the changing table. I get her changed head to toe and ball up clothes and the changing cover to throw in the wash. On my way back to our bedroom I notice a few drips of poo on the floor, so I clean those up too.

the scene of the crime

We go downstairs, and the non milk eaters get breakfast. I make sure I have extra diapers and clothes for KK in my bag, and I load up the kids.

...

So now I am standing in the driveway, jeans covered in poo, evaluating my options. Option A) Pretend I didn't see the poo - no, Jenny, seriously, you are better than that. Option B) unload kids, bring them inside, change clothes as quickly as possible. There's no way I'm loading and unloading them both again, besides, I don't have anything else that's clean and fits. !@#$%#@! So I settle on Option C) Dash inside, scrub as much as I can off with a washcloth, and resign myself to the reality that I'm heading out the door with filthy jeans.

We arrive at the chiropractor without incident, and so far (we're only in the parking lot) we are on time, with five minutes to spare. I unload both the munchkins, and head inside, hefting the carseat with one hand and holding Javi's hand in the other. We encounter a patient leaving, who gives us the once over (oh God, is she noticing my jeans?) and then points out the obvious; "wow, you have your hands full - literally!" I smile uncertainly, and say nothing, grateful she didn't notice the bigger problem.

Our visit goes by as painlessly as possible. I contemplate for a second using the restroom there, but it's tiny and the kids have been so good that I'm not risking it. We head out, load kids up again, and head home.

I have every intention of going straight home, but once we're on the highway, I realize that the further I drive, the longer I get to enjoy the relative silence of the car. So I drive up to the Parkway, then head back down the main road that will eventually get us home.

As I drive, I decide that what I really need today is some kind of coffee frappe. My favorites are from Burger King, but I prefer their Mocha Frappe and Keilana reacts badly to the chocolate. Ah! But I have a coupon for BOGO frappes/smoothies at McDonalds!

I pull into the drivethru, and give them my order. Caramel frappe for me, strawberry banana smoothie for Javi. KayKay turns her nose up at anything besides milk, so she gets nothing. I mention to the crackly voice that I have a coupon.

When I pull up to the window, the total is twice the amount it should be - so I tell them I didn't get my free frappe. The girl argues with me, but then I realize that they rang me up for THREE drinks; two frappes (one free) and one smoothie. She goes to get a manager to correct the problem, and after several back and forths, they get the order right, and I am refunded two dollars and fifty eight cents.

When I get to window # 2, they tell me to pull ahead and they'll bring my drinks "right out." We sit there for eight minutes, and I think to myself that I had time to run in and go the bathroom while we waited. Oh well. Here comes the employee, carrying our *three!* drinks! Yep, I still got two frappes and one smoothie. Whatever. I laugh and drive us to the nearest park with a playground, where Javi can get out some energy.



 

This playground is perfect for a toddler- so while Kay snoozes some more, Javi and I swoosh down slides, bounce on the bridges and spend some time on the swings. While pushing Javi, I contemplate my shoe choice for the day - metallic flats were probably not the best choice for running through mulch. My attempt to empty them out is futile.



We stay for a half hour, and just as we're leaving a man parks his work van and dashes behind a tree. I'm a little grossed out but then I think "well at least he probably wouldn't judge me for having poo covered pants!" We pack up and head home.



Javi sits out on the porch with the smoothie, I snap his picture and start typing this post. But the minute I sit down, I remember that I still haven't made it to the bathroom. Crap, I still can't go, since Javi is outside.



Javi comes over and kisses the laptop screen (why?) and leaves a big old smoothie smooch mark on the screen. I grimace and swipe the screen with my finger, and then - why not? - wipe it on my jeans.

Now please excuse me while I go throw in some laundry. :)