The 3 o'clock Meltdown

It seems almost everyday without fail between the hours of 3-4 pm in my house the children go into meltdown mode.

Aiden amps up the whining. Nothing makes him happy, or quiet. He gets louder and more demanding. "I want to watch Kung Fu Panda, it is my FAVORITE!" Nolen also starts whining and crying, for no apparent reason. Maybe he is just jumping on the band wagon.

My theories are that:

• Aiden needs a nap, but if one is taken (we avoid this at all cost) he is up until literally 11 or midnight.
• I am tired, I need a nap. Because of my tiredness I am oversensitive. Perhaps they are not louder and more obnoxious, but I am just experiencing them this way.
• They have had my undivided attention most of the day, and now due to my love of Rachel Ray and Martha Stewart they are inhumanly ignored (at least share some distracted attention) for one hour.

I am working on preemptive strikes for this time of day's unpleasantness. A snack, a sticker book, etc...

But I am not working on it today, because I am tired. And I missed my "mommy time" show, so now I am going to partake in the Cosby show. Lest you think my children are locked in the closet, I will tell you that Aiden and Nolen are sufficiently entertained playing with toys I wanted to get rid of but were spotted hiding in the garage. The old is new again!

Old Perfection

I love getting my Pottery Barn, Crate and Barrel, William Sonoma and various other home decor/appliance catalogs. I make an event out of flipping through them. I love to sit somewhere comfortable and quiet, if at all possible, and sip something warm. I take my time day dreaming of what fabulous things I could do to my house to make it a model of ease, efficiency and beauty. Ahh, perfection in a house.

But alas this perfection for me, for my family, is on hold. I have begun to find a new perfection of ease of use, manageability and keeping things sanitary.

My computer is on the kitchen counter, my big honken, ugly computer, out for the world to grimace at. My entry/formal dining and living area is a hodge podge of toys. There is nothing I hate more than hodge podge in my house. Some people pull of a mishmash of decor absolutely beautifully, I have tried, and without doubt failed. But no matter how I stack, containerize and place perpendicular, they are kids toys, out in the open to greet every visitor.

I fantasize about my boys sharing a room. Two cute little matching beds. They instead have driven me to separate them in order to maximize my sleep time. ANYTHING to get more sleep in this house of babies, toddlers and dogs who threaten every peaceful and clean moment.

But, these things also make my day go more smoothly, and if the planets are aligned, sometimes nights. My house is livable and definitely lived in. And I am learning to like it, but have no fear decorator stores, I will be back...

I Would Love to Hear From You

Being as tech-savvy as I am (not) I didn't realize I had my comments section set so only those with blogger profiles could leave me comments. I have since changed this so anyone can drop me a note on my posts.

I would love to hear from you if you visit my blog.

Have a wonderful day. Hopefully it isn't as gray and rainy where you are!

Tottoos

I came across this on my quest to reach the end of the internet. Personally I thought it was cool, but I am a bit of a worrier/control monger. http://www.tottoos.org/

Our Sled

Every year we debate whether to buy a sled - okay every year since Aiden was big enough to hang onto a sled, so for two years now. And we always decide not to waste our money since the snow here rarely sticks around long enough to sled on. This year Steve wanted to give Aiden his first experience of sledding since we had what this area considers copious amounts of snow.

The best I could do was the laundry basket with a dog leash hooked to it. Off they went - tipping a little. Steve said the first run went well, but the second not so much. Apparently the laundry basket got ahead of steve and he went to stop it unknowingly wiping Aiden around and dumping him out.

"I dont like sledding, ever." Is what Aiden told me when they came back through the door from their adventure.

We vowed if they still have sleds at Costco at our next visit we will buy one.

Battle of the Unders

I maybe wouldn't be so acutely aware of our lack of readiness except that I have the sweetest friend who seems to me to be constantly well prepared for life. She stopped by with her THREE girls, one newborn (c-section, yes the woman just had major surgery and she can still manage all this) with a Christmas gift. She looked like she just stepped out of a JCREW magazine. I meanwhile hadn't managed to get out of my pj's (surely I could have found time to don a bra sometime before three in the afternoon, but sadly I had not). So with arms crossed trying to block the view of my messy house and half naked wild children I thanked her profusely and vowed to dress my family everyday.

We call underwear "unders". I don't know why. But here is the thing, all I see all day long are unders. I cant keep my kids dressed. I nurtured this unfortunate habit while I was drowning in morning sickness. I could have cared less who was wearing or not wearing what. But now I am making a valiant attempt to dress everyone, even myself, every morning. After breakfast Nolen's first outfit is trashed, so off it comes. I optimistically think to myself I will redress him after his morning nap. But this is just wishful thinking unless we are going somewhere that requires "no shoes, no shirt, no service". Aiden does okay usually until after lunch, then there is some sort of accident, water, food, scissors, etc..that necessitates the removal of either pants or shirt. Then by three or so he just decides he wasn't meant to wear clothes and they quietly disappear.

I guess I will just be thankful that he does NOT like to be completely naked and always runs to get unders.

Stroller Lady

My seventh stroller arrived yesterday. So are you thinking, "good god, what does one person, with two kids, need with 7 strollers??" Well I don't keep them all. I usually sell one then purchase another.

It has been an on going quest to find the perfect stroller. Perhaps you think I have too much time on my hands, but I like to have things that work well to facilitate my outings - outings that become increasingly more difficult (but not unmanageable).

I believe it wont be something created in my stroller needing life time, I dare to hope by the time I have grandkids someone will manufacture one though. In case any would-be stroller designers want to know what I need, here it is:

I want a:
• LIGHT (under 25 lbs)
• Durable (fabric doesn’t rip or stain)
• Easily removable straps/fabric for washing
• One hand fold
• Good umbrella coverage - why even bother with an umbrella that only blocks the sun at high noon?
• Converts from one to two, preferably front to back
• Big wheels, easy for pushing and jumping curbs

These are the strollers I have purchased and their pros/cons:
• Graco travel system: heavy and big, perfect for one baby, lovely cup holders, trays, storage
• Maclaren Volo: super easy to fold, super light, good for travel, only holds one baby though
• Maclaren Techno: same as the volo, but a little more sturdy
• Kidarooz: Umm, we only had this one over night as the parts were not able to be assembled.
• Phil and Ted: So slender, great for malls/stores, holds two, but tedious to convert, also heavy kids goes in front, but heavy kid likes to jump out a lot, leaving little helpless baby underneath to tip over, mom to frantically grab stroller, but unable to grab child that jumped out and is running away. Very cool design though. Good wheels.
• BOB Duallie: So easy to push, can climb mountains and roll on the beach. Lots of storage, holds two kids - three if one perches on the front. Really comfy for kids. Too wide, too heavy, takes up the entire back of van. You get dirty looks if you take it in retail places "How inconsiderate is that lady to take up the entire isle?"
• Joovy: Light, steers well, perfect for one strapped in and one who needs to hop on and off. Design doesn’t not allow for jumping up curbs. Folds easy.
If you read this and have found the perfect stroller by all means tell me!!