The year that play-doh saved my sanity

It's been a very long winter. I've lost count of how many storms we've had, how many mornings we've spent shoveling, how many days we've been stuck inside. 

It's a long day being home with small kids, it's even longer when you are literally trapped inside your house because the governor is banning people from driving. 

In an effort to not completely rot my kids' brains with endless hours of TV I had to come up with some activities. We did finger painting, coloring, and singalongs. Trains, blocks, and books. We even brought snow into the house and played with that. 

But my old standby, my tried and true fallback, is always Play-doh. I have a love/hate relationship with Play-doh. I love it because my kids will play with it for hours!!! I hate it because it gets ground up into my rug and I usually end up down on the floor with a butter knife trying to dig it out. 

But desperate times call for desperate measures. Play-doh has helped us get through this long, cold, snowy winter. Those 13 hour days, stuck in the house, with two tiny creatures who are just as sick of being inside as I am. So if I end up with a dirty rug, so be it. Play-doh kept the kids busy which kept me sane. And for that I am grateful. 

Something I never thought I'd say

Don't throw chicken nuggets in the fireplace - said to Ryan, 2 days shy of his second birthday 

More leaves please

That's what Ryan just said to me over and over as I ate my lunch. Which was a salad. Made of kale. 

He didn't want the chicken on top. Or the cucumbers and carrots. Or the strawberries mixed in. 

Nope. He wanted the kale leaves. 

So I gave them to him. And he ate them.

Kids are weird.  

Say What?

Nathan has been hitting me with some tough questions lately. I honestly don't know where he gets this stuff. Most parents complain about the Why phase but I'm currently trying to survive the Hows. 

"How does your spinal cord make your joints bend so you can walk?"

"How do they make water?"

"How do wires bring electricity to your house?"

"How do babies get out of their mommy's belly?" I'm pretty sure most kids ask how the babies get into the belly. Nope. Mine wants to know how they get out!

How am I supposed to answer these? Anyone? Anyone?

Valentines

I was at Target the other day when I noticed the Valentines section. I walked over and without thinking, I picked up a pack of Minion valentines thinking Nathan would love them.

But as I approached the register I put them down. I realized Nathan is old enough now that he really understands the fun of holidays and I decided I should let him pick out his own cards.

A few days later, after about 20 min of weighing the pros and cons of each option, (tattoos? Pencils? Candy?) he decided on rainbow animals with tattoos.

Last night after dinner he sat at the table and filled out each card, all 21 of them for his classmates. He looked so grown up, sitting there with his clip on tie, signing his name on every card. My little valentine is growing up :) 

Buzzed at the barber

I am really bad at getting the kids hair cut. My method is to grow it out as long as possible until people started giving me funny looks. And then cut it as short as possible. This usually buys me two months between each cut. Two months?!    

People always say little girls are high maintenance with the braids and the ponytails and the accessories. But I think 6 haircuts a year is pretty high maintenance. 

Nothing beats how cute Nathan looks with a freshly buzzed head though so it's worth it. 

Finger lickin good!

One of Ryan's favorite things to say lately is "chicken pie" and apparently it's one of his favorite meals too. 

Mr. Independent

Ryan's favorite thing to say these days is "I do."  

I brush my teeth.

I put my shoes on.

I peel my orange.

 

This is cute in theory and of course I know it's important for him to become more self sufficient and all that jazz but it's not so cute when you're running late for preschool dropoff. And your almost two year old is insisting on putting on his own jacket and you're just sitting there watching him put his right arm into his left sleeve over and over and over, not understanding what's preventing him from getting any further along in the process. And you want so badly to just do it for him but if you come near him at all he whips the coat at you screaming "I do, I do!!!"  

This is a fun phase. 

Tonight's bath. Taking his shirt off over his head. "I do."

Lazy jammie mornings

During the week we are always rushing up and out the door to get to work or to school or to play dates so on the weekends we like to have what Nathan refers to as "lazy jammie mornings."

Today the boys were watching a movie while I folded laundry and Will was at the gym. I went into the kitchen for something and when I returned to the living room this is what I found. 

Was I annoyed that the blankets I had just folded were now unfolded? A little. But they just looked so cute I quickly forgot about that.  Nathan and Ryan are the best of friends, never far from one another's side. Of course they have moments when they fight but moments like this are more common. Curled up together under a blanket on the couch. Nathan had tucked all their stuffed animals under too and even stuck a pillow behind Ryan's back. 

This is what lazy jammie mornings are all about. The house is quiet. The coffee is hot. And my two boys are snuggling. 

Happy Sunday!