Traveling Circus

So we've survived 1 week of our 3 week home renovation. Although we can sleep at home, the house is off limits from 7:30 every morning until 5 pm every night. In order to survive this "adventure", the children & I have had to adapt to the lifestyle of gypsies, hopping in the car each morning and going from place to place in search of food, entertainment and restroom facilities.

Should you ever find yourself temporarily living out of your car w/your two small children, here's a few tips I'd like to share:

1. Take a look at your vehicle. See your orderly glovebox? Your nice, clean floors? Your spacious trunk? Yeah, all that's going to have to go. Your car is now your closet, your kitchen and your storage facility and will look and smell as such.

2. In addition to the changing look and smell, that "no food in the car" rule will certainly have to end. Cheerios are easy to shake off your floormats, as are dried fruits and crackers. Cinnamon toast crunch, it turns out, is not.

3. Planning bathroom breaks is key to your survival. Make every effort to plan your playdates and activities around your potty schedule. If you must make an emergency stop, Target has nice facilities. Just remember you cannot bring a cart with you once you've put merchandise in it, so be sure to make that your first stop when you enter the store. Avoid any establishments that require you to ask for a key and/or make a purchase in order to use their bathrooms - you don't have time for that when you're dealing w/a leaky diaper.

4. Be sure to bring extra clothes. Whether the cause is sticky cinnamon toast crunch or a poorly thought out potty plan, eventually someone is going to need replacement pants. If you fail to pack "just in case" clothes and one or both of your children have to ride around w/just a diaper or missing a shirt, it will severely limit the type of activities you can attend. Even McDonald's has a No Shirt, No Shoes, No Service policy for goodness sakes!

5. Great news - if you forget to pack clothes, Target currently has toddler pants on sale for just $7.00 in a wide array of colors!

6. It is imperative that you bring any toy, blanket, book and sleepytime cd your child has ever listened to b/c that 1 yellow airplane, the one your kid hasn't asked for in 9 months, that's the 1 thing he absolutely must have in order to nap at Grammy's house.

7. When all else fails and you feel like you can't survive another second, just close your eyes and whisper "Hardwood floors, Hardwood floors.".

Favorite Foto Friday - And Finally, He is Still

Aidan is good at many things - eating, running, shrieking, throwing toys down the heating vents - but one area he does not excel at is sitting still. Reading books? No thanks, he'd rather chew the corners before throwing them across the room. Relaxing stroller ride? Not interested, he'd much rather run in circles until he crashes into a tree.

This zest for life is fabulous and all, but sometimes Mommy needs some quiet time! I was beginning to think that until Aidan went to preschool, I'd never have a moment to even catch my breathe, much less empty the dishwasher or make a phone call. Then on Monday, something amazing happened. I put in a Bob the Builder DVD for Andy after naptime - and right in the middle of banging his truck on the toy box, Aidan turned around and stared at the tv. I was even able to move him to the couch w/a plate of crackers and sit on the other side for an ENTIRE 20 MINUTES. I enjoyed my little tv break, but figured this was obviously the result of fatigue brought on by an impending illness. I stocked up on Infant Motrin and prepared myself for the envitable 3 am "I have a fever and need my Mommy" cries that would jolt me from sleep that night.

Much to my surprise, Aidan remained seemingly healthy. Could it be possible that Bob the Builder, with his "Yes We Can!" attitude and imaginatively named construction equipment friends (a digger named Scoop - what creative genius came up w/that one!?!) was the secret
trick I'd been searching for? The next day after nap time, I crossed my fingers, put Aidan on the couch and pressed play...and turned around to find this: Of course for the last 5 days every moment of quiet is filled by my humming "Bob the Builder. Can we fix it? Bob the Builder. Yes we can!...", but that's a sacrifice I'm willing to make. It could be worse - he could've become obsessed w/the Wiggles & their big red car.

I Know Who Does Not Need a Thesaurus this Christmas

Of his 40 word vocabulary, 4 of Aidan's words consist of different ways to say no:

The traditional method: NNNOOOOOO

The casual method: Nope

The "Well, if you're giving me the option..." method: Not (example: "Do you want to go to sleep or not?")

And my personal favorite, The "I choose door #2" method: Nober (as in "another", i.e. come up w/something better if you want me to cooperate Mother)

Additionally, he will also growl at me like a small but fierce lion when none of the above result in him getting his way.

With any other kid, all this might come off as stubborn and willful, but he is just so darn adorable that its rather endearing. Future teachers - consider this your warning! This kid and his oh-so-sweet dimples are going to find a way around all your rules while somehow managing to have you laughing along w/him.

Sean Connery - I'm Ready for Your Obstacle Course

I feel just like Catherine Zeta Jones - minus the sexy black spandex ensemble - sneaking out of Andy's room every night after whispering the last lines of Goodnight Moon. One creak of the floor or squeak of the door and I have to start the whole routine all over again.

Daddy's Birthday: Andy's Perspective

Me: Andy, today is Daddy's Birthday!
Andy (runs to Chris): Happy Birday Daddy!
Chris (bends down to hug Andy): Awwww, tha-
Andy (runs back to me): Andy eat cake now!

************
Andy: I almost 3.
Chris: That's right.
Andy: I try coffee then.

FFF - Cuteness

No big adventure or long story to share this week, just some "so-cute-I-could-eat-them-up" smiles.

Favorite Foto Friday - Another Day in the Life of Little Boys

Just another typical week at our house...

There were special outside ice cream and peach treatsA fingerpainting session

And a day spent lounging at the Splash Park

I can see why they say play is the work of children - it sure is exhausting!