Friday, September 17, 2010

Oh What A Friday

Two is less than four. Two less kids should be a lot less work for a mom, according to any kind of logic. Somehow that just isn't the case here. With Emma and Elizabeth gone during the day, I don't feel like it's much less work. On the contrary, I don't have any extra eyes keeping watch for naughty toddlers, nor any older siblings to play with younger ones.

I do in general look forward to Fridays. There is story time at the library, followed by play group at the park. This gets me all the way to lunch time, after which the twins will go down for their nap. That in general gives me a couple hours to get things accomplished, and then we can all happily welcome the other half of our family home. Daddy is home last by about 4:30, and Mommy has back up. (Sigh of relief.)

Today while I was getting myself ready to leave the house, Annie was with me in one bathroom and Maddie was off playing somewhere else. A little while later she comes in with a wet sleeve. Uh oh. What liquid can she get into?

Toilet water.

She made a lovely concoction of wet wipes, paper napkins (from the table), left over cereal from the high chair trays and all the new hair rubber bands (in an open plastic baggie) in the toilet. Which the last person to use never flushed.

Why don't my children flush after themselves?

I couldn't bring myself to keep the no-longer-new rubber bands. Into the trash they went.

Eventually we made it to the library, and Annie and Maddie were remarkably well behaved. We (and when I say "we" I really mean me of course) made the frog hand puppet craft, checked out Chicka Chicka Boom Boom on DVD and went to a park for play group. The twins had a good time, and I was getting little snatches of conversation with other adults, so we weren't in a hurry to leave. I started catching little yawns and eye-rubbing, so I knew I'd better go.

I had waited too long. Annie and Maddie were too tired and angry at the world to want much in the way of food. So down for a nap they went. I sat down with my left overs for lunch, and went over to Multiples and More to enter a bunch of give-aways. (Incidentally, there are a lot of cool things they are giving away. And they aren't all for parents of multiples. Check it out!)

Then I starting hearing crib rattling and toddler sounds. Oh crumb. That was NOT a long enough nap. I didn't get anything done.

There was a lot of weeping and wailing this afternoon. And hair pulling. Hair pulling is the twins' new "thing."

Enter Elizabeth fresh home from school. "Mommy, I'm tired. My eyes hurt." I gave her a hug and noticed her temperature was up. The thermometer confirmed my initial assessment. Tylenol and juice for snack it is! She continued to lay on the couch the rest of the day.

Evening time brought more crying. Dinner was late, Elizabeth wasn't hungry, and Annie passed much of her food to Maddie who threw it all on the floor.

Bedtime arrived, and I never made my bed, emptied the clean dishes from the dishwasher, swept the kitchen floor or did any laundry.

But there was chocolate ice cream. Hooray for that!

1 comment:

Becky said...

This post made me chuckle. Oh the day and the life of a mom! I totally agree with you that the younger kids are almost harder without the older ones around to entertain them (though the bickering is less). I had to laugh about the toilet too- we have serious toilet flushing problems too. Tyler is facinated with the bathroom so I have to be SUPER vigilant with keeping that door closed, but of course with a four year old that is still having issues with the potty- this doesn't always work. More than once I have found Tyler playing in the toilet . . . the worst was the other day when I found wet toilet paper in his mouth too. Shudder. Luckily I figured out it was just a used tissue (which is still gross) Jon tossed in which he does often- - not the alternative.

Anyway- miss you way over here in Michigan! Your girls are looking SO grown up- even Maddie and Annie.