Sibling Fun

Yesterday, I was in the kitchen when I heard Lily call me to come see her. Uh oh. What was she doing this time? Then, as I came out of the kitchen, I saw this...

I love that Lily wants to play with her 6 month old brother and sister, but did I love the fact that she somehow climbed into the pack n play to do so? Uh... maybe not so much. I didn't here any screams of pain or crying, so I guess she made it in there without stepping or falling on one or both of them. That's a plus!

My Top 4 (Fictional) Parenting Role Models

There are a few television shows we watch at my house that have the best parenting role models. I know they are fictional and nobody can truly be all calm and collective by a rambunctious and/or destructive toddler, but I want to be that way most of the time. Here are a few parents or caregivers from shows that we as parents need to take note of so we don't end up stressing over all the things toddlers and older children do:

Mommy and Daddy Pig (Peppa Pig). They do get frustrated at Peppa and her younger brother, George, but they always talk in a calm voice and explain why something was wrong or bad. They don't yell or talk at Peppa as most parents do, myself included. It's really hard to keep a calming tone in your voice when all you want to do is scream as loud as you can at the fact your toddler has deliberately tossed her entire cereal on the floor all the while looking at you with a devilish look in her eyes as if to say, "Hey, Mom. Look what I'm doing. Whatcha gonna do 'bout it? Yell? I still won't clean it up, sucka."

The Man With the Yellow Hat (Curious George). This guy is so understanding it sometimes makes me angry. Then I realize George doesn't know any better because he is a monkey and I assume that's the reason for the yellow hat man's nonchalant approach to "parenting." Then I think that a toddler really doesn't know any better either and I should have the same attitude as well. Why get so aggravated by the fact my three year old turns getting her pajamas on into a game of run around naked and show off my butt? Is it really that important to be all serious with her about it being bedtime and not playtime. Why can't I take two minutes to laugh and giggle with her to show that I find her spirit and playfulness to be exactly how it should be at her age? Why do I have to make it difficult for her to enjoy life, which is basically what I'm doing when I yell at her for playing? I know there's a time to play and a time to be serious and get things done, but at three years old? How is taking two minutes to say, "yes, that's so funny and you are so funny, now let's get those p.j.'s on" gonna hurt? It actually takes longer to get mad than it does to go along with it. By yelling and getting mad in turn gets her mad and then a temper tantrum is on the rise. Just take a tip from The Man With the Yellow Hat and go with the flow every now and then.

Ruby (Max and Ruby). First of all, where are Max and Ruby's parents? They leave a seven year old to take care of a, what? Two to three year old? That's a different subject all together though. OK, big sis Ruby. She never gets truly aggravated by the annoyance that is her little brother. She explains her reasonings for things and calmly leads Max to do "the right thing." Of course, sometimes Max was right all along or he has happy accidents to seem like he was actually helping Ruby out. Nevertheless, Max is annoying and Ruby knows it but she also knows that he is a toddler and toddlers do play and get into trouble and they, for the most part, don't realize anything is wrong by what they do. Ruby, herself, is also annoying and bossy, but who's disciplining her? Not her parents.

All the adults (Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood). Not only do these adults have really catchy jingles to explain the reasonings about stuff, they always kneel down or try to get at eye level with the kids. This is a tactic I have noticed works a lot with my toddler - talking to her eye to eye. It must be intimidating to have a much larger person talk down at you in a stern voice. By taking a knee or sitting, you are making the situation a little less stressful for your little one. They may listen better to what you have to say rather than have a total melt down and scream at every little sound that comes out of your mouth. When I get down to talk calmly eye to eye with my three year old, she usually will comply with what I'm trying to get across and then wants to hug. It doesn't always go smoothly but when it does, it feels so nice.

So, the next time you feel like you want to strangle your toddler for whining and screaming for the fifteen-thousandth time to get what she wants, remember these parents and ask yourself, "What would Mommy Pig do?" Then take a breath, relax your mind, and try to calm the devil in your toddler.

8 Fun "Games" for Toddlers and Adults

Nope. It includes hours of internet exploring, blogging, facebook, and twitter updates all while the kiddies watch their favorite television shows and eat snacks. Duh.

Seriously though, I write my blog posts at night while everyone is tucked all nice and cozy in their beds. I take about 20-25 minutes every morning to get on the computer and post the blogs and update anything I need to. I don't have to do this, I want to. It gives me a bit of a break at 9:00 in the morning when I've been up for a few hours with already two screaming babies and one whining toddler. It's not my job, but I tell my toddler "Mommy needs to work on the computer while you watch one show. When your show is over, it's time to play."

Play. You would think playing all day would be fun or something that you might enjoy. I have a three year old. Playtime is one part boring and two parts exhausting. So when I actually do need to get things done in the house, playtime consists of some really fun games:

1. Throw the socks, shirt, pants, etc. in the washing machine. Kinda like basketball, but with dirty laundry. My toddler's favorite part is smelling the laundry detergent and pressing the start button.
2. Throw the socks, shirt, pants, etc. in the dryer.
3. Find the socks and undies. Just hope you finish folding the laundry before all the socks and undies are found.
4. Grab a dishwasher soap pod thingy and put it in the detergent compartment. Then press the start button. Really fun for three year olds.
5. Get all the clean spoons and forks out of the dishwasher and put them away. Just be mindful of the knives.
6. Sweep up the dirt and put it in a neat pile. This one takes some time to perfect. In the beginning, my toddler was sweeping the dirty floor randomly and just moving the dirt around but not actually cleaning up. Now she's a pro and loves to make a neat pile of dirt. Her reward is getting to vacuum up the dirt pile with the hose extension.
7. Use the magic Swiffer wand and make the dust disappear. 
8. Erase the fingerprints. I don't know about you, but I have a full glass front storm door and my toddler loves putting her grubby little fingers all over it. She also enjoys putting her mouth on it and licking it. Toddlers are silly like that. Some Windex and paper towels give you at least 10-15 minutes of playtime.

So there you go. Stay at home moms and dads really need to be creative when it comes to getting household chores done. Including your toddler in these activities and calling them games is just pure genius. These tasks may take twice as long to get accomplished, but your toddler will keep out of trouble while you two are doing them. They are too young at this point to realize it is actually work. Sure, sometimes my toddler gets bored by these games and I don't blame her. That's when I say, OK. Time to play kitchen or hide and seek or run around the table fifty times (she really enjoys that one) or scream "peek-a-boo" really loud and scary at your baby brother and sister and make them cry ('cause twins crying at the same time is totally funny and awesome) or whatever this little imaginative three year old can come up with. Then when all that is done, I will sit on my ass and enjoy my bon-bons (but of course, that never happens).

Just Like Her Mommy

My daughter, Lily, is 3 years old and is so very sarcastic, witty, and funny. Of course she drives us crazy at times, what 3 year old wouldn't? But some of the things she comes up with are just amazing and she has such a wonderful imagination. Here's a few examples:

1. It was bedtime, I forget when. I'll say about 6 months ago. Anyway, Lily said she couldn't sleep because she was scared of the monster in her bedroom. I told her she should introduce herself to the monster. Maybe he is scared of her. Well, needless to say, "Roar" has been her friend ever since. She plays with him and they hold hands. It's kinda creepy the way she "looks" at him as if there really is someone there. She refers to him as "My Friend Roar" and he goes almost everywhere with her. Oh, and we just watched the movie Iron Giant and now she has a robot friend, too.
2. Lily closes her door for bedtime. She stands there for a second then starts rubbing the door. She hugs it, as best as you can hug something you can't put your arms around. Then she whispers, "I love you door" and gives it a kiss.

As a young child, I too cared for inanimate objects. I thought everything had feelings. Everything. I slept with a chair because I thought it had feelings and I didn't want it to feel left out while all of my stuffed animals and dolls were on my bed. Yes, I was that weird! I guess the apple doesn't fall too far from the tree.

Me, circa 1981 (about the same age or just a tad bit older than Lily) with my favorite chair

Flowers

I melted. Right there in bed, I melted as my 3 year old daughter, Lily, reached out her arm to me and said, "Here Mommy, flowers." A few minutes earlier she had rolled over to the side of the bed. She leaned down over the edge and it looked as though she was picking something up off of the floor. Little did I know, she was.

I love my daughter and her imagination. It inspires me to be more creative, more imaginative. I love when Lily, out of nowhere, hands me some imaginary food to eat or hands me some flowers. She does this with her brother and sister too. Lily will be sitting next to them and pretend feed them food from her hand. It's funny because her brother and sister, my twins, are only 4 months old and yet, they seem to play along. I'm sure it's just a reflex thing, but when Lily offers them "food" they open their mouths to take it.

I relish moments like these because I'm not sure how long they will last. Today she pretends to give flowers to me, tomorrow she may not. I will keep all those imaginary flowers so when she no longer does this, my heart will be a field of her love.