Monday, January 31, 2011

Doodle: Sit. Stay.

When Darcie was about 5 months, she learned how to sit up on her own. She must have been aware that this was a little above average because she was very, very proud of herself


She was so thrilled with this new skill that she sat up any time you laid her on the ground.



No one realized the potential evils of such a skill. We all praised Darcie and cheered her on. When it was time for bed, she wouldn't even stay down to sleep, she was too excited about being able to sit up.




Of course, that night, we became aware of a problem. Though Darcie had learned to sit herself up, she had not learned to lay herself back down. She didn't cry though, she just did this...


Yep. Darcie just let gravity do its business and went to sleep face down, completely folded in half. After we overcame our horror (and I'll admit, we giggled a few times) we repositioned her so that she could be more comfortable. Unfortunately there was no stopping Darcie. She continued to do this night after night until eventually that became her favorite sleeping position, even after she finally learned to lay back down. God really knew what he was doing when he made babies flexible :D

Thursday, January 20, 2011

Mom-ing: Bathtime, whether I like it or not.

Today I was planning to give my kids a bath. I generally plan to give my kids a bath every couple days, but then I enjoy not giving them one and saying "well, tomorrow works just as well." Today has been fairly legitimately busy, and it was starting to look like we would run out of time for bathing the two munchkins, but then something happened that forced my hand.

It all started when I put the kids upstairs for playtime. Normally they spend a couple hours in the afternoon playing in a room full of toys and chasing each other up and down the hallway to their bedroom. I can keep an ear on them pretty well because the upstairs is loft-style so it practically opens into the first floor living room. Occasionally the kids get reprimanded for sneaking into their bedroom closet and making a mess of their laundry, but usually they're very good.

Today, however, they were not good. Very, very not good. I heard a "clunk" that sounded exactly like a toilet lid closing. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. I was furious! They have only ever been caught playing in the (close-doored) bathroom once before and I know I made it perfectly clear to Mr. Door Opener (Liam) that that was not acceptable. So I went stomping up the stairs, working up my righteous anger, only to discover that the kids are not only in the bathroom, they've locked themselves in!

Well that knocked the anger right out of me, if only to be replaced immediately by panic. There was no space between the door and the ground for me to try to communicate with the kids. My only hope was to lure Liam out with a calm sounding voice and hope that he would figure out how to unlock the door. Thankfully, he did. Which is just as well, because I was about to have a panic attack. Darcie was screaming her head off the whole time like she had been injured and I was unable to get to her. Well the door creaks open and my first thought is "wow, it's surprisingly humid in the bathroom!" And then I see the water on the floor. And then the water all over my kids. And then the lumps of wet toilet paper everywhere. And most especially, I see the back of the toilet tank has been opened and is half empty of water.

Well, needless to say, my kids got a bath today. It's amazing what toilet water can do to rearrange your priorities.