to get through the day.
16.24 Now. Clear the floor. Done and hoovered.
16.56 Now. Make tea (shepherds pie type thing made with quorn mince and beans). Done. Also washed up lunch things and had a snack.
17.59. The children are now staring at their food. Small tried it and handed the plate back, Big is being brave. Sigh.
19.48 Small was “persuaded” to try a little food – he ate about 4 forks full. Big cleared her plate. Then they both topped up on yoghurt and shreddies.
Big has entered a new irritating phase. This one consists of questions about really basic stuff. So far we’ve had “what is sweet?”, “what does smooth mean?” and “what is an aeroplane?” Now, I accept, as a home educator, that questions from my children are a prime way for them to learn, but I wasn’t aware that I’m supposed to do all the thinking. Each time we’ve had one of these questions, it turns out that she doesn’t want me to go off into some huge explanation, she is basically doing it to see how fast she can cause steam to come out of my ears. Right at the moment, that’s really fast.
Small has had an interesting day as well. He likes sticks. Big sticks. The 7 foot bamboo poles that I’ve got in the garden to be precise. Now, when Big was this kind of age, I was working four days a week, and she was in nursery. Our evenings were incredibly organised (and short!) and the three days that I wasn’t working were fairly well packed with stuff. Basically, I’m not used to toddlers. And having to get used to toddlers while also having a 5 year old around is challenging me. He doesn’t do *anything* the way that she did. With her, by this age, you could hold conversations. I recall her first 7 word sentence – it was about the same time as her 18 month progress check (wonder what happened to them – Small hasn’t been called in). Somehow, that seemed to make things easier. With Small, you can try to hold conversations, but they get a bit limited as he nods yes, then goes ahead and does whatever it was he just agreed not to 🙁
So there’s the big stick thing, and there’s the climbing. He likes climbing. Got a bit of a shock today when he fell off a chair and got wedged between the wall and the chair – nasty bruise where he caught his side on a plug as he went down. Doesn’t stop him for long though.
Basically, what I’m wittering around here, is saying that I’m finding life tough for no apparent reason just atm.
Oh well. Having an extra child for the day tomorrow will help no end then. Must try to leave the house.
Comments
14 responses to “one breath at a time”
my day also involving counting breaths, and me crying in a carpark – rescued by v nice young man. Now having cup of tea, changing BB and awaiting shattered peace of SB coming home. So wishing you good breathing!
repeat after me long and loud. KIDS ARE BLOODY HARD WORK. and that’s it in a nutshell really. I recall D being a dream child with none of the text book toddler stuff at all – but I was also having two days a week childcare, only had one child, had a paying job and no money worries, and found the whole thing a bit of a breeze really. Clearly that pissed someone somewhere off as I got Tarly as child number 2 in retribution 🙂
Have some (((Jax))) and I *have* to ask – what was that 7 word sentence?
(((Jax))) B does that exact same thing, we explain consequences, we do that “if you do x then y will happen” and he nods, agrees and does it. Drives me batty so huge sympathy. Also for the climbing. DH caught him on the worktop last night now being tall enough to reach the top of the extractor fan which was our second to last bastion of defence. What did B do? Said “Its OK, I good climbing, don’t worry” DH didn’t know whether to laugh or cry! Good luck for tomorrow, hopefully it will be a better day.
Is that leaving the house tommorow with or with out the kids Jax…. :;)
Hmm, missing the F there.
I know just what you mean about the questions. Sam gets so bad sometimes that I simply say that I refuse to answer any more questions. I often turn the tables on him and get him to answer his own questions, this hasn’t curbed his enthusiasm for asking them though. My ony solace is that one day he will be a father and have his child bombard him with 20,000 questions a day.
good luck for tomorrow. I think what we need for parenting is a samovar. constant hot water to through teabgs into would really help
I believe that when we had a five year old and a two year old it was the toughest we have yet known! When Leo asks a question for the sake of it I tend to give a nonsense reply. ‘What is an aeroplane?’ I would probably reply with ‘A type of elephant.’ This requires an entirely straight face on your part which is a bit tricky but it is strangely satisfying. Of course he usually counters with the real answer to his needless question – thus demonstrating that he knew all along! Ah ha! I can outwit my five year old… A bit sad but it gets me through.
Lol, Allie, that is exactly what I was going to suggest 🙂
As for Small … well, did you watch Supernanny this evening? 😉
My children are clearly perfect, as I never minded answering their questions, lol. Lulah asked “Why is that a book?” earlier, which took some thinking about …
Maddy is asking exactly the same questions atm – why do we eat food>” and so on. I don’t exactly recall Fran doing it, i think she may have done it younger but i am assuming Maddy is either checking that her take on the world is right, or possibly checking i know the answers to simple stuff before she stretches me with calculus ;~)
I tend to have a 3 whys rule! then i say why not or why do you think, depending on appropriateness
My mother had a rule that she would never answer “I don’t know” to a question “Why?” I remember working this out from a very early age and working out something complicated to ask “Why?” about whenever I wanted some attention. I don’t think she ever sussed out that I’d sussed out her rule! Of course, with my own kids I say “I don’t know” all the time. It’s very liberating! I’m a mother, not the encyclopaedia britannica. If they want to know why something is, they can go and work it out instead of using my brain to do it.
(Though I do have a soft spot for Lyddie’s ‘why?’s, as they’re quite cute. I answer them sometimes.)
((((Jax)))) Little chick get’s everything explained to her 50 times a day. She nods a lot. Then does exactly the opposite a lot! xx
Lol Gill 🙂 I said something to Lije today about C bouncing a football on his head rather a lot when he was about 1, and he asked “Do you remember *everything*?”