Monday, June 22, 2009

Conundrum

Some of you may be wondering what I have been up to lately. I have been wondering that myself. My main goal each day is to survive the heat and humidity. I do this mainly by not leaving the house for anything-even just to walk to the car. While at home, we are trying to have some fun to keep from going crazy. It doesn't always work that well, though. Things are better now, but we went through a few weeks where I was convinced that having two children was two too many. My children are almost-three and one, and they are fighting with each other all the time. I feel bad for both of them. Poor Peter has no say over anything because Eddie is the boss, and poor Eddie can't do anything he wants because Peter messes it all up. It's a conundrum. Here are some pictures of the fun we've been having. What you can't tell in the pictures, though, is that each activity also became a fight.

Boxcar races are great fun, but it's kind of hard to wait your turn. And, frankly, they can wear a mom out pretty darn quick!

It's fun to play in the cupboards, but who gets to decide when the cupboard doors will be opened and when they will be closed? And can each child decide for himself when he will crawl out and when he will crawl in?

Coloring on the white erase board is fun, but who gets which color of marker? Who gets to control the eraser? And is there really enough room for two to draw at the same time?

Watching tv is fun, but only if we are sitting really close together, says Peter.
Watching tv is fun, but only if we are sitting far apart, says Eddie.

Playing in boxes is fun (and Peter could happily sit in a box by himself for a half an hour), but pushing a box over with your little brother in it is apparently much more fun.

Good thing I love these two little boys so much!

6 comments:

Grandma Sandy said...

Do you feel like wearing a black & white striped shirt and a whistle around your neck? Sorry it's so hot. 2 buckets of water out in the back yard and some tupperware and plasticware can do wonders for a couple of rowdy boys (who are probably acting up because they're inside instead of outside). Or, one of those blow-up pools are always fun...even for mom. Hang in there - they'll be grown before you know it!

Camille said...

This email made me smile. I love how you wrote it with pictures. And I have definitely had those moments...when I was wondering what I was thinking wanting more than one child! Good thing Ethan is my little angel! But I'm a little disappointed...I thought it was going to get easier as Ethan got older, but apparently not! :) Thanks for sharing your moments!

Sarah H said...

I was thinking the same thing as my mom - water!! Do they like to play in the bath? That's what I do with my girls when they start driving my crazy. :)

They sure are cute. I love the pictures of them in the boxes. Just keep taking pictures of the smiles instead of the tears and focus on those. ;)

Iris said...

I love your post.....it reminded me of growing up with David....the best of friends, the worst of friends....all in one day....don't worry, they'll grow out of it....just give them a decade or more =).....seriously though, you're a great mom....and I'm sorry it is soooooo HOT...maybe have a snow cone and/or ice cream every day? =)

Crystal said...

Oh Melanie you poor thing! I totally understand your frustrations. My boys fight and fight and fight some more. It's maddening. But when they are friends it melts my heart.

One of the many things that is hard for me about being a stay-at-home mom is staying at home. I can't even imagine how hard it is for you to deal with the oppressive heat. I lived in Houston Texas one summer and the heat was miserable.

Thank you for sharing this. It's nice to know we are going through the same thing and that although I think sometimes my kids are crazy little monsters, they are just kids.

mudderbear said...

Well, at least you are staying well balanced and evenly objective about both sides of everything. How long can that last?? Be good to yourself...you have to last the longest now.
The pictures are just really cute. Good luck with just riding out 'the storm.' Everytime I talk to Ben we talk about the weather and the difficulty of living in that heat.