There are some days when everything is just… off.  This weekend was one of those times.  Maybe we all just woke up on the wrong side of the bed, but we were all more impatient and more irritable than usual.  Plus, it seemed like both kids were just doing everything in their power to bang themselves and each other up.  Thankfully, they’re both fairly tough and I’ve gotten used to just wincing and shrugging my shoulders, especially since they often wind up giggling after colliding, rolling off the couch, or whatever else.

Ever since Phoebe succumbed to her first owie that left her bleeding (she fell off the window ledge and bit her lip… I swear we’re not bad parents!!) she has been banging herself up left and right.  Sadly, sometimes it’s just from walking, but she’s also a bit of a daredevil and this weekend was no different.  We went to the zoo, and right away I cringed because it was the most crowded I’ve ever seen it.  We were already a bit grumpy and the kids were not the most cooperative and crowds are not my friend.  At lunch there were no highchairs to be found – they were all in use – so Phoebe got a chair to herself and I spent the entire time trying to keep her sitting and not standing and dancing around.  Well, we were trying to pick up and I turned away for a second and down she went.  Cue the screams and every parent’s eyes on us as I picked her up as quick I could.  I got flustered as we were met with a combination of sympathetic and judging stares and I snapped at Josh to grab Enzo and the stroller so we could get the heck out of the crowded cafeteria.  It’s no secret that crowds make me claustrophobic, nervous, irritable, and sometimes overwhelmed.

We made it out alive and without further escapades and took the kids for a relaxing walk.  Poor Phoebe fell I don’t know how many times and at some point Enzo took a tumble at the house and chomped his lip good so he was bled from that a bit.  Thankfully, though, I still have Phoebe’s teething rings/pacifiers in the freezer and they are the perfect remedy for such a wound!

Thankfully the rain came last night, and I think it washed away some of the frustrations and irritability we were all feeling this weekend.  We got off to a better start this morning despite the kids waking up early… oh yeah, now Enzo has started sneaking into bed with us in the middle of the night.  Neither Josh nor I have the energy to keep the kids in their own beds lately, and honestly, that’s why we got a king sized bed to begin with – to allow for co-sleeping.  But that’s a conversation for another day.

These pictures aren’t actually from this past weekend, but showcase what is often a typical chilly Saturday.  I’m really, really glad the weather is slowly turning around (even if it is only in the 30s today).  I don’t necessarily mind hanging around the house because I can often get a few things done, but it’s so much nicer when we can leave the house and do something fun.

Thankfully the kids have good imaginations for the Minnesota winters that just drag on and on so even if it’s cold out they don’t get too bored inside the house. The hardest part is getting them to pick up toys before they drag out too many and then the whining and crying starts because they’re tripping on toys strewn all over. I figured they’d be more willing to pick stuff up if they were constantly falling and tripping, but… wrong. They’d much rather whine and whine until I get up and do it myself.

It is true that parenting gets easier, though, and this is more apparent now that Phoebe is walking and running around and she can Enzo can play together.  I still like to stay close just because you never know when a throw down is going to happen over a beloved toy, or not so beloved, random piece of junk.  The other man’s grass, right?

I also stay close simply because Phoebe is constantly trying to do whatever Enzo does, so we have to ask him to please not stand on all of the chairs or jump down the stairs or so on and so forth.  We’re all about letting the kids explore and trying not to hover, but considering Phoebe has my grace and very little fear, I’m cautious.

For instance, Enzo has my slight fear of heights so for the longest time he wouldn’t even sit on our bar stools, but this weekend Phoebe insisted on eating snack at the counter with her brother.  If I pull out the vacuum she also runs up to it and laughs, whereas Enzo was all very wary from a young age.  He unfortunately also has a fear of bugs that I am trying to help him move past, however I’m not a huge fan of them either so this is not a fun task and I don’t think I’m very convincing.

Oh well, the great thing about having kids so close in age is that despite their little spats, they really are good friends. Enzo has been such a good big brother and looks after her and comforts her whenever he can.  This past weekend when we were having trouble getting her to lay down for nap, he tried to sweetly talk to her and convince her to lay down with him. Seriously heart-melting stuff to watch… although he did attempt to sit on her to keep her in her room while we watched on the monitor.  Hey, it was the one thing we hadn’t tried, so kudos for the creativity.

I know I’ve said it before, but they keep life interesting.  Their minds are always busy and I love watching the way they interact, especially when Enzo tries to teach Phoebe how to do something. Geez, soon enough and I’ll be able to put my feet up while they watch themselves. 😉

When life hands you lemons, or in my case, sick kids and a sick husband you take advantage of the gorgeous day and try not to think of your vacation days slowly being used up before you get to do all of the fun stuff you want to do the rest of the year and not think about the fact that your husband has no sick/vacation time because he is a contract worker.  Oh well, as long as everyone is healthy again soon, that’s all that matters.  Granted, little girl is only home because she’s on quarantine due to pink eye.

You’d never actually guess she had a double ear infection to boot.  She’s been all smiles and silliness this morning and I’m sure will enjoy some sunshine later on this afternoon (I’m writing this early in the day hoping the wind will die down…).  Enzo was the one who kept me home from work yesterday… and we still have no idea what was up.  He was really quiet and calm yesterday morning, which is not like him at all, but he had no fever and said he wanted to go to preschool, so we went.  A couple hours later I got the call saying he had been crying and fussing most of the morning and didn’t want to participate and wanted to come home.  He had a 10 minute nap in the car and crawled into my bed to watch a movie, had a huge lunch and was completely recovered.  Not even a nap.

I remember back when I was younger and I’d actually have UNUSED vacation days.  Can you even imagine?  I had hours upon hours to carry over into the next year.  Now?  I’m lucky if I don’t go over my allotted sick and vacation time and even more lucky if I get to use the majority on actual fun things and not illness.  I just keep reminding myself that the worst is over.  Phoebe is almost 2 and Enzo really hasn’t been sick all that much, so next year we should all have fully operating immune systems!  Woohoo!

Well, a girl can hope anyway. I’ve got to admit, though, I could get used to the whole staying at home thing. While kids can be squirmy while shopping, the stores are quieter during the week and I’m looking forward to going on a walk this afternoon and maybe getting some cleaning in while Phoebe naps.  Don’t get me wrong, being a stay-at-home-mom would still be a tough job, probably way more tough than my regular job, but also really different.  Admittedly, I’d probably get bored so I’d need a scheduled routine for our days and we’d definitely need play groups, but I can see the appeal and why some parents decide to make the sacrifices to make it work.  I mean, can you imagine two better coworkers?