This always makes me smile

No matter how messy this house is, I never mind when I walk into a room and find something like this-

How funny is it that while I was getting David ready for school half of Noah's Ark decided to come into my bathroom and make their way towards the scale? I remember seeing Drew run back and forth with one animal at a time, but I had no idea that a whole menagerie would appear in my bathroom.

Then, I walked a little further and found that David (blue blankeys are his) had made a little home with my pillows in my curtain. They make me laugh all of the time.

Two is here early...

Unless you have a two year old (and no Drew won't be two until July but the terribleness began several months ago) you wouldn't understand. Bathroom doors must be shut at all times. It's a Wonderland for Drew. Faucets that can be turned on, a toilet to drop toys into and don't get started on all the things he can do with toilet paper. We've lived under the Toddler Regime before. I am all too familiar with it. It involves never opening the pantry doors around Drew. Cereal boxes are drug out, pasta becomes scattered, decisions are made to eat flour. The dishwasher is another arena that I have trouble with. Until I had little boys, I never would have given a thought to the fact that there are wheels in a dishwasher. Not to mention the empty cups that are begging to be filled with water. And knives. It's easier to just get everything I need for meals out when Drew isn't around.
Before you "tsk, tsk," roll your eyes and say to yourself, "just tell the kid NO!" you have to understand that I do tell him "no" for most of the day. Right now our battle is that he wants to get down from the table and walk around with his food like some sort of baby hobo. So for the five meals he has a day we have five mini fits as I pry food out of his hand and explain to him that we only eat at the table. This is what we call a non-negotiable. It can't be done. He also can't wipe his own bottom with wet wipes which is something he is dying to do. He can't drag my bedspread out the front door. Or leave the house without pants on. Or climb on top of my dashboard. And saying no to all of these things causes a piercing scream, then a thud as he throws himself on the ground and anywhere from one minute to ten of crying.
I know there are moms that can exit the park without doing a bye-bye song and dance and then making it into a race. They can leave cheerfully at a moment's notice. Those are the moms with bigger biceps that have an easier time stuffing their kids into car seats, or they have smaller toddlers, or their nerves aren't frayed by excessive weeping. Probably all three.
Not me. You'll catch me in Crest singing show tunes as I zoom my shopping cart past the apples. I say a silent prayer that Drew doesn't notice them because he WILL try to hurl his body out of the cart to get one. I have to be three steps ahead of him.
So, I practice my avoidance techniques when I can so we don't spend the entire day crying. And I know from past experience that willful little boys who start this phase early turn into cheerful two and a half year olds who seldom throw fits and eventually into three and a half year olds who rarely ever have melt downs. I refuse to wish away the next eight months. I refuse to dislike my child and think of him as a Gremlin. I am determined to get along with him as much as possible and enjoy this phase. I remind myself that the same determination he has now will serve him well in the future. And I lay the cereal boxes out the night before. He's worth it.

Nothing is more humbling than...

taking two little boys to the library! It never fails. I can remember to call two weeks in advance to sign up for the music class. I can pack up books and lay out clothes the night before so we are on time. I can even flat iron my hair right before we leave. However, somewhere along the way I lose all control and chaos ensues. I should stop typing right here and celebrate the good things. The boys did well in the class and followed along better than they ever have. Drew only gets to come as a sibling since he is not quite two (this means he does not get his own name tag with a dalmatian on it- very sad) and so it IS a big deal that he sat still and attempted to sing the songs. David listened and did really well. BUT- I just can't help but comparing and seeing other people and their kids. There is always this one mom and daughter that sit off to the far end of the room. They are a pair that I just can't identify with- you know the type. The daughter is always in a frilly dress and stays right by her mom's side the whole time. And the prim, blond mother always seems to be looking at my boys with disdain. Then the little girl will look at Drew and point and whisper something. She probably whispers something innocuous, however, in my head, their conversation always goes something like this, "Mommy, I don't like yucky boys. " In turn the mom replies something along the lines of, "I know Princess, me neither, that's why Daddy sleeps in the guest room."
Anyway, we didn't get any evil looks from the Prissy Pair despite the fact that Drew and David were still hopping like frogs well past the frog song. The worst part always happens when we are out around the check out area. Herding squirrels would be easier than getting Drew and David to stand still and quietly in the same place. They both darted towards the doors and were trying to race to push the handicapped button and one of the sour-puss middle-aged librarians said, "Well go catch them you can get the rest of the books in a minute." It made me feel so dumb and I didn't have time to explain that 1) I knew I could grab the books and outrun them 2) they wouldn't go past the doors and at least they were further away from the quieter parts of the library. I just felt like such an inept goon. As I type this I know I shouldn't care so much what strangers think. And outings anywhere will just keep getting easier. But... it's just a bad feeling when I try so hard to then feel like we are one huge, noisy, misbehaving spectacle. I guess at the end of the day we learned some new songs, we have lots of books to read for the next two weeks, and the metropolitan library system will get a rest from us for a little while.