on sharing a room

i have something for you.

allow me to draw some wisdom from my deep well of parenting knowledge (it's been almost 3 years so i'm basically a pro now, right?) and impart it.

the secret to peaceful toddler room-sharing?

staggered bedtimes.

when the boys were babies, room-sharing was no problem.  a newborn and a 13 month old don't get into too many shenanigans.  (plus, they were both still in cribs.  cribs are the best.)

 until they learn to escape.

but now that the beasts boys are older, we have to stagger their bed/naptimes.  we usually put desmond to bed about 30 minutes before tesla so that he is (hopefully) asleep by the time tesla gets in there.

if they're both awake, all hell will break loose.  they will (1) destroy things (2) stay up the entire naptime or (3) all of the above.

...yeah. 

for example.

a few days ago, i put the boys in for naptime.  desmond wasn't fully asleep but i didn't think it would be a problem.  (sometimes my judgment leaves a lot to be desired.)


they didn't end up going to sleep.

i figured they would be tired and cranky, but since there isn't much in their room but their beds and an empty bookcase (we have also installed high locks on the bathroom and closet doors so they're off-limits during sleep time), i thought the room would be okay.

hahahaha

well.

somehow they acquired a metal bar from the sliding doors (silas said it was on top of the bookcase, so i'm not sure how they got it down) and used it to fell a paper lantern*.

via

when i walked into the room, i found that they had completely shredded the lantern into tiny pieces.  there were support sticks and paper bits all over the room, and the lightbulb had been smashed (i cleaned up what i could find but random bits of glass keep turning up, which is super fun).

those. boys.

they're lucky i'm biologically wired to love them.


;)


however, to bring this full circle (not that i'm exactly known for my concise and relevant storytelling), putting desmond to bed 30 minutes earlier than tesla pretty much solves the problem.

all the boys watching kipper.

*their room has no lights and we hoped that hanging a lamp and running the cord along the ceiling and into the bathroom would be a way to light the room without interference.  it worked...for a while.



-----------------------

if you have any room-sharing tips or horror stories, i'd love to hear them!

have a lovely tuesday.

just found these.

 from last year.

isn't he so cute??  i love that little desmond.

and here's one from a few days ago.  (we have longer hair now)

they really are fun, you guys.  

(except for when they trash the closet.)

don't worry.  we put two extra locks on their closet door.

really high up.  so they can't reach.

and one on their bathroom door.  

i was getting tired of walking in on them dumping buckets of toilet water on the floor and brushing their teeth in said toilet water.

but really.  usually they're fun.

fo rilz?

in the past few months, the car has been...less than cooperative.

he held up his toast and said, "look!  helicopter!"

several weeks ago i arrived at the park with the boys and stepped out to realize that the car was emitting smoke.  (which explained the burning smell i had noticed on the way there.)

we had to leave it there and walk home.  my parents drove down from scottsdale to help out, and took the car in.  that little visit ended in a slew of repairs that totalled about $800.  (thank you, mom and dad.)

the catalytic converter (i'm not going to pretend i know what it is) is broken or something, so we bought a new one and took the car in.

turns out we bought the wrong one.  aaaaaand, if we want it fixed--$1400.

(we decided we can live with it the way it is.)

bought 4 new tires.

blew one out 2 days later.  completely flat, and beyond repair.  replaced it.



took the car in to get the transmission drip pan (?  or something like that) fixed.  while they were fixing it, they found that the people in Utah who had worked on our car a few years ago had broken off a screw and left it there.  $100 extra onto our bill for that.

for a while, the cd player wasn't working, due to the fact that tesla had fed some quarters into it at some point.  the radio, however, was working.

a week or so ago, silas got the quarters out.  (cd player still didn't work.)

a couple days later, the entire thing stopped working.  it won't even turn on.



while the car was in the shop a couple days ago (for the transmission thing), someone swiped tesla's car seat and the jogging stroller.  (kind of our fault for leaving them unattended, but while i'm airing grievances...)   :)

and this morning, i walk out to the car, put the key in the ignition, turn it, and...nothing.

well, not completely nothing.  the a/c and the lights came on (not the radio, of course).  but the engine made no sound.

well...c'est la vie, i guess.

now i need to go find someone to teach my class on sunday...

it doesn't count if you're standing, right?

the boys are doing roomtime.  it is peaceful.  (after i gave my "STOP BANGING THE BOOKCASE ON THE WALL" speech, of course.)

i finished the morning chores and was going to do some yoga.

instead i stood in the kitchen, staring off into space, and accidentally consumed 6 oatmeal chocolate chip walnut cookies while my mind was lost in thought.

i hate when i do that.

i suppose i can still go attempt the yoga.  i'm not really feeling it today, though.

i'm feeling pretty distracted, spacey.

(as you might have gathered.)


what were you saying?

he did it!

today, silas took his last final and has finished his first year of podiatry school!  enter bbq chicken pizza and ben & jerry's.

now he has a 2 week break before summer term starts.  (more classes!  yay!)  but we're going to make the most of it.  and he's going up to utah next week with sirius to run the timpanogos trail marathon, because he's crazy awesome and much more athletic and driven than i will ever be.

(the boys and i will not be tagging along, since silas and i have a strict "no road trips with children under the age of 5" policy.  this policy was enacted after several miserable road trip experiences.)

in other news, silas and i watched "the help" last week.  i am aware that i was most likely the last person in the entire universe to see that movie (and no, i haven't read the book yet either), but for the record...it was very good.  i cried a TON, which i was not prepared for.  tonight we're renting "one for the money", which i'm pretty sure will elicit no tears.  haha.

and in other other news, last night i finished my 29th book of this year.  (!!!)  it was a good one.  i started my 30th today.  

i feel ridiculously pleased with myself for this accomplishment, but i have a feeling i probably shouldn't be.  i think that if we were playing a phrase association game, "reading 30 books in 6 months" would be grouped with "cat lady", "asocial", "no life", and "is friends with the grocery baggers".

you know how it is.

i love how he just crashed, not on either of the beds or on his blanket, but right in front of the door.  oh, little tessles.

have a spectacular weekend.

passed out

even with all the door-kicking, screaming, giggling, and playing...they do eventually fall asleep.

fermentation to perfection

i was informed that my last post made me sound a wee bit depressed.  if it did, i apologize.  i didn't intend to give off "wallowing in my own sorrow" vibes.  i'm good.  things are good.  desmond hit me over the head with a huge plastic toy today.

(i'm not depressed.)

silas is a very patient man.  i think living with me is like a refiner's fire for his character.  by the end of our lives he's going to be practically perfect.

the other day he came home and i pointed to a bowl on the counter and announced gleefully, "i'm fermenting rice!"

he just shook his head.  he didn't share my pride or enthusiasm for home fermentation.

just so you know, it went to a good use.

steamed sourdough bread!

(i know, what?)

i found this recipe and was curious enough to try it.  the verdict?

interesting.  i actually really liked the flavor and the heartiness of it.  the only thing i wasn't crazy about was the texture, the middle wasn't as dry as i would have liked it to be.  (easily remedied by toasting it, btw.  mmmm.)  maybe i need to steam it longer?  who knows.  but i am proud of myself for making it.  i feel so hardcore.

another recipe i am a fan of is this homemade "ice cream".  i've seen tons of recipes like this floating around but i never actually tried one until last week, when tesla was sick.  (it was the only thing i could convince him to eat.)  he looooves ice cream (except when he says "ice" it rhymes with "grass".  think about it) and this was a big hit.

sometimes we have it for breakfast.  i even snuck some kale in the other day and he was none the wiser.  it seems to go over better than smoothies (even though it's practically the same thing), and the thickness makes it easier to eat with a spoon.  slightly less messy.  (but still pretty messy)

lovely weather lately.  it's only been in the 90s.  (i never thought the phrase "only in the 90s would pass my lips.  or my keyboard.  arizona has lowered my standards.)  today it even rained for 5 minutes!  i love love LOVE rainy, cloudy days.  although i'm told by my friends in the northwest that it gets old.

remember the game Perfection?  i saw it at target for $5 and bought it on a whim (i think roughly 80-90% of target's revenue comes from impulse buys).  it was a very fruitful whim to follow, it turns out.  tesla loves it.  i love that he sits there by himself and puts all the pieces in, since i usually can't get him to do puzzles.  use those problem-solving skills, little man.


and i have an announcement to make!

i am halfway to my goal of reading 50 books in 2012!  looks like i'm on track to finish strong.  in the beginning i questioned whether or not this goal was realistic, but who am i kidding.  of course it is!  i have no social life!

wait, that's not totally true.  i went to playgroup today.



less than a month until MASTERCHEF SEASON 3!!!!