To !?#!? in a handbasket

My Sunday afternoon took a turn for the worse shortly after I tried to put the boys down for a nap. Tried is the operative word. Kale's teeth really started bothering him, so he cried/screamed for about an hour and 20 minutes before I finally gave up. Durig this time Nolan was up and down from his bed, opening and shutting the door, playing with his flashcards, singing songs - doing everything he wasn't supposed to be doing. I tried to get him to nap with me, but that didn't work either. We had planned to go over to Ellen and Greg's to pick out pumpkins for the kids, but by 2:20 my patience had worn thin, as Kale screamed in my face and wouldn't let me put him down. I gave him some Motrin and thought a walk might do the trick . . . and it did, thank goodness. Both he and Nolan relaxed and ate a snack. By the time we got home they were calm enough to head over to pick out pumpkins. Nolan was so tired he fell asleep during the 15 minute car ride! The boys had fun with Grandma, Grandpa, Claire, Mara, Anna, Erica and Elmer, the cat, and we came home with 3 pumpkins that Nolan picked out for us. I made a quick dinner of pizza, peas and blueberries while the kids took every single spice out of the spice rack. Seriously, we have an entire house full of toys and that's what they play with?

I gave the kids a bath and Kale was in bed at 5:50. Nolan held out a little bit longer and finally went down at 7. I had a feeling it wouldn't last because he hadn't gone #2 all day, and sure enough he was up at 9:40 and midnight with a tummy ache. Needless to say I was very tired when the alarm went off at 5 this morning!

At 5:31 this morning I heard a knock at the bathroom door, and sure enough Nolan was, as he announced it "awake". I made him lay on the floor outside the bathroom door on a pillow and with a blanket so I could get ready. By the time we got upstairs at 6 Kale was up, too. As the boys were eating their breakfast Nolan said "Mommy, I'm tired." No kidding. Maybe you should sleep later! I thought I had covered the going potty thing this morning by having Nolan go twice before 6:30, but it wasn't enough as he went in his underpants (still funny) before heading out the door. At the same Kale decided to do his business. I'm pretty sure I'll never leave the house on time again.

Tonight was a little better, even though Kale was crabby because of his teeth again. After a 30 minute debacle Nolan surprised me by doing his business in the potty - and he earned his first popsicle at home! It was very exciting, and he was so proud of himself. While Nolan was working on that Kale proceeded to pull everything off the kitchen table, including Nolan's juice box, which he squirted all over the living room. It's really fun taking things away from Kale now, because he runs away and screams when you finally get it from him. I was relieved when the boys were finally in bed so I could relax a little bit. And by relax I mean do the dishes, put the pill bottles that normally go in the bathroom but are all over the kitchen back where they belong, move the spices from the living room back to the kitcehn where they belong, and move the toys from the kitchen back to the living room where they belong. I know, I shouldn't let the kids play with the pill bottles. I'm learning to pick my battles, and as long as the bottles are child proof I'm not going to fight it. The kids love to use them as "shakers", as Nolan calls them.

Nolan's new favorite saying has served me well - "oh, man". He's also a fan of singing Twinkle, Twinkle, his ABC's (but not all in the right order), Row, Row, Row your Boat (he likes the merrily part), and Happy Birthday to Tale (Kale). He also surprised me by counting to 13 by himself. He still brings home an acorn a day from daycare. I didn't know where he was putting them until he showed me today - in the little part of the car door beneath the handle. He had 6 of them hidden there! Jane recommended I do an art project with all his acorns. I'm not real crafty, so it should be interesting!