Good Habits Gone Bad
Any parent who has been through toddlerhood knows that the most amazing/awful things can happen if they're left alone for any period of time. At all. Today was one of those days that reminded me that every toddler is an evil genius. Allow me to recount for you (and yes I took pictures this time).
You all know Brennan, 2yrs old, talks a lot, gets into everything. Jamie's son Elias is 2 and a half, ridiculously cute, much quieter, gets into everything. Typical toddlers. When they are together it's love/hate. They incessantly fight over matchbox cars and everything else that can be held in a hand. We literally have a ginormous vat full of matchbox cars, but whatever 2 cars are in the other one's hands are the only cars worth playing with apparently. They snatch then pinch and slap and run and cry and tell and do it all over again. So, they're doing their normal hitting and teasing routine while Jamie and I are enjoying our morning coffee and "getting to know you" chat. Tristan appears to inform us that Elias and Brennan are eating brownies. Hey! No more brownies!!! Acknowledged. More time passes. Elias appears, covered in chocolate, brownie in hand. Brownie is removed from toddler claws... and he doesn't want it back. Why doesn't he want it back? Because in the 7 minutes they were unsupervised they consumed a good 20 brownies and they were stuffed. Doh! I think Tristan had a bit to do with that as well. We brushed it off, gave them a little lecture, and set up our exercise DVD. What can you do. We should have caught the foreshadowing!!!
The playroom was semi-clean so they boys were actually interested in being there. Hooray! They were happily sending cars down the hot wheels track when we left them. All 5 of them were playing well together. Baby Alex was asleep in the swing. Cue Jillian Michaels!! We got about halfway through our workout when Elias poked his head through the living room, covered in toothpaste. We knew it was toothpaste because they were caught red handed yesterday, tubes and brushes in hand. They were punished. They were specifically told today to NOT TOUCH TOOTHPASTE! But, they're toddlers and toothpaste is so awesome!!! Twenty minutes of unsupervised toddlers. What were we thinking?! We paused our workout to do some damage assessment and general bebe cleanup.
Brennan was covered. Elias was covered. Tristan had a little bit on him, which makes me think he may not have been completely involved, but was a silent witness. We went directly to my bathroom tub. Glistening blue and white toothpaste globs were around the sink and coated the recently new forsaken tubes, now practically empty. The sink had been plugged and was full of clouded minty-fresh water. As the water drained I found a matchbox bread van with no wheels, as if it were hidden evidence of some shady mob business. Jamie came up with Elias, who had loaded his diaper with a nice flouride-filled poo from yesterday's antics and needed changed before bathtime, and she asked me if I had seen Brennan's room yet. Crap.
They PAINTED. The bed, the floor, the door, the recliner, the dresser... and there was water and an empty cup in front of it all, which I assume was to refresh the dried pasty smears for another round of fun. I opened the top drawer for a diaper and found more toothpaste blobs and 2 toothbrushes in a puddle of baby drool. A literal puddle. I picked them up and was treated to an impressive string of slime. I baby-wiped what I could, got Brennan and Tristan redressed, and brought Brennan back downstairs for the long timeout. Elias and Brennan stayed in timeout where we could see them until we were done with our workout. Then they were right back to teasing and smacking and crying until lunch. Despite it all I got a good workout, spent time with my friend, had an excellent lunch, had something to blog about, and no longer have to face the temptation of 5 brownies for breakfast ;)
Now I think I finally have the strength and desire to mop and scrub that room!
You all know Brennan, 2yrs old, talks a lot, gets into everything. Jamie's son Elias is 2 and a half, ridiculously cute, much quieter, gets into everything. Typical toddlers. When they are together it's love/hate. They incessantly fight over matchbox cars and everything else that can be held in a hand. We literally have a ginormous vat full of matchbox cars, but whatever 2 cars are in the other one's hands are the only cars worth playing with apparently. They snatch then pinch and slap and run and cry and tell and do it all over again. So, they're doing their normal hitting and teasing routine while Jamie and I are enjoying our morning coffee and "getting to know you" chat. Tristan appears to inform us that Elias and Brennan are eating brownies. Hey! No more brownies!!! Acknowledged. More time passes. Elias appears, covered in chocolate, brownie in hand. Brownie is removed from toddler claws... and he doesn't want it back. Why doesn't he want it back? Because in the 7 minutes they were unsupervised they consumed a good 20 brownies and they were stuffed. Doh! I think Tristan had a bit to do with that as well. We brushed it off, gave them a little lecture, and set up our exercise DVD. What can you do. We should have caught the foreshadowing!!!
The playroom was semi-clean so they boys were actually interested in being there. Hooray! They were happily sending cars down the hot wheels track when we left them. All 5 of them were playing well together. Baby Alex was asleep in the swing. Cue Jillian Michaels!! We got about halfway through our workout when Elias poked his head through the living room, covered in toothpaste. We knew it was toothpaste because they were caught red handed yesterday, tubes and brushes in hand. They were punished. They were specifically told today to NOT TOUCH TOOTHPASTE! But, they're toddlers and toothpaste is so awesome!!! Twenty minutes of unsupervised toddlers. What were we thinking?! We paused our workout to do some damage assessment and general bebe cleanup.
Brennan was covered. Elias was covered. Tristan had a little bit on him, which makes me think he may not have been completely involved, but was a silent witness. We went directly to my bathroom tub. Glistening blue and white toothpaste globs were around the sink and coated the recently new forsaken tubes, now practically empty. The sink had been plugged and was full of clouded minty-fresh water. As the water drained I found a matchbox bread van with no wheels, as if it were hidden evidence of some shady mob business. Jamie came up with Elias, who had loaded his diaper with a nice flouride-filled poo from yesterday's antics and needed changed before bathtime, and she asked me if I had seen Brennan's room yet. Crap.
They PAINTED. The bed, the floor, the door, the recliner, the dresser... and there was water and an empty cup in front of it all, which I assume was to refresh the dried pasty smears for another round of fun. I opened the top drawer for a diaper and found more toothpaste blobs and 2 toothbrushes in a puddle of baby drool. A literal puddle. I picked them up and was treated to an impressive string of slime. I baby-wiped what I could, got Brennan and Tristan redressed, and brought Brennan back downstairs for the long timeout. Elias and Brennan stayed in timeout where we could see them until we were done with our workout. Then they were right back to teasing and smacking and crying until lunch. Despite it all I got a good workout, spent time with my friend, had an excellent lunch, had something to blog about, and no longer have to face the temptation of 5 brownies for breakfast ;)
Now I think I finally have the strength and desire to mop and scrub that room!
