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As I sit down to write the first of these, my husband is doing stretches and tummy time with our new baby boy, Leif. Leif does not like tummy time…at all. It sounds like a baby pterodactyl lives in my home.
At some point while I am working on this, Rhys, our toddler, will probably climb into my lap and hit a button that deletes everything or adds random letters in a random spot. Leif will probably need to be nursed. So either I continue typing with one hand or I pause what I am working on, hoping I don’t forget the next sentence forming in my mind.
Let me try to show you how my little household looks these days. Toddler diapers are a thing of pre-quarantine days…not because our toddler is potty trained…he isn’t…he just loves naked time and, well, we aren’t going anywhere or having any visitors. Soooo…toddler naked time it is! And because he’s naked and doesn’t want his diaper, potty training, which had stopped completely after Leif was born, is back! We created a potty chart and so far we’re having luck with peeing in the potty….yayyyyy! Rhys gets a small star sticker every time he pees in the potty and 2 stickers for pooping in the potty. After he gets 20 stickers he gets a prize, like a Disney figurine or toy car.
My plan, though, isn’t to just blab about my home life. Like other parents and guardians, I suddenly find myself having to entertain a young child ALL Day long with no daycare, no park, no play dates, and no libraries… no anything outside of the house really (other than a walk that keeps a 6 foot distance from any other human (or dog.)). What’s going on isn’t a bunch of parents suddenly becoming stay at home parents, it’s a whole new way of being a parent.
So, I’m going to start this off with a vent. Go ahead and join in! I’m sure there’s some way your kid is already driving you batty (even if you’re much better at hiding it than I am!).
Vent Begin…
Train songs…I can’t take them much longer. Rhys wants them over and over and over and over again (Polar Express, Mickey’s Choo Choo Express, the theme to Dinosaur Train…over and over and over.) I’m starting to hate trains.
Oh and we literally just got the okay to take Leif out to indoor public spaces (not just outdoor parks) as of last week. LAST WEEK! That was already 8 weeks of going hardly anywhere since we decided not to take the extra risk during flu and cold season. I made one trip to a library and got lunch with a friend last week…now I’m back to not leaving the house. Only this time, I can’t even go to the park.
And Vent Over….Back to the blog.
I’ve been trying my best to keep Rhys entertained and provide him with fun, engaging, educationally motivating activities. My plan is to share some of them with you. Use and modify what you like, try what you want. I'll also use this space to share other thoughts and hopefully helpful resources for parents and caregivers.