Day 2257

Tiny kids trying to make other people laugh but mostly making themselves laugh is the best. I love having two little goofballs.

Day 2256

Fusterclucks don’t just come in threes when you’re solo parenting.

Day 2255

Thank god for cheerful kids who are generally enthusiastic participants in anything labelled an adventure.

Day 2254

Lizard continues to be entertained by riding the bus. Hopefully the novelty doesn’t wear off in the next couple days.

Chinchilla has discovered rock and roll. Specifically, singing “rock and roll” over and over. But also music on the “rado”.

Day 2253

We had a firefighting adventure after dinner. Lizard drove us to Africa with our firefighting tools and firefighting hoses. She was very particular that everyone had to be safely buckled in. Her brother was playing right along.

L: Kid firefighter, do you want to fight fires with me?
C: yeah!
L: okay, let’s get into the truck!
C: tuck!
L: is everyone all buckled in?
C: buckle!
L: Ready to go?
C: Ready!

Chinchilla was mostly interesting in the fire truck part, and kept calling his sister back to the truck. “Sit! Sit!”

This *really* makes me wish this girl would eat faster so we could do this every day...

Day 2252

Lizard now not only cooks many and varied dishes for me to try, but she also makes a recipe for me. “I’m writing ‘one teaspoon egg’.” That was for egg pie, which has lots of cheese, tomato, and carrots.

She also looked at the meat portion of the preparation for pulled pork sandwiches and said “Are we not having vegetables?”

Chinchilla continues to be obsessed with the pumpkin we carved for Halloween. It was a “nice nice nice nice punkin”. Also with his Dora Halloween book, which might be related.

Day 2251

Chinchilla has decided to adopt his sister’s view of books. It’s a good thing we have already firmly established how many bedtime stories they get and how many books they’re allowed in their beds...

Day 2250

A surprisingly difficult start to a difficult day.

Day 2249

Trying to teach a three year old Wheaton’s Law with limited success.

Also, my kids fight over folding washcloths. I have very mixed feelings.

Day 2248

If part of your evening gets snatched away from a webinar, it apparently results in SO MANY extra snuggles.
Now if only I got snuggle credit for work webinars...

Day 2247

Signs you are raising a little Liz Luthor:

“What are working people used for?”

Day 2246

Chinchilla does not appreciate his new snowsuit.

Lizard now has sufficient artistic prowess to draw our family. Although even she gets confused about which tiny figure is her brother and which is the dog.

Day 2245

I spend a lot more time than I expected going through clothes. Between the kids growing into and out of clothes, passing baby clothes off to the next families, and then Husband and I shrinking into and out of clothes, it’s a goddamn circus.

Of clothes.

Which is a pretty shitty circus.

Day 2244

Lizard told me today that she wished that we only had one kid.

And then followed up with “I just wish you had one kid and two babies.”

Apparently having a baby sibling is easier to endure than a toddler who hogs crayons.

Day 2243

Note to upper management: don’t let all the decision-makers leave early on Fridays.

As Lizard said about my day: “WHAT! That’s CRAAAZY, man!”

Day 2242

Lizard’s favourite post daycare activities are helping make dinner and dancing in her fancy shoes.

Chinchilla’s favourite is putting on the hat, coat, and boots I just took off him and parading around the house.

He also enjoys trying to convince us to have pizza for dinner. “Pita! Yes! Like. Pita!”

Day 2241

We pick up the kids from daycare and Husband says “we should probably order now.” And Lizard says “Are we having pizza for dinner? I love pizza! Yay!” And Chinchilla says “Pita! Pita! Pita!”

So we’re raising our kids right.

Also both kids now want to go to bed with books but no stuffies. Not really sure how to feel about that one.

Day 2240

I really thought I would have more time before I had a kid come home upset, saying that other kids don’t love her and don’t want to play with her.

Granted, it sounds like they had different ideas of what game to play and no one would compromise, so someone was maybe being a *touch* dramatic. Unfortunately that doesn’t make the feelings any less real.

Points for our stalwart little boy, joining his sister in all her reindeer games...

Day 2239

We spend a lot of time explaining things to Lizard because Lizard has a lot of questions. Like: why is it dark out? Why is it snowing? How do trees grow? How do buildings fall down? What are fires for? What are mountains for? What is snow for? How does the food supply chain work? Why are the lobsters in the grocery store not in the sea?

Today she asked one that I wasn’t sure how to respond to, but luckily she volunteered to explain it to me instead. Apparently mountain ropes are for people to climb up when they are falling off mountains. “There’s not much to explain, really.”

And Chinchilla introduced a new adorable mispronunciation: ketchup is now bupbup. As in, MORE BUPBUP!!!

Day 2238

Chinchilla has abruptly -and wholeheartedly- developed an interest in Lizard’s baby doll. Pray for us.

Day 2237

Tiny humans with larger than expected vocabularies are crowd pleasers.

The snappy crab dance also packs a good punch.

Day 2236

Chinchilla’s vocabulary continues to grow at an astonishing rate. It now includes “Brocky! Pizza!” (with suitable enthusiasm) “Here go!” (for when he passes you anything and everything he can get his little hands on) and “do it!” (which means, loosely translated: I want to do it all by myself, so shove off!).

Day 2235

When the stars align, Lizard wants to dress her brother and he is okay with having her help.

Also, I love the foods Lizard comes up with. Tonight she made a lemon blueberry pie, which she insisted was a dinner pie because it had “normal protein” in it.

Meanwhile, Chinchilla has discovered the joys of feeding everyone pretend ice cream.

Day 2234

‘What is Fire For?’ And Other Questions You Might Find Yourself Answering on the Drive Home After a Long Disheartening Day at Work

Day 2233

Apparently if we need to get a whole lot of food into our kids, we just have to make them scallops and pasta.

Also, we apparently have two very independent little kiddos. Even for toddlers. Chinchilla has learned to say “I do it!”. Mostly so we can have this conversation:

C: Halp!
Me: Do you need help?
C: NO! I do it!
...
C: Halp!

Day 2232

Having your work day called early because of bomb is not much fun, as it turns out. Would not recommend.

Day 2231

If you make food for a potluck, is it against the rules to keep it and go buy something for sharing if the thing you made is too delicious?

Also, imagining how hilarious and maddening it must be to be the propmaster at SNL.

Day 2230

That indescribable feeling when your three year old tells you to “just calm it down” because it is “not nice” to tell her to put her pants on for the second time (actually the eighth or so).

But also that lovely feeling when you finish your assignment early and it’s unexpectedly bonus movie night!

Day 2229

The language explosion isn’t any less astonishing the second time around.

The first ‘love you’s aren’t any less wonderful either.

Day 2228

When work is frustrating, it’s nice having a three year old at home to congratulate you on doing all the little things in life. “Did you need my help, momma?”

I certainly did.

And then Chinchilla provides the snuggles.