100m or marathon

I like this photo as he looks like a frog in it.

Some days of parenting feel like marathons (long and tiring), and some like the 100m dash (quick and exhausting). unlike the olympics, however, there are many gold medals and they happen a little more frequently than once every four years.

i was up late working (about 2 am) but since everyone slept in until 9, it was not too bad. K woke up in the night once, but R was out cold. R joined us in bed in the morning for snuggling which woke up K. she was quite perky and wanted to hug her brother. this did not go well until she was reminded to use gentle touches. once she did that he enjoyed her attention and reciprocated. one day they may like each other at the same time.

breakfast was fine. R ate well ( milk, sausage, ganthia, and bagels with cream cheese); k ate less than expected (smoothie and ganthia). then after much toileting and a bit of unpacking, we all headed out for gardening. things were pleasant for a short bit. both managed to play acceptably well together. they helped me garden by weeding and spreading mulch. after 2 weeks of being gone, it was quite overwhelming. the coreopsis flowers were about 8 feet tall or touching the ground. a new fern and a favorite columbine had dried up and there were about 2 dozen tomatoes on the vine. ruskin mowed and trimmed; i thinned, weeded, and mulched. i thought the kids might enjoy the sprinkler as it was quite a toasty day and it was just after noon. that was quite a mistake. K hated having water sprayed in her face and ran away crying and became clingy; it was clear that she needed food and nap. but K and I had to wait outside with R until ruskin came down from the ladder trimming the vines. R kept fidgeting with the sprinkler spraying us both. things went downhill from there leading to a full blown tantrum. at this point, K could not eat and was overwhelmed, R was screaming, and Ruskin and I both were wishing to be at the beach hauling buckets of water. all of this led me to have a migraine and cancel our plans to attend aunt sarah's party. how disappointing!

Ruskin put k to sleep and R tried to calm down. eventually we went down and had some lunch. he must have been really hungry because he put away quite a bit of food (tofu, spinach and cheese croissant, and cheeses). he also ate almost an entire frozen veggie lasagna for dinner with 2 bowls of ice cream. it's as if he is making up for not eating this past week in myrtle beach. i think also being on his home turf and having more variety helps.

he did have another tantrum and woke up his sister. ruskin tried to put her back to sleep but that was not successful. so she came down and had lunch next. she was starving and ate most of a grilled cheese sandwich while R played with legos. Ruskin and i thought it would be a good idea to start setting up his new bed as it will require much rearrangement of furniture. R has pretty much outgrown a toddler bed and needs more space. we have gotten a fun bed on craigslist. see picture -- it is a little frilly for us. but having just seen the movie Babe about the talking pig, we are thinking of calling it a barn or a farmhouse. (my other idea is a space station and decorate it with space stuff -- we are open to suggestions on how to make it more interesting and less like a frilly house.) the thing is massive and heavy. for the past few weeks, when i am lying in bed unable to sleep, i rearrange furniture trying to find away to make everything fit. despite all of this, i have not been able to find a satisfying solution. but ruskin and i talked through as many options as possible.

K will get R's old thomas the tank engine toddler bed but her room also has to be rearranged to accommodate the bed. we think we have figured it out. i took the kids out for a jaunt while ruskin "got to" rearrange very heavy furniture by himself. i am not sure which one of us was the lucky one. all afternoon R had said that he did not want to go to the library. so when i finally dragged them out of the house to go, it was closed. of course, this was when R decided he want to go to the library and became sad. at least, i can laugh about that one. we drove by masee's home but there was no answer so we did not stop. as we neared home, masee called and said that she was in our neighborhood. there was much happiness all around. both kids were very happy to see masee and tom masa. it was incredibly fortunate that they stopped by as we were able to move some more things around. thanks masee and tom. masee told us about her adventures on a bike, held legos, and changed diapers making everyone happy.

K was a mess at dinner, washing her hands in her water cup, refusing to let dad pour her water, and dumping rice in her lap. ah toddlerhood. she, of course, expressed surprise when the cup and the plate were taken away. she managed to eat some tofu, lasagna, and ice cream before being whisked away to bath and bed. what a funny age.

R had a quiet bath playing and narrating about barges, dredging, and water in canals. he did this for a while in the tub while i cleaned the bathroom. we did not try for a nap today and i am hoping to kind of short circuit him and get back to an earlier bed time. we finished reading by 9:15 and i left the room by 9:30. he was out by 9:45. keep your fingers crossed.

tomorrow he starts engineers (older preschool), K goes back to older toddlers and we try to have a quiet day working without children for the first time in two weeks.