Another Day In the Life...

Random thoughts today - I don't think I can manage a coherent post right now, haha.

1. Here's Hayden:


Hayden is doing what Hayden does - play trains. He plays trains probably 75% of the time. What can I say? It's his passion. Unfortunately, his speech therapists/teachers get to deal with the consequence of that - his continual "Thomas" talk. They are working hard on getting him to talk about things other than Thomas. At home, we get all sorts of other conversation, but there, well...I think if Hayden doesn't know what to say or doesn't understand something he just starts listing all the names of the trains - Thomas, Percy, Gordon, etc.

Everyday I have to write down "news" in his notebook for him to talk about. This helps the teachers prompt him. It's a bit like show and tell, but not always showing something, they just tell something that happened the day before. To help Hayden, I usually try to have a prop to help him talk about it. So I've sent his toy dr. kit, a book, a gingerbread man we made, etc.
But having to do that really makes me think about our day - was there anything news worthy? If not, I better do something! So that's helped us to make crafts, play games, etc, just so he can have some news! HA!

2. This is Corbin and Daddy:



They are reading books - but that's a rarity with Corbin - he doesn't like books!! Crazy. He turns the pages really fast and then runs off. All Corbin likes to do is...

3. Dig out all my dishes:
4. A friend had asked for flying tips/advice and suggested it should be a blog post, haha. We are NOT flying anywhere this Christmas, and I am very happy about that. What can I say about flying? I shudder at the thought. That sounds horrible, but this age + 2 kids and me flying alone wasn't pleasant. Here were some of my mistakes/problems and things I've learned:

• I flew when Hayden was 10 months old. Right before the plane was boarding he had an insane diaper. When I went to the bathroom to change him and laid him down, the poop ran all they way down his back and into his hair. Yuck! Moral of the story: Have an extra set of clothes and lots of wipes.


• When Hayden was 2 and Corbin 1, I flew by myself with them both. I thought I was smart by downloading a kid's movie on my iPod for Hayden. What was not smart was not checking to see whether my headphones were working - which they weren't. Hayden was only mildly impressed with soundless Happy Feet. Moral of the story: Check that all pieces of your equipment are in working order! Don't rely on, "it should be fine".
• Southwest no longer does family boarding first - it's in between groups A and B. So DO check in online early, even if you still have to get a boarding pass for a little one flying in your lap. Then you can just board in A with everyone else. There really is NO time between A and B, so you aren't getting any "extra time" by boarding then.
• You can ask to have your husband/family walk down with you to the gate. I have done this several times when flying alone with kids. Just ask at the ticket counter and they are happy to give your spouse/family passes to get through security.
• Take advantage of "check at the gate". It makes like so much easier to bring a stroller for those long airport waits, and you can easily check it at the gate.
• Snacks. I say it again. Snacks. Bring lots of snacks. Individually wrapped. And ones they really like - not the healthy ones you wish they liked. Busy mouths = quiet mouths.
  
• Leave your self-consciousness at home. Your kids WILL do something embarassing or noisy, or kid-like - cause, well, they are kids! Who cares what people think? This day is about survival, not pleasing others.
  
• When Hayden was 5 months old, I had the luxery of nursing him on the plane. This kept him very happy and quiet. It also lulled him to sleep and he slept most of the flight. For little babies, this is definitely the way to go. Whip it out if you got it!
• I've flown at all different times, and it's really hit or miss on how they do. I've taken REALLY early flights and had them sleep, and I've also had them NOT sleep. Same with late nights or naptime flights. One thing I have found is morning is better. They are in a better mood in the morning and there is less fussiness. The closer it gets to naptime the worse it is.
• Be sure to check the list of what you can and can't get through security. They have rules you should be familar with concerning glass, food/drink, etc. You don't want to take the trouble to pack something you will have to throw away!! Plus you'll be missing something you probably needed.
  

Okay that's it for now. My mind shuts down at the thought of flying with them again.

5. We've been potty training. Ugh. Do I need to say anymore? I may write a whole post just on this experience - if I ever make it through.

6. Yesterday, was another steller example of why I hate potty training and other craziness. I had just taken a shower and gotten ready to go meet a friend, when the phone rings. Talking only for 1 minute - just enough to confirm the time we were meeting, Corbin decides to spill my drink I had absent-mindedly left on the table, next to my dinner, a salad. While I'm cleaning up that mess - which was a HUGE mess, the table is actually a trunk, so my juice leaked through the top and into my stacks of books! - Hayden comes up and says the dreaded words "Poo poo".

Yeah, he's in underwear. Ok, fine. Let's go clean up. I'm cleaning him up when I realize that his socks are wet, which means there's more than poo poo, there's pee pee somewhere too. Hmmm...please don't let it be on the carpet. It's not, thank goodness. A nice puddle on the tile awaiting me to clean up. Hayden is "finishing" on the potty, so while he's in there I go clean and mop the pee spill.

Then I see Hayden walking out and saying "Uh oh". Uh oh? Oh no. Little poop bombs are falling out as he walks towards me. ACK! What are you doing?? Go back to the potty. Luckily those fell on the tile too.

As I'm tackling that disaster, Corbin decides to take every piece of lettuce, carrot, whatever, out of my salad and put them ON the table. There goes my dinner.

I finally get all that cleaned up and then Corbin comes running to me - I think, to give me a hug. No, he takes his booger covered nose, digs it into my pants and wipes not one, not two, but THREE times. And so he displaced the enormous boogers onto my pants...

When Mark got home, I warned him as I walked out the door:

"Watch out for the poop bombs, I may not have gotten them all."