One Vs. Two

A friend once told me "Having one kid is like having one kid, and having two is like having twenty."

Yep.

Last week it happened that Squeaks was at Nana's house and I had Little Dude to myself for a few hours. The boy and I ran errands with ease. I can't believe I ever thought running errands with just Squeaks was difficult. I took my time at Target while LD enjoyed his snack in the stroller and waved at everyone we passed (I love that our stroller can go from a single to a double easily). Then on the car ride home he fell asleep. I decided to do something I haven't been able to do since he was born. I went through a drive through, got a chocolate shake, turned the music down low, and just drove around till he woke up. Soooo relaxing!

They are never in the same mood at the same time. Never both eat well. Never both sleep well (Squeaks sleeps while Little Dude doesn't). One always wants what the other has and they both always want what I'm eating. It's the biggest challenge of my life and I'm loving it!!

From what I've learned so far, being a parent to two small children so close in age is a lot like playing chess. It's a strategy game. Who do you get out of the car seat first? If you give one food the other will want some. Who do you feed first? What do you do with the one year old when he's not tired, but you need to put the two year old down for nap? You have to be one step ahead of them at all times. Add in housework, laundry for four (two of which love dirt), meals for four, three times a day plus snacks, breastfeeding, cloth diapering (ya, we're back at it), and three dogs, my life is never boring. I feel like I have to have a daily plan. My husband walks out the door for work and the game begins.

I don't know how to play chess.

There are days (a lot of days) where nothing goes "according to plan" and they are great days! So I've decided to start the day with a plan, envision my next move, and be as prepared as I can be. Then when it all hits the fan, laugh, and reset the game board. 

When nap times happen to overlap, I don't clean. I sit. And eat chocolate.