Eating With Milo

Dinnertime... well, any time that deals with food & Milo, is fun. I don't think I've laughed this much at a mealtime in a while! I'm not sure if it's because he's a boy... because he only has the one hand... or just because it's Milo, but he is the MESSIEST eater I've ever seen!! And I'm the oldest of 5 kids! I've seen messy eaters! One of his favorite activities is to put whatever food has been served in whatever type of dish (plate, bowl...) onto the table first, then eat it off the table. Why??? We just don't know.

I have to say, there is never a dull moment in this house any more!!

The Destructor

We've got a new nickname for Milo... The Destructor! He can tear the house apart in seconds flat. We're just not used to how boys act, apparently. I always knew Xandra was an easy baby... but I have new respect for her with every passing day. We never had to baby-proof the house because she just didn't get into things. I showed her what she could touch, and what she couldn't. That was it. That's all I had to do. Yes... we were spoiled.

Milo is such a different story. The other day, I was home alone with him (Xandra is back to daycare & Matt was at a dr's appointment). I was trying to work on the computer a bit. I could hear him, so I didn't think he was getting into trouble. Then I heard "blub...Bluuub..bluub" What the...??? I got up and found him face first in the dog's water bowl, blowing bubbles!!! When he saw me, he got a huge grin on his (very wet) face!! Seriously??!! I picked the bowl up & put it on the counter. A couple minutes later, I heard a crash & of course found my precious boy soaked through after having pulled the bowl on top of himself, as well as most of the kitchen!! AAAHHHHHH!!!!

We are going through all of the toys we currently have to make sure they're Milo-proof. So far, though, his favorite place is Xandra's very loved kitchen set. He loves pulling out every single thing from the cupboard (i.e. oven) & throwing it. If I try to attempt to pick things up while he's still awake.... well, it's just best not to. Seriously, why torture myself??

As I mentioned, Xandra is back to daycare. Whereas most parents pull their kids out to have summers off, we've decided to keep her in. She loves it there, and she is so loved on by the teachers & kids. It gives her an opportunity to be on her own without Milo stealing the show. And her feelings for A (the boy she's liked for a while) haven't diminished from being away for 3 weeks. Yesterday when I picked her up, A & his mom were leaving at the same time. Xandra yelled out "I LOVE you A!!!" & He dutifully responded "I love you too Xandra!!" Oh Lord....

Snow Day, Round 2

As if the ice storm wasn't bad enough yesterday... Overnight we had wind gusts @ 50 mph. It did dry up the ice, but now we've got snow falling. And tonight, they're calling for more sleet, freezing rain, and wind. Grrr!! I *really* do not like cold weather!

So, we've been stuck at home again today. I know it's only been 2 days, but I think we're all going stir-crazy. I decided to move all of Xandra's B*arbie's to the Rec Room at the top of our stairs. We've never used that room as a "Rec Room." We threw a cute love seat & chair up there a few years ago. We used to have a tv in there, but moved it out when Xandra was born (anything to keep the baby asleep!). So, it became a pass-through area.

Some may recall a few posts ago, when I posted the picture of B*arbie madness in our front room. Well, now it's moved upstairs:

As much as I don't like this, I think it's still better than before when everything was in our "entertaining" area. So, now our front room looks like this:

I really wanted all of the toys to be moved upstairs- that was my original plan. But I neglected to fully realize just how many toys Xandra has, and just how large some of them are (see kitchen set). I know a lot of families tend to put the kids' toys in the kids' rooms. I'm not that person. We still use Xandra's room as her "calming down" area when she has a tantrum. So, I don't want her to have a bunch of toys to play with while she's contemplating what she's done wrong. We may need to rework some things when Milo comes home- we may even need to get rid of some toys (trust me, I've already been contemplating that one for a while!). We'll see how things go with our new setup for now.

Tidal Wave of Barbies

This is how our house looks on a daily basis... I'm not proud of it. Granted, it's been worse, but this is pretty bad. Xandra got 13 new barbies for Christmas. That's added to the however many she had before. What is not shown is the storage container of barbies & accessories, plus the 2nd barbie mansion, & the 2 barbie cars.

I never liked barbies when I was growing up. I don't get this obsession. I much would have rather had a soft stuffed animal or a baby doll. But my girl is totally into them, so we indulge. And now we're paying the price. I've attempted to corral them with a little plastic drawer container + the storage bin. But, when Xandra starts playing, they all come out, and they all end up on the floor & her especially favorite spot - the middle of the walkway.

What I'm worried about the most is what will happen when Milo gets home & he starts to amass some other type of toy that gets mixed in with this already large mess. I enjoy having Xandra in an area close by to us when she's playing (i.e. on the main floor). The drawback is that our house's floor plan is really open - it's what drew me to the house in the first place. Now I regret it. I have no space to just shut off the toys. And with the open layout, this is often the first thing our guests see when they walk in the front door. There is really no storage that can hold all of this, so we improvise. I'm seriously thinking about calling in an interior decorator or professional organizer to help with this, because I'm at a loss....