2.5 year old Evil Knievel

  Living in a small house you would think it's not easy for a toddler to get into TOO much trouble...I must have the Houdini of toddler's.  He seems to magically find at least 100 ways to get himself into trouble on a daily basis.  His major tell...he's quiet.  Quiet almost always means I'm in for an epic clean-up.
  Today, for example, J felt the need to put on (and take off) his Halloween costume no less than 10 times, no big deal until he sneaks into the bathroom, carries out his step stool, puts it on the landing (up only two small steps in our living room) and climbs on top. I swear it all had to have happened in less than 2 minutes. His silence followed by a deep belly laugh gave him away. When I asked him what he was going to do he told me he was going to Jump! Yikes!!
  15 minutes later he was Toilet-Pappering my kitchen, dinning room, and our poor dog! How can such a little person cause so much trouble so quickly!

Here's my little guy after being caught....he's so cute it almost makes me forget he was being a little stinker!

Can it be hording when it's a 2 year old with toys?

  I'm by No means the most organized person in the world but, that's not to say we are dirty (because we aren't) it's more clutter.  Recently I've been trying to de-clutter because my house is starting to feel claustrophobic (too much stuff, not anywhere near enough space) and I've done a good job (if I do say so myself) in the downstairs.  The exception to this lately has been J's toys. We do our big cleaning on Sunday afternoons laundry, vacuuming (the whole downstairs after brushing the dog), sweeping and mopping the floors in the kitchen wiping down the walls, basically the works.  During the week, I try to keep things organized, I really truly do but a 2 year old with more Hot Wheels cars than any other kid I know can get exhausting.  I learned early on to just pick things up at night, mostly to avoid the frustration of watching all my hard work done during his nap time get destroyed in 3.2 seconds.  However, by Wednesday night I'm beyond tired from working crazy hours (it's a treat if I go to bed BEFORE 2am) and the thought of picking up all the toys in the living room before going to bed is nauseating.  Fast Forward to Thursday afternoon, the toys from Wednesday are still out (with the exception of the few I've gotten J to pick up in order to walk through the room) and I'm loosing my mind. After dinner it almost always consists of me caving after trying to get J to clean up the room, although most days I can get him to help me with the majority of it, only to have the room trashed again by bed time.  It's a vicious cycle!
  Part of the problem is having an assigned house with a floor plan not conducive to a toddler.  We have no "play" area and the rooms aren't nearly as large (with the exception of the master bedroom and kitchen) as our Ohio house.  We're forced to use the front half of our living room as his play area.  I had the discussion with various family members and friends about why we won't put toys in his room, and my answer has always been and will always be, that his room is a place to sleep and not to play....if he has toys in his room he won't ever sleep that's just the reality of my child.
  Believe me, J has a LOT of toys, but mostly small ones and not nearly as many as a lot of people we know.  We've taken away all of the "baby" toys and they are being stored in the storage room that we have, but I can honestly say I'm excited for him to be getting older since the bigger they are the smaller the toys become and the less room they will take up. 
  Honestly though, if anyone has any ideas of HOW to get him to pick his toys up without an hour of discussion I'd really love to hear it, since right now there are times when I feel like I'm on that hoarders show because there are the toys of a 2 year old EVERYWHERE!

Mommy needs a cocktail!

So I'm not much for blogging, I'm not nearly as clever as most people and at times I find myself writing far more technically than necessary (that's what happens when you are the child of an English teacher I suppose) but yet here I am, about to try it once again.
  First I must say, I love my life and find joy in it each day but sometimes, Mommy needs a cocktail! Working full-time from home is both a blessing and a curse, I am never truly "off the clock" because my "employer" expects responses to emails almost instantly. So even when I think I'm able to get something done for "me", like writing this blog, I have emails pinging and a 2.5 year old who's gotten my iPhone to print lord knows what while watching potty training videos off YouTube (turns out it's pictures of curious George videos, seriously?!?). So right now, Mommy needs a cocktail!
  I adore being home with baby-J, although he has recently taken to telling us he is NOT a baby, but a Kid (insert quiet sobbing here) sometimes I miss going to work and dealing with adults who act like children, because at least they can properly communicate exactly what they want. To be fair, J is a pretty amazing communicator. For example, today he decided to inform me that after the grocery store he "Wanted to go to Target and buy a toy" which isn't all that surprising since if he even Sees Target from the road he freaks out! Yesterday morning he walks into my bedroom and tells me that "Daddy is an A##hole" in shock (and to clarify) I asked him to repeat himself and he responds "Daddy is an A##hole, he went to work today!" After fighting back fits of laughter and explaining to him that A##hole is not a nice word I thought to myself, is 8am too early for a cocktail? Then I realized wow, I better get my road-rage under control because that is my go-to word for the Idiot drivers of the world and we've spent a LOT of time in the car over the last 2 months!
  So as I finish this post, J is running around the room singing about washing his hands while chasing the poor dog, and all I can wonder if the hubs is on his way home yet because it's time to start dinner, and Mommy really wants a cocktail!