We were invited to play at toddler time at a nearby inflatables place yesterday. The kids had a blast. There were a lot of kids, but the place was big enough that it didn’t matter. Really, it was a great time, and afternoon naps were MARVELOUS. While Megan and Alex were bouncing in one inflatable, Megan came over to laugh at me through the mesh. She pushed her face against it, right in my face, and said, “I see ooo!” She makes me laugh.
Alex tends to be a morning eater. He is very picky about dinner, so he’s hungry in the morning. So he usually eats multiple bowls of cereal, toast and sometimes yogurt to boot. Then he’ll eat a decent lunch and pick at dinner again. Last night, he actually ate his dinner pretty well, and still chowed down on breakfast this morning. Actually both twins were up before 7, talking about food. Maybe we’re going to hit a growth spurt soon…
Monday was rough this week. We were just thisclose to a meltdown all day long. Over and over, I’d face one child talking, one yelling, and one crying…all morning long. They just took turns on each option. I seriously felt like a horrible mom. Thankfully, naps went well (I think they were mostly really tired from the weekend), and I even got a bunch of freezer meals made and put away in the afternoon. And my kitchen cleaned. And some laundry done. Apparently, as my mom always said about herself, just wait until I get upset and then watch me work!
So I’ve been trying to get Megan in for a well-visit this week. The pediatrician’s office recently changed to a day-of appointment policy…as in everyone has to call the day they want an appointment and just hope to get a time that works for you. That works just fine if my kids are sick because then I don’t care who we see or when we get in (no matter how much it messes up our day’s schedule). But for well visits, it’s not the same. I want to see our doctor. And I don’t want to skip naps for all 3 kids just to go get Megan’s checkup and shots. Because day-of means that I cannot easily get a babysitter, so I have to haul all 3 kids with me every time. And day-of means I have to try to fit a phone call in at 8 am, just when my kids are making lots of noise about who touched who and what they want for breakfast and why so-and-so needs to have a time out (okay, that last one is pretty much always Erin 
). And day-of means a lot of added stress to my already barely-treading-water life in the trenches with toddlers. Frankly, I’m trying to remember to be gracious because the policy change saves them from dealing with a lot of cancelled or missed appointments. And I LOVE my pediatrician. LOVE him. He’s a Christian, he’s awesome with my kids, he’s helpful and kind and has good perspective on kids and their needs. But seriously…I’m not sure I can deal with the added frustration of this new policy every time I need an appointment. Sorry for the long vent…it’s just life, I guess.
Erin, who has barely eaten a bowl of cereal in months, has fallen in love with Yogurt Burst Cheerios. That’s great. The bad news…I can only find them at Meijer. And we haven’t been to Meijer this week. So we’re out of them. And she asks for them every.single.morning.
We had a birthday party for me at my Mom’s house on Saturday night. I was glad for it since Eric woke up on my actual birthday with the stomach bug, so we didn’t have much of a celebration last Thursday. It was really fun. Dinner was yummy. My grandparents joined us (I didn’t know they were coming), and a bunch of us sat around the living room and laughed uproariously after dinner. Good times…
We talked on Sunday night at small group about spending our time wisely. It was a somewhat convicting discussion since I, for one, am not nearly disciplined as I should be with my time. I’d like to tell you all that I just don’t have time in my day to do this or that, but really, I have lots and lots of spare minutes that I just don’t use well. Now admittedly, those minutes are often at random times in any given day, and they are often interrupted by a crisis or a needy child. But still, they are there. And I’ve been trying to use them better this week. The bigger challenge is doing it, not because I’m a perfectionist, type-A chick, but because I want to honor God with my time and teach my kids how to use time well (since they will do as I do more than anything else).
And on that note…Curious George is now finished, so I will have to go back to managing my little herd of turtles. Happy Wednesday!
February 22, 2012
What inflatables place did you go to?
I would not deal well with that policy either. I make all our well-check visits about six months in advance (and I haven’t cancelled/no showed ONCE!). Want me to talk to Dr. Lamonte on Sunday?
February 22, 2012
@ch1pch0p – SuperGames. Quite near you, I think. Scott Walker works there and his wife invited us and got us in for free. Lovely!
And yes, I used to schedule 3 months in advance (i.e., set up the next one as I left). Karen asked him about the new policy and he said it was to stop the no-shows. But seriously…I never no-showed! Anyway…I’m sure we can avoid a Sunday “come-to-Jesus” meeting with him, but thanks for the offer!
February 22, 2012
Josie is a breakfast kid. When she was Alex’s age, she ate “1st breakfast,” “2nd breakfast,” and many days “3rd breakfast.” Even now, she’ll eat dry cereal as an appetizer before I get breakfast together on the weekend.
I hear you on the conviction of how we use our time. Let me know when you figure it out…
February 23, 2012
@shannahhogue – That’s too funny! We’ve been to SuperGames with MOPS before… and even funnier, I set up our playdates and called and talked to Scott about a discount for our group. Never realized who it was, though!