My Life is Chaos (In a Good Way)!!

After not sleeping much since Saturday night, I really need to be in bed but before I go I thought I'd share what my life has consisted of for the past week.....

I know, and have recently been reminded several times, that raising boys is not for the faint at heart. My boys take a lot of energy and I love it. But for the past week they've added more chaos than usual to our every day life. It started last week with a playdate at the park. We got there and I was talking to one of the other moms while watching Easton. I tend to let P have more free reign because he's a rule follower for the most part and has a lot of fears, which helps me not worry about him trying "dare devil" stuff. As I'm talking I hear P start crying and then it immediately turns to screaming. I run over to find that he has got his knee stuck in between 2 bars of the play structure. Problem solving is one of my strong suits and I tend to stay calm in situations. But I had a flashback about doing that as a kid and how frightening it was so, instead of thinking logically, I started pushing his knee, trying unsuccessfully to get it out of the bars. The other mom was a lot calmer and came up with a few suggestions before we were able to wriggle his knee loose. He was no worse for the wear when it was all said and done and he ran off to play with his friends. Awhile later I was watching Easton walking around in the grass. I had just said that I hope he doesn't find ant hills when he let out a brief cry. I ran over to him, knowing immediately that he had found one. I brushed the ants off of him and he, too, went on his merry way. At that point I was already pretty high strung because, an hour earlier, I had been graciously been told by our tax preparer that she thought it would be best to finish our taxes over the phone because the boys were into EVERYTHING in her office.
Fast forward to yesterday when we're at an egg hunt with our neighbors. I had told P on the way to the park that he would probably be one of the oldest kids so I expected him to be a role model, something he usually does quite well with. Easton is my dare devil so I was sticking close to him on the play structure when I noticed P wasn't nearby. I looked around and, lo and behold, I discovered him climbing to the top of the tennis court fence with his little buddy in hot pursuit behind him. Knowing he has a strong fear of heights (or used to it seems), I figured once he got to the top he'd freak out so I ran to help him, leaving Easton on the play structure with other moms around. As I'm helping P and his buddy down from the fence I hear Easton cry his "hurt" cry. A mom scooped him up and proceeded to inform me that he had fallen off the bottom step of the structure and had bumped his head. 5 minutes!! That's all it took from a relaxing time at the park to chaos!
Today was the best to date because it was chaos throughout the day, not just one specific time. This morning, as I was paying for groceries, P started screaming that his finger was stuck. A lady in line behind me came up to see if she could help me wiggle it loose. Luckily I was thinking more logically this time and remembered I had a travel size container of Vaseline in my purse. I pulled it out, rubbed it on his finger and was able to get it free. Of course by this time he was screaming loud enough that everyone in the store knew something had happened so I quickly left. Another "fun" moment happened this afternoon. He LOVES Wild Kratts, an educational show about brothers who wear a special suit to give them animal powers. He has been begging for his own Creature Power suit for weeks so my parents creatively made him one. He was thrilled beyond belief when it arrived in the mail this afternoon. He decided to wear it to the pond while he fished so he could have 'animal power'. I was watching Easton when all of a sudden I heard a splash. Out of the corner of my eye I saw P in the water so I ran over to him, where he was crying hysterically after falling out of the tree and into the pond. (Thankfully it was cold enough that the snakes weren't out!) I asked him why he climbed the tree and he responded, "I wanted to see the world as a fish does." Maybe I wasn't clear enough that this Creature Power suit isn't real and he doesn't really have animal powers. Tonight, I guess Easton figured that his Bubba had had enough fun so he was going to take over. While trying to wash the pond scum off of clothes I let Easton run around naked to help ease his never ending diaper rash. As I'm walking down the hall I see Easton squat down on the carpet and poop. So much for letting him be naked be a good idea. Boys I tell ya will ALWAYS keep you on your toes. It's no wonder why I'm always tired and questioning whether I'm too old to be a parent. The joys of boys!!