I am having a really hard time at the moment. I feel like I cant easily take the kids on errands, so most of our time is spent playing at home, going on walks, and being at the park. So, as the house unravels and dinners go uncooked, I am keeping the kids entertained. Is that normal? Do the rest of you feel like the house revolves around thekids because there are THREE of them. I dont know why this is such a big issue at the moment. Maybe b/c I had my fourth baby 8 weeks ago and I am more tied to the house at the moment.

Do any of you have good ideas for this stage?

Margo

Mommy to
Madeline, Emma, Jack 8/9/02 34 weeks
Charlotte 11/3/03

Yes, yes, yes. We are house bound during the winter mths (my rules) and they have recently stopped watching tv and want to be more active and climbing and driving me crazy. I guess I had it easy until now., I am working on getting my house "super cleaned" now so I can have more time to spend with them at least more time monitoring them and giving them something to do. It is hard to be with them the entire day in doors...there are only so many hours I can play with the little people and draw for them with the magnadoodle.

Jennifer, SAHM to ggg

Hi, I know how you feel. Seems like once winter hits it is to hard to push the stroller through slush and snow so it is just easier to stay home. I have put our toys into totes and only open them at different times to make them seem new. I have found that the choo choo wagon goes better so we take that at least once a week to get out of the house. I also don't know how others clean with the kids around. To hard for me so I run around when they are napping and clean up, and do laundry. What is dinner by the way? The fastest meal we can make after the kids go to bed for us is how it works. I love this age but boy what a mess they can make I try to really keep them on a schedule so we are doing new things at certain times so they don't get bored. Hope this helps.

Kristen

Olivia, Jarod, Ethan

Kristen and Jennifer
Thanks so much for the reply. I just needed to know I wasnt alone. I love the idea of putting some toys away in totes so that they seem "new."

Margo

Mommy to
Madeline, Emma, Jack 8/9/02 34 weeks
Charlotte 11/3/03

Are there any veteran moms who can tell us when we start to feel "normal" again?

Diane
mom to Kayla 9yrs
Ethan, Kate and Sean 8/21/03

I am by no means a veteran mom, but my GGGs are about a year or more older (born feb 01) and I too am very frustrated by winter. We have been going out if it is at least 35. Occaisionally I stick em all in the car, drive to get myself coffee, park at a local beach, and break out their snacks- we have a snack picnic- it can kill a whole hour on a good day.

One great resource we used last year was a "playgroup" run by our local rec dept- it was really just an old kindergarten classroom with lots of toddler stuff (little tykes toys, books, puzzles, etc) and tables, sink, etc and you could go there between 9-3 and play with your kids- it was a great way to just get out of the house and look at 4 different walls, LOL. It was totally informal- there was no one monitoring it, and it was a great way for the kids to be around other kids.

THE thing that saved my sanity was meeting a great triplet mom with 3 boys who are 4 mo older than my girls- we always did stuff together, even if we just walked at the mall, or did a playgroup at each others houses. We even went to that playgroup together- so if there is any way to reach other moms, go for it.

Good luck, these cold months are tough.

Well, my GBG were born 2 weeks before Kathy's (her post is #5) and I agree that playdates can really save your sanity. In fact, Kathy and I get together for playdates--about once ever FOUR months LOL. That's one way this winter, at almost-three, feels better: I'm just not worrying as much about colds as much, so I don't have to cancel as many playdates. When I take the time to make them! FWIW, most of our playdates are with singletons, and the lower child:adult ratio seems to help. We also joined a children's museum about 30 minutes from the house and I take the kids once a week, by myself, and everyone has a blast.

I would say the BIGGEST change in 2003 was that I could take the kids just about anywhere by myself. And that helped me feel a whole lot more normal. We do the library reading group alone (DH used to come along, too), I took the kids fruit picking once a week, and now it's the museum. I would say from about 2.5 onwards is when I started to feel "normal" in the way you're suggesting, although in fits and starts (like the library), it began to happen around the second birthday. Things can change FAST once you get past 2.

Just another example of something I would have been scared to do a year ago: we go for walks on the sidewalk when it's too cold just to go outside to "play." We bought the kids umbrella strollers and they give their dollies a walk, which seems to keep them on the sidewalk and out of the street (they're not just wandering). We've done this with snow on the ground, even, and I've also taken them in OUR stroller across the road to a quieter neighborhood, then let the kids loose to hunt for fire hydrants, lawn ornaments, etc. I could never have done this a year ago. Just something to keep in mind for later.

For me, desperation played a huge role. There was only so long I could stay home, scared to go out alone, before I went completely nuts and decided just to take the plunge. Usually I would start by doing an outing with a visiting grandma or a friend with her singleton, and then go the second time myself (once I had checked out the lay of the land, as it were). I've been consistently surprised at how manageable it can be.

Finally, my kids are really getting into imaginative play now, so they are more easily entertaining themselves indoors for long periods. I can leave the room for a half-hour (judiciously chosen) and not come back to chaos. Very, very nice.

HTH,
Happy New Year,
Jody
g/b/g born Jan 2001
http://www.geocities.com/hombiblio/

Jody
g/b/g born Jan 2001
http://www.geocities.com/hombiblio/