Little Energy Suckers
Side Post #4
In another post, I mention how children literally suck all of the energy out of grownups leaving very little left for self-care. I also speculate that maybe my health deteriorated during the year and a half I worked teaching 2 ½ - 3 year olds because of the toxic work environment. This might not have helped but, turns out, children really are that all-consuming.
My sister and her twin 29 month-old humans visited our house Wednesday-Saturday a few weeks ago. I was exhausted in less than 24 hours. There are only two of them, so for most of the time they were vastly outnumbered by grownups. But. But. But. We were all slayed except my superhero sister who has adapted to survive on minimal rest. Of course the twins took naps and went to bed before 9pm, but that left barely enough time to hang out and catch up without constant interruption and distraction.
Having them here to visit was the most fun ever. We missed them immediately.
It was also a good reminder at how quickly old coping methods can resurface. We are the kind of house where a bar of chocolate or bag of candy sits open for days and sometimes weeks before being consumed. During their visit I caught myself compulsively snagging peanut butter M&Ms whenever I went into the pantry. This was pretty often, toddlers are grazing animals after all.
Needless to say, along with lax workouts since May and the general unconcern we show for our diets when on vacation, I gained a little bit of weight. Just a smidge. Not enough to freak out about, but enough to fall under thirty total pounds lost. This is the point where I need to take care not to let all my hard work over the past two years fall apart.
Back to the energy suckers. We are also the kind of house with a twelve and a half year old - not a lot of toys. Being a children's librarian, of course I got a big pile of books from work, but we don't circulate toys at my library. What to do?
The first night, crayons and printer paper worked great. I came home to a enthusiastically augmented front door and they colored for a bit every day after. The second day they came to my morning storytime and we went to lunch before coming home to nap. (Didn't happen, by the way - they jabbered to each other for half an hour until my sister's spider senses told her something was up. One of them had removed their diaper and augmented the pack-n-play with smelliness. Nap over.)
Later that same afternoon, we went to one of the coolest parks I've ever seen. On Friday we visited the Children's Museum of Indianapolis. All of this kept the twins pretty occupied until Friday evening when our lack of toys started looking like it might be a problem.
If you ever find yourself in a similar situation, metal bowls, plastic spoons, funnels, and strainers are your best friends. We played for almost an hour "washing" dishes in the sink, and later outside, those same dishes in a plastic tub filled with a couple quarts of water worked great.
There was only downside to this fix - when they got back to my parents house (Grammy and Pop-Pop's) the first thing they wanted to do was wash dishes in that sink too. This offer was not appreciated by the elders (woops!) so aunt Sarah gets to keep her status as rebel child for another season while re-gaining her strength and her sleep. (Before flying out to visit them this fall, of course).
In another post, I mention how children literally suck all of the energy out of grownups leaving very little left for self-care. I also speculate that maybe my health deteriorated during the year and a half I worked teaching 2 ½ - 3 year olds because of the toxic work environment. This might not have helped but, turns out, children really are that all-consuming.
My sister and her twin 29 month-old humans visited our house Wednesday-Saturday a few weeks ago. I was exhausted in less than 24 hours. There are only two of them, so for most of the time they were vastly outnumbered by grownups. But. But. But. We were all slayed except my superhero sister who has adapted to survive on minimal rest. Of course the twins took naps and went to bed before 9pm, but that left barely enough time to hang out and catch up without constant interruption and distraction.
Having them here to visit was the most fun ever. We missed them immediately.
It was also a good reminder at how quickly old coping methods can resurface. We are the kind of house where a bar of chocolate or bag of candy sits open for days and sometimes weeks before being consumed. During their visit I caught myself compulsively snagging peanut butter M&Ms whenever I went into the pantry. This was pretty often, toddlers are grazing animals after all.
Needless to say, along with lax workouts since May and the general unconcern we show for our diets when on vacation, I gained a little bit of weight. Just a smidge. Not enough to freak out about, but enough to fall under thirty total pounds lost. This is the point where I need to take care not to let all my hard work over the past two years fall apart.
Back to the energy suckers. We are also the kind of house with a twelve and a half year old - not a lot of toys. Being a children's librarian, of course I got a big pile of books from work, but we don't circulate toys at my library. What to do?
 |
| Crayons on glass are the best! |
Later that same afternoon, we went to one of the coolest parks I've ever seen. On Friday we visited the Children's Museum of Indianapolis. All of this kept the twins pretty occupied until Friday evening when our lack of toys started looking like it might be a problem.
If you ever find yourself in a similar situation, metal bowls, plastic spoons, funnels, and strainers are your best friends. We played for almost an hour "washing" dishes in the sink, and later outside, those same dishes in a plastic tub filled with a couple quarts of water worked great.
 |
| Hard at work |
There was only downside to this fix - when they got back to my parents house (Grammy and Pop-Pop's) the first thing they wanted to do was wash dishes in that sink too. This offer was not appreciated by the elders (woops!) so aunt Sarah gets to keep her status as rebel child for another season while re-gaining her strength and her sleep. (Before flying out to visit them this fall, of course).
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