Boy, Oh, Boy!

Lemmetellya, boys are a handful the best of times, especially my two little monkeys (who I'm realising aren't so little anymore!)  Kevin is in Ypsilanti, MI, training on a new printer.  He left Monday morning for work and from work that afternoon, headed to the States.  I've been parenting on my own since then and being left with the two of the boys 24 hours a day for more than one day running gives me a healthy respect for single parents who manage to hold it all together.  The first two days were fine but this morning, both boys were cranky and they seem to have developed the ability to block out Mommy's voice - everything from simple instructions ("Put on your socks.") to simple questions ("What do you want for breakfast?") to simple rules ("Hands off!) has been met with temper tantrums, tears, screaming and more.  The bickering and obnoxiousness is at an all time high today and I'm eagerly awaiting bedtime just for some silence in the house!

Tomorrow evening, Kevin will return and all will be right with my world again!  I miss him... but I've also found some benefits to the situation.

Pros to Having the House to Myself:
1) No one steals the comforter at night.  I don't freeze!
2) I get the remote.  I can watch "Cake Boss: Next Great Baker" and any other number of TLC programs without anyone groaning about it.  Even better, I can leave the tv off entirely - amazing!
3) Dinner is a no-work, no-fuss affair.  So far the boys have had (at their choice) frozen pizza, hot dogs and tonight will be ham & cheese pitas.  My culinary skills have gone on vacation and I've been eating light (fruit, yogurt, etc.)
4) No one's alarm is going off an hour earlier than it needs to.  My alarm is set with me to hit snooze once and that's it, I'm up.  No waking at 6 am to elbow Kevin to get him to deal with his alarm an hour before I need to get up!

Now the cons:
1) There is no one sharing the bed.  I miss the warmth.  My feet stay frozen all night long and it's harder to fall asleep without a body to cuddle.
2) Mommy is the go-to for everything without a break.  No chance to relax, shower or even pee in peace until kids' are tucked in at night.  Even then it's a good half-hour before all is calm.
3) The mealtime battles are all fought solo.   Thus the reason we resorted to #3 in the pros column.  I'm fighting over every little thing it seems and I think dinner might be the most annoying argument of them all.  This is your food.  Eat it.  No complaining.   At least kids' choice is cutting back on the complaints.
4) Lack of adult conversation.  Seriously, I've been talking to the dog.  Mumble, mumble, mumble.

Today, I escaped to the spare room/craft room while the boys were watching a movie.  I was supposed to be re-organizing the closet (the boys off-season and to-grow-into clothes) as well as my craft supplies.  I got distracted, but it was fun!  The clothes were finished... the craft supplies, not so much.   Instead, I got all the components ready for some fun bridal shower invitations.   I still need a stamp and maybe some flocking.  I also need the details of the shower but at least when it's all decided, the invitations will be ready for assembly.  I also got the pieces for some coordinating items ready-to-go... I'd tell you what they are, but that would ruin the surprise for the bride-to-be.  Clever ideas though, stolen scraplifted from a back issue of Scrapbooks, Etc.

Speaking of showers, I am in my early-planning, brainstorm and make-note-of-everything stage.  I was trying to come up with some clever favour ideas for a classy brunch shower.  I came across two fun sites for favours and other event or party accessories:  http://www.wedding-favours.ca/ and http://www.beau-coup.com/.   I absolutely love these favor box cake, bottle openers and measuring spoons.   I'm wondering how difficult it would be to do the cake if you found similar sized favour bags at Michaels or Solutions.  It makes me wish I had found these sites 7 years ago!  I'm finding some of the items very inspiring and would like to find some local (and hopefully cheaper) suppliers for some of the ideas floating in my head.

I think tomorrow calls for Starbucks and Chapters.  Great plan, no?  28 hours and counting til I recover my sanity.  Wish me luck!

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