Things I am learning.....

It's a steep learning curve, this parenting lark.  Anyone who knows us will not be surprised to hear that it's the practical stuff, rather than the interacting with kids stuff, that I am finding most taxing.  Things are getting easier though.  Here are a few things that haven't happened for a day or two:

• Cleaning a saucepan that I've burnt food to the bottom of.  (I am a pretty competent cook, but somehow cooking at the same time as having kids in the house is quite tricky for some bizarre reason)
• Putting Js shoes on the wrong feet.
• Putting a nappy on the back to front.
• Moistening a finger for quicker access to a nappy sack and then realising it had poo on it.
• having to rescue the house from complete chaos after the boys have gone to bed. 
• Crawling into bed before 8pm and sleeping 'til morning.

Here are a few things I've learnt:

• Either kids tops have ridiculously small head - holes or J has an abnormally large head. Every time I take a top off I am little concerned I might pull his head off with it.  
• How to put Js shoes on easily - you have to loosen the straps completely and then they just slip on!
• How to cook a simple meal without Andy taking the kids into a different room / county.
• The words to "We're Going on a Bear Hunt" (A's current and only favourite book) off  by heart.

We are beginning to establish a routine.  At the moment, the events in the routine are pretty consistent, but our timing is not exactly military.  Quite often things take a lot longer than we thought they would.  The meal I thought I'd knock up in 50 minutes took over an hour and a half today, for instance.  Yesterday, J and A had both been up ridiculously early, but then J came into our room and fell asleep again with Andy.  And then getting them to breakfast seemed to take forever.  

We are managing three meals a day, however, all sat round the table.  Which the children really enjoy.  The first or second day they were at ours,  A wanted to get down because he thought he'd finished.  We made him stay put until we'd all finished and that has worked really well.  Though it makes me feel a little Victorian.  It means we don't have to be trying to supervise one child in one part of the house, whilst encouraging the other to continue to eat and trying to eat our dinner at the same time.  It also means that he often eats more because he decides he wants a bit more of something.  The imposed three healthy meals a day plus fruit is probably doing Andy and I some good as well!