The "2 Kids, 2 Years Apart" Club

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Sometimes I wish I could start a club for moms who have 2 kids that are 2 years apart. Maybe we could all get in one place and pull our hair out together. Or whine as we share about how worn out we are. I just met 4 other moms in my MOPS leadership group who also have kids that are two years apart. It was so fun (and funny) sharing stories about how similar our struggles are. We all learned that our first-borns are picky eaters (and won't eat peanut butter & jelly Sandwiches), and our second-borns will eat almost anything. Our first-borns were difficult to potty train, and our second-borns are easier. Our first-borns were more pleasant, and our second-borns are more "testy." And on and on it went. It felt SO good to have other people to relate to!

Before I had my second son, everyone told me "oh, it's going to be so great!! That is the BEST age difference there is between siblings! Just wait until they can play together! And ohhhh, it is so fun when they get older." Well, those people must have repressed their memories of the period having 2 kids between 2 and 4 years of age! Don't get me wrong - there are great benefits; but there are also great challenges at this particular age!

My week has been spent playing the disciplinarian A-L-L -D-A-Y -L-O-N-G. Disciplinarian, referree, mediator - whatever you want to call it. These boys love each other so much. But now that they play together all the time, like all the same toys, watch all the same shows, and even have some of the same friends (and are in the same Sunday School class until Sept.), I think they might be getting tired of each other! They are in the "mine!" and "me first!" stage right now. A simple, pleasant period of watching Super Why! for 30 minutes turns into an all out WAR when it comes time to turn it off. They both race to the television, knocking each other down to see who can turn off the TV first. As the screams reach a new decibel level, they then fight over who SHUTS the TV armoire doors first, for pete's sake! When it comes time to wash hands for lunch or dinner, same story. Micah's favorite phrase right now is "I'm winning!"

If I give one boy attention, I better be sure I give the other boy attention, or another war breaks out. If I rock one boy to sleep, I better rock the other one. Tonight there was a war over a piece of bread. Micah keeps telling me he's hungry at bed time. Because he ate all his dinner (and he's still underweight), this concerns me a bit. So, I offered him a piece of plain whole wheat bread. I figure if he's hungry enough to eat a plain piece of bread with the crust, he must really be hungry. Sure enough, as Jaden's nodding off to sleep, suddenly he bursts out of bed with "Me bread, mommy!" After 10 minutes of me saying "no" and him screaming, I did it. I gave in and gave him a small piece of Micah's. But it wasn't good enough. "NO! BIG piece, mommy!! Big piece!!" Of course I did not give in, held my ground and put him right back in his bed. Yeah right. After ALL day of this, I did give in. Well, I compromised. I gave him 1/2 a piece of bread, and he ate it, crust and all. Ugh.

If I just had a "2 Kids, 2 Years Apart" Club, maybe we could put our heads together and figure out how to handle 16 hours of this a day. I'm just so glad I go to MOPS -that is close enough for now :)

Here are some of the things the boys have done this week:

Jaden coloring his tongue!


And his ear!

(Oh, what's that? You noticed the binky STILL in this 2 year old's mouth? Yes, that would be because mommy can't bear to hear the shrill screams that emerge from this child's lungs 100+ times each day. The binky is my friend. Don't judge me.)

The boys playing nicely in the backyard (in the dirt)!

We also took lots of baths this week :) Hats off to all you moms of 2 kids, 2 years apart!!! We can do it!! :)