Freedom

Last week, we reached a new milestone. I can't remember which day it was exactly, but both Alec and Emma have known for a while how to escape from their barricaded living room play area. I think they've just humored me by staying inside. But finally, last week, they decided that they were through with the charade. Alec escaped by lifting up the old octagon, which is now a glorified toy box, and just walking right past the ottoman on stilts. Emma dragged the toy lawnmower up to the ottoman and used it as a boost to climb up over the top. The rather funny thing was that Alec, as he was escaping, turned around to look straight at me, as if to say "Mom...it's time. We're done with this." And just like that, they were free.

For a few days, they pretty much had their run of the main living areas. I close and lock the bedroom doors to keep them out of there, since opening doors poses no problem for them. They were fine in the kitchen, for a little while...until they started going after the plants, the dog food/bowls, and all of the stuff in the cabinets. I have cabinet babyproofer thingies that we still haven't installed, because we never let them in the kitchen to play...until last week. But the new setup is that we put a gate in the doorway from the formal dining room to the kitchen. So...Alec and Emma have the whole west side of the house to themselves, and Cookie gets the kitchen and our bedroom. This is a doable situation, for both the kids and the dog and Mom. The only thing that poses a big pain in the rear is the fact that we have an exposed wall with a huge leaky gaping hole in our dining room. The root of the leak still has yet to be found, and we can't fix the wall until we fix the leak...so now the dining table and chairs are barricading the demo site. Ugh. I almost want to put an ad in the paper. "Hefty reward to anyone who can find our leak...after wall remains dry for a full year."

In other news, I recently joined the NW Arkansas Mothers of Multiples Club (NWAMOMC). They hosted a huge consignment sale this weekend. I didn't get to go check it out until Saturday (the last day of the sale) but that was great because everything was 1/2 off. So...I hit a super jackpot of clothes for Alec and Emma for super cheap. I got the most adorable Christmas dress for Emma, and tons of Fall/Winter items for both kids. I was stoked! I know lots of mothers who either cringe at the thought or refuse to buy second hand for their children. Well, I'm not that mother. When you have kids and see how very little they actually wear their clothes because they grow so darn fast, you come to realize that it's really okay. Plus, it's ridiculous to pay full price for something that your kid is only going to wear a few times. And the things that I've bought through consignment or had given to me by friends have always been in super condition. I fully plan on actually being a consignor at the Spring sale that the club hosts. Most of the other moms made several hundred dollars, and the club as a whole made over $8500 on the sale in three days!