In a house dominated by toddlers, it's hard to find a little peace and quiet during my day. It's even hard to do normal things sometimes, like eat a meal or go to the bathroom, without constant interruption or three sets of eyes and hands following me.
In recent weeks, I've discovered a way to get a little more peace into my day. Now I know that "they" tell you it's important to share meals with your kids around the dinner table. And I agree, to a point. But with three messy toddlers (who often still need help feeding themselves), it just doesn't work. There is no possible way I'm going to get three toddler meals and my meal prepared and on the table, much less sit down and enjoy mine without having to get up and down to pick up messes and dropped items, fill up empty plates or glasses, or clean up dirty hands and faces after they inhale their meals in five minutes and are impatient to get back to playing - and do it all three or four times every single day. Believe me, I've actually been crazy enough to try it.
So, I've started feeding the kids first, then feeding myself. Certainly I eat a little later than everyone else, but I also get to do so in relative peace and quiet. Nothing is more true than of lunch, after which the two little guys are ready for their afternoon naps. Connor, not always one to take a nap, is even banished to his room for a little "quiet time" with a few simple (read "quiet") toys. Normally, it would be his trains, but they're now part of the potty training exercise of "If you go poo-poo in your big boy pants, your trains go bye-bye until tomorrow." So today it's some Little People and their assorted small cars. The result is I get to each lunch in peace. I usually pick up a book or magazine, preferably a non-parenting related item, and get at least an hour of "me" time. It saves my sanity in ways you cannot imagine.
