A Good Day (!?)

Today has been a great day. It's not often I feel like I can say that, but today's been a hum-dinger. The boys both slept through the night and until nearly 7am this morning. Nate stayed dry through the night and has used the toilet every time he's needed to go today. Yes!

We started the day with the Wonderkids class at the YMCA this morning. I put Will in childcare so Nate and I could spend one on one time together (Will's 1-2 year old class is on Thursday mornings); plus, I could be more flexible if Nate needed to get to the bathroom quickly or had an accident in class. We made it through class without an incident, got Will (who was sad to have been on his own, bless his sweet little heart), used the bathroom again and headed out to play at the adjoining park. (Fun fact: one of the boys favorite activities at the Y is pushing buttons. They race to be the first to push the ADA door opening button and the inside and outside elevator buttons.)

After enjoying the toys and sun for a bit, we loaded up, compared our toy monster-gator-truck (lawn utility vehicle) to a real one (sans the monster part) parked next to our truck, then headed to our favorite lunch time hangout: Chuck-E-Cheese! We belted out cheesy kids tunes on the way to emphasis our happiness. Will squealed with delight when we pulled into the parking lot. Chuck-E-Cheese is the one place where I can let the kids run fairly wild and not have to worry 100% about them (just about 75%). They stamp our hands and no one's let out without a parent with a matching stamp. It's a great idea because it's hard to keep track of toddlers let loose. It's also less than $7 for an all-you-can-eat pizza & salad buffet and kids 2 & under can eat from your buffet for free - cha-ching!

The boys were top-notch at CEC's. They listened, shared and we all had a blast (and stayed dry!). A highlight of my day was when I played my favorite game at CEC, Deal or No Deal (like the game show), and I went for the double deal (2 tokens with a chance of winning 80 tickets!) and came down to my case either having 4 tickets or 80. The dealer offered me 41 tickets to buy my case, but no way! I went for the whammy and won 80 tickets!! Okay, so you can see my priorities in life. I still can't help my heart from racing a little just thinking about it. Let's just be thankful we don't live near a casino.

Now Will's sleeping soundly in his big boy bed and Nate's relaxing on the couch. I'm soaking up some rays in the backyard with the laptop on my lap. Not bad. Not bad at all. I'm taking advantage of my happiness and quiet time because I know it can all change in a moment. It's times like this that make the hard times bearable. I'm starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel (did I just say that the other day)? The boys are finally getting in-sync with their sleep and are getting bigger by the day. I've been transferring clothes from Nate's room into Will's this week. They're both going through growth spurts.

Will was so adorable this morning. I was emptying the dishwasher and he got one of his plates and a fork out and put his blueberry bar on his plate and was calling me to get help up on his booster chair at the table. He's got life figured out. He's a good-natured boy and he's becoming so much more independent. It's been a relief to me because he's been such a mama's boy for so long. As nice as it is to know you're needed, it's also nice to have two hands to make a meal, empty the dishwasher, do laundry, vacuum, and when you need to, to wipe your own you know.

Will's been slow on the go when it comes to teeth. At 18 months his only teeth that are completely in are the four front ones. To the side of each of those he has four more teeth that are about 1/2 way in. And that's it! His molar's are trying to break through and his back gums are swollen to the point of looking kind of gross. At least then the poor kid will be able to get a decent chew on his food. You can tell he's in pain at times and he's not always able to eat as much as he'd like because they're sore, so we're looking forward to getting these buggers in and the whole painful process over with.

I'm hoping I don't get back on this thing tonight with a list of tantrums and "not okay" behavior. So far so good and I wish the same to you other moms out there.