Real Parents Have More Than One Child

September 10, 2013

12:06pm

How do you handle having a baby while homeschooling a school-aged child?

Who knows? *Lol* I remember when Jay was little. We had, one day, came in from grocery shopping. He was about two years old and we were living in Maryland with my mom. Like all two year olds, he was active and into everything. I left him in the living room to put away all the groceries in the adjoining kitchen. Well, dummy me, I accidentally left a bag that had toothpaste in the living room. Jay had found that bag, opened up the toothpaste, and created his masterpiece right on my mother's carpet! I detected the faint smell of Colgatey-minty freshness and walked into the living room to see my child covered from head to toe in toothpaste.

Now, let's analyze this Bill Cosby-style. 

Tell 'em, Bill. Fortunately, my children are spaced out in age. They are 5 1/2 years apart. I can tell who did what according to the damage something has sustained. Madison is the Godzilla between the two. Jay tries to be a bit more subtle in his destruction. A small piece of something will be missing or broken off, and we don't realize it until much later, making it difficult to discipline that kid, because he doesn't even remember it happening! Every now and then, we do get the "Maddy did it!". So, Stephan and I will look at her and she's just grinning away. It's not NOT to smile back, so we end up punishing both children. *Lol* We're so mean. And it's fun. :-D 

I have to keep Madison busy while I'm teaching, though. When I get up in the morning, I get her up, too, so she'll be sleep by the time we get to the second lesson of the day. When she's up, she's terrorizing everything. I can't put her in her pack 'in' play, because she'll start fussing. So, I just have to let her crawl around on the floor. That's not so bad until shes knocking over the easel holding the dry-erase board. Like I said. Terrorize. Thankfully, I've become a pretty decent multitasker since having another child, so everyday I'm getting better at juggling teaching Jay and entertaining Madison. 

Anyway, back to our lessons. Penmanship next, and baking last. Here's something for you, moms and dads. When you are having a hard time finding a quick and tasty snack for the kiddies, corn dog muffins are a win every time. Just use a box of Jiffy cornbread mix. Prepare as instructed. Divide the batter into a well-greased muffin pan, and drop cut up pieces of uncooked hot dogs in each section. Bake at 400 degrees for about 15 minutes, let cool, and enjoy!