My good bloggy friend Liz, gave me a great idea last week to do a weekly feature of my very own!
After some thought, and a lot of input, and mostly my sister and Liz’s ideas, we came up with a title for my feature! Stacey’s Mayhem Management will be a weekly blog post with the purpose of sharing “how I do it” with a family of nearly (and soon to be) seven children.
I am very excited about this feature and hopefully I’ll be able to pass along some practical advice and a whole lot of laughs!
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It happens to the best of us. It’s inevitable really. It would be nice if we could just hold it in permanently, but we can’t. We aren’t made that way. Eventually, we will have to use the bathroom.
If you have small children, you’ll know that this requires an entourage. You can’t go by yourself. They won’t let you. You can try to sneak away, but they will ALWAYS find you. Then they’ll pound at the door and cry. They will shove things under the door. They will talk to you through the crack.
When my older children were all younger, I gave up any sense of decency and left the door open. That way there was no crying. But I have older children now who would be horrified if I did that. So, I must close the door. How might one close the door on children and still survive a trip to the bathroom? Here are some tips:
1. Take your cell phone with you. It is the new way to read the paper in the bathroom, and when the toddler comes crying, it will entertain him/her as well.
2. Play “catch the fingers” under the door.
3. When the kitty paws appear under the door, you’ll know your entourage has arrived, and you can use the kitty as distraction for the toddler, if needs be.
4. The answer to any question through the door is, “You’ll have to wait, mom is using the bathroom.”
5. When the doorbell rings, you can pray that the kids will actually answer it, or you can just hurry up knowing full well they are selectively deaf.
6. If you do attempt the “sneak away” approach, it’s best to try when children are engrossed in some television show. It gives you the best head start!
7. When the children come to the door, you can attempt to send them looking for their special lovey in order to gain more alone time. It’s worth a shot!
8. Food. Tell them they can have candy if they will leave you alone for five flippin’ minutes.
9. Ask them excitedly about the show they were so interested in 1.2 seconds ago. Sometimes, like once in a blue moon, they may actually be interested enough to go check it out again.
10. Give it up! Let them in. Give up any sense of decency you had before children. Sing them songs, answer their questions and play entertainer until you finish. And just know, they will eventually grow up!
I love this idea. You definitely have tons of experience managing mayhem! I loved the list. The part about taking a cell phone is sooo true and I have also played the little fingers and little paws under the door game.
I have been so excited for this new feature of yours and can’t wait to see more!
I think, at this point, I’ve just given up!
I am so SO glad that my 5 kids are old enough that it isn’t an issue anymore!! I remember those days… but I think I prefer the teen years:)
Great blog, btw!
Byn´s last [type] ..Clean Eating47- Tuna Noodle Casserole
So cute! I only have 2 rugrats (3 and 1) but they never give me peace in the potty. I pretty much expected it. DH, on the other hand, still freaks out when they try to barge in on him. So funny.
NotJustAnotherJennifer´s last [type] ..Gotta Have Faith-ah
Men are so funny about stuff like that! My DH is the same way!
Because my phone is only semi-smart, there is no newspaper reading for me.
SO happy for your feature debut!
liz´s last [type] ..Version 20
Thanks Liz! And thanks for the idea!
Wow, some thing never change–except the cell phone–I didn’t have that!
So excited for your new feature! This is great! I’m sure you’ve got tons of knowledge to share!
I’ve done everything you’ve mentioned! My oldest was such a goober when he was about 2, he’d come to the door saying my name, and I’d say, “I’m in the den.” And he’d run try and find me. Then come back to the door and I’d tell him I was in his room, ect. He’d run around looking for me and it was hilarious!
Lula Lola´s last [type] ..The Thieving and The Lying
LOL That’s awesome! I never thought to make them look for me! I just try to make them look for their stuff! That’s so funny!
[...] for visiting!Stacey of Stacey’s Mothering Moments fame has started a new feature called Stacey’s Mayhem Management. She could teach us all a thing or two, I do believe. Very soon, she’ll be the mom of [...]