The Stay at Home Mom Chronicles :: Creating a "yes house"

There are several actions that I can count on my children doing everyday
to slowly drive me insane.

1. Koen will attempt to climb onto the couch,
run across the couch once he pulls himself up,
and then take a running leap off of the couch onto the floor.
(Usually head first)

2. Griffin and Koen will play chase.
Griffin will pass by his brother and lightly brush his
hand against him as he runs by.
This will knock Koen over onto floor.
I watch my baby tumble and hold my breath in hopes
that no tiny body parts get injured.

3. Koen will get up, brush himself off,
and then attatch himself to Griffin's waste as he runs by.
Griffin will then drag his brother across the room
as Koen bites his butt.
Screaming and squealing erupts.

4. They both end up in tears at some point.

5. I end up running around like a chicken with it's head cut off to
catch Koen before he falls off the couch,
stop Griffin from knocking Koen over,
keep Koen's mouth from biting Griffin's butt.

You get the idea...these boys keep me on my toes.
I was hearing myself say "no" over and over and over and over.
I rarely had a chance to even sit down.
Well, mama took control back over my home!
I read in that flippin awesome spirited child book
that you should try to create a "yes house"
by setting up your home to eliminate having to say no all the time.
She suggests to rearrange your home so that it flows
and you can start saying "yes" all day.
It gets exhausting saying no all of the time.

So...after an intricate set up of several baby blockades,
Koen is no longer granted access to the couch.
Although he looks like he is in baby jail,
our day is running much smoother.

This has also cut off the space that they used to play chase.

Now Griffin has his side of the room
and Koen has his.
No more baby being knocked over,
no more butts being bitten.

They will have plenty of time to bond
over making mom crazy
when they are a bit older.
When Koen can defend himself from Griffin
or throw himself off of the couch
and land on his feet
instead of his sweet tiny head.

So now I have a "yes house"
and it feels so much better than saying "no" all day.
Thank God, because I was about
to lose my fragile mind.

P.S. 18 days until school starts...
but who's counting?