Hurricane Amanda

I forgot what it's like to have a one year old. Blocked this stage completely out of my head. You don't forget the baby stuff - the sleepless nights, the spitting up, the crying - you try to, but you can't. The stage right after the baby stuff, however, is easy to forget. Now that we're doing it again, it's all coming back. The frenzy with which the baby runs through the house tearing everything apart, throwing things in all directions, moving from target to target. I'm not sure why, but I forgot they even behaved this way until I am now in the thick of it.

Having a one year old is a full time job. At least if your one year old is active, and mine is. She is EVERYWHERE. When we moved into this house, we tried to make it toddler/kid friendly so the kids could learn to be a little more independent and do things for themselves. We put all the cups in a low drawer so the kids could get their own drinks, and the bowls and plates just above them. It's a great setup, or was until Amanda learned how to open up the drawer. Now there are cups and lids and plastic straws all over the kitchen floor during most of the day. Every time I pick them up and put them back she notices they are missing and replaces them. It wasn't until she actually started doing this that I remembered Sarah did the same thing. Basically you just have to wait until the end of the day to pick them up and leave them all over the house the rest of the day. Otherwise you'll go crazy. You also don't wash them, because if you did you'd be washing cups all day long. Let's just say we're building up their immune systems.

Her other favorite place to hang out is the recycle bin. We keep it in the laundry room, which is attached to the garage, and try to keep the door closed, but don't always remember. As soon as that door opens she's there like a flash (kind of like the dish washer). Today while I was moving some laundry from washer to dryer, she was trying to drink out of an empty milk container. Earlier this morning she was carrying a smashed coke can around the house. She's like a little bag lady, digging through the trash. She just can't stay away.


I know this stage won't last long. She'll tire of it eventually. Andy used to do the same thing with our Tupperware drawer. Eventually I had a set for Andy and a set for us to use. I won't do that with the cups, I'll just keep asking her to put them back in the drawer. In the meantime, I'll continue to walk through my house in disgust because it's a mess, and be just a little bit embarrassed when friends come over to visit. Just like all the others, this stage won't last long, but this probably won't be one that I miss after it's gone.