Yes, Ma'am

I'm trying to be more of a "yes" woman.  I run a tight ship around here, no jumping on the couch, no snacks before lunch, no juice in the living room (that one has slipped, sometimes).  Frankly, I'm tired of saying no all the time. It's exhausting, this battle.

Looking back on the last year and a half, I think this has been one of the hardest times for me as a parent.  I'm torn between kids of two different temperaments and ages.  Jude is active, scurrying about, picking up anything that is inadvertently left within his reach (this morning it was my DSLR camera, which made me shriek as if I saw a mouse.  Thankfully it was ok, but I still can't figure out how he got it off the high table).

Coupled with Soren's longer ability to focus on projects (finally!!), it's a tough road to navigate.  This morning, when asked to make a craft (yes, he IS my son!), I obliged.  You know, the "yes woman" thing taking root.

Sure enough, the littlest of the small ones starts getting into things, grabbing paints off the table, then teetering precariously from a chair in the living room when I put up the baby gate.  Baby proofing is never complete in our house.

"What did I do?"

Frustrated with my lack of focus on him, Soren understandably complained about Mommy not doing stuff with him.  I just can't win, and it's maddening that I can't be two moms at once.  How do you parents with more than two kids do it?

This kind of stuff translates to everything in my life, from putting away laundry while they "play" to running around outside.  Poor S doesn't get to do age-appropriate things with me unless Jude is napping.  I know this gets better as they grow up, but right now, it's miserable.  I find that I often just avoid doing things with both of them, unless we're wrestling, which they both love.

I do need to say "yes" more though, even if it does make it stressful.  Sure, pull down the curtains, play in the mud (which Jude likes to eat, ugh) spill Legos all over the floor.  Hopefully I'll figure out something to say "yes" to that they both will love.  Any suggestions of activities that toddlers and preschoolers can enjoy together?