The Basement

I suppose we all have our bad days.  But from 5:00 pm to about 6:40 pm was a very rough patch for the kids and I.

Following my new parenting philosophy, "try harder," I had our after-school activities all planned out.  I had even explained them to the babe on the way to school so she'd know what to expect in afternoon.

The plan:

• water the vegetable garden 
• prepare pineapple for a snack
• play sports in the basement
• have dinner
• watch some relaxing and educational television 

I spent a chunk of the day cleaning and organizing the basement in preparation for our activities.  With the weather getting hotter and the bugs coming out of hiding, the basement is becoming increasingly appealing.

Basement activities:

• jumping on trampoline
• kicking soccer ball around
• bowling set
• baseball set (both heavily padded)
• practicing dribbling the basketball (our new toddler basketball net should be arriving this week)
• rocking thingy
• giggling in the tent

Our basement was gutted last summer after we discovered a mold infestation (good times).  Well, the renovation job wasn't top of the line, to put it nicely.  And after all the effort I put into trying to make the basement cleaner, safer and generally more appealing, I was reminded of how dangerous crappy workmanship can be.

Our plan was moving along smoothly and we were having a grand 'ole time downstairs.  The babe and I were kicking the soccer ball back and forth and the little guy was moving randomly from activity to activity.  He decided to join his sister closer to the washer and dryer and touched the sliding door in front of the washer (I was also doing laundry).  And BOOM.  The whole door fell off the track and came slamming down to the floor.  I don't know exactly what happened or how my little boy managed to not be crushed by the door, but today we realized, yet again, how precious life is.

The little guy was screaming, and the babe started screaming and I frantically tried to assess if my boy's foot had been broken and if we needed to go to the hospital.  His leg was scraped, as was his foot, but considering what could have happened, we got off easy. I'm guessing he must have moved out of the way (quick kid!). 

I was hugging both of them and telling them everything was going to be OK.  I called my husband at work and while I was trying to explain what had just happened, the babe started screaming again and threw the plastic bowling ball at me.

I've noticed that she freaks out when the little guy gets hurt and I have to tend to him.  This was just further proof that we have a jealousy issue on our hands and I have to be diligent in my efforts to give equal attention to both of them.  It's just not as easy as it sounds, especially when a door has nearly crushed your 17 month old baby (today is his 17 month b-day, and yes, I know, he's not a baby anymore).

Sadly the babe was a nightmare until my husband got home.  It brought me to my knees and had me wishing I could rewind to the afternoon when I was working on the basement so I could take down the crappy door.  I really should have checked how secure it was before encouraging our play date down there (especially as the kitchen cupboard just fell on me 2 weeks ago!).  Baby proofing 101, right?  

Your whole life can change from one minute to the next.  And I'm eternally grateful that this was another learning experience, and not a call to 911.

It Never Ends

I think we will be baby proofing every day for the next 5 or so years. We are trying to stay one step ahead of the babe but are really just playing catch up.

We recently discovered that she can climb up the stairs. As much as we're happy she's learnt a new skill, it's a rather dangerous one. To address this new found obsession (she's constantly crawling to the base of the stairs), my lovely husband spent the past weekend trying to install a hardware mounted baby gate at the bottom of our stairs. It sounds easy, right?

"They" recommend you give yourself a good hour to install a gate. "They" are SO wrong. We have metal banisters and molding to deal with. Not an easy task. I thought the fact that my hubby has a graduate degree in engineering would help. But as he reminded me, they don't teach you how to install baby gates in school. Perhaps there should be a baby proofing school. I know you can hire "experts" to come and assess your home, but come on.

After a few trips to our local hardware store, the purchase of a drill (the fact we didn't own one should tell you something), and much thought and effort (he dreamt about it), my husband managed to securely install the gate. There were many steps involved including the drilling of a very large hold in the dry wall. It was scary stuff...especially as we're renters.

We wonder when the baby proofing will end. Every day, I find something else to worry about and every weekend, there are more projects for us to take on.

The bike in the dining room is gone (taken apart and put in a closet), the larger random items lying around (car seats, swings, etc.) have been shoved into nooks and crannies, the coffee table has foam all around it, the electric sockets are plugged, 2 gates are installed, kitchen cupboards have locks on them, smaller loose items have been collected and put into boxes (just purchased yesterday at Ikea), loose wires are pretty much hidden (although not completely). This doesn't sound like much, but compared to what our place used to look like (a crowded disaster), we've come a long way.

She is almost walking now and I'm sure I will continue to chase her around and say "no" a million times a day. But for now, I am proud of the work we've done.

Baby Proof This

I really need to go on a baby proofing spree. In the past week, I've realized the bike in our dining room really needs to go. I came to this conclusion after the babe crawled up to the neglected bike and grabbed at the spokes on the front wheel. I thought the bike was annoying, but not dangerous. If anything, I had convinced myself it was urban hip to have an unused bike in the dining room. Times have changed and we will never be hip again.

The babe is crawling all over the house and is getting into absolutely everything. I can see that we have entered a new life phase and this phase is a potentially dangerous one.

I've also realized that the many ant traps we have lying around the house (aren't they supposed to be dead in November?) are a serious hazard. I was grabbing some stuff out of the closet getting ready to head out the door and I turned around and found the babe waving an ant trap around. Thank God she had a pacifier in her mouth and she hadn't had a chance to get it near her face. Bad bad bad.

All those cords and wires everywhere? I have to find a solution to that problem as well.

Some houses seem easier to baby proof than others. I don't know if we just have too much stuff, or this row house is more of a grown up house. One thing if for sure though, I'm going to have to work on this.

All baby proofing tips are more than welcome!