We’re counting down to moving day, and most of our stuff is boxed. Given the amount of junk we have, we’ve divided our move into two stages – first one with Hubby and I are moving in household essentials (like dishes, pots and toys) and the second heavy lifting stage in which we’ve enlisted the help of wonderful friends.
So we’ve been busy packing. And moving stuff. And sorting it. And donating. And tossing out garbage. And packing some more. Which leaves our kids to their own devices to amuse themselves while Mommy calls, “I’ll be there in a minute; I just need to move all these boxes to get out of here,” as I’ve boxed myself into a corner in a weird Tetris move.
Since most of the kids’ toys are packed already they’ve resorted to tormenting each other to amuse themselves. The Dunk is at a loss without his convoy of trucks, and is biting in full force. Little Miss Adorable is busy unpacking, sorting and repacking anything she can get her hands on – peeling tape and undoing zippers to get at the stuff I’ve so carefully packed and labelled. She then repacks everything into little sandwich bags according to her own standards. In an extreme case of using technology as childcare, Mr. Sensitive has watched Netflix – all of it. *sigh* Childsafe viewing has its privileges.
And who would have thought I’d see the day where I prefer the soundtracks of Wonderpets or *shudder* Caillou to the Transformers cartoons he’s currently into. Little Miss Adorable and The Dunk clamour for Barney and all heck breaks loose. Battles rarely scene outside of superhero cartoons are fought daily in the quest to control Netflix. Hairpulling, screaming, biting, kicking, hitting – superheroes have nothing on these three as they battle to watch their favorite shows.
I keep telling myself things will be better once we move. Parent guilt is outweighed by the need to get stuff done. Packing, boxing, sorting – someone has to do it. We try to include the kids in moving activities when possible. The Dunk and Little Miss Adorable are veteran shoppers at U-Haul, Little Miss Adorable loves buying new packing supplies and tape. The Dunk runs like a maniac, crashing into the cardboard boxes on display and attempting his own moving efforts as worried sales clerks look on.
So quality family time has suffered. At least we did our family vacation just before moving week. We go from wilderness camping and outdoor living to fighting over Netflix and getting on each other’s nerves. At least we did hire someone to clean for us so we can just pack and go. And soon childcare reinforcements will arrive – they can take the kids out for a picnic in the park and read them stories while Mommy and Daddy pack.
We’re just happy this move will be over soon, and we can continue on with our halfpastnormal life.
How do you deal with kids underfoot where there’s a big job to do?
