O mother where art thou

Meh's annual choir retreat is this weekend, so the boys and I said goodbye to her late yesterday morning and had about twenty four hours to ourselves. Zachary's potty training continues to improve - just one accident yesterday, though that's in part still due to frequent sits on the potty. Still, once there he's doing better and better -- we even get glimpses of how he's getting encouragement at school, as he sings such hits as "Go! Pee pee! Zachary!" and (to the tune of Twinkle Twinkle) "Pee pee, Zachary, in the toilet". We had a fun day around the house, with Zachary enjoying some quality time on the swing -- a slight logistical adventure ensued as I tried to figure out how to get him into the swing without putting down Owen on the damp ground. (The out-of-the-box solution was shoulders.)

Everything went great until late in the day, when Zachary had an accident, then a bit of a meltdown at bedtime (right after mima, who had graciously come over to help with bedtime, had headed out), and then Owen began waking up every hour or two and wouldn't take milk, and then Zachary had a nightmare, and... Suffice it to say, I still can't imagine how solo parents handle the challenges of two kids! We all three did have some nice snuggle time this morning, as well as some silliness (such as Owen deciding to play with his cup under the dining room table, often impressively balancing it on the crossbar and then screeching happily) and laughing that made it all worth it. Nonetheless, we were very happy to greet mommy when she returned early in the afternoon!