Little things get easier

The girls are two weeks shy of 2!  Yup.  About to have 2 year olds.  Yikes and yay!

As the weather is getting nicer and I'm trying to do more with our day than hang around the house, I'm finding that certain things are FINALLY getting a lot easier.  I know that behavior wise things are about to erupt into an epic onslaught of new problems, but at the moment, there are some logistical things that are so much better than they were.

Now with the nicer weather, and my new found interest in the game Ingress, I'm wanting to leave the house almost on a daily basis.  Taking the girls somewhere isn't quite the major undertaking it used to be.  Here's how it's gotten easier:

1. I keep a couple of spare diapers and a pack of wipes in the car.  We tend not to actually need much of anything when we go out, so packing up is no big deal anymore.  
2. The girls have much better bladder and bowel control so there aren't nearly as many diaper changes as there used to be.  I haven't needed to change a diaper in public in a long time either because the need doesn't come up, or we're 10 minutes from home anyway and they don't seem to mind waiting those few minutes.
3. Food for the girls is readily available in places other than home.  We keep a small supply of juice boxes, raisins, and crackers available so I can toss them in my purse and go if we're not going somewhere with food, but just about anywhere we go, I can hit a drive thru and get chicken nuggets, apple slices and milk or juice if necessary.
4. They can move themselves!  Oh this is a biggie.  If I start putting on their shoes and socks, they know we're going outside so they head to the door.  They both walk through the door, grab my hand to walk down the ramp or to be lifted over the stairs and then they both walk!  We've been trying to leave the house more often recently so they've started getting into the habit of going straight to the car door rather than just randomly running once they hit the outside.
5. It is so nice to just pack them both in the car at the same time rather than get one all buckled in and situation and then go back into the house to get the other one.  This alone means getting from the house to driving away is now more like 2-3 minutes instead of 10-15 minutes.

• Middie Biddie requires an elaborate bib set-up when we go in the car because of her carsickness.  I've recently gotten into the habit of setting Teeny Tiny on the floor of the car between the car seat and the back of the drivers seat while getting Middie Biddie situated.  Today, she surprised me by climbing through to her own car seat and getting herself ready to be buckled in all on her own!  Yeah, it's only about 30 seconds spared, but these little things that save 30 seconds here and there really add up!
6. They are cautious by nature.  I'm still trying to find the best places to take them where I can let them run around without feeling like I need to be in arms reach.  Fortunately, they are cautious enough that when I take them somewhere new to try it out, they don't get themselves killed while I'm trying to figure out how to best prevent them from getting killed.  Generally Middie Biddie will find a spot to play (sandbox) and park herself there while Teeny Tiny wanders around a bit to check things out.  If where I've taken them isn't so great for kids their age, it's pretty easy to round them back up and head out since they aren't both running in opposite directions.
7. The stroller isn't nearly as necessary as it used to be.  Depending on where we are, it's usually pretty easy to either carry one while the other holds my hand and walks, or to just carry both until safely inside.  We have those backpacks with leashes so whenever one decides that they really do want to run, we can leash them up real quick.  They also still do have the patience for a stroller ride if the situation calls for it.
8. Attention spans are starting to get longer.  My mother tells me that it's around 30 months that toddlers are able to focus on an activity for more than 2 minutes.  That's gonna be awesome.  But for right now, they do seem to have a little more focus than they did a couple of months ago.  If we go out to eat, food will keep them occupied properly for a solid 20 minutes.  Then we whip out the Water Wow books and that lasts another 5 or so.  Talking will occupy them for a few more minutes.  In general, we're now able to eat while we're out rather than order everything to go.  Yeah, we still eat pretty quickly to make sure we're fed before toddler patience runs thin, but toddler patience is lasting a wee bit longer nowadays.

It's starting to feel like I can do impromptu things like hit the Starbucks drive thru, or take a quick run to the park.  I tried both of those things today, but Teeny Tiny was at the end of her patience before we even started so I ended up leaving the drive thru line and just heading back home.  She went down for her nap immediately so yeah, I was pushing my luck trying to get in another hour of play time before nap.  But I might try again after their nap.  Yesterday, I had a craving for a Reuben sandwich and I was able to pack up the girls, hit that drive thru (get them their nuggets) and go hang out at a local park for an early dinner on a whim.  No way I could have done that 6 months ago!  Ok, I could have, but it would have been a royal pain in the butt so I would have opted not to.

I've started taking the girls to the Y and dropping them in the free daycare there so I can wander around the parking lot playing on my phone while getting a little bit of exercise.  I also like that they are interacting with other kids in a different environment from time to time.  With the Y less than a mile from my house, and being full of Ingress portals for me to play with, this is starting to become a regular thing.  They'll also be old enough for some other local drop in daycare options after their birthday when I want to be able to actually leave the premises.

We're leaving the house everyone!  We're actually leaving the house!