Cue The Year of Trying to Keep My Sanity

So far, that is what I'm dubbing 2012. Staying home with a two and a half year old and an eight month old is wearing on me a tad. And it's only January 2! Here's a few snippets from our everyday life:

I pick Mister Man up and put him in his car seat.
He cries, goes limp noodle on me, yells, "Wait, mama! Wait! I can do it by myself!"

I dump the contents of the training potty into the big potty.
Mister Man cries and yells, "No, Mama! I can do it!"
He then plops back down onto his potty, insisting that he is going to pee again so that he can dump it on his own.

I stick the sippy cup straw into the sippy cup lid, preparing a glass of milk for my son.
Mister Man cries, throws himself to the ground and yells, "Wait! No! I want to do it!"
I make him ask nicely, disassemble the lid and hand him the pieces.
Five seconds later, he says, "Mama, I need help."
I try not to roll my eyes.

In the meantime, whilst all these conversations are occurring, Junior is climbing on top of the fireplace ledge, pulling up on chairs, tugging on my leg, falling and smacking his head against the floor. And I am questioning whether giving in to my older son's demands counts as helping him develop independence (if i make him stop crying and ask nicely?) or letting him order me around.

In honor of how close I am to completely losing my mind at the end of each day - Daniel doesn't get home until 7:15 - I have made a rather large purchase:

This is going to give me about 45 minutes a day of not negotiating, not trying to convince anyone to eat, not putting anyone in time out, not facilitating sharing, and not trying to figure out how to play Memory with one kid while keeping the other from chewing on the pieces. They can each have a lollipop, and I can have my peace.

Slight problem: The high today was 40 degrees. I may have to stare at this and dream until early Spring.

I'm thinking my mood will shift when it is no longer Christmas break and I am no longer scared of leaving the house with these guys, lest the crowds at our usual hangouts drive us bonkers. On January 9, we shall no longer be shut-ins. I am looking forward to it.