The Mrs. Yoy Blog: The Quarantine Coronacles

This morning was Little E's weekly music class.  Big E tagged along as he did not have school today.  I was praying that the Yoys would behave.  PRAYING. We arrived at class and Big E seemed pleased to be there.  I had already threatened him during our drive over. Things were going well.  Even Little E, who is sometimes cranky for class, was engaged. Ok.  We are going to do this and I'm going to survive. Obviously, this would not be an interesting blog if that is how the class continued going. Fortunately for you, Big E was there, which means the class unraveled into the ultimate catastrophe. As we sang and danced and hopped around, Big E started getting that crazy twinkle in his eyes.  He was wound up. Here we go... First he took out a little boy around Little E's age.  I saw him running at him with his elbow out and knock him down.  Cheese and crackers!  Big E! I apologized to his mom and made Big E apologize to th...

These would be the children of the Stepford Wives. I encountered a gaggle of them at the botanical gardens today. We met some friends there to peruse the train exhibit.  The kids were enthralled by the trains.  They were laughing and running alongside the trains.  It was unseasonably warm.  It was awesome. My friend and I chatted about the merits of public versus private school and if public school hurt your chances getting into Harvard, for example.  I'm not saying my kids are going to Harvard, I'm just saying they are applying. I paused mid-thought as a trio of beautiful little blond children entered the train exhibit.  They were wearing matching dresses in different colors with coordinating bows as big as their heads. Why don't my kids ever look that nice?  I mean, I know I have boys so I should automatically deduct points for dirt, but even when Big E was a ring bearer in my brother's wedding, he didn't look this good. And these kids wer...

The Elf on the Shelf is a fabulous idea.  I wish I would have thought of it.  It is blatant bribery, which I totally support. The problem for us, is that the elf doesn't really tie into Hanukkah. So how can we, the Yoys, play mind games with Big E for the entire month of December? Mr. Yoy took Big E to the toy store on Sunday and let him pick out his Hanukkah present.  They returned home with a giant GeoTrax train table.  We brought it in the house and it has been residing on the floor in the dining room since. Everyday Big E asks to open it.  Everyday we tell Big E he has to be on his best, best behavior and he can have it. Everyday Big E is a total train wreck (pun intended) and the sun sets with the table still in the box. Mr. Yoy and I were talking about it and we decided THIS was our Elf on the Shelf.  Except we are going to call it the Train Table on the Counter, mostly because this table isn't going to fit on any shelf in this house. So ...

Big E is turning three this week.  He is losing his baby-ness and turning into a little boy.  It is bittersweet for me. There are some positives of him being older.  He UNDERSTANDS everything I say to him so communication has moved far beyond crying, grunting, and pointing. On the flip side, while he understands what I am asking him to do/not do, etc, I'd say he listens to about 10% of what I'm saying. Frustration doesn't even begin to describe my daily interactions (or maybe more appropriately named, battles) with Big E.  He saves his absolute worst behavior for me, like it is a special gift or something (where can I return it?). I look at his sweet face and remember what a good baby he was.  Seriously, he was insanely good.  Don't worry, I'm getting it back in spades with the one-two combo of his current behavior and Little E constantly being on his period. I feel like I'm always yelling at him or telling him no or being a mean mommy.  I h...

Tonight we picked Mr. Yoy up from work for a family dinner.  I wasn't aware of the incoming monsoon, so we were limited to places with covered parking.  Hello, Cumberland Mall.  More specifically, hello Jason's Deli (yum!). After dinner we walked back through Macy's to the parking deck.  Mr. Yoy was browsing the men's section and was debating on buying some new Lacoste shirts. This man cannot get enough Lacoste shirts. I should take a picture of the Yoy closet.  It is amazing. Our initial strategy had been to push Little E in the umbrella stroller and let Big E walk.  Once we hit the clothes racks in Macy's I was regretting this decision. I could hear Big E giggling and running, but I could not see that little guy.  My mother alarm was on red alert.  Most likely, no one wants this kid, but what if there is some child predator shopping for cologne tonight? Mr. Yoy was paying for his shirts and Big E came shooting out of a rack of clothes. ...

Big E dumped out all of his blocks to build a castle.  When he was finished with his blocks I asked him to please put them back in their bin.  Without so much as an objection, he started singing the Clean-up song and put all of his blocks back. I almost fainted.  It has been a constant battle of wills with him. Unfortunately for him, I am ranked in the Top 5 for most stubborn human on the planet, so I always win. I praised him and told him what a good clean up job he was doing. I really was so proud, I can't put it into words.  It is like seeing all of your hard work finally come to fruition. I feel like we have definitely turned the corner.  Don't get me wrong, he still ignores me plenty, but I feel like I am chipping away at his two year old armor. We leave tomorrow for my brother's wedding in NY.  I have been dangling this as a prize for about two months. For example:  If you don't let me change your diaper, you can't go to NY.  Insta...

I was taking a shower in my parents bathroom.  I left the door to the bathroom open as I know I have forfeited all privacy via my children.  Big E was in there within two seconds of me turning on the water. The shower door glass is frosted so I can only see a vague shadow of Big E.  But he narrates everything he is doing, so I know he is there. I hear him rambling about paper towels and cleaning up water.  I'm not sure where he got the paper towels or why there would be water as the shower is enclosed.  I see lots of movement through the glass.  What is going on out there? I open up the shower door a smidge and see that Big E has pulled all of the toilet paper off the roll and is vigorously wiping the floor.  Yikes.  I yell for reinforcements, Grandma.  She comes in and takes all of the "paper towels" away from Big E. About the time I am washing my face he realizes he can reach the light switches in this place.  Score! He pro...