Timeout

I know, I know, I've been slacking on my writing, but there's good reason for that.  My in-laws are here and I'm trying to get things ready for Georgia's first birthday party on Saturday.  My parents arrive late tonight.  Let the fun begin!!  I do have a quick little story to hold you over until I can breath again.  I recently wrote about G  pulling down  the TP in my bathroom.  Well that fun game was played again today, but not by Georgia, and NOT under supervision.

This afternoon I was trying to make the birthday cake for Saturday.  It wasn't going so well, because I kept getting interrupted.  Each of the girls has been sick over the past week.  Georgia came down with it yesterday, and she's been unusually cranky due to the fever.  Lana was sick too, but it was gone by this morning, yet the crankiness continued.  Really no surprise there.  I wanted to get the kids out of the house and outside to play, and was encouraging my in-laws and husband to help me with that.  Finally, I got them all out of my kitchen, but Lana was just in a mood.  She kept whining and crying about one thing or another and I was, of course, the only person she wanted.  It was taking me forever to mix the ingredients of the stupid cake.  I finally had to put her in time out, because she was just out of control. 

 For those of you who don't know, Lana's time out is her booster seat in the bathroom off our kitchen.  I strap her in the chair and put it in the bathroom for 2 minutes.  I don't really know why this ended up being the time out place for her, it just did and it works, somehow.  At least until she figures out how to unbuckle herself.  

This is where I placed her today after about the third breakdown outside.  I thought if I gave her a timeout it would "reset" her and she'd be in a better mood.  (Have I met Lana?)  She was sitting in timeout crying.  About a minute ticked off the microwave clock and I realized she was quiet.  She is pretty good about calming herself down, however, so I figured that's just what she did.  After the beep on the microwave I walked into the bathroom expecting to find a more subdued Lana.  Instead I found a mountain of toilet paper and Lana holding onto a piece she had just torn off, and was about to add to her stash on the floor.  I guess I left the chair just a little too close to where the roll hangs.  She gave me a devilish smile and giggled when she saw me standing there.  I couldn't do anything but laugh back at her.  I got her out of the chair and gathered up the TP and sent her outside.  She was back in the chair about five minutes later, at the hands of her father this time, but I forgot to tell him to move her away from the roll.  Sure enough two minutes and another mound of paper later, there she sat.  Andy wasn't as amused as I was, but she managed to escape another time out.  I mean how could you really get mad at that?  She found her own entertainment during timeout.  Ingenious!  I will, however, be moving her chair to the other side of the bathroom from now on.  If nothing else, to make sure a roll in there lasts at least until the end of the day.