Life Behind Bars

In my world, the word "bars" used to instantly evoke mental images of nights out with Hubby and friends, dancing to the music wearing cute, sassy clothes and shoes, and just having a good time.

No more. Not that I'm complaining. It's just that having to share Biscuit created an illusion of freedom that parents really don't have. Now I'm all about childproofing our life again and what's involved in that is a complete rearrangement of our furniture, possessions and lifestyle, including my perspective on everything I used to take for granted. Recently I read this article and it was just another blow to my still-trying-to-believe-I'm-cool ego: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/10/fashion/10stroller.html?_r=2&adxnnl=1&oref=slogin&ref=fashion&pagewanted=1&adxnnlx=1204762755-od+mkLcAYDDFy8r+muFtLQ

Whine whine whine. Anyway, moving on to the pertinent story (again, I flatter myself). Since the Beans began rolling all over the place (under the sofas, all over the hardwoods, almost off the bed) and are now almost crawling, keeping them safe has become more challenging by the moment. Finally on Friday, after Pooki got herself caught under the loveseat for the third time in five minutes and changed direction to go get her fingers caught in the glider or ottoman, whichever she could touch first, I realized we had three options:

1. Get rid of the glider and ottoman

2. Get rid of the Beans

3. Pen the Beans

Since there is NO WAY I could part with my beloved glider and Option 2 would probably get me arrested, I looked at Hubby and delivered the news.

"That's it. It's time for a cage."

By Saturday afternoon we were proud owners of a Superyard XT with an extension kit. We set it up while the Beans were (mercifully) napping in what used to be our living room but is now a huge Bean play arena with some, ummmmmm, creatively arranged furniture and bookcases. Overall, it's great. They're perfectly safe in there. They can't roll into anything that can hurt them except each other and I have peace of mind knowing that when I have to run out to the garage to do laundry, they;ll be right where I left them when I return. There's just one problem. They don't like being in it by themselves. Well, let me amend that. They will tolerate being in there by themselves for about five minutes as long as someone is right on the other side making goofy faces, singing goofy songs, jumping up and down, or otherwise acting like an escaped mental patient. But after that, it's ScreamScreamScream. So I guess it's great that I like the idea of caging the Beans so much, because now, I get to spend all my time in there too. Super Special Ducky Lucky me.

Yep, that's Pooki crying. Right after I took the photo I climbed (back) in with them and we played some more until naptime, during which I did laundry and thought about how much I would enjoy spending afternoons in bars rather than behind them :)