Lovely Little Helper... Sometimes

Miss Mega is 19 Months Old

Recently I've been receiving a lot of "help" around the house.  Zilla, being 4 is pretty handy at a number of things.  Miss Mega has reached the age where she wants to try many things on her own and, as she watches Zilla do things, wants to help like he does.  Of course there are times where the "help" is less than helpful but for the most part if I have things arranged to her ability level she is able to lend a hand.  Here are a few examples:

Our dishes in the kitchen are in the low cupboard so the kids can help set the table, etc. on their own.  It also works well for snack time as they can get their own dishes out and put the dry ones away.  Keep in mind though that because we live in an earthquake prone location (and I hate broken dishes!) we use Corelle for our "good" dishes and the kids have a set of plastic dishes for snacks & play.  Our "glasses" are actually plastic too but look so much like glass that most visitors are surprised the first time they use them. :-)

 When I go to teach my Baby Signing Time classes Mega comes along to assist.  Since we travel by train to class she enjoys the walk to/from the station.  With Hopkins and a flashcard set in her backpack she is ready to go.
 We also have some outdoor chores such as sweeping up leaves in the street and passing on the neighborhood message folder.

The next two pictures were taken by my computer while I was trying to work one evening.  Sometimes I really need to get something done and for some reason I think I can focus while the kids are awake...

Have you ever tried typing with 2 kids hanging on you?

 How about with one climbing up while the other tries to snuggle in on the side...???

Now you can see why most of my blog posts are made in the evening, after the kids are in bed.  

Some of the other ways Mega has started "helping" include taking dirty clothes to the wash basket. getting out the pajamas at bedtime (we keep them in a basket where the kids can reach), cleaning up toys and books, taking things to the garbage can and clearing the table after meals.

Oh, and helping shovel snow... that is, if we ever get enough to shovel!