When people find out that I have two kids that are just a little over a year apart, the first reaction is always, “How do you do it?!” I can’t say I’m a supermom. I have days when I just snap at The Minis or hide inside the bathroom for a much-needed quiet time (true story). On most days, though, I just go with the flow. Kids will be kids. If I aim for a squeaky clean home, I will have to clean up after the children endlessly. Believe me, I tried.

Trying to gain complete control of the household with two little ones can be exhausting, which is why I prefer to just play along with The Minis… because, well, it’s fun. Plus, if I give them my time, they are more likely to behave. I noticed that they tend to do incredibly annoying, stress-inducing things when I don’t give them the attention they want.

Just this afternoon, I caught the partners in crime with chocolate stains on their faces. This is just after a few minutes of turning my back on them because I needed to take their bottles out of the sterilizer! Apparently, the big sister got her hands on a box of chocolate cereal and shared the loot with her little brother.

I call them partners in crime because they both cooperate just so they wouldn’t get caught! Yes, even The Little Man cooperates by keeping quiet while they munched on the chocolate cereal. That’s usually how I find out that something fishy is going on — when the house is too quiet.

Bits of cereal were spilled on the floor and behind the couch. Chocolate hand prints were also on the sofa pillows and curtains. Aside from dirty faces, their clothes were stained too. But, instead of getting angry, I just decided to make the most out of the situation.

The pillow cases and curtains are scheduled for laundry over the weekend. But since they got stained, I decided to clean them up earlier than the schedule. It’s The Little Man’s birthday weekend, anyway, so it’s better to have everything done before the weekend. The Minis looked quite funny with the chocolate stains on their faces, too, so I took photos of them. I wish Daddy A was with us; he could have captured The Minis’ tickle punishment on video!

They have a lot more tricks under their sleeves. Remember the poop facial The Little Man gave me? Ugh! What about the time when The Princess inked her grandma’s comforter using pentel pens? If I let all these things get to me, I’d probably go crazy. So–I just let the kids be kids.

If you’re wondering how I’m handling two little ones, that’s simply it. Less stress, more fun!