Peace And Quiet Is A Distant Memory

When Austen was a baby I used to watch his very serious face and be so curious about what was going on in that little brain. I knew his mind was going a million miles an hour, but he couldn't vocalize any thoughts. I was beyond excited for the day he could talk. Well that day came and it was awesome. I learned that I have quite possibly the funniest kid in the world! He keeps everyone laughing even random people that we see when we're out and about. I love to hear what he has to say, but can I just tell you that the novelty has worn off. Every thought that goes through his head has to come out of his mouth. I'm not kidding either. Austen talks all day non-stop. He even talks in his sleep.

Most the time it's fine, but sometimes I can't take it. He asks something and if you don't answer, he'll just keep asking until you do. He never lets anything go and he never gives up!

My days are filled with "Mommy what are you doing?" "Mommy what's that outside?" "Mommy what's Sophie barking at?" "Where's mommy going?" "What's Austen doing?" (He asks that a lot!) It's so bad that I can't even talk on the phone to other people because he is constantly wanting answers to questions and he doesn't have the patience to wait until I'm done. I'm not joking either, if you've tried to talk to me on the phone recently you know what I mean. I usually have to wait until he's sleeping. He even does it during movies.....He asks about the characters constantly and it has actually put a damper on movie night because it gets old answering the question "Where did lightning mcqueen go" about 300 times.

I'm not complaining really, it's just exhausting listening to and answering him all day everyday. So, I've discovered that there are a few things that distract him and keep him quiet.

Reading stories.

He loves to be read to and he will be perfectly silent story after story. The only problem with this solution is that I can't be getting anything done around the house while I'm reading.

Watching the workers.

We are very fortunate and live in a community where our yard is 100% maintained for us and Austen loves to watch the workers. They have really cool tools and lawnmowers and edgers and blowers. He thinks it is the most fascinating thing in the world to watch them, so he'll sit in silence the whole time they are outside. Then he goes outside and pretends to do what they were doing. It's really cute, but they only come once a week.

So the other days when my ears need a break, I pull out the big guns and let him vacuum.

He loves to vacuum and it seems like the floor could always use it, so this solution is really a win win. He even enlists the help of his stuffed animals. It's the perfect thing because he's happy and it's too loud to talk over. This way I can get some stuff done in peace and well, not quiet, but it's as good as it's going to get for a very long time.