Toddler Feng Shui Basics

Many of you have been wondering about changes our recent furniture arrangements. Let me explain. It is all part of an art form I like to call Toddler Feng Shui, as our little toddlers have helped and/or inspired this up and coming form of art. Toddler Feng Shui is not for everyone, just those whose toddlers feel the need to laugh in the face of danger when it comes to heights and household appliances. Here are a few of my personal favorites.


For the toddler who learned how to unlock the dishwasher and prefers knives over any other utensil, simply secure the dishwasher with a little high chair. If your toddlers combine efforts and push high chairs using every last ounce of their toddler strength, simply put another high chair in front of this one.


I like to call this 'chairs on table,' a simple yet elegant form of decorating, for the toddler who climbs not just on kitchen chairs, but then on kitchen tables and manages to fall off before those supervising even notice any climbing. My neighbor across the street thought I was always mopping, which event is actually more convenient now than ever. Who knew?


For the toddler who likes to eat bark and leaves off fake trees, simply secure the tree by putting furniture all around it. Heavy toys concentrated in baskets make the process of moving them slower, not that your toddler can't combine efforts with her sister and do it, it just means you will likely notice before they are done.


My personal favorite is this little backwards chair, designed for the toddler who likes to climb on chairs and hoist herself up to look over the banister, just to mortify her mother. Warning: this does not make for easy sitting, but who can sit easy knowing danger is around every corner?

I hope you have enjoyed my little demonstration. Keep in mind these are just the basics, which hold up only for now. It is just a matter of time before we have to take toddler feng shui to the next level, in which case, we may need some suggestions.

We're on a Leash!

Ever wanted to put your kids on a leash? Thought the Barlows were joking when we said we needed a leash for the twins? We thought we were joking for a little while...that is, until today. See, what started out as trying to have a friendly conversation on the neighbor's driveway turned into a game of -see if you can catch the twins before they get to the street so they can chase dogs while narrowly dodging the cars- Being that our neighbor has a garage stocked with rope, we said, why not? As you can see, first the girls were tied to each other and the chair, and then we got a rope for each one. Londie did not seem to mind it, but Maddie, as usual, who am I kidding, as every 5 seconds, threw another tantrum. So maybe this will not work in public places as I had been dreaming about. But hey, it was worth a shot. And at least we didn't lock ourselves out this time.

Popsicle Adventures

Can anyone believe how warm the weather is? We even got out some of L & M's summer clothes and, well, you can see how well they fit! Which is convenient because lately, the girls have discovered their belly buttons, or "bee boo"s as they call them, just like the book from grandma. They will not wear any clothing that is not belly button accessible. So today we whipped out the bee boos and the popsicles and took advantage of the perfect springtime weather. It is definitely time to go shopping, right girls?




After several minutes of chasing Maddie down, this was the best picture I could get. These girls were way too busy!



We had to hose them down before we could go inside. These kids will be bright red for a week. (How did Maddie get it on her forehead?)
Right after I took this picture, we discovered we had locked ourselves out of the house! Plus, I had a lasagna in the oven that was almost done! We had to run and borrow the neighbors' ladder so we could break in to our back kitchen window with seconds to spare on the lasagna. Yes Barlows, it is time for a spare key.

A Week in Retrospect

We were lucky to have a little time in Hawaii without the girls, but we couldn't wait to get home to see them. I couldn't believe how much they had grown up in just a week! Here are some of the souvenirs we brought them, yes more aloha dresses. (If the girls look this tired before chuch, try to imagine what grouchiness sacrament meeting brought.)
We have spent this week trying to adjust to life back on the m.l. (main land) and are finally back to normal. Well, what is normal anyway?
The following posts are some of the things I have missed about my girls!!



Number One: this chair's big enough for the both of us!
As many of you now know, MADDIE CAN CLIMB. She can now get to every imaginable surface in the house, including the kitchen table, where she loves to sit, and type on the laptop. Well, apparently London decided that the only chair she wanted was the one Maddie was sitting on and this was the result. They actually played nicely and for a moment Maddie was giving her a hug.

Let the Terrible Twos Begin!

So, when mothers put their kids down for a nap and it's quiet, they assume that the kids are sleeping, right? Not the case. Following more than A HALF HOUR of silence, we heard a suspicious giggling coming from the girls' room. Here is what we found. I don't know how the girls got these wipes, but they somehow managed to pull out and play with the entire container! As you can see, they were having a blast. I didn't know whether to laugh or scream, so in moments like this you just grab the camera. I think we are getting a little taste of what it's going to be like to have two two-year olds.

Some Down Time

As Maddie often tells me, being the younger twin can be quite stressful. When the going gets tough, this girl finds her laundry basket. Usually, she piles all the stuffed animals and blankets at the bottom, then miraculously climbs in without it tipping over. She stays here for like 20 minutes, looking around and daydreaming. Sometimes I am tempted to climb in with her. We can all use a little de-stress now and again.

L & M= BFF

It turns out London loves fruit snacks more than life itself. So much that we have had to put a limit on her fruit snack consumption, as, like her father, she could possibly go through an entire box in one sitting. I would rather not find that out. So the other day when little London had shoved all her snacks in her mouth and was on the verge of a tantrum because she wanted more, Maddie stepped in to the rescue. Maddie started feeding London her fruit snacks from her own pile! What a sweet little moment. Nevermind that Maddie doesn't really like fruit snacks. It showed that underneath the hundreds of little squabbles between them per day, these girls are still tight!