Kitchen Gate III - The Prisoner of Kitchenaban

So, Eli and Jude have suddenly entered into a climbing phase. I'd seen signs that it was coming a few weeks ago when I left the living room to make them lunch and when I came back, they had magically appeared on top of the couch. They did not do that trick again until a few days ago when it was all out, non-stop climbfest. I've been going out of my mind chasing after them and pulling them off of things and moving fragile objects and remote controls to higher ground.

What, you may be asking yourself, does this have to do with the kitchen gate saga? I will explain. For those who have never seen our apartment, we have a generally open plan. You enter directly into the living room, looking down the hallway to the master bedroom, bathroom, kitchen, and laundry room. On the opposite side of the living room, there is a dining area with another entrance to the kitchen and Eli and Jude's room. Our previous babyproofing included a big red toy box blocking the hallway and gates blocking the one kitchen entrance and my office area. This set up has worked surprisingly well - minus the previous kitchen gate dramas - since December. It probably would have continued to work if I hadn't needed to rearrange our furniture a little bit due to the climbing insanity.

We - being young, hip, utilitarian, and poor - have a storage cube that doubles as an ottoman (thank goodness the boys haven't figured out that it OPENS!) that was previously blocking an absurd amount of wires attached to all kinds of electronic goodies used to play games and watch television. We also stacked the bumbo seats on top of it for good measure. I was out of the room again, fixing food as always, when I heard two thumps and giggles, and started seeing things disappear off of the kitchen pass-through. I looked around the corner and there was Eli, standing on top of the storage cube holding our mail in one hand and the cord to the PS3 in the other. Jude was standing at his feet, smiling and also holding some paper that had been pulled off of the counter. I'm sure my eyes bugged out of my sockets and I ran to Eli and took him down, telling him "No!" and tried to put things back the way they were supposed to be. The boys, in a truly remarkable bit of teamwork, each pulled down one of the bumbo seats I'd just replaced and climbed back on top of the cube. I realized then that our furniture was moving again.

I went through the same process as a couple of weeks ago (see Kitchen Gate II) and started calling around to local stores to find another of those Crosstown gates for the other side of the kitchen. But - SHOCKER! - BRU hadn't restocked since I bought their last one! So there were none at Walmart, Target, or BRU within 50 miles of us. I was pretty frustrated when I decided to go out on a limb and tried Toys 'R' Us. The clerk I spoke to said she had FIVE in stock. I made her go check to make sure they were actually there and they were! I sent Travis to pick it up after he was done working and we set it up during the second nap of the day. We moved the cube to the corner of our living room behind the papasan chair and put the toy box where the cube used to be. Our kitchen is now like a little jail cell though, with gates on either side.


Eli and Jude love this new set-up though. They've been running up and down the hallway that was previously off limits constantly since it became open to them. They've also been standing with one on each side of the kitchen and laughing at eachother. It's very cute. I'm glad to give them a little more space to run around. I think we've finally found a layout that will work... *fingers crossed*

Kitchen Gate II - Success! For now...

So yesterday after much internet searching and message board browsing, I decided to just buy the Evenflo Crosstown Travel gate. I called all of the Walmarts and Targets nearby and - shocker - they were out of stock. I looked up the number for Toys 'R' Us and they too were out. I finally gave in and called the evil that is Babies 'R' Us (I know TRU is the same company but for some reason I don't hate them as much...) and they had ONE in stock. There was only ONE of these stupid, mediocre reviewed gates in all of Austin. I had them hold it for me and picked it up. Luckily, I had a coupon so it only set us back $34.99 before tax and I saved the receipt and box, just in case.

After my mom's party, Travis and I installed the gate. My main comment/complaint is that it is NOT a travel gate. It was such a pain to get the correct width setting that we've decided not to move it. Ever. But, it fits tightly and is made of mesh so I can see the babies/they can see me.

It got its first tests this morning when Eli and Jude both went up to the new gate and squished their faces against the mesh, trying to break through with their faces. It was adorable. They continued to do it all day so hopefully I'll get a picture tomorrow. When that didn't work Eli tried to slide through the 4" gap between the bottom of the gate and the ground (okay, so I know this gate is supposed to be ideal for people with baseboards because of its different settings for top and bottom... but it was enough work to make it fit at one width, let alone two!). And, it didn't budge despite all of the face-squishing. I'm optimistic that this gate will solve my problems. Hopefully there will be no part three... : )

Kitchen Gate - Oh, How I Loathe You

So, the boys figured out our (admittedly simple) kitchen gate situation a few days ago. They pushed over the chair, moved the gate, and BAM! freedom. They did it once the first day and once on the second day. Today, we are not so lucky. I've stopped counting how many times I've heard that chair hit the ground today, but it's pretty constant. They've even pushed the chair over on top of each other a couple of times. Let me tell you, today has been AWESOME.

So I've been looking around for an extra wide tension gate for the kitchen that won't make us poor or fall apart in a month. This seems to be an absurd request. I saw one gate - marketed for pet owners - that cost more than $250. I found one gate that will stretch the width we need for $50 that got pretty hit or miss reviews.

Travis suggested we just let the boys in the kitchen. I am not keen on this plan. Not only would we have to install cabinet locks on all of the cabinets and drawers - two locks per cabinet since Eli and Jude are genius babies who have already figured them out - that comes to 22 locks that need to be installed. Never mind that it's already a small space and I probably won't get any cooking done while worried about tripping over one of my darling children. And I'm not sure how we'd keep their hands away from the stove and out of the oven. It just seems like too much to worry about. More than I can handle during the three plus times per day that I'm making food and countless times when they'll just run in there. Besides, with my luck, the cabinet they'd learn to unlock first would be our fine china... No thank you.

So I'm still in search. If I have to build one myself, I will. I guess this story is to be continued...