It's really hard for me to imagine having little kids in the house at my age.  Many friends are just starting families and I wonder, how they have the energy.  Those little kids move so fast, and squirm.  With my one daughter, who was more like a little boy, active, mechanical, and dirty, I was tired in my mid twenties.  When the 7:30 pm bedtime rolled around, it was elation.  At one point, we had to make her run toddler laps around the property to tire her out. She did take a nap in the afternoon, but that was a small respite.  I was one of "those mothers" who owned and used a baby leash.  When it came to that, I felt like the worst mother in the world, other mothers would stare in disbelief. It was used for safety after she had a hissy fit and ran into traffic. Yet in Belgium, baby leashes are common place, a friend said, and now they make them look like backpacks! For the last few years, many friends have had toddlers in tow, and it seems as if these kids are just like my Tibbles, loud, active, rambunctious, and moody.  Tibbles was what I would consider at times "difficult", her face was always sticky with god knows what, and she could scale walls and get up into the locked medicine cupboard.  There were calls to poison control, there were accidents from her jumping off furniture.  I wished I could harness that energy for myself, and get her a toddler type hamster ball.  This post actually may seem contradictory to my last, but make no mistake, I salute parents out there with active kids.   The only person who believes me is my mother, who could not babysit her, as Tibbles was an entity unto herself.  She still is, in a different way.  The energy is directed into music, and learning.   So, anyone out there with active kids, kudos to you. And although I feel tired and anxious,  just watching your little fire balls, this stage will seem like forever, but there will be an end, and you will have different trials and tribulations. All of us have been there, but many parents forget.  Remember that in Belgium, leashes are the norm, and you as a mom, know best :)