So last night was a really hard night, with my baby crying and us trying to put him back to sleep, and him crying some more, and him finally coming to our bed, where he flopped and arched backwards over my head, and flopped some more and tried to get comfortable, and flopped some more on top of me, and then on top of my husband, and finally fell asleep.
In the midst of the delirium that comes when most of me is trying to sleep and about 3% of me is awake trying to take care of a flopping baby, I had the following thought:
It's too bad you can't measure crying the way you measure snow; and I wish we could get baby forecasts the way you get weather forecasts -- something like, "and tomorrow night will have partly peaceful evening followed by scattered storms, and a chance of 3-6 inches of crying and flopping."
OK, really, I have no idea what I was thinking other than this distant memory of wishing that somebody could tell me ahead of time when I am going to have horrible nights!
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
Friday, November 2, 2007
Love is Smokin' Here
Every once in awhile my kids say something that really makes me laugh. Here are a few recent ones:
The other day, my 3-yo daughter came home after music time at church and was happily singing the songs she had learned. I admit that I wasn't listening very carefully until I heard my older son correcting the words. I thought she was singing "Love is Spoken Here," but she was really singing "Love is Smokin' Here." Hmmmmm.
Earlier that week she came up the stairs from the basement and told me all about the adventures she was having with her brother and the light sabers. She explained that he was pretending to be Obi Wan and that she was Obi Two.
We were at a cub scout pack meeting with the whole family. One of the night's activities required everyone to introduce themselves by saying their name and either their scouting rank or their relationship to a cub scout. This worked fairly well, with everyone following this pattern precisely -- until this one from my 6-yo: "Hello everyone. I am Braden. I am a righteous man."
The other day, my 3-yo daughter came home after music time at church and was happily singing the songs she had learned. I admit that I wasn't listening very carefully until I heard my older son correcting the words. I thought she was singing "Love is Spoken Here," but she was really singing "Love is Smokin' Here." Hmmmmm.
Earlier that week she came up the stairs from the basement and told me all about the adventures she was having with her brother and the light sabers. She explained that he was pretending to be Obi Wan and that she was Obi Two.
We were at a cub scout pack meeting with the whole family. One of the night's activities required everyone to introduce themselves by saying their name and either their scouting rank or their relationship to a cub scout. This worked fairly well, with everyone following this pattern precisely -- until this one from my 6-yo: "Hello everyone. I am Braden. I am a righteous man."
Follow-up to the World's Problems
I am proud to say that one thing I have done as a mom is still working. The "quick clean-up" idea I started in August is still a hit at our house, and it's November! My kids are actually EXCITED when I announce that it is quick clean-up time. And my entire house gets "clean" in about 15-20 minutes. Really. I am not joking. Even when there are literally toys covering the floors of every room in my house. It leaves me free to do the deeper cleaning in the mornings (or to just *play* with my two younger ones.)
YAY! I wonder if I should patent the idea?
YAY! I wonder if I should patent the idea?
Getting the Last Laugh
I stare at the enormous bucket of Halloween candy just acquired by my four children. As we share the spoils, I carefully select a Reese's cup avoiding the sticky chewy treats forbidden by the orthodontist. I realize that these new restrictions will require much more self-control than I originally anticipated. The next 9 months with braces will truly be a demonstration of my will power or lack thereof.
He slowly waves the raspberry toffee under my nose, further emphasizing his pleasure in the face of my depravity. He bites. He chews. His temporary crown comes loose. Now who is laughing?
He slowly waves the raspberry toffee under my nose, further emphasizing his pleasure in the face of my depravity. He bites. He chews. His temporary crown comes loose. Now who is laughing?
Saturday, August 4, 2007
Solving the World's Problems
Problem 1:
For years now I have been noticing that my children become "industrious" when they are tired. It is when they are most exhausted that their bodies kick into overdrive, the adrenalin levels go up, and they become little energizer bunnies. They run to and fro, find containers to empty and fill, jump off the couches, and generally wreak havoc. This is my least favorite time of day. Getting everyone settled down when their instinct is to go, go, go sometimes seems impossible.
Problem 2:
With four kids, my house seems like it is always messier than I would like. Even when people do "jobs" around the house, it is usually only moments before things are messed up again. I want to teach the kids to work and pick up after themselves, but the job of making everyone else do their jobs is often much harder than just doing their jobs myself. But then I'm the one doing all the work -- and it still gets messed up only moments after I'm finished cleaning.
Problem 3:
By the end of the day, I am exhausted from dealing with the above two problems.
Solution:
Harness the industriousness. Work WITH their body clocks.
For the last couple of days I have been experimenting with a little idea. All day long I don't say anything to anyone about cleaning. Then, after dinner has been over for a couple of hours, we do "quick clean up" where we spend some time in each room running around straightening things up. The kids have so much energy at this time of night that running around is pretty natural, and we can get the whole house done in about a fifth the time it usually takes during the day, especially because nobody is playing or eating or doing anything else to mess it up.
The bonus to this is that we all go to bed with the whole house clean! It also means that we wake up with it clean, and people actually enjoy the morning because they're not dreading having to do jobs, and the house is clean for them to play in. I'm not exhausted from having to do it all myself, and we are all HAPPY!
OK, so all of the problems of the world aren't solved, but if this keeps working, it will feel like it to me. (Also, I really don't know if this is practical once school starts up again anyway -- but I'm going to live it up as long as it lasts.)
For years now I have been noticing that my children become "industrious" when they are tired. It is when they are most exhausted that their bodies kick into overdrive, the adrenalin levels go up, and they become little energizer bunnies. They run to and fro, find containers to empty and fill, jump off the couches, and generally wreak havoc. This is my least favorite time of day. Getting everyone settled down when their instinct is to go, go, go sometimes seems impossible.
Problem 2:
With four kids, my house seems like it is always messier than I would like. Even when people do "jobs" around the house, it is usually only moments before things are messed up again. I want to teach the kids to work and pick up after themselves, but the job of making everyone else do their jobs is often much harder than just doing their jobs myself. But then I'm the one doing all the work -- and it still gets messed up only moments after I'm finished cleaning.
Problem 3:
By the end of the day, I am exhausted from dealing with the above two problems.
Solution:
Harness the industriousness. Work WITH their body clocks.
For the last couple of days I have been experimenting with a little idea. All day long I don't say anything to anyone about cleaning. Then, after dinner has been over for a couple of hours, we do "quick clean up" where we spend some time in each room running around straightening things up. The kids have so much energy at this time of night that running around is pretty natural, and we can get the whole house done in about a fifth the time it usually takes during the day, especially because nobody is playing or eating or doing anything else to mess it up.
The bonus to this is that we all go to bed with the whole house clean! It also means that we wake up with it clean, and people actually enjoy the morning because they're not dreading having to do jobs, and the house is clean for them to play in. I'm not exhausted from having to do it all myself, and we are all HAPPY!
OK, so all of the problems of the world aren't solved, but if this keeps working, it will feel like it to me. (Also, I really don't know if this is practical once school starts up again anyway -- but I'm going to live it up as long as it lasts.)
Thursday, July 5, 2007
Fire and Rain
Last night we went to my sister's place for 4th of July festivities. The weather forecast included a tornado warning during prime firework time, and we decided to just 'stay in' this time. They live in an area where some of the smaller fireworks are legal, so we picked up two packages at the store.
Their neighbors, however, didn't seem to have much concern for whether their own fireworks were legal, and had a show rivaling my the ones my small town put on when I was a kid. (This raises a whole series of ethical questions for someone watching whose house and car are in danger from lots of flaming debris, but I'm not addressing that this time.) They had very large shoot-up-in-the-air type fireworks, and they were literally right over our heads.
After awhile it started raining, so we quickly finished up our little fireworks and went inside. On the way home, I was talking to my kids about it and asked them if they liked all those fireworks. My 6-yr-old said that he hated them, which seemed strange because he had been laughing with glee when we were doing them. I inquired further, and he said that he hated them because the fireworks turned into rain.
Suddenly all was clear. The huge fireworks the neighbors were shooting off had looked like "rain" falling down, and then he felt rain, so he assumed that the fireworks had turned into rain. Wow. The world through the eyes of a child.
Their neighbors, however, didn't seem to have much concern for whether their own fireworks were legal, and had a show rivaling my the ones my small town put on when I was a kid. (This raises a whole series of ethical questions for someone watching whose house and car are in danger from lots of flaming debris, but I'm not addressing that this time.) They had very large shoot-up-in-the-air type fireworks, and they were literally right over our heads.
After awhile it started raining, so we quickly finished up our little fireworks and went inside. On the way home, I was talking to my kids about it and asked them if they liked all those fireworks. My 6-yr-old said that he hated them, which seemed strange because he had been laughing with glee when we were doing them. I inquired further, and he said that he hated them because the fireworks turned into rain.
Suddenly all was clear. The huge fireworks the neighbors were shooting off had looked like "rain" falling down, and then he felt rain, so he assumed that the fireworks had turned into rain. Wow. The world through the eyes of a child.
How Do I Love Thee???
Ever want to tell someone you really love having them around and wish you could spend every day with them? Well, my 9-year-old has just the thing for you.
Today I was talking to him about how sometimes moms and dads fight with each other. (To my knowledge he has probably never heard my husband and I fighting.) I asked if he could imagine a home where mom and dad were yelling and screaming at each other all the time and always fighting, and asked what he would do.
He first said he would play computer games all day because we'd be so busy fighting that we wouldn't stop him. I probed and asked how it would make him feel, and he said that he would like it because maybe then I would leave and he would be able to just be with dad all the time and have lots of fun.
"So you wish I would leave and never come back?" I asked. "No," he said, "not NEVER, but maybe for like a month or something."
To be fair, he is mostly remembering the two weeks that I was gone for my grandmother's funeral when dad took over and was able to take half-days at work, and it happened to be the same time that he had no homework at school because of testing. So dad let him play computer games all the time. Now he is really looking forward to the weekend that I go away for a moms 'retreat.'
He also thinks I'm old and boring. Dad not so much, but mom is pretty old and boring.
Doesn't it just make you want to clone him so you can have one for yourself -- you can just put him on auto-repeat and call it your self affirmation for the day. I love being a mom!!!
Today I was talking to him about how sometimes moms and dads fight with each other. (To my knowledge he has probably never heard my husband and I fighting.) I asked if he could imagine a home where mom and dad were yelling and screaming at each other all the time and always fighting, and asked what he would do.
He first said he would play computer games all day because we'd be so busy fighting that we wouldn't stop him. I probed and asked how it would make him feel, and he said that he would like it because maybe then I would leave and he would be able to just be with dad all the time and have lots of fun.
"So you wish I would leave and never come back?" I asked. "No," he said, "not NEVER, but maybe for like a month or something."
To be fair, he is mostly remembering the two weeks that I was gone for my grandmother's funeral when dad took over and was able to take half-days at work, and it happened to be the same time that he had no homework at school because of testing. So dad let him play computer games all the time. Now he is really looking forward to the weekend that I go away for a moms 'retreat.'
He also thinks I'm old and boring. Dad not so much, but mom is pretty old and boring.
Doesn't it just make you want to clone him so you can have one for yourself -- you can just put him on auto-repeat and call it your self affirmation for the day. I love being a mom!!!
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