Tired kids are Sick Kids

I've learned my mother is usually right. Not to long ago my sisters and I were complaining about our bedtime as teenagers. My mother replied, "You were never sick." We were disgustingly health kids. We rarely missed school because of illness. Also a sad thing for us then but now I am planning the same course for my own children. However there are times when sleep becomes a low priority. Friday afternoon we left for the state wrestling tournament. With a two hour drive I thought would be a great opportunity for the kids to have a little nap. They were too excited about seeing Grandma and Pacca to sleep. They were up til ten playing with their cousin and the next day they again were nap free. I am not sure how late they were up that night but I bet it was later than usual, Grandma is a soft touch. After church Sunday we left Wichita to come home and I thought they would be so exhausted they would fall right to sleep on the way home. No such luck. They had a short nap when we got home before Juniors at church. They had a regular nap yesterday but it wasn't enough. Jessa had a headache yesterday and was cold then by supper time she and Josi had temperatures. They we up in the night and this morning they are pretty listless. The still have fevers and have added a cough. My mother really did know what she was talking about. Darn it!

Hungry Kids are Crabby Kids

I've learned that hunger can cause grumpiness. My children's grump factor increases exponentially when they are hungry. Today we stopped for contact supplies after Bible Study, and my children, who are usually fairly well-behaved, were completely unhinged. They fought over who got to put the items where in the cart and on the checkout counter. I brought them home and I thought WWIII was going to break out over the colors. I put the maccaroni and cheese in front of them and after lunch they were the sweetest children. I should know this already; my husband gets grumpy when he is hungry as well.

I should know better

Why is it that when you have the most to do you feel the least like doing any of it? I arranged to have a whole day at home to catch up on housework, potty train, and do laundry. It is 11:30 and all I have managed to get done is getting dressed. I read the paper, made a couple of phone calls got the kids dressed, breakfast, and that is it. I have three loads of laundry and a kitchen disaster to deal with but I can't motivate myself to do any of it. Everytime I get set to get started my kids need something and btw they are creating more messes while I surf the net and work the soduku puzzle. HELP!!!!!!! I've got to get started.

Sleep Interrupted

I've learned that the days I want to get extra sleep are the days my children gang up on me and get up extra early. The older one is usually content to play in her room when she gets up early but if her little sister gets up early too then they both are intent on my participation. "Mama is Sesame Street on? Can I have some milk? Is Sesame Street on yet? (It comes on at 8. From 7 on they nag) Can you get me some breklast? Can I turn on the TV to see if Sesame Street is on?" And so on. I like to wake up slowly, stretch, laze, watch the news, laze and then get up and get going. Before I had children I had to get up and get going before dawn to be at school. Now when I don't usually have to be anywhere early I still don't get to sleep in. My husband would say it serves me right since he still leaves the house at dark. Not being a feminist, I want to tell him that being a woman has priviledges. I don't have to have a job outside of my family. Of course, being married to a red-neck means he'll never want to be Mr. Mom. Besides, I've seen his idea of a clean house, ironed shirt, and balanced meal. It ain't pretty. Can you believe I used to teach English? Toddlerhood has put my brain cells in storage. They should be there if I need them later.

Is it March yet?

I've learned more about wrestling than I ever knew I wanted to know. This is the time of year when I am ready for winter to be over. I love winter. Cold, snow, ice etc. they don't bother me. However, winter at our house means high school wrestling season. I am a wrestling widow. My kids think the muscle man is Daddy. He has done nothing to dissuade them. From November through February my husband coaches the high school team where he teaches. Practice is after school so he doesn't get home until 7 p.m which is about two and half hours later than usual. Starting in December he has tournaments all day every Saturday. He usually leaves the house before six and gets home after 9 so this make for a very long time for mama and the girls. Our girls are two and four. Real time intensive ages. As a stay at home mom it makes for some long weeks, but we have just one week to go. As an added treat this year we get to go to the state tournament next weekend with the team. The girls are getting big enough and they know the wrestling parents well enough that it will not be to bad. I also suggested that my in-laws might like to come and meet us there, see the kids, watch their son coach, give me a break you know whatever. They are to meet us there and hopefully they got a room at the same hotel. The girls are so excited about the hotel. I haven't told them there isn't an indoor pool yet. That will not go over well. They love to swim. Today at lessons I had to drag them out of the pool to shower so we could go eat. Just four more days of practice and then the tournament and it is done for this year. I'll probably forget all this by next year. Oh well, my husband has a lot of fun coaching and its only for four months.

Potty Training Pitfalls

I've learned today that potty training isn't for sissies. My 2 1/2 year old came to me a couple days ago because she wanted her pants changed after her nap. We have been trying to talk to her about potty training because I subscribe to the philosophy that if you prepare your kids for big stuff it goes easier. The dirty diaper had made her bottom sore so I explained to her that she could avoid these problems if she wore big girl panties like her sister. Now she has been reluctant to take this step. When I say reluctant I mean radically opposed. You thought Democrats were reluctant to support Bush's supreme court nominee, that was nothin'. So I was not really expecting the little darlin' to agree with the panty idea. But she did. So we tried it. She did okay that evening. The next day not so well. We went to lunch at the kids favorite Mexican restaurant so they could have rice. I took her to the bathroom frequently to try to get the idea across to her. (BTW as I crouched on the floor in the stall with her I had flashbacks to being trapped in the bathroom at Toys R Us with our older daughter for 45 minutes because she wasn't done. I didn't take a bottle and 6 month old baby was very cranky. It was supposed to be a five minute trip to pick up something. Two years is a long time in Mamaland.) As soon as we returned to the table she had an accident. In two hours she went through all of the spare underwear and pants I packed. Today has been a little better. We have had two accidents but we did go potty in public and she seems to finally recognize when she does it on the potty. Yea!!! One consolation is that almost everyone figures this out eventually.