No More Monkeys Getting Out of Bed!!!

It's nearly nine and both boys are in bed. It took a lot tonight to get them there, not really because they are difficult, but because I lack the needed energy and patience it takes. Today was Owen's third birthday! Wow what a big boy! We had a lot of fun, but I am thoroughly worn out and Martin, my love isn't here to rub my feet. (yes, he does that on a regular basis- I know spoiled). I didn't make any dinner... no one mentioned needing it. We watched the new Winnie the Pooh movie that Owen got for his birthday, and I snuggled down on the end of the couch with them and dosed off here and there.
Oh yes, I almost forgot- before that there was bouts of weepiness... what is it about being pregnant that turns me into this irrational cry -er? I felt bad that the boys had to comfort me. Owen kept saying, "It's okay mommy," and offering me different favorite stuffed animals that were sure to "make me feel better." Surprisingly, Elijah was less sensitive than usual about be crying. It was kind of like... oh yeah she does that... now let's watch our movie.

Owen had a late nap due to the party, and with no dinner of course was hungry after the movie ended at 7:30 (half an hour after regular bedtime). What could I do, send birthday boy to bed with an empty tummy just because the thought of making any food turned nauseated me? Nope, not allowed... although he settled for snack-ish things so I was satisfied. I had his teeth brushed, potty taken care of, story read, song sung, and boy tucked in a little after eight. Then I thought I hot shower sounded nice. And it was! However guess who was waiting by his door for me when I came out? yep silly monkey number two! Back to bed, one more song, okay make it two... and another bathroom trip, since at this point I am encouraging all pleas to go potty, and a search for winnie the pooh to snuggle with.... Then very calmly I said, "goodnight, I love you, If you get out of your bed again I'll have to give you a spanking."

The house is quiet now. Not in a comforting way, though. The balloons from the party keep lightly rubbing or tapping against the wall from the vent blowing air on them.

If you were wondering how Elijah got to sleep... well he's got the routine down. He gets to look at a book on his own while I sing and tuck Owen in. Sometimes he falls asleep even before I get to tuck him in, but he is my big helper. And he's great at following the rules we have set for bedtime.

Those silly boys keep me smiling. Sometimes even when I want to be mad at them I just can't. Like when I went back in Owen's room after my shower and he kept playing with my hair and asking me questions about it. Part of me wanted to tell him to stop talking so he could go to sleep, but the other part of me just wanted to listen forever to his little inquiries. "How did your hair get like this? It's spiky. Did you pour water on it?" then he pretended to pour water on his head. "I made mine spiky too."

Backseat Chatter

One of my favorite times to talk is in the car. I’m not sure exactly the reason, maybe it’s that my listener has no escape route, or that conversation just seems to develop because there is little else to do. (of course, my husband would much rather sing along with the radio and sees talking as a complete interruption, whereas to me, it is the exact opposite- the singing being the interruption). However, when you have kids, car rides move on to a whole new level.

Most of the time I still rather enjoy our many car trips. I like listening to my kids’ creativity, their questions, and wonderings, and most of all their giggles. At two and four, they have entered a whole new world of “brotherhood.” Part of it I saw coming long before now- Elijah conniving ideas for Owen to join in on. I see it everyday more and more how they fight with each other, compete, share, love, support, and stand up for one another. It’s a natural and beautiful thing. Sometimes it’s hard for me to just let them be. But I know the days are coming when they need to figure things out for themselves, fight their own fights and not have mom step in and decide the winner.

Most of the time their behavior is very laughable. I feel like the camera crews are going to jump out of the pantry any minute now- my life- the true reality show. Tonight on our way home, it was just the boys and I, I was telling Elijah that he had no school tomorrow because it’s spring break, so it’s going to be a “stay at home with mommy day.” Then Owen added, “and daddy” (he’s really been missing daddy lately).
“Well actually we are going to meet daddy at the tire store in the morning, so you will see him for a little bit,” I said.
“Why is daddy at the tire store?” Elijah asked.
“Well he’s not there right now, but he will be there in the morning.”
“Why?”
“He needs to get the snow tires off his car, and have the tire guys put regular tires on.”
“oh… are they going to keep the tires on the rims?”
At this question I paused for a millesecond… are you old enough to ask that? How do you know about rims? And then I remembered who I was married to, and obviously this would have come up in casual four year conversation between daddy and son.
“Yeah, I think they are going to keep the tires on the rims because both sets have their own rims.”
From there we talked about why we didn’t need snow tires anymore, and why mommy’s car didn’t need them either, and that daddy’s car was better… for some reason. I guess because daddy would be in it. And then the silliness started. Owen took off his shoe and threw it at Elijah who then threw it on the floor. “Owen threw his shoe at me!!!” “Don’t do that Wijah!” “That’s a time out Owen!” Elijah said in a silly voice. Then they started giving everyone and everything a “time out.” “Time out to the window!” Owen exclaimed. “Time out to the floor!” “Say time out to the road Owen, to the road!” Elijah was hysterical, for some reason this was their funniest game yet, and my backseat was full of rumbling giggles all the way home.

So, even though some of the time all I want to do is get out of the car and away from the screaming and crying and chaos, most of our car trips leave me feeling glad we were together. It’s a little piece of who we are packed into a little bitty space (although I must say it looks a whole lot bigger after cleaning out the half a foot of junk that used to be on the floor)! It’s one of the few places the kids are buckled down, forced to be still, giving us the opportunity to show them the world.

No More Pull-Ups!

For along time it has felt like we would never be done buying diapers. It was just one of those things that you always need and when they go on sale you buy double because you know the next month you will still need them. Owen may still have a few months to go, but I think we are nearing the end of his diaper days, and Elijah is officially out of Pull-Ups!!! >yay! happy dance!!!!<
About two months ago I decided, okay it's time for this kid to stop costing us fifty cents a night just for peeing on something. But what approach to take? Martin suggested getting up at 3 or 4 to take him to the bathroom in the middle of the night... are you crazy?!!! No, I was not up for that. So I introduced a modified version. "Let's try just taking him to the bathroom before we go to bed." It took a few weeks to get the hang of it, on both sides. Sometimes I still forget, and sometimes he still cries.
He is such a deep sleeper that it really surprises him to be woken up. Most nights he is just a limp zombie using me as support to tramp to the bathroom. It's kinda cute actually. I've begun to enjoy going into his dark room, hearing those deep snores, seeing the shadow of a peaceful face... and after the job is done I get to do my favorite part- tucking him back in kissing him on the forehead, and saying a second "goodnight." Tonight his hair still smelled fresh and clean from his bath... how did he get so big?
For a while I was doing a lot of laundry. He would wake up in the early mornings wet and crying. But now after weeks of practice and a sticker chart the plan seems to be working perfectly... except on those nights when waking him up to go, escapes me. Our next milestone is for him to wake up on his own... that will truly mean potty trained freedom!
I had no idea this would take so long! This will make some of you laugh... While pregnant with him, I read lots and lots of parenting and baby magazines. I came across an article about potty training; the writer told how each of her three children had went through it differently and the last one just decided to do it on her own one day. The idea seemed easy. I knew at that point that all kids do things their own way at their own pace, for I am living proof of that (it took me the longest to learn everything from walking to how to ride a bike), so I thought this potty training thing would be more natural. I thought I was well prepared simply by reading a two-page article. Of course as he got closer to the appropriate age, I read books, asked his doctor, and made the usual efforts. But it sure has been a long long road to success.
And now that Owen is in the beginning stages of it, my insides are cringing, fearing I'm in for yet another long journey of messes, and laundry, and never quite being prepared enough.
But on the upside... trading buying Pull-Ups every month for taking Elijah to the potty at 10:30 every night- totally worth it!!!

Happy Fourth Birthday, Elijah!

On September 25th my Elijah will be four...FOUR! I just can't believe the time has gone so fast! Ironically, that exact day was the day Martin proposed to me in 2004, two years before Elijah was born. It seems not much time has passed since then, when we'd spend countless hours walking the park in York, Nebraska, but at the same time it feels worlds away. Now I know things I never planned on knowing like the theme songs to all of the most prominant super heroes, and the names of building trucks like loaders and cherry pickers, dump trucks and cement mixers, which play an active part in our daily lives.
It doesn't seem like I should have a four-year-old. But then again it seems completely impossible not to have him. I love listening to him when he doesn't think I'm listening, like in the car. He talks to himself, relives conversations that we've had or that he's heard in school with character voices and all kinds of drama. Yesterday, he was saying, "No, no Hannah!" in the back seat of the car. I asked who Hannah was. He told me she was a girl at school, but that she was in a different class. This morning I knew exactly who Hannah was when I heard a teacher scolding her and telling her to get back in line. They really are listening ALL THE TIME!
Many days after school i let him change into "play clothes," clothes that aren't school uniform. He has taken on this tendancy, probably from me, that his clothes have to match. He refused to wear his favorite "number twelve" pants because we couldn't find the "number twelve" shirt. Then he saw one of his jumpsuits, you know those sweats that have matching sweat tops... they look like little running suits, any ways... he was thrilled when he discovered that he found something that matched. "I'll wear these, mom!" he exclaimed excitedly and bounced on his bed to pull them on.
He's always making me laugh about something... many times when I shouldn't be laughing. Its a known fact that laughing when you aren't suppose to is ten times more fun than when its expected, like in church, or in my case when I'm trying to be stern and disciplining my child. He's had so many potty accidents that it has become routine to go in the bathroom and get him cleaned up. Its incredibly hard not to giggle when he starts singing while I'm trying to get him cleaned up, or when he turns to me like nothing is going on and says "I love you," or something silly.
Saturday, that silly boy will hold up four fingers instead of three when you ask him his age, and there will be four candles on his DUMP TRUCK cake, but part of me will always see that baby, my first that was born on the 25th of September.

Pre-school Already?

I can't believe the day has come... tommorrow Elijah starts pre-school. We've had almost four years of fun together and now he's moving into this new stage of life. It only hit me about a week ago that it is really happening and closer than it could possibly seem. I know that he's ready, I know that he will love it... and though I know that there are many many benefits, I also know that I will miss him.
He's been my buddy and turned into the most wonderful big brother to Owen. He loves his place of knowing all the rules and making sure that Owen is held to the same high standards. I wonder about all the things that will change now as I sit on this last night of what will become many nights of wondering how he will function without me.
that's probably the most scary part- wondering what it will be like without me. No one knows him as well as I do ( and no one ever will until many many years from now). Of course, the whole point of parenting is to shape children to be able to go out away from us independantly and be "all right," but secretly we want them to need us, we want to keep them close forever, however selfish and unecisary that may be.
He's going to be okay. He's going to love it. Life will go on.... it will change, it will be different, but it will go on.