So all the kids are in bed. Bob is gone. Momentarily it is quiet. Liam and Lorelei are actually asleep, but Molly and Maggie aren't and probably won't be for another 2 hours. Which means they'll probably get spanked at some point for being too loud. If they'd behave, I'd let them stay up, but they've been rotten all day and I can't deal with that right now.
I've been in pain all day, but it's gotten significantly worse throughout the afternoon. I also feel like I'm having an allergic reaction to something, but I can't take any Benedryl because the stuff knocks me out and Bob isn't home to listen for the kids. Anyway, I feel like crap. I'm also really tired, but if I go to sleep now and get woken up by the girls, that will mess me up even more, so I have to at least wait until they're asleep. I wish I had something new to read.
Looks like we're going to be floaters (sitting in the hallway, assisting teachers with bathroom breaks) at church starting in September. We didn't really want to do anything for a year, but floating is better than teaching, I suppose. Even though you don't really teach in the 1-2s, which is the only class we volunteer for. It's ok. I've started feeling really cut off from church lately. We've pretty much backed out of every commitment we've made.
The one thing I really hate about church is the germs that get passed around. It seems like some people don't really care if their kids are sick and bring them to class anyway (and they don't think about the fact that if a sibling is sick, the other kids are probably already sick too, and are just asymptomatic at the moment and can still give it to other people). There was a bad flu thing going on recently and I know the only reason we missed it (so far) is because we skipped church last week. But I bet my kids get it if we go to church tomorrow. I hate it when my kids are sick. And it seems like no matter what they get, they always end up throwing up for one reason or another. That's the worst. They've been healthy now for a month or two and I'd like it to stay that way!
The house is not cleaned up and how much do you want to bet it doesn't get done by Monday night? I didn't even do that much yesterday but I'm still paying big time. Plus, I fell yesterday, coming into the house and that really hasn't helped at all. I did get most of the laundry washed and folded, though the kids stuff still isn't put away and I still need to move a load over to the dryer and fold the load that's in there. In the other house, the laundry closet is right in the hallway where the bedrooms are. I wouldn't even need laundry baskets!!
If I could get the basement cleaned up, I'd feel better. You can barely walk down there. But I hesitate to go down until I know the kids are asleep because if I have to walk up two flights of stairs it will really hurt!
I hate having songs stuck in my head. Particularly ones where I only know a phrase or two.
It's times like this that I really wish we had cable. We don't even get basic channels at this point. I guess I could find a movie to watch, but it's not as satisfying as channel surfing can be when you feel like crap.
Good grief. Molly's whistling. It's stuff like that that just drives me crazy. Why on earth would she think that's ok when her sister is in the bunk below her trying to sleep?
ttfn.
19.7.08
Saturday afternoon
Quiet. Bob took Molly and Maggie out to eat. Liam is sleeping and Lorelei is supposed to be. I'm not sure if she is or not.
I've been thinking about moving and how much work it would be to pack up this house. We've been here for 7 years! And we have 4 kids who have a lot of stuff. If we were to buy and fix up that house, we'd have to put some things in storage in the basement for a while because we wouldn't have the same amount of room as we do now. Square footage wise it'd be about the same, but more of that is hallway.
Right now we have 12 rooms in use (including the kitchen, not including bathrooms). In that house there are 8 rooms in the main living space. We'd loose (until the basement is finished) our TV room, family room (there is one, but it's a lot smaller), music room and two office spaces. That's a lot of stuff to store.
Most of the toys would be put into the bedrooms, but the furniture in those rooms would have to go downstairs and I'm wondering if we'd just lose our TV for a while. We have computers that we can watch stuff on. Bob and I do that a lot anyway. The kids would adjust - not that they watch or that I want them to watch that much TV anyway. We can also remote desktop into computers that are kept in the basement from laptops. But we'd still have to have at least one computer desk station. I'm thinking it would be mind in the dining room and maybe Bob's little cart in our bedroom. The piano would go in the living room, but we'd probably have to buy different speakers for our cd/mp3 player and I don't think we'd have room for the table that's in there. Which really stinks because the guys use that to play games on.
When the basement is finished in the other house, we'd have way more room than we do here. The guys could have a dedicated game room, we'd have our tv room and office (a much bigger one) and family room back.
Another thing that I'm not sure about is practical storage. While the other house has a lot more closets, the majority of them are smaller. And we have SO many shelves in our basement right now. Again, when the basement in the other house is finished, it won't be an issue, since we'd do it the same way (with built in shelves) but in the meantime, I'm thinking most of the CD's DVDs and books would stay packed up. Or at least in boxes. We'd have to store or get rid of some toys as well, because even with more of them in the bedrooms, we still have way too many for them all to be out. I guess I'd just rotate them, like I've been thinking about doing for a while. I doubt I'd have room to keep the girls' stored clothes upstairs either. But, that's ok - I never really liked them in the bedroom closets anyway.
Lorelei is not asleep and is now crying. I guess at this point I should keep her up and just put her to bed early tonight - which is fine because Bob's going to be gone this evening anyway.
ttfn!
I've been thinking about moving and how much work it would be to pack up this house. We've been here for 7 years! And we have 4 kids who have a lot of stuff. If we were to buy and fix up that house, we'd have to put some things in storage in the basement for a while because we wouldn't have the same amount of room as we do now. Square footage wise it'd be about the same, but more of that is hallway.
Right now we have 12 rooms in use (including the kitchen, not including bathrooms). In that house there are 8 rooms in the main living space. We'd loose (until the basement is finished) our TV room, family room (there is one, but it's a lot smaller), music room and two office spaces. That's a lot of stuff to store.
Most of the toys would be put into the bedrooms, but the furniture in those rooms would have to go downstairs and I'm wondering if we'd just lose our TV for a while. We have computers that we can watch stuff on. Bob and I do that a lot anyway. The kids would adjust - not that they watch or that I want them to watch that much TV anyway. We can also remote desktop into computers that are kept in the basement from laptops. But we'd still have to have at least one computer desk station. I'm thinking it would be mind in the dining room and maybe Bob's little cart in our bedroom. The piano would go in the living room, but we'd probably have to buy different speakers for our cd/mp3 player and I don't think we'd have room for the table that's in there. Which really stinks because the guys use that to play games on.
When the basement is finished in the other house, we'd have way more room than we do here. The guys could have a dedicated game room, we'd have our tv room and office (a much bigger one) and family room back.
Another thing that I'm not sure about is practical storage. While the other house has a lot more closets, the majority of them are smaller. And we have SO many shelves in our basement right now. Again, when the basement in the other house is finished, it won't be an issue, since we'd do it the same way (with built in shelves) but in the meantime, I'm thinking most of the CD's DVDs and books would stay packed up. Or at least in boxes. We'd have to store or get rid of some toys as well, because even with more of them in the bedrooms, we still have way too many for them all to be out. I guess I'd just rotate them, like I've been thinking about doing for a while. I doubt I'd have room to keep the girls' stored clothes upstairs either. But, that's ok - I never really liked them in the bedroom closets anyway.
Lorelei is not asleep and is now crying. I guess at this point I should keep her up and just put her to bed early tonight - which is fine because Bob's going to be gone this evening anyway.
ttfn!
17.7.08
Friends
I hate seeing friends in pain. It's like I feel it too, to a certain degree, and just can't wait until things are better. I always want to help, but sometimes you just can't change situations. I hate that!
Potential
Potential. I have a love/hate relationship with the word. Fundamentally I'm a destination sort of person, not a journey sort of person. But I have the annoying ability to look past exteriors and see what could be, given time and money. We saw a house tonight that was in horrible shape, but the bare bones of the place were awesome! If there were just some way we could figure out how to buy it, gut it and remodel it without going bankrupt in the process!!
Our realtor is coming out Monday night to assess our house and probably put it on the market. We have to move. We can't spend another year here. Not because it's such a horrible place but because it's not really - well, I can't say it's not meeting our NEEDS because it is, it's just not meeting some of our wants that are conveniences and might turn into needs in the future because of my health. We could stay here and in a couple of years the conveniences that are associated with young children would be alleviated, but it's still an awful lot of work to keep this place up - and not even keep it up well - and there is the issue of the stairs for me that doesn't seem to be going away.
I keep thinking that if we wait until our yard sale in September, someone will offer us a ridiculous amount of money for this place and we'll be able to move without a problem. Wishful thinking, I'm sure.
In the meantime, I'm frustrated, because I see greatness that is unattainable.
Our realtor is coming out Monday night to assess our house and probably put it on the market. We have to move. We can't spend another year here. Not because it's such a horrible place but because it's not really - well, I can't say it's not meeting our NEEDS because it is, it's just not meeting some of our wants that are conveniences and might turn into needs in the future because of my health. We could stay here and in a couple of years the conveniences that are associated with young children would be alleviated, but it's still an awful lot of work to keep this place up - and not even keep it up well - and there is the issue of the stairs for me that doesn't seem to be going away.
I keep thinking that if we wait until our yard sale in September, someone will offer us a ridiculous amount of money for this place and we'll be able to move without a problem. Wishful thinking, I'm sure.
In the meantime, I'm frustrated, because I see greatness that is unattainable.
16.7.08
2 Kids
Faith took the two older girls to a puppet show and her house this afternoon and Lorelei was still asleep when she left so for a little while, the only one I had to take care of was Liam! Even after Lorelei woke up the noise level in the house was so much lower! The girls were gone from about 1:30 to around 5:30 - all while I was making dinner. It was really nice to have that break, although I must admit, Molly and Maggie aren't really the bulk of my childcare work at all. They do add to the noise level and of course there are disciplinary issues every once in a while, but as far as care goes, that would be Lorelei. Liam requires a bunch, but he isn't nearly as demanding as Lorelei is. I mean, I've known this since Lorelei was born, but this afternoon just drives the point home. Having just two kids (or even one!) isn't that much of a break if Lorelei is the one you're taking care of! I really love that little girl - she can be so sweet and loving and she's so expressive and funny, but, boy, is she high maintenance!
We got another kind of break this evening when we left the kids with Dawn and went to a church meeting. Even though it wasn't "fun" time, there's still such a relief at knowing that you don't have to listen for anyone either (the kids were in bed, or in the process of going to bed). I didn't realize, though, (before I was a parent) that you can never stop thinking about your children. They will be on my mind every day for the rest of my life.
Molly was copying words from a dictionary the other day and I thought they were an interesting set of words: autonomy, bridesmaid, captor, canopy, carol and book. I don't know why she picked those words.
I feel like Maggie really gets lost in the shuffle and has been ever since Lorelei was born. Though we have 4 kids, Maggie is more the middle child than Lorelei is. I feel bad for her. She has her little quirks that we have to deal with as far as discipline goes, but she tends to be a little quieter and less forceful than the other two girls. Lately she's been telling me "I'm trying to hug you!" when I'm in the middle of something and she seems to be underfoot. I'm pretty affectionate with the younger two kids because I'm picking them up a lot and it's natural for me to kiss them when I do it or hug them while I'm holding them, but since I don't pick up Molly and Maggie very often anymore, that sort of affection has fallen by the wayside. I still ruffle their hair when I pass or give them a squeeze if I'm on the floor or reading them (only Maggie these days) a book, but it's less often than the babies. Of the two older girls, Maggie is by far the more affectionate and I used to cuddle with her all the time, so I know she's feeling the shift of physical affection. And she's not as verbally astute as Molly is, so she's not always clear when she talks and that makes it harder for me to do something else while I'm talking to her. I feel like I have to focus on the conversation completely to really understand what she's trying to say and I don't always have the time to do that. Maggie's such a sweet girl, but I feel like the neglect is starting to change that somewhat. I try to make time for just she and I, but that's hard when there are 3 others waiting in the wings. There's definitely jealously in all 4 of our kids. They'd love to be only children, at least when it comes to my attention. I feel like having siblings is good for their character, but I don't want them to be any less sure of my love for them. And I don't want them to feel like the squeaky wheel always gets the grease - in most cases, that's Lorelei. *sigh* I never knew being a parent was so hard.
I've got to get this basement in order. It's a big mess right now and it's not getting any better under the girls' efforts (or lack thereof). I guess I'll do that tomorrow while I'm doing laundry. And the kitchen is a mess again thanks to the very yummy dinner of minestrone and key lime torte. So I've got to do that in the morning as well. It never ends.
Oh, well, I'm off to watch So You Think You Can Dance with Dawn.
ttfn!
We got another kind of break this evening when we left the kids with Dawn and went to a church meeting. Even though it wasn't "fun" time, there's still such a relief at knowing that you don't have to listen for anyone either (the kids were in bed, or in the process of going to bed). I didn't realize, though, (before I was a parent) that you can never stop thinking about your children. They will be on my mind every day for the rest of my life.
Molly was copying words from a dictionary the other day and I thought they were an interesting set of words: autonomy, bridesmaid, captor, canopy, carol and book. I don't know why she picked those words.
I feel like Maggie really gets lost in the shuffle and has been ever since Lorelei was born. Though we have 4 kids, Maggie is more the middle child than Lorelei is. I feel bad for her. She has her little quirks that we have to deal with as far as discipline goes, but she tends to be a little quieter and less forceful than the other two girls. Lately she's been telling me "I'm trying to hug you!" when I'm in the middle of something and she seems to be underfoot. I'm pretty affectionate with the younger two kids because I'm picking them up a lot and it's natural for me to kiss them when I do it or hug them while I'm holding them, but since I don't pick up Molly and Maggie very often anymore, that sort of affection has fallen by the wayside. I still ruffle their hair when I pass or give them a squeeze if I'm on the floor or reading them (only Maggie these days) a book, but it's less often than the babies. Of the two older girls, Maggie is by far the more affectionate and I used to cuddle with her all the time, so I know she's feeling the shift of physical affection. And she's not as verbally astute as Molly is, so she's not always clear when she talks and that makes it harder for me to do something else while I'm talking to her. I feel like I have to focus on the conversation completely to really understand what she's trying to say and I don't always have the time to do that. Maggie's such a sweet girl, but I feel like the neglect is starting to change that somewhat. I try to make time for just she and I, but that's hard when there are 3 others waiting in the wings. There's definitely jealously in all 4 of our kids. They'd love to be only children, at least when it comes to my attention. I feel like having siblings is good for their character, but I don't want them to be any less sure of my love for them. And I don't want them to feel like the squeaky wheel always gets the grease - in most cases, that's Lorelei. *sigh* I never knew being a parent was so hard.
I've got to get this basement in order. It's a big mess right now and it's not getting any better under the girls' efforts (or lack thereof). I guess I'll do that tomorrow while I'm doing laundry. And the kitchen is a mess again thanks to the very yummy dinner of minestrone and key lime torte. So I've got to do that in the morning as well. It never ends.
Oh, well, I'm off to watch So You Think You Can Dance with Dawn.
ttfn!
Liam's Baby Book
I got the book I made for Liam today! I LOVE it! Go to snapfish, everyone! It's so easy to make a book and they look so good!!
Eating and Sleeping
I would really like to know why my kids won't sleep, let me sleep and feel the need to eat all the time. If I am up and about and cleaning the house or something, chances are they'll behave at least decently for a few hours. But heaven forbid I try to lie down and go to sleep on the sofa for a little bit. They scream and whine and cry and fight and are generally rowdy and obnoxious. What gives? It makes me so mad I just want to smack them!
And then there is the issue of food. I don't know if they're bored or if they're really hungry, but the phrase I hear the most during the day is "I'm hungry". It's not like I don't feed them. They get at least 3 meals a day and 2 snacks. That's eating just about every 2 hours. Yet, they still complain. I think they must have tapeworms or something.
I am so tired right now I can hardly keep my eyes open. I've been trying to sleep for the last hour and a half or so, but I've gotten none thanks to Molly and Maggie who feel the need to do everything in their power to make sure it doesn't happen. Lorelei was better behaved.
Faith is on her way over here to watch the kids while I get my foot x-rayed. It's been hurting for the past 6 weeks or so and they've finally decided to check it out. The only thing I can remember doing is dropping a mug on my foot about 6 weeks ago, but there was no bruising or swelling or anything. I don't even remember it hurting right away. And it's a weird sort of pain. I can walk on it and everything, but it kinda burns, especially by the end of the day. So anyway, hopefully they can figure out why.
I'm just in a bad mood today. All I want to do is sleep. And I haven't gotten a shower yet. And we're supposed to go over to Ken and Beth's tonight for a meeting at 7. The kids are getting on my last nerve.
I've been thinking about asking people in the church to watch my kids every other Thursday for about 5 hours so that I can get things done around the house or run errands or go to doctor's appointments. Or sleep, I suppose, if I need to. Just so I have some time to myself. I just need a break so badly and I don't get much on a regular basis. My specialist for chronic fatigue and fibromyalgia has said that I need someone to watch the kids two days a week for 6 hours! Yeah, right! Lol! That's pretty much impossible! Especially since we have no money to pay anyone for anything. It just sucks. I love my kids so much and I wouldn't trade any of them, but having kids is hard work and I need a break sometimes. Yet I feel like people look down on me and are irritated when I ask for help. It's like "You had the kids, so you take care of them." And to a certain extent I agree with them, which is why I'm so reluctant to ask for help. Especially when it's just for time to myself. I just wish I could find people who WANT to help me out without expecting anything in return. I loved babysitting when I was a kid. I did it even when people didn't pay me, just because I liked being with kids. Makes me think there's something wrong with mine! :)
It's just one of those days, I guess. I know I could go to bed earlier than I do. I always seem to get caught up in something, but that's not an excuse. I'm just not a very self disciplined person. I used to be better, but lack of sleep is a strange thing. I'm too tired to be self disciplined. To be anything that takes motivation or work. Yet the lack of it is causing at least some of my exhaustion. I hate trying to find balances in life. It's the hardest thing to do.
On the plus side, I have managed to keep on top of the dishes, so the kitchen is still clean, which is really nice. I have to do at least some laundry today since Maggie peed all over her bed last night. Lovely. I really need to vacuum in their room too since Molly ripped a book up and scattered the little pieces all over the place. You'd think that since she loves to read so much she wouldn't do crap like that, but the girls is messed up in the head, I think. It was one of my books, too, which really pissed me off, but I also wanted to cry so I didn't do anything.
I should probably make the kids lunch so Faith doesn't have to deal with that catastrophe. And then maybe put Lorelei down for a nap as well. Liam has been asleep for a while. He usually wakes up during lunch.
ttfn
And then there is the issue of food. I don't know if they're bored or if they're really hungry, but the phrase I hear the most during the day is "I'm hungry". It's not like I don't feed them. They get at least 3 meals a day and 2 snacks. That's eating just about every 2 hours. Yet, they still complain. I think they must have tapeworms or something.
I am so tired right now I can hardly keep my eyes open. I've been trying to sleep for the last hour and a half or so, but I've gotten none thanks to Molly and Maggie who feel the need to do everything in their power to make sure it doesn't happen. Lorelei was better behaved.
Faith is on her way over here to watch the kids while I get my foot x-rayed. It's been hurting for the past 6 weeks or so and they've finally decided to check it out. The only thing I can remember doing is dropping a mug on my foot about 6 weeks ago, but there was no bruising or swelling or anything. I don't even remember it hurting right away. And it's a weird sort of pain. I can walk on it and everything, but it kinda burns, especially by the end of the day. So anyway, hopefully they can figure out why.
I'm just in a bad mood today. All I want to do is sleep. And I haven't gotten a shower yet. And we're supposed to go over to Ken and Beth's tonight for a meeting at 7. The kids are getting on my last nerve.
I've been thinking about asking people in the church to watch my kids every other Thursday for about 5 hours so that I can get things done around the house or run errands or go to doctor's appointments. Or sleep, I suppose, if I need to. Just so I have some time to myself. I just need a break so badly and I don't get much on a regular basis. My specialist for chronic fatigue and fibromyalgia has said that I need someone to watch the kids two days a week for 6 hours! Yeah, right! Lol! That's pretty much impossible! Especially since we have no money to pay anyone for anything. It just sucks. I love my kids so much and I wouldn't trade any of them, but having kids is hard work and I need a break sometimes. Yet I feel like people look down on me and are irritated when I ask for help. It's like "You had the kids, so you take care of them." And to a certain extent I agree with them, which is why I'm so reluctant to ask for help. Especially when it's just for time to myself. I just wish I could find people who WANT to help me out without expecting anything in return. I loved babysitting when I was a kid. I did it even when people didn't pay me, just because I liked being with kids. Makes me think there's something wrong with mine! :)
It's just one of those days, I guess. I know I could go to bed earlier than I do. I always seem to get caught up in something, but that's not an excuse. I'm just not a very self disciplined person. I used to be better, but lack of sleep is a strange thing. I'm too tired to be self disciplined. To be anything that takes motivation or work. Yet the lack of it is causing at least some of my exhaustion. I hate trying to find balances in life. It's the hardest thing to do.
On the plus side, I have managed to keep on top of the dishes, so the kitchen is still clean, which is really nice. I have to do at least some laundry today since Maggie peed all over her bed last night. Lovely. I really need to vacuum in their room too since Molly ripped a book up and scattered the little pieces all over the place. You'd think that since she loves to read so much she wouldn't do crap like that, but the girls is messed up in the head, I think. It was one of my books, too, which really pissed me off, but I also wanted to cry so I didn't do anything.
I should probably make the kids lunch so Faith doesn't have to deal with that catastrophe. And then maybe put Lorelei down for a nap as well. Liam has been asleep for a while. He usually wakes up during lunch.
ttfn
15.7.08
Colin Firth
So, Janet and I watched Bridget Jones's Diary and once again (as it is EVERY time I watch something with Colin Firth in it (hello, Pride and Prejudice!) I am so... something... with that man! :) I don't know how he learned to look at a person like that, but... it's not fair to women out there. No one could resist! :) Since I already sound like a blathering idiot with a schoolgirl crush I will go on to admit that when I'm watching a movie with him in it, I find myself holding my breath. The only other time that's happened was recently while I was reading Twilight by Stephanie Meyers. (I highly recommend the 3 books in the series. There's a fourth one coming out the end of this summer - YAY!) Ok, so, as you can tell, I'm very distracted and discombobulated at the moment, so I shall stop talking now.
While I'm waiting for the kids to go to sleep...
I've been thinking about the level of revelation in this blog. I'm pretty much a brain dump kind of journalist turned blogger. I've been journaling since I was about 14 and I have books and books filled with random thoughts and diatribes, but the one thing that stays the same is that what comes to mind goes on the page. But, is that too much information? I'm not sure I can consider this a completely personal journal since anyone can read it. I'm not really one that considers a whole lot of things as personal, but do other people really want to know? I'm sure most of what I'd have to say is harmless, but I wouldn't want the unwary reader to stumble upon something and think "Ohmygods! I didn't want to know that!" nor would I want people to read (or not read) feeling like they have to be careful or something. From my point of view, I don't really care what people want to tell me, especially in a journal or email. The more open the better, in my opinion, and if something makes me uncomfortable I'll say so, though usually not in so many words. So I guess, if you want to comment about it, let me know your opinion! :)
Right now I would really like to go downstairs and watch Bridget Jones's Diary with my sister, but I can't because Lorelei is fussing about going to sleep. This has become more and more of an issue lately and I can't really figure out how to make it go away. For the most part, when it comes to her naps, I'll give her a bottle, put her in bed and she'll eventually go to sleep with little or no crying. But at night, if she's not asleep when you put her in bed she'll whine and cry and eventually get so worked up she'll throw up. Sometimes she'll be awake until 9:30 at night and that's way too late considering she doesn't really sleep in in the morning. She's pretty consistently the first one awake (although I'm not sure about Molly since she's an early riser, but she'll stay in her bed and read and I don't even know she's awake). Anyway, I'm not sure I really believe in the whole "cry it out" method. We did that with Molly and it seems to have created a lot of mistrust and anger. We didn't do the cry it out with Maggie because she would throw up eventually and I just didn't want to deal with that. Plus, after our experiences with Molly, I didn't want to do the same thing to another kid. Maggie was a completely different personality, though, too, and she didn't really give us all the trouble Molly did. Lorelei's personality is more like Molly's than Maggie's, although she seems to be sensitive to discipline in a way that Molly never was. I'd hate to put her to bed and not go in no matter what when she's sobbing her heart out because she just wants to be cuddled. But I feel like we can't keep rocking her for hours on end until she falls asleep. Nor can we let her stay up until she's falling asleep on her feet. So what do I do? Right now she's in her crib with her aquarium on, but she crying and saying "Daddy" and "Kitty" and other babble - obviously pleas for someone to come in. She's not crying inconsolably - she'll stop the instant I walk in there - but I still don't like to hear it. And I feel like I can't go about my business with her crying like that - especially watching a movie. I'm not one that can walk away and turn off the monitor and not know what's going on. That just seems wrong to me. What if she did throw up? Am I to leave her up there to fall asleep in her puke? Sorry, can't do that. So I'm sitting her blogging, listening to her crying, knowing eventually I'll go in there and rock her to sleep. She'll be 17 months old tomorrow and she's still not sleep trained. She even wakes up at least once a night. Sometimes up to 3 times a night! But I cannot just let her cry, so I guess I shouldn't complain.
Molly and Maggie are a completely different issue. They were fine (for the most part) until they started sharing a room. Now they too are up until 9:30ish either talking or fighting. Maggie has always had the ability to sleep in, Molly never has. She used to wake Maggie up first thing in the morning, but we finally broke that habit. The thing is, they still aren't getting enough sleep. Maggie is only 3 and she should take a nap, but she flat out refuses. Even if I make her go to her room and lay in her bed, she will lay there and not sleep. I know she gets tired in the afternoon, you can see it in her face and she cries about everything, and yet, she will not take a nap. She would fall asleep a lot sooner if Molly weren't in the room. Even if Molly isn't antagonizing her, for some reason she just stays up until she falls asleep by accident. The whole issue doesn't seem to affect Molly as much as it used to, but I can tell she's still tired in the morning and throughout the day. What is the big deal with kids and sleep? I LOVE to sleep!
Lorelei is calling for Molly now. Molly is her back up Mommy. When I'm not around, or busy with Liam or she's mad at me, she goes to Molly.
I've already been in with Lorelei once, although I just lay her down and told her to go to sleep. That usually makes her cry harder. She's starting to get pretty upset now, although there are still breaks in her crying. I've read all the books and they say if there are breaks in their crying then they're not really that upset.
Lorelei has always been a cranky kid. I "wore" her in a sling for the first 9 months until I was too big with Liam to do it anymore. She's always been happier while being held. I mean, I guess all kids are to a certain extent, but she just seems to be a little extreme. We've tried everything with her and at every milestone we think, maybe this will be the thing that changes her from cranky to content! It never does! Even now, she's learning to talk better, I think "Maybe once she can communicate, she'll stop whining so much!" No dice, so far. She's getting teeth in, so I know she's uncomfortable, but Tylenol seems to make her puke sometimes. I hate it when my kids puke! I just don't know what else to do than to sit in there and rock her until she falls asleep.
Usually at night when she wakes up, we'll go in with a bottle and put her down as soon as she's done drinking it and she just goes right back to sleep. Sometimes we have to rock her. All I can say is, I'll be really glad when she's sleeping through the night consistently. She has done it before, but not many nights in a row (any nights in a row?). By the time Molly was 4 or 5 months old she was sleeping through the night (and going to bed without fussing). Maggie got up at 3 am to nurse every night until she was 20 months old, but she went to sleep without fussing and went back to sleep after that feeding without fussing, so it didn't seem like that big a deal. Liam already goes to sleep without fussing and only gets up once or twice a night to eat.
The thing is, Lorelei used to go to bed without a problem. I'm not really sure when it started being an issue, I've just noticed it a lot lately. Maybe because Liam's not on the same schedule as everyone else at night. When he was staying up until 9 or 10 it didn't register quite as loudly, but now that he's going to sleep around 6, Lorelei is a definite issue.
Bob is mowing tonight too, so I have to deal with it all by myself, which really sucks, because normally we'll switch off, or if I'm doing something else, he'll just deal with it by himself.
We haven't started spanking Lorelei for anything yet. I'll swat her butt with my hand if I want her to listen and she's not, but it's not enough to hurt and it gets results. I don't think she'd understand a spanking because she's crying instead of going to sleep. I know she's not afraid to be in her room alone - she'll often wake up from a nap and play before she calls me to get her. She's played at night instead of crying before too... tarnation!
Guess I'll check my email while I wait longer...
Right now I would really like to go downstairs and watch Bridget Jones's Diary with my sister, but I can't because Lorelei is fussing about going to sleep. This has become more and more of an issue lately and I can't really figure out how to make it go away. For the most part, when it comes to her naps, I'll give her a bottle, put her in bed and she'll eventually go to sleep with little or no crying. But at night, if she's not asleep when you put her in bed she'll whine and cry and eventually get so worked up she'll throw up. Sometimes she'll be awake until 9:30 at night and that's way too late considering she doesn't really sleep in in the morning. She's pretty consistently the first one awake (although I'm not sure about Molly since she's an early riser, but she'll stay in her bed and read and I don't even know she's awake). Anyway, I'm not sure I really believe in the whole "cry it out" method. We did that with Molly and it seems to have created a lot of mistrust and anger. We didn't do the cry it out with Maggie because she would throw up eventually and I just didn't want to deal with that. Plus, after our experiences with Molly, I didn't want to do the same thing to another kid. Maggie was a completely different personality, though, too, and she didn't really give us all the trouble Molly did. Lorelei's personality is more like Molly's than Maggie's, although she seems to be sensitive to discipline in a way that Molly never was. I'd hate to put her to bed and not go in no matter what when she's sobbing her heart out because she just wants to be cuddled. But I feel like we can't keep rocking her for hours on end until she falls asleep. Nor can we let her stay up until she's falling asleep on her feet. So what do I do? Right now she's in her crib with her aquarium on, but she crying and saying "Daddy" and "Kitty" and other babble - obviously pleas for someone to come in. She's not crying inconsolably - she'll stop the instant I walk in there - but I still don't like to hear it. And I feel like I can't go about my business with her crying like that - especially watching a movie. I'm not one that can walk away and turn off the monitor and not know what's going on. That just seems wrong to me. What if she did throw up? Am I to leave her up there to fall asleep in her puke? Sorry, can't do that. So I'm sitting her blogging, listening to her crying, knowing eventually I'll go in there and rock her to sleep. She'll be 17 months old tomorrow and she's still not sleep trained. She even wakes up at least once a night. Sometimes up to 3 times a night! But I cannot just let her cry, so I guess I shouldn't complain.
Molly and Maggie are a completely different issue. They were fine (for the most part) until they started sharing a room. Now they too are up until 9:30ish either talking or fighting. Maggie has always had the ability to sleep in, Molly never has. She used to wake Maggie up first thing in the morning, but we finally broke that habit. The thing is, they still aren't getting enough sleep. Maggie is only 3 and she should take a nap, but she flat out refuses. Even if I make her go to her room and lay in her bed, she will lay there and not sleep. I know she gets tired in the afternoon, you can see it in her face and she cries about everything, and yet, she will not take a nap. She would fall asleep a lot sooner if Molly weren't in the room. Even if Molly isn't antagonizing her, for some reason she just stays up until she falls asleep by accident. The whole issue doesn't seem to affect Molly as much as it used to, but I can tell she's still tired in the morning and throughout the day. What is the big deal with kids and sleep? I LOVE to sleep!
Lorelei is calling for Molly now. Molly is her back up Mommy. When I'm not around, or busy with Liam or she's mad at me, she goes to Molly.
I've already been in with Lorelei once, although I just lay her down and told her to go to sleep. That usually makes her cry harder. She's starting to get pretty upset now, although there are still breaks in her crying. I've read all the books and they say if there are breaks in their crying then they're not really that upset.
Lorelei has always been a cranky kid. I "wore" her in a sling for the first 9 months until I was too big with Liam to do it anymore. She's always been happier while being held. I mean, I guess all kids are to a certain extent, but she just seems to be a little extreme. We've tried everything with her and at every milestone we think, maybe this will be the thing that changes her from cranky to content! It never does! Even now, she's learning to talk better, I think "Maybe once she can communicate, she'll stop whining so much!" No dice, so far. She's getting teeth in, so I know she's uncomfortable, but Tylenol seems to make her puke sometimes. I hate it when my kids puke! I just don't know what else to do than to sit in there and rock her until she falls asleep.
Usually at night when she wakes up, we'll go in with a bottle and put her down as soon as she's done drinking it and she just goes right back to sleep. Sometimes we have to rock her. All I can say is, I'll be really glad when she's sleeping through the night consistently. She has done it before, but not many nights in a row (any nights in a row?). By the time Molly was 4 or 5 months old she was sleeping through the night (and going to bed without fussing). Maggie got up at 3 am to nurse every night until she was 20 months old, but she went to sleep without fussing and went back to sleep after that feeding without fussing, so it didn't seem like that big a deal. Liam already goes to sleep without fussing and only gets up once or twice a night to eat.
The thing is, Lorelei used to go to bed without a problem. I'm not really sure when it started being an issue, I've just noticed it a lot lately. Maybe because Liam's not on the same schedule as everyone else at night. When he was staying up until 9 or 10 it didn't register quite as loudly, but now that he's going to sleep around 6, Lorelei is a definite issue.
Bob is mowing tonight too, so I have to deal with it all by myself, which really sucks, because normally we'll switch off, or if I'm doing something else, he'll just deal with it by himself.
We haven't started spanking Lorelei for anything yet. I'll swat her butt with my hand if I want her to listen and she's not, but it's not enough to hurt and it gets results. I don't think she'd understand a spanking because she's crying instead of going to sleep. I know she's not afraid to be in her room alone - she'll often wake up from a nap and play before she calls me to get her. She's played at night instead of crying before too... tarnation!
Guess I'll check my email while I wait longer...
Quote for the day:
Molly: I just wanted to make sure I heard what you said and you meant what I heard.
Yet another website for me to maintain
As if I didn't have enough to do with facebook and myspace, I decided to create this. I think this will take the place of myspace, though. I'm going to try to be my own parent and delete my account, since I can't do it the conventional way. But, since I blogged on there this morning, I'm just going to copy and paste it to start this blog:
~
It's that wonderful time of day known as quiet time. Lorelei is still sleeping, Liam just went to sleep, Molly and Maggie are content in the basement... all is quiet! In about 1/2 an hour all will not be quiet and there will be whining and crying in abundance, so I'm enjoying it while it lasts.
I actually got a little bit of work done around the house this morning, in the midst of phone calls, fights and feeding. My bedroom looks a lot better than it did. I got all the toys out that don't belong, all the books out that don't belong, all the other crap out that doesn's belong. Why is it that things always end up where they don't belong? Most of the time, that is what my day consists of... putting things back where they belong. And I'm not talking about toys on the floor, I'm talking about things (toys included) in the wrong rooms or even on the wrong level of the house. It's very frustrating...
I got the kitchen cleaned up too, which was a big improvement to the whole of the house since the dishes hadn't been done in a while and there was clutter all over the counters. Now it is perfectly neat and pretty clean too! :) The whole first floor is pretty neat, actually, although I'll have to vacuum once Lorelei wakes up because the floor is one sandy, crumby mess.
In other news... I think we're going to put our house up for sale. We love this place, but it just has too many issues that can't be fixed. 1) The Yard. It's a nice big yard, but that's part of the problem. It takes forever to mow and it's not level. And there are no trees in the backyard, so while all the kids toys are back there, they never want to play out there because it's too hot. 2) Central Air. We don't have it. We do have window units, but they are a pain. And in the spring, when it's too cold at night to have them in, but too hot during the day, opening the windows makes Maggie's allergies just awful. So we need to be able to control the environment a little bit better. 3) Stairs. It looks like my issues aren't going away and with little kids (but even as they get bigger) going up and down the stairs is going to become increasingly difficult. 4) The Well. It sucks. Enough said. 5) The Driveway. It's very long and very steep and really hard to get snow off of it. 6) Garage. While we're being thorough, I might as well add that Bob really needs more space for his work shop. Not to mention the fact that we can't park our cars inside.
So, if anyone knows about a 2400 square foot, single story living house with central air, a small flat yard, short flat driveway, public water, 2 car garage and a big out building in the back, let us know! Oh, and I forgot to add, it can't cost more than about $200,000. And it would be nice if it weren't further than about 15 minutes away from Bob's work. That's not asking too much, is it? :)
Well, I hear Lorelei's aquarium music, so that means she's awake. Quiet time's over! That's was a good 15 minutes! :)
~
Hell hours began about 1/2 an hour ago, but since Liam is sleeping and Lorelei is temporarily happy making a mess and Molly and Maggie decided to play on thier computer instead of hit me on the head with thier fairy wands, I'm able to do this for a little bit. YAY! :)
Maybe now I'll blog more often?
ttfn!
~
It's that wonderful time of day known as quiet time. Lorelei is still sleeping, Liam just went to sleep, Molly and Maggie are content in the basement... all is quiet! In about 1/2 an hour all will not be quiet and there will be whining and crying in abundance, so I'm enjoying it while it lasts.
I actually got a little bit of work done around the house this morning, in the midst of phone calls, fights and feeding. My bedroom looks a lot better than it did. I got all the toys out that don't belong, all the books out that don't belong, all the other crap out that doesn's belong. Why is it that things always end up where they don't belong? Most of the time, that is what my day consists of... putting things back where they belong. And I'm not talking about toys on the floor, I'm talking about things (toys included) in the wrong rooms or even on the wrong level of the house. It's very frustrating...
I got the kitchen cleaned up too, which was a big improvement to the whole of the house since the dishes hadn't been done in a while and there was clutter all over the counters. Now it is perfectly neat and pretty clean too! :) The whole first floor is pretty neat, actually, although I'll have to vacuum once Lorelei wakes up because the floor is one sandy, crumby mess.
In other news... I think we're going to put our house up for sale. We love this place, but it just has too many issues that can't be fixed. 1) The Yard. It's a nice big yard, but that's part of the problem. It takes forever to mow and it's not level. And there are no trees in the backyard, so while all the kids toys are back there, they never want to play out there because it's too hot. 2) Central Air. We don't have it. We do have window units, but they are a pain. And in the spring, when it's too cold at night to have them in, but too hot during the day, opening the windows makes Maggie's allergies just awful. So we need to be able to control the environment a little bit better. 3) Stairs. It looks like my issues aren't going away and with little kids (but even as they get bigger) going up and down the stairs is going to become increasingly difficult. 4) The Well. It sucks. Enough said. 5) The Driveway. It's very long and very steep and really hard to get snow off of it. 6) Garage. While we're being thorough, I might as well add that Bob really needs more space for his work shop. Not to mention the fact that we can't park our cars inside.
So, if anyone knows about a 2400 square foot, single story living house with central air, a small flat yard, short flat driveway, public water, 2 car garage and a big out building in the back, let us know! Oh, and I forgot to add, it can't cost more than about $200,000. And it would be nice if it weren't further than about 15 minutes away from Bob's work. That's not asking too much, is it? :)
Well, I hear Lorelei's aquarium music, so that means she's awake. Quiet time's over! That's was a good 15 minutes! :)
~
Hell hours began about 1/2 an hour ago, but since Liam is sleeping and Lorelei is temporarily happy making a mess and Molly and Maggie decided to play on thier computer instead of hit me on the head with thier fairy wands, I'm able to do this for a little bit. YAY! :)
Maybe now I'll blog more often?
ttfn!
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