Please Tell Me This Is Normal

It Sounds So Easy

So,  I have a question for you, dear internet.  HOW DO YOU GET YOUR CHILDREN TO GO TO SLEEP AT NIGHT.  And, yes, I realize this is something I should have figured out long ago, seeing as how my oldest is now, um, (gulp) six and all, but seriously?  I suck at this part of parenting.

In the old house, the kids had TVs and VCRs in the room and would just watch a movie and fall asleep.  We realized that this was setting a bad precedent and during the move, moved the TVs out of their rooms.  But now?  They will not go to sleep on their own.

It will be, like midnight, and they will still be awake.  Still coming down the stairs every two to three minutes for “just one more drink” or “I have to go potty” or “I’m scared;  I think I saw Swiper the fox.”  And it never ends.  Finally, when I’m ready to lose it, one or both of us goes up there and lays down with them and within 30 seconds they are out and you can sneak out.  But it is a horrible evening all around.

The alternative is to start off by laying down with them and then leaving, but that also kills your whole evening and before you know it its ten o clock before you get both kids finally to sleep. 

Considering I’m with them from the moment they get up in the morning until the moment they go to sleep at night that makes for a very long day and a very worn out mommy.

So, how do you do it?  How does it work in your house?  Can I copy you?  I promise, I won’t tell! 

Worst Mother Ever Award

I took Connor to basketball practice on Thursday because he seemed better.  And he was all whiney and crying the whole time and I'm all "Get out there and stop your bellyaching and run!". 

For the record, I also made him go to school on Friday.  They called us to come and pick him up again.

So I took him to the doctor because I thought holy cow, this asthma business is out of control and obviously his medicine just isn't adequate.

Turns out he has bronchitis, pneumonia and his asthma is really, really bad.

Oh, and I'm flying to Minneapolis on Monday for work.

Thank you, thank you, thank you.  It was an honor to be nominated, really.  This trophy will look really great on my shelf next to my Worst Wife Ever Award, which I think I will win next week after leaving my very sick son home with my very sick husband to jet off to far and exciting places.  Like Minneapolis. 

And This Too Shall Pass

I’m trying to remind myself that this is but a fleeting moment of time in Connor’s life. That he’s not going to be sick forever and constantly throwing up. But the endless laundry and cleaning up and baths and showers are really starting to get to me.

Last night, just when I though we had made it through without an incident, I go into his room to check on him and to get the bottle out of the crib and put it in the fridge. As I reach for the bottle, I notice that his butt is wet. And I’m thinking…hmmm…Did he pee? Did he have a diaper blowout? What? And then I think….oh crap…I bet he puked again. And then I feel the mattress…yup…sure enough. He puked and then fell asleep in the middle of it all and didn’t even cry or anything. We had no idea.

I call Tim in there because I have no idea what to do. And because I feel like the worst parent ever, and frankly, I would like a little company. He comes in and is all, when did he do that? Poor kid. And then exactly what I’m thinking…”We are the worst parents ever.”

So we wake him up and put him in the tub and he is most decidedly unhappy to be both waken up from his slumber and to find himself in the wet and not snuggly bathtub. I cleaned him off as best as I could and passed him off to Tim. And then, of course, the phone rings. Why does this always happen? You are in the middle of chaos and the phone just HAS to ring?

We decide to let the machine get it, and Tim works on getting Connor dried off, dressed, and clamed down, while I work on his room. I strip everything down, and start to clean everything up, when wouldn’t you know it - Scott and Melissa stop by. Our house and lives are in the worst state of mess at the moment. Hi guys - nice to see you - normally we don’t live in this kind of squaler - honest! We just haven’t had time to pick up after the tornado went to bed and well, then he threw up and well…sorry!

Eventually, everything did get cleaned up, Connor got back to sleep, and I, once again, did more laundry. By the time I was finished though, I was exhausted and headed straight to bed, so our house in still in the same awful state. And I must admit, smelling faintly of spoiled milk.

I know that this is just a stage and that it won’t be like this forever, but I’m beginning to feel like I’ve lived like this forever. And we can’t make any plans because we just don’t know how he’s going to be and we certainly don’t want to inflict any of this on a babysitter. Good ones are few and far between and we don’t want to be scaring any away any time soon.

Sigh