6:15 AM Get up to do morning prayers and have coffee.
6:20 AM James wakes up. Nurse him back to sleep.
6:30 AM Clare wakes up. Crawls in to my bed and starts crying that she wants chocolate milk. I tell her that if she's quiet for a few minutes while I nurse James I will make it for her. Anything to keep her quiet while I tried to get James back to sleep...
6:40 AM Make said chocolate milk for Clare and send her back to her bed with it.
6:45 AM Finally get up to get my coffee started. Enjoy a little peace and quiet while I do my meditation. :)
7:10 AM Clare apparently did NOT go back to sleep at 6:40. She wanders out to the living room and asks (ever so sweetly), "Mommy, can I come out and snuggle with you?" How could I resist? We sit on the couch and read together while I finish my coffee.
7:30 AM Decide to get ready for the day. Clare and Mommy dressed. Throw a load of laundry in.
8:00 AM James up for the day. He doesn't usually sleep this late...he slept for 13 hours last night!
Watch "Wee Sing - Adventures in Sillyville" while I unload the dishwasher and get breakfast in Mommy & Clare and nurse James. Make beds and tidy rooms.
9:00 AM Turn on Mass on EWTN. Try to convince Clare that she doesn't need to yell at the top of her lungs while she rides her bike around the house. Mommy's trying to listen to the homily...somewhat unsuccessfully.
Transfer laundry. Put breakfast dishes in. Put another load in the washer.
9:30 AM James getting fussy. This is his normal AM nap time, but I'm thinking he might be off a bit because he woke up so late. Nurse him in the Ergo anyway. Heck, he might go down.
10:00 AM He's REALLY cranky and definitely falling asleep on me as we walk around the house. Awesome! A morning nap might happen, after all. Take him to my room to put him down. It's going great until Clare comes in to "help" me put him down. Snuggling was OK for a little bit, but then she started to squirm around. Since he's falling asleep I'm trying desperately to whisper, "Clare, it's time to be quiet and still. When James falls asleep we can go out and make some cookies for Daddy." Apparently this just makes her angry, so she yells for no particular reason. James is awake now. Nurse him another minute, and his eyes start to droop again. Yay! Then Clare puts her feet in James's back and pushes. Ok. Enough. Detach from baby and drag toddler to her room for a time out while I try to get James calmed down and back to sleep.
Clare screaming and throwing herself at the door. James is now fully awake and more than likely not going to go back to sleep. Agh.
10:40 AM All's quiet in Clare's room. She apologizes. All three of us go out to make cookies.
Transfer laundry. Start making cookies. Everyone's having fun.
Put a sheet of cookies in and decide that 10 minutes is plenty of time for me to hang up my wet laundry and vacuum the bedrooms. Clare's playing games with James. Both kids laughing like crazy. I love it.
Finish vacuuming, put another sheet of cookies in. Clare and James still playing on the floor. James starts screaming an "in pain" scream. I ask Clare what happened. She accidentally kicked James while they were playing (I believe her that it was an accident). We're practicing apologizing promptly when someone gets hurt, even if it was an accident. She's not taking to it very well. She apologizes to me. She apologizes to Daddy. She apologizes to Grandma. She will NOT use James's name in the apology. Back to her room for a time out. (More experienced mommys out there: am I right in assuming that this is defiance and I ought to make her apologize to James?)
5 minutes later: it's quiet in her room, so I go in to check to see if she's ready to apologize to James. She's in there playing games. I tell her that time out is not a time to play and that now she has to do her time out where I can watch her. (Flashback to my childhood) She gets to stand in the corner of the living room until she's ready to apologize to James. This works! It only took 2 minutes.
Cookies are done and now it's time for lunch.
By now James is getting cranky again because now it's time to nurse and he's missed his AM nap.
Another thing we're working on with Clare is sitting nicely in her chair while we eat. She has good days and bad days. Today was not a great day. She had to forfeit the cookie she was looking forward to.
Time to try to go #2 before nap time. (I have to do this because she will go ON PURPOSE as an excuse to get out of bed). She will not stay on the toilet, so now I have to just shut the bathroom door and leave her there until she's done.
It's 12:30 PM. Is it nap time yet?
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Friday, April 16, 2010
7 Quick Takes Friday
1. We're having our first night out since our anniversary in July - without the babies - and going to see Brian Regan at the Paramount in Seattle with Tom's brother Chris and his girlfriend Jackie. Sooooooo excited!
2.
Bribery? Maybe. I prefer to think of it as incentive for good behavior at the grocery store.
3. Clare's elbow popped out of joint this week. Apparently "nursemaid's elbow" is very common...so one quick trip to the pediatrician and she was right as rain. And now I know how to fix it in the future.
4.
Our neighbors' son outgrew this little swing, so they gave it it us! Both Clare and James love it.
5. Tom has been staying late at work every day this week to watch lectures for school. While we really appreciate him working SO hard, we miss him like crazy. I need to do a better job at keeping a positive attitude about him getting his Master's - focusing on the end goal instead of the evenings that we're missing him.
6. Tom's dad (Tim) had his hip replaced this morning. Everything went well and he's recovering, but will be in the hospital until Monday or Tuesday. Prayers for his speedy recovery are much appreciated!
7.
I never get tired of all the goofy positions in which Clare decides that she needs to sleep. No idea why the raincoat made an appearance for nap time, but apparently it was very important.
2.
Bribery? Maybe. I prefer to think of it as incentive for good behavior at the grocery store.
3. Clare's elbow popped out of joint this week. Apparently "nursemaid's elbow" is very common...so one quick trip to the pediatrician and she was right as rain. And now I know how to fix it in the future.
4.
Our neighbors' son outgrew this little swing, so they gave it it us! Both Clare and James love it.
5. Tom has been staying late at work every day this week to watch lectures for school. While we really appreciate him working SO hard, we miss him like crazy. I need to do a better job at keeping a positive attitude about him getting his Master's - focusing on the end goal instead of the evenings that we're missing him.
6. Tom's dad (Tim) had his hip replaced this morning. Everything went well and he's recovering, but will be in the hospital until Monday or Tuesday. Prayers for his speedy recovery are much appreciated!
7.
I never get tired of all the goofy positions in which Clare decides that she needs to sleep. No idea why the raincoat made an appearance for nap time, but apparently it was very important.
Friday, April 9, 2010
7 Quick Takes Friday
1. On my to-do list for the day: Batch cooking turkey soup, ham & split pea soup, and roasting a chicken for future meals. Today is also floor cleaning day. We'll see how I do. Then throwing in feeding the kids, playing with them a bit, going to the store, and having Tom's sisters overnight! :)
2. Number of sippy cups I found in random places around the house this morning: 5.
3. Number of nose-suctioning sessions we've had so far today: 3.
4. I woke up at 6:30 this morning to find Clare not in her bed, not in her closet, but sitting quietly in the rocking chair in the living room. I have no idea how long she's been up today. I guess we'll find out by about 11 AM if she's in total meltdown mode.
5. A shortcut I've learned: wiping down the mirror and faucets with a towel after I shower while it's nice and steamy in the bathroom cuts down on a few steps when I have to clean the bathroom and keeps it looking nice in between deep cleanings.
6. James has started only going #2 once or twice a week for the past few weeks. While on the one hand it's nice not having quite as many poopy diapers, when he does go, he GOES and it usually involves a bath in the sink afterward.
7. Speaking of James - He had his 6-month checkup this week. He's still big, but not quite as huge as he has been compared to other babies his age. 90% for weight (21 lbs.) and 88% for height (28").
2. Number of sippy cups I found in random places around the house this morning: 5.
3. Number of nose-suctioning sessions we've had so far today: 3.
4. I woke up at 6:30 this morning to find Clare not in her bed, not in her closet, but sitting quietly in the rocking chair in the living room. I have no idea how long she's been up today. I guess we'll find out by about 11 AM if she's in total meltdown mode.
5. A shortcut I've learned: wiping down the mirror and faucets with a towel after I shower while it's nice and steamy in the bathroom cuts down on a few steps when I have to clean the bathroom and keeps it looking nice in between deep cleanings.
6. James has started only going #2 once or twice a week for the past few weeks. While on the one hand it's nice not having quite as many poopy diapers, when he does go, he GOES and it usually involves a bath in the sink afterward.
7. Speaking of James - He had his 6-month checkup this week. He's still big, but not quite as huge as he has been compared to other babies his age. 90% for weight (21 lbs.) and 88% for height (28").
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