Mommy Radar

I think it was Monday night that I worked until close. I got home at about 10:30pm, the boys were in their room asleep, and the “old man” had a friend over to watch the football game. It was a long day at work and I was so relieved to be home. Right when I walked in the door, I kicked my shoes off, took a shower, and got into my pajamas. The sooner I got out of those work cloths the better. After I was all comfy and cozy, I settled down on the couch with a steaming cup of coffee, some Halloween candy, and my computer. They guys were next to me watching football and laughing and carrying on quite loudly. I have to admit, I was getting quite irritated and I kept saying, “Shhh, guys be quite. You’re going to wake up the boys.” They kept saying that they have stayed at the same tone all night and the boys have yet to wake up. Well, after a few minutes, I started to talk about work and the day I had. Before I knew it, heard a wining coming from the boy’s bedroom, my talking had woke them up. The old man went in there and told them to lie down and close their eyes. They did. After that, the guys started talking loudly again and I got mad…again. “Guys, you really need to be quiet.” Of course, they didn’t listen and they kept being loud. I started to relax about the noise a little and I joined in the conversation. Before I knew it, there was wining coming from the boy’s room again. They soon went back to bed. THEN, it hit me. They stay asleep when they hear dad’s voice. It doesn’t bother them, they don’t care. The second that I speak, their “mommy radar” must start wildly beeping “Mommy’s home, mommy’s home” and they wake up.

It’s kind of funny. When the boys wake up at night, all dad has to do is tell them to lie down. I always have to tell them I’m busy and will be back in. They always want me to lay in there with them and I cannot sleep on their floor. My back would hurt too bad the next morning. If they wake up I will say something like, “Mommy needs to clean up the dishes, I’ll be right back in.” It normally works pretty well. Last night it didn’t work at all. I was doing school work and Ryder was waking up every 15 minutes it seemed. I was so sick of getting up and running in there. After waking up about ten times, on the 11^th time I went in there and said, “Ryder, please lay down. Mommy needs to go poop, I’ll be right back.” He was happy with that response and he laid back down and went to sleep. I of course, didn’t have to go “poop” (girls don’t do that), so I went back to the living room and continued on with my homework.

I wonder why is it so different when I go into the room as opposed to when dad goes in there. It’s as if they listen to dad when he says to go to sleep. They see me and I have to lay in there, read another story, or just sit in the doorway. I don’t mean to complain. I love it that the boys love me and want me near them all the time but sometimes, mommy needs some time to herself. In addition, why is it that dad and his buddy can talk so loud that they are practically yelling and the boys stay asleep but when I talk, their eyes shoot open? That was a frustrating night.

They usually always make up for it in the morning. This morning Ryder came into my room and said, “Mommy, I’ya wake. I yay nexta you?” He then kissed me, cuddled up right next to me, and fell back asleep. It was so sweet. I love my little monsters. I just with their mommy radar wasn’t so keen.

Another thing…When they wake up in the morning, they always wake me up right away for something to eat. They always want waffles and chocolate milk. On the rare days when I am tired or have the chance to sleep in, I will ask them to go wake daddy up (which is something they never ever do). Whenever I tell them that, they will look at each other for a second and then walk out of the room. About a minute later, they are back and wanting me to wake up. I’ll say, why didn’t you ask daddy for something? They will reply, “Because he is sleeping.” SO WAS I. lol I don’t like the boys being awake by themselves so, mom always gets up and proceeds to start the day. I think it is funny that they won’t wake dad up but they will wake me up. I joke that they love me more. J It wouldn’t be so hard if they would sleep past 4-5am.  They don’t understand that mommy needs her beauty sleep. This is why their bedtime is normally my bedtime too. By 7:30 at night I’m about to fall over in exhaustion.

I love my boys more than anything in the universe and I am very happy that they are mommy’s boys and all about ME. I don’t know how I will function when they get older and I’m turn into the “uncool” mom that embarrasses them. I know its going to happen at some point. I’m just so not looking forward to it. I can only hope that I stay cool forever!

How many hours are in a day?

Call it the time change, call it no patience, call it what you may. Today was the LOONNGGEST day in history. It just so happens that my boys wanted to push the limit of my sanity on this long day and they did it every second of the day. I’m not saying they were bad. Quite the opposite actually, they were just full of energy or what is it they say “piss and vinegar?” There was a lot of wining today. Eeeh, I’m hungry, I want juice, ehhhh moooomm, I want a snack, I’m not cleaning my room, uh oh, I spilled my juice……all over Ryder. They had their occasional sweet moment, which normally happens before they want something. I often hear how beautiful I am or that I am the best mom. Remember, that usually only happens when they want something. J I’ll take it though.

Enveloped somewhere within this crazy day, I realized how much I lie to my children. Yes, I said lie. Hey, don’t judge me. Today it started out with little white lies. I told Ryder, “If you don’t get your dirty fingers out of your mouth, you’re going to get diarrhea.” Perhaps its true? Of course…after those occasional little white lies, they just exploded into full out LIES. I said things like, “If you don’t clean your room, I’m going to give all your stuff away to poor kids. If you kick me one more time, I’m going to cut your legs off. If you don’t stop running, Mrs. Porter (the cop who lives below us) is going take you away.” Reflecting on these lies, I feel pretty low. These are not just lies, they are threats and of course, I was not going to do any of them. It is however funny how well they worked.

It is now what seems like midnight, but its only 6pm. They boys wanted to go to bed (because they normally go to bed at 7) so I just got done with the bedtime story, which happened to be Pinkalishious. Stefan loves that book. He thanked me for reading the book, gave me a big kiss and hug, and whispered, “I had a great day mommy, thanks for letting us paint and ride our bikes.” It was amazing to hear appreciation in the voice of someone so young. Ryder just said, “I love you mommy head.” He thinks that everything is funny if you add the word “head” to the end of it. As I sit here and reflect on the day, it was really not that bad. It was actually quite nice.

One thing to keep in mind about children that I have learned is: You have to say “yes” enough times to a kid that they respect when you say “no.” If you are always saying “no” and don’t let them experiment or try new things or play Angry Birds on your phone, then they get discouraged or they’ll find ways to work around you. If you say “yes” to the right amount of things at the right time, when you tell them “no,” they seem to listen. At least sometimes. Hahaha. I think it kind of falls in the category of respecting your children and letting them be individuals. Remembering to treat my children with the same respect that I would want to be shown has avoided many of fights, tantrums, and threats to run away and go live with Grandpa. It sure helped today!

*On a side note, I got the Toys-R-Us big book in the newspaper today and I gave the boys a pen and told them to circle the things they want to ask Santa for. I reminded them that they sure were NOT going to get everything, Santa just wants ideas. It was cute to see them get excited and sit on the floor, circling almost everything. I got some on video that I will try to upload later tonight.