Our new bedtime routine

If you could hear the noise coming from the big boys' room upstairs, you'd wonder why on earth I'm still sitting here calmly at the computer, sipping my tea. Thuds, crashes, slams, the occasional shriek. And here it is, almost TWO HOURS past bedtime.

What's going on up there? It's simple. About two weeks ago, I moved Bear into Monkey's room. Before that, Bear shared the room next door with Cub. Both of the littles were in cribs and slept happily unaware of each other. But, Bear is closing in on three and Cub needed the big crib, instead of the portable one that he had been in. So, it made sense that Cub gets his own room with the big crib, and the big boys share a room next door, each in his own car bed.

They fall asleep eventually, they really do. But, first, they have to come up with new and exciting ways to antagonize each other. Bear has his new-found freedom of no longer being caged in when he sleeps. Monkey is getting adjusted to having to share his room. Plus, they are dealing with each other in a parent-free environment. They are more alone with each other at night than at any other point during the day. Really, they need to learn to be together without a referee.

It's getting better; there's been less noise and it's taking less time for them to fall asleep each night. There's always the option of moving one of them to a bedroom on the third floor and just rearranging things a little bit up there- moving the things from their toy room in with the things in the storage room, freeing up a room for one of them up there. But, blame reading far too many books or watching far too many movies, I can't help but think that it's like putting the crazy relative up in the attic...and which one of them do I want to damage by attaching that label to?

But, I think they'll adjust before it comes to that.

Listen! It's quiet up there now. They've fallen asleep.

Either that or one of them has knocked the other unconscious.
Maybe I better go check.

Ugh

So, Hubby headed out of town today.

My throat is actually okay and I'm feeling fine. Bear has 3 more days of taking his antibiotic left, though he feels fine.

BUT! Cub woke up this morning with eyes all gooey and nasty, a fever, and congestion. Figuring I wouldn't wait as long as I did with Bear, I made an appointment to get him checked out at the doctor's office.

You know it's bad when the receptionist at the peds office knows you and all your children by name and jokes that "we have to stop meeting like this."

So, out we went, me with all three kids, who had to be bundled up for the ICE STORM that we are having.

Cub has the same thing that Bear had last Wednesday, minus the ear infection, though the doctor said that she thinks it's coming. Hopefully, the antibiotics he's on will head that off.

I almost had them check out Monkey while we were there. I told the receptionist that I was going to lose my mind if we ended up back there again next Wednesday. It's not a habit that I'd like to start.

By the time Hubby gets back, the kids should all be well...but I will be exhausted and the house will look like a tornado(or 3...) hit it. So help him if he says a word about it.

10 days

Ten days is a loooooong time to have to give your two year-old antibiotics. Yes, I understand all about having to finish out the medication for the full ten days, even though all symptoms disappeared around day three or four.

But, do you know how hard it was to get said child to take them in the first place?

I followed the doctor's suggestion and had the pharmacy flavor his antibiotics with watermelon flavor. Apparently, the only choices for this antibiotic were bubble gum and watermelon, so I went with what seemed like the less gross of the two.

The first two times that I tried to give it to Bear, he spit it right back out and promptly clamped his jar shut.

After that, I mixed it with juice. Bear was so excited to get extra juice- it's like liquid crack around here, as the boys love it but I limit their intake to one sippyful a day.

That worked pretty well until I RAN OUT OF JUICE. I never run out of juice. Normally, on any given day, I can offer you at least four different varieties of juice from the fridge and there's more stored in the cupboard. But, a few days before Bear got sick, we made this amazing punch that required two bottles of juice, plus it was Monkey's snack day at preschool, which used up another two bottles of juice.

So, I let him drink his medicine with soda, which my children don't ever drink unless they somehow sneak it from a can that Daddy left lying around the house. At least it was 7up, so it wasn't giving him caffeine, but I hated giving him soda...but I hated the thought of him getting sick again more, so I let him drink it.

We're now fully stocked back up on juice, but it doesn't matter. Mixed with juice, mixed with soda, promises of lollipops and cookies, nothing really works in getting him to drink the vile stuff any more. I did have some success with pretending to take a sip every time he did and saying "yummy, yummy." But, he tilted the cup up for me once and I got a small taste of what he's had to choke down twice a day for the past 6 days and it is NOT pleasant.

Four days left. Surely there's an easier way for kids to get their meds than this.

I should have known

Every time, and I mean EVERY TIME, hubby has gone out of town, either the kids get sick or I get sick or both.

I thought maybe we were safe this time, since Bear had his super nasty sickness last week. The one where I needed hubby to rush home from work so that I could rush Bear to the doctor, even though we usually only go to the doctor for well checks, as I'm a wait-it-out kind of a mom. The high fever, red eyes, eye goo, coughing, congestion, and complete misery seemed like something that could only happen when hubby was out of town, so that I'd have to take all three boys with me to the doctor and then not get a break later. So, while I hated seeing Bear that sick, I was a little relieved about the timing and thought maybe we'd be able to get through this trip without any major illnesses.

But, I woke up this morning with a stabbing pain in my throat. Joy.

When Daddy is Away...

Hubby is about to go out of town for nearly a week. He claims it's not that long, but it's 6 whole days, so that sounds like nearly a week to me.

It's business, so while I had originally had hopes that he could take one of the boys with him, it's not going to happen.

This isn't the first time that I've been left at home with the kids while he went out of town, but it is the longest that he's been gone since we expanded our family to three.

I've prepared myself, though. First step: going to the grocery store ALONE and stocking up on enough groceries to get us through the time that he'll be gone...times two. The last thing that I want to have happen is to run out of something and and have to make a trip to the grocery store toting all three boys. Hubby rolled his eyes at this, as it's not like I never take them all with me at other times. But, given that I won't get a break, it's best to be prepared and not have to do anything that isn't absolutely necessary. So, as I was saying, I stocked up on way more than I will probably need for the week. This includes special bribes for the boys: popcorn for Monkey and fruit twists for Bear. I also recommend getting something for mom to get through this time- I got lots of ice cream. I'd go for wine, but my luck would be that I'd have a glass or two after the boys went to bed and then one of them would split his head open and I wouldn't be able to drive them all to the emergency room.

Oh, but I did buy the wine, and I recommend that, too...but for the night that hubby comes home. In fact, the second he walks through the door.

How else to get through this time? Plan special activities...but not one that will completely zap your energy or wreck the house, as there is no one around to provide relief later. A playdate at a friend's house is ideal, especially for the oldest, whom I can drop off at a playdate for a few hours. A movie, a new coloring book. I got a few books for myself, too, since I have a hard time sleeping when hubby is away. The creaks and groans that this 100 year old house makes sound downright disturbing when it's just me and the boys.

Oh, definitely get a babysitter. Or give away one of your children for a day or two. I plan on sending Monkey to stay with Grammy one night and Bear another night. Cub has to stay since he's still nursing.

What's really going to get me through is planning MY time after hubby comes back home. I have a night out with the girls planned for next week AND I'm planning for a night or two away this summer.

In theory, I have this all under control and I'm ready...but we'll see what happens once hubby actually leaves.

Leaving them alone

Definitely can't admit this to anyone without looking like a terrible mom.

It's freezing today. High in the low 20s, but we haven't reached it yet.

Monkey had preschool this morning. His preschool is a block and a half from our house. In warm weather, we walk. When we drive, it is an 18 second drive from our house to school; yes, I've timed it.

Do you know how hard it was to get the two little ones all bundled up and to take them out into the cold this morning? Just to put them in the car, drive 18 seconds, drop off Monkey, and drive the 18 seconds back to our house, get them back out of the truck, into the house, and out of their layers? Oh, and did I mention that it was right at Cub's naptime, so he desperately wanted his crib?

It would be so tempting to just lay him down for his nap while I took Monkey to school. Bear is a little harder, since he could get into a lot of things while I was gone...

Okay, I didn't do it. I didn't leave them at home. I don't plan on doing it, ever.

But, I'm writing today to admit how incredibly tempting it is.