Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Just one of those days


Today was one of those days with such promise. We had plans to keep us busy in both the morning and afternoon, we have been having such good days of listening and potty I just had a good feeling about it. Not to mention that today is cleaning lady day and I love having my house getting cleaned while I play with the kids, and then it was 6:15 am.



That's right after an entire week of everyone sleeping until almost 7, today on my day to get up early, the kids were up at 6:15. Elliot was fussing, but sounded ok in his crib and I was fighting with Erik to get him to sleep with very empty threats because I didn't want to get out of bed. So the morning was already off to an incredibly early start. I blame the early wake up on the heat and humidity this morning. My friends kids were up equally as early today so it seemed to be a theme. So when I finally get up I find Elliot with his leg stuck in his crib slat up to his thigh and he has a HUGE poopy diaper, so I am already feeling like a failure when this morning starts.

Our playdate this morning was bright and early since my friend Lauren has a 18 month old on the same sleep schedule as Elliot so we met at Pacific Park for some water and playground time and to wear out the kids early. I thought it was perfect because it will totally wear Erik out for his nap and it will be an easy bedtime, I was oh so wrong. We had fun with our friends, Tracy showed up with her two girls, and we stayed for 1.5 hours in the hot sun talking and the kids playing. Erik did pretty well listening at the park, but it was obviously he was tired and didn't sleep enough by his attitude and he got two time outs in the park. About 10:40 we left and Elliot feel asleep in the car instantly and we are on our way home. Erik seemed equally as tired.

Well since Erik was up so early and we had a long morning of playing I thought a 11:50 bedtime would be fine and it normally is, but today since Erik was up early and lost sleep he decided to make me work for his nap. He was almost asleep and he would do his usual wake myself up or talk in the middle of falling asleep so he stays awake. His old problem we haven't had to deal with for months. He just refused to nap today and was going to stick to his guns. He would rather sleep and talk to mommy and I felt stressed because I knew we had gymnastics at 2:15 and he needed to get to bed early.

Eventually I decided we would skip tumble tots so I stopped stressing about the time. I am going back to my old rule of no nap, take away toy, but he had to do quiet time in his room. Usually he gives it up and sleeps when this happens, but today Erik is especially stubborn and uninterested in following the rules. So he spent 2 hours in there, before I got him, but Ester needed to clean the bathroom so I had to let him out. Ester even commented to me today about how hard it is to get him to nap. She has a boy about 8 months older than Erik and sees this battle with us all the time.

When I open the door to let him out, I find him naked from the waist down and he told me "I went potty" and he certainly did. He peed all over the chair and carpet. Remember I have a monitor and all he has to do is say mommy potty and I will come and help, but he wanted to make a point. So instead of sleeping he decided to pee all over everything. Just great. So not only is he going to be a challenge today since he didn't nap, but he decided to pee and make an example today. (this is is second day in a row of peeing in his bed on purpose to resist naps, its becoming a bad theme in our life).

I clean up the mess and get us all downstairs. Erik then decided to go on a destruction path to make another point and starts knocking everything off the counters. In the meantime, Elliot was playing with Lovey's food and putting it all over the floor. I told him "no" and shut the laundry room door and then tried to figure out what Erik wanted with all his whining. Elliot kept opening up the laundry room door and getting to the food and we went through this several times. It now became a game and Erik started doing the same thing. I am already in a bad mood after the pee, Erik not napping, and mad at myself because I screamed at Erik and woke Elliot up early from his nap. Just not my afternoon so far.

We head to Target and I told Erik as punishment for peeing all over his room he doesn't get a pretzel today. So then he proceeded to whine and cry through the entire store. UGH!! I only went because I though the kids would be unmanageable at home and I needed to get out for a moment. Oh to top it off, I got a terrible cart that kept going to the right and hard to manage with my crying kids. I realized it too late in the store and couldn't get a new one.

I am ready for this day to be over, but it is only half done. It is days like this that reminds me why I am not ready to have three kids. I was just telling my friend this during our playdate this morning. She plans on getting pregnant very soon with her third. I told her that I can't imagine being pregnant with three kids with Erik's attitude and challenges. He is too much with just two kids, I can't imagine how I would handle it with the hormones of being pregnant. I just need him to grow out of the potty and bed issues and maybe, just maybe I can think of three kids.

OK needed to write that out today, I feel better now.

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About Heather

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I am a Los Angles based photographer and mom of 2 wonderful boys. Photography has been a passion of mine over 15 years now, ever since I picked up my first camera in journalism school and started developing my black and whites in a darkroom. The instant an affordable DSLR came out on the market in 2002, I had to have one and have been shooting digital since. Once I became a mom I realized how much I enjoy photographing children and how much better I could understand their nuances so it became a passion of mine. Their is such innocence and beauty in their pictures and I feel privileged to be a part of that. I am constantly trying new approaches and tuning my skills to create the art that is in my head, not just the art that I can create right now. I am very interested in off camera flash, and the depth and clarity it adds to my photographs. Sometimes I take breaks from my blog and photography, but it seems to never leave me completely. I always come back.