It's the Unexplainable, the Unfathomable... It's Bedtime

I don’t know if you have weeks like this but this has been THE week for our kids not wanting to sleep. Actually I think this goes all the way back to a couple of weeks ago when we were at my parents house and they were coming up with every excuse they could think of to delay bedtime. In fact, I don’t think our generation blames near enough of their problems on their parents ;0) so I’m just going to go ahead and say this is all Nana and Papa’s fault since it started at their house.

I have made some amazing discoveries about bedtime just in this last week however. I thought I would share a few of them with you. Children really are marvelous little people and I am always surprised with the way their minds and bodies can work.

For instants, it is fascinating to me how a four year old can develop, right at bedtime, a sudden unquenchable thirst. Water is suddenly like sugar to her and she cannot get enough.

In the same category as this drinking phenomenon is the way a three year old can take 10 minutes to drink two ounces of water. There is swallowing involved the entire time so you know they are not just playing or stalling hoping for just a few more minutes out of the confinements of their bed. They are actually taking five full minutes per ounce of water.

All of my potty-trained children have this strange medical condition in which they develop sudden bladder infections sending them to the bathroom every 20 minutes, just at nighttime. In the morning… they are cured! Again, this is just the potty-trained kids. Fascinating!

My middle son has a handy little talent in which he can squeeze out the tiniest little bit of poop any time the situation requires it. The threat that he will be in trouble if he does not really go poop after he, of course, suddenly just has to go 10 minutes after the lights are out has cultivated this talent in him. We are thinking of taking it on the road.

I don’t know, maybe it’s their bedroom. It really does seem to be a magical place. One where pacifiers disappear into an abyss, a land where toys suddenly sprout wings and fly up to the top bunk. This is a room full of invisible laughing children, and they are not my own children, just ask them, none of them were laughing or talking.

I’ve also come to realize that bedtime is not just a time that brings out the spectacular in children, but in grown men as well. I will forever be in awe of how a tired overworked father can, out of the blue, obtain the energy of two-two year olds during the bedtime routine and suddenly think that this would be the perfect time for a wrestling match followed by a quick gymboree class.

Bedtime really is a extraordinary experience!

The One In Wich My Daughter Tells It Like It Is

Jarrod wants me to sing a song with him at church in a few weeks. It is a beautiful song and I LOVE singing with Jarrod. I am a bit apprehensive though. My last attempt at public singing was a wreck. With me freaking out a few notes into it and for the rest of the song singing Jarrod's harmony part along with him. It was at my sister-in-laws wedding of all places… sorry Laurel.

After quickly realizing that my vow to never look another sole in the face ever again was going to be somewhat of a challenge, I resolved to never sing in public again. That would have to do.

But then Jarrod asked so sweetly and there were the beautiful brown puppy dog eyes, and oh, what’s a girl to do. Besides it really is such a fabulous song. I told him as long as we could practice a lot, and I mean a whole, whole, singing it in your sleep, lot, I would maybe think about considering singing with him at church.

So family trips in the car now consist of one song being played over and over again as Jarrod helps me struggle through my part. Today was no exception. But you know kids; we had not yet pulled out of the garage before the requests began. My precious daughter, who will now and forever be known for her blunt honesty asked, “Daddy, can we listen to that song that mommy can’t sing?”

Jarrod, bless his heart, tried to suppress his smile and said, “I’m not sure if this is the one she is talking about but we’ll see.”

He scanned through the tracks, our song began, and Elyse smiled contentedly. “Yes, that one!” Thanks Elyse

Darn my husband with his beautiful brown manipulative eyes, and his overpowering flattery, would you believe I am still considering singing in public with him in a few weeks?

I am also considering making a slide show of the pictures of Elyse sitting on the potty at two years old looking through a magazine and showing it at her senior prom.

What To Expect When You Are Expecting Your Fourth... Because This Stuff Just Aint In The Book

May not be suitable for men or children... some content may be considered gross or offensive. I am a little bit sorry. But mostly I don't care. I am pregnant and tired and so quite frankly my new motto is... I Just Don't Care!

When pregnant with her fourth you can expect the once modest young lady to, in the middle of a crowded restaurant, reach down and unbutton her "fat jeans" (even though she is only at 6 weeks gestation). You can also expect for the gentleman who is sitting a few tables over... who obviously has never spent time in the presence of a pregnant woman before... to have the nerve to look at now relieved and comfortable pregnant lady in bewilderment. The pregnant woman, however, can expect to wipe that shocked look off of the poor man's face with a look of her own. Perhaps one that says, "I'm fat, I am actually keeping this meal down for once and am therefore now bloated... do you want a piece of me?"

I at least had some luck with that approach.

It has been a while since I read the book, but to my best recollection I do not remember the part where it tells you to expect a new part of your body to completely rebel and shut down every single day. So far I have had problems with my upper back, my left big toe, migraines, something about scar tissue (if you've had multiple c-sections) getting mangled up in the dermis (the layer of connective tissue below the epidermis) Yep, didn't make sense to me either, but it causes abdominal pain like you wouldn't believe. And last night I actually thought my right boob was going to explode. No I didn't just expect it to I think I even remember at one point begging God to make it happen in hopes it would give some relief.

Here is the best and perhaps strangest thing you can look forward to when you are expecting your fourth child. In the midst of a playful wrestling match turned violent between your sons, and what I swear can only be Pre-premenstrual syndrome from your 4-year-old daughter. With yelling, tears and emotional breakdowns happening throughout the entire home... you can expect to look around and think, "Man I can't wait to have another."

Bath Time Fun

Bath time took an interesting turn tonight... I had my nearly two year old playing contentedly in the tub while I assisted my older two in brushing their teeth at the sink. With one eye constantly on him and one eye on the progress of the older children I noticed Elijah stacking his toys along the back ledge of the bathtub. You know how they are at that age, always putting their toys in buckets, stacking them. Assured that he was okay I turned my thoughts back to the sink ant the task at hand. All the while keeping tabs on the bathtub. Once all the teeth were sparkling white I went to retrieve my clean prune of a son from the bath water and was horrified to discover that it was not his toys but... what better way to put this... his "waste" that he was neatly lining up side by side along the edge of the tub. Haven't had trouble with poo-poo in the the bath water since my oldest was just under a year old and I mistook what she had gotten expelled into the tub for the spaghetti meat sauce I was washing off of her. Kids always seem to keep you hopping (and fishing in the bathwater).

Tiny Talk Tuesday: Monsters and a New Baby

Elyse (4) leaned over part way through the movie Monsters Vs. Aliens and said glumly, "I wish I had super powers so I could save the day."

Isaiah (3) a few days after he heard the news that we were having another baby, the excitement was still high and the kids had about a million questions but this one caught us off guard as it was stated with such heart felt wondering "Are we going to keep Elijah?" (Elijah is of course his little brother)

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Photo Story Friday Make Way For Baby

And while you're at it make way for mommy, she's gonna need a little more room to squeeze by. This is what comes from deciding that your family does not feel complete and trying for one more. I am happy to say that after only 3 1/2 months of trying we are expecting baby number 4. I am dismayed to announce that baby number 4 is code for you are going to look like humpty-dumpty in 8 short weeks.




In an attempt to keep my very excited 4 year old daughter up to date on the baby's growth I started out telling her the size of the baby each week. You know, "this week the baby is the size of a poppy seed, now it's the length of a nail head..." all this has resulted in the weekly question on Elyse's part..."What is the baby today?" My poor child thinks her sibling is metamorphosing into all kinds new things in it's quest to finally become, and Elyse has her mind firmly made up on this, a baby sister.

Yesterday I told her it was the size of a bean, prompting this reaction from her. "Why is our baby a bean? I like beans, can we have beans for dinner tonight?"


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Monday Madness from Mouths of Babes: My Thoughts Exactly

A few years ago we had moved halfway across Texas to work in a group home as house parents to Jr. High and High School kids. We had only been there 4 months when we found out we would need to be finding a new job. The rules of the particular place we were at were that you could not work there and have more than two biological kids. So when we found out we were pregnant with our sweet Elijah we were told "Congratulations! You'll be missed." The arrangement that we made with our employer was that if we found work elsewhere we would be allowed to leave even if she had not found a replacement for us. In turn if she found somebody else we would need to leave regardless of our situation.

We spent months looking nonstop for another job with no luck. (Well nothing that would pay the bills) We were stressed, overwhelmed and occasionally wondering where God was in all of this.

One evening, here I am six months pregnant, knowing that at any moment not only would we be out of a job but, be homeless as we lived in the home we were working in... it had been a particularly emotional and stressful day. Elyse, who was 2 at the time was very fond of the song God is so Good, thanks to Veggie Tales. She walked around the house singing the words, "God is so good, God is so good, God is so good, he's so good to me" all the time. This particular day as she was seated at the dinner table waiting for the food to be served. She started in on her beloved tune but this time was a little different than all the others. Out of her mouth came the words that I had been silently and un-admittedly singing in my own head for weeks, even months.

"God is Okay..." was sung with such heart and feeling. My husband and I shared an amused look, which I dare say showed just the slightest a hint of agreement in it.

Well said, my funny little girl. I suppose if it’s in my heart I might as well tell it like it is. Leave it to the children to do so.

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