Story Arc

As much as this is a space for me to sort out my thoughts and worries as a parent, it is also a space for me to love and brag on my kids from time to time. Fair warning - I'm about to do the latter!

Last week brought us our second conference at Harrison's preschool and while we've got some work to do on fine motor skills (more on that to come, later), we are so proud of all that he knows and can do at the ripe old age of 3 1/2. We're also very happy with our choice of preschools and know that HD is flourishing because he gets to do it all there; from reading and singing to climbing and swimming, the Y has been such a good mix for our active and imaginative little guy.

Lately Harrison's imagination has been going full steam and he's been all about stories. But then again, he's always been all about books, even when he was still just a baby. I remember reading book after book after book when he was teeny tiny to help him settle down for sleep. And then later, as part of his pre-nap or night routine - always at least three books and not just simple board books, but long Dr. Seuss and other picture books. Much like Raegan does now, HD used to toddle over to me, chuck the book he'd be carrying in my general direction and then plop in my lap, ready to read anywhere and anytime. For an English major mama, this behavior and love of his has always been a source of pride for me. And now, it makes me so happy whenever I see Harrison paging through a story or asking to someone to read with him, which happens quite often.

So perhaps it is no surprise that Harrison seems to be turning into a bit of a storyteller himself. Well, mostly he is a story director because he is constantly telling me what story to tell him (95% of the time they involve Angry Birds) and he is also constantly telling me, "No, not that way, Mama. Tell me the right way. The way that starts with ___________. And then goes _________." As you can imagine, this is a major test of my patience, not to imagine memory and imagination, but I do like that he's so involved in the thought process that goes into storytelling.

In early February, my parents visited and we pulled out an Angry Birds coloring/activity book that we'd gotten awhile back for HD. While I took advantage of having the grandparents around a nap, Harrison worked on the book with Grandpa and Grandma. He's never been big on coloring, so it wasn't too shocking that he didn't spend too much time on those pages, but what did impress me when I saw it, was the My Own Angry Birds page where he wrote a story. Well, Grandma technically wrote it, but all she did was transcribe HD's story which went as follows:

Once upon a time, there were Angry Birds. Then there were Piggies. 

And the Angry Birds had golden eggs. Then they went to bed. 

Then the Piggies took their golden eggs in a net. Then the angry birds were ANGRY. 

Then they got on their slingshot. Then the Angry Birds hit the Piggies. 

Then the Angry Birds go their eggs back! The End. 

Now that little story might contain an awful lot of "then"s, but it also has a true beginning, conflict, resolution, and conclusion - a real story arc! And Harrison is only 3 1/2!! 

So once again, I find myself thinking, hooray for books; they are an excellent form of education wrapped up and presented as wonderful entertainment. And if I accomplish nothing else as a parent, I've helped my son develop a love of words, characters, and stories, which I know he'll be able to carry with him always. I can't wait to see where his love of books takes us (and can only imagine how many more times I'll have to do my best to tell the right Angry Birds story before he outgrows that little stage!)! 

Snuggle Bug

Well, she may be causing us sleepless mornings and might just have a tiny flair for the dramatic (can you say "already doing the whole face on the floor, feet kicking fit thing?" Yikes!), BUT there is no denying that Raegan is also a total Love.

Yesterday was a totally gorgeous 70 degree day in March. The kids and I went on a long Dragon Hunt walk (you'll have to ask HD for more on that!) and then we played outside until Ben got home from school. Raegan was playing on the play constructure with the boys until she noticed that I had laid down on the blanket where we'd previously been having snack. (Let's face it - at almost six months pregnant, the Dragon Hunt wore me out and the sunshine felt so cozy. How could I not take advantage and rest my eyes in it for a bit?) So before long I heard, "Mama! Mama! Awwwwww. Mama! Mama!" getting closer and closer. And that, my friends, would be the epitome of Raegan these days.

She saw me all sprawled out on the ground and decided she needed to join me. After toddling right over, she flopped down next to/on top of me and snuggled her head into my shoulder, all while "Awwwwww"ing all over the place.

See, lately, Little Miss has taken to making this ridiculously sweet and overdone coo when she snuggles and cuddles. It is infectious and she's learning to use it to her advantage. This means that before naps, when I'm singing to her, she uses it to drag out the process because she totally knows I can't pass up saying, "Awwwwww" back to her, even when I'm mid-verse of "You Are My Sunshine" or "Sleep, Baby, Sleep." But even with stalling, we all can't help but love it.

Harrison's a fan of overly big hugs, so he'll get in on the action, too, sometimes and give great big squeezes while his sister "Awwwww"s. Ben too gets squeezes and coos when he's making his lunch in the mornings (RL grabs his legs and snuggles her head into his shins) or when he's playing on the floor with the kids. And of course there is the constant plopping she does when she tosses a book in my face and then flings her whole body into in my lap so I can read to her (her brother did the exact same thing at this age!), so we get lots of cuddles in during those times, too.

Perhaps the best part is knowing that if I smile at her, she will smile right back at me and then she'll usually follow it up with a head tilt and coo. No wonder I don't mind saying, "Awwwwww" 100 times a day.

The Sleep(less) Games

Forget arenas and hunger and battles for survival. Just throw a grown woman in a house while she is pregnant with one baby, trying to raise two others, and don't let her sleep for say, well - forever. And then see what kind of fun ensues. Now that could be a book/movie that falls in all categories - (dark) humor, drama, and horror.

Seriously. We just can't seem to catch a break on this sleep business. We finally got HD to stop coming in our room at all hours of the night, only to have Little Miss start a horrible new early rising trend. For the last week, Raegan has been waking up at 5:30. Sometimes 5:45, but you can't really tell me that's any better. Sometimes she makes just enough noise to wake me/us up and is then quiet until we do Good Mornings at the still early but much preferable hour of 6:30. That is, if Harrison doesn't come wandering across the hall into our room before that asking to either go to the bathroom or if it is in fact time for Good Mornings yet, waking her/us up again. Other times she screams/cries until we give in and get her (and him) up, which we don't do before 6:00, in hopes of not making this an actual habit or something.

It doesn't help that mid-week RL developed a runny nose which manifested into a cough during her sleep that just so happened to start at 4:30 on Sunday morning and not stop until 6:05 (and you can guess who came in at 6:30 to ask about GMs!!)! On a side note, if you go to Walmart at 7:30 on a Sunday morning, you can have a lovely and fast shopping experience, even with a squeaky wheeled cart. Just saying...

And I'm just saying because I am trying desperately to cling to something positive right now. But my body and my brain are sooooo tired that positive really isn't where my thoughts and moods go. I am surviving on coffee alone, some days, and while I'd prefer to be off caffeine entirely during my pregnancy, I don't know what I'd do without my one-two cups a day. I tell myself, at least it's not one-two pots. Right?! Besides the fact that it keeps me awake, it keeps me happy(ish) and that alone is reason to keep it at all. Because something has to help me stay sane right now.

Even on the nights when the kids cut me some slack and stay quietly in their beds, I seem to struggle. Of course, even if I ration all liquid intake after 5 p.m., I still have to get up to pee during the night. This baby is SO insanely low, he/she is going to be giving my bladder fits from now until July. Sometimes I can get up and just go right back to sleep. Other times, usually when the clock shows 4:something, I struggle, mainly because I know I only have thismuch time before someone starts waking up the whole house. Last night was particularly awful though because I thought my 2:30 bathroom break was going to be a right back to sleep moment. Instead it turned out to be the start of my day. I officially got 30 more minutes of sleep, shortly after 5:15 before Raegan started in for the day. Unbelievable! And, because I have to teach tonight, by the time I get home, I will have been up for 18 hours (that 30 minute bizarre dream filled "nap" at 5:20 doesn't count as sleep) and on duty in some form or another for 14 of them. Have I said Unbelievable yet? Trust me - my words could be so much more colorful, with very little effort. I'll take the fact that I'm able to censor at all as a good sign that my mind isn't totally gone, but how much longer before it is? I mean, really. It's not like our sleep is going to improve come summer, so how do I get through this?

I've mentioned this before, but it warrants repeating because I keep seeing the same advice, or some form of it, everywhere - books, blogs, etc. To start your day off right, give yourself just a few minutes in the morning to collect your thoughts and start out the day with the right/positive outlook. Lovely, right? And I'm not even mocking it - I really do think that is a lovely sentiment and probably does start the day off well for folks who can do it. But when you have absolutely no say in what time your day starts, not to mention the fact that it often starts out while you are huddled under your covers, wishing with every being of your body that the crying baby would just go back to sleep, I don't know how to accomplish this simple practice. I mean, I'm trying, trying, trying to Wake Up and Choose Awesome, but my awesome feels like a little less with each passing and exhausting night.

So, that's all, really. Sorry to be so whiny. Perhaps, like me, you've seen that little poster that says: "Without sleep, we are all toddlers." Consider me there, which at least explains the tone, even if it doesn't excuse it.