Do you remember Monday? The day when I napped my whole crew around 10:30 because they were all complete exhausted disasters? Today was very much on the same course.
I took them for a drive to bring Brady a coffee, which is kind of a win for everyone. But my little troop did not rally. Rather, they disintegrated upon arriving harm, scarcely eating any lunch before going to bed.
A loving friend dropped by for a little bit so I didn’t just stew in my own frustration all afternoon. I slept maybe three hours last night, which I know is a huge part of why I am the way I am today. Everything is SO much more difficult when a person is behind in sleep. I know we can all relate, I’m not saying I’m any more tired than anyone else.
I know I haven’t done a good job today. I’ve been harsh and unreasonable, and I have some apologies to hand out after nap time. I haven’t eaten, and I really need to shower. Today has just been a day I’ve let get away on me, and it shows. I’m struggling, and its not helping those around me succeed, thats for sure.
Yup, they’re in sweats or jammies. The boys’ hats make them appear put together, right?
I have good people. Great people. People who love me even when I suck. And today, I suck.
If you remember yesterday’s post, I put the kids down for naps suuuper early in the day. Rowan was out cold within five minutes! I felt pretty justified, and I had a few of you tell me throughout the day that it had been a good move on my part. I always expect to be judged, and I really appreciate when I’m not. I know we all do things differently, and thats just great 🙂 At our house, our kids tend to nap a bit older than other homes. No biggie.
Once naps were in full swing, I went upstairs and found Wavy lulling. So she and I spent “nap time” together on my bed. I blogged and we listened to music. Waverly drank milk, played toys, and chewed her hands. It was cute.
I had somewhere to go in the afternoon, so a friend and her kids came by for the afternoon. When they arrived, the house has been perfectly quiet for about two hours or so. It was the perfect timing! They could all get up anytime and have had a great rest! Rowan was the first to surface, in a shirt and underwear. I went back into his room to grab him some pants, and there was Laela, sawing logs, completely cashed out. Solly, too, was completely silent. It was the perfect time for me to duck out, so I did!
Apparently the kids woke up gradually and they all had a great afternoon together ❤️ It goes a long way to have friends who aren’t afraid of your family, and your numbers. I appreciate you so much!!
This morning has been a smoother start. Dekker and Laela are off at school, the little boys are playing well, and Wavy woke up earlier than usual and was clearly not ready for life yet, so she lasted about two hours before going back to bed. It’ll be a two nap kind of day for her! That means a no nap day for me 😉 Because, alternating. But I can hack it!
A two nap day for Wavy is a two coffee day for me!
This morning hasn’t been our smoothest. It kicked off pretty hard, with Rowan coming up into my room over and over again, telling me he had to pee. I haven’t updated in a while, but Ro is like 99% potty trained! He jumped right into night training, and hasn’t peed his bed overnight once! Then WHY, I ask, must he come tell me every time he wants to pee???? Gah!!! So he came up and lulled Wavy and I about five times before I’d normally get up. So that was special, but I know, a learning curve. Whatever. Wavy went back to sleep, at least.
Breakfast was smooth enough, and Dekker got off to school on time. Except for some miscommunications that left us floundering for a few minutes, where he was insistent that dad had made a rule that I didn’t know about. You all get it. Lines get crossed sometimes. And then Dekker’s bike was hanging from the garage ceiling, so another moment of quick thinking, and the kid did get off to school on time! Oy!
Sadly, since pretty much right after that, everyone else around here has been in full meltdown mode. Its not just because it was a bit of a rough start, but its everything. Two duplo blocks coming apart causes a child to crumble into a heap on the floor. Tears cannot be dried with hugs this morning. Also, if you touched a toy in the last hour, it is YOURS and ONLY YOURS. No one else is permitted near it!
My. Gosh.
I hit a “mommy’s wrath” moment and threatened them all with a super early nap. And NONE of them turned their attitudes around!! Not even a little bit!! So I made good on my threat, and I sat them down for lunch at 10:00a,. I know. It sounds SO cruel, and I felt pretty cruel, but I was OVER it, as were they.
Everyone ate lunch angrily, peed angrily, and went to bed angrily. Don’t worry. I followed each one to their bed and tucked them in with lots of soft hugs and kisses. I wanted it drilled into them how much I love them, and I think the lesson landed.
They were tucked in by 10:40 ish. Rowan was asleep when I checked on them at 10:45. Turns out, sometimes, an unpopular decision can be the right one.
I’m glad I followed my gut this morning! Can’t have the kids disintegrating this afternoon when I’m not home!! Would be a quick way to lose the friend who offered to watch them, lol!
Trust me, I know church isn’t about cute kids, but they love to dress up and I just cant resist sharing the pictures!!
Dekker is big into these little ties we got when he was a baby. I think its time to upgrade him, because he wants to wear one every chance he gets!!
Laela has been alternating between two dresses for a long time now, but now that she’s asking to wear them more often, I felt a bit bad she was so limited. I ran downstairs this morning to check out tub marked “clothes to grow into” and found her two more dresses! She picked this one 🙂
Rowan opted for a tie this morning, as well! He picked his whole outfit, and he did an excellent job if you ask me!
Solomon couldn’t care less what he wears, so I picked his clothes, and I’m a big fan. He’s so soft and sweet. If you were at church this morning, you know he was at the front of the crowd for a good chunk of the service 😆
Wavy and I didn’t attend this morning, so she hung out in her jammies.
Look at her eyes!!!
Brady braved church with the four kids on his own, and apparently everyone did very well. He had some extra help with Solly, thanks to our pastor!
It’s so amazing to be reminded so publicly that our church doesn’t view children as a nuisance. We MUST nurture the children, or the church will cease to exist!
The rest of the day was spent outside ❤️
Sunday has been lovely 🙂 Enjoy your evening before the work/school week begins!!
We haven’t had a good waffle feed in a LONG time around here! It was finally time! It was so good to be back together again.
We ate well and much,
and spent the next couple of hours visiting, coloring, and listening to music. It was the best, warmest Saturday morning we’ve had in a while, and we’ve had some great weekends in the last month! But this one was better 🙂
Its good to be reminded once in a while that waffle brunch is worth the effort, the mess, and the sugar rush to follow. One day, I hope we get in a groove, and invite someone over every Saturday for waffles. Who wants to be on our list?
I was feeling pretty great yesterday, and I’m happy to say the day finished out really well.
I had to duck out for a couple of hours in the afternoon, but I caught a little glimpse of Jerilee in there, since she SO generously agreed to hang with the kiddos while I was away. I got back home, and the big kids were home from school. Jerilee had been on the ball, so some reading was already in the works and backpacks were being taken care of. She had even checked on my crock pot supper and stirred it for me one or twice. But she didn’t stay long. I hope we hang out together for real soon!
Brady got home a little later than usual, but we’re so eager for work, no one was mad about it. Its great that it happened on a day where I was on the ball and had supper made in advance. Brady makes it very easy for me to not always have a hot supper on the table at an exact time, but he’s so appreciative and loving about it when I do. Pretty much immediately upon arrival, I left for about a half hour or so, but I was back in time to eat supper with my family. And WOW, guys, I haven’t made my honey chicken in a while, and it was SO GOOD! Way better than it used to be, even! YUM!
I helped the kids get to bed, which felt good. Bedtime around here is a bit of a marathon, not because of attitudes but just sheer numbers. It still felt awesome 🙂 Not too long after that, I had a long overdue phone date with a friend. Then a soak and a chunk of a show with Brady.
It was a FULL, GLORIOUS day! I had hoped to sneak some outside time into the day, too, but I’m confident our day was as full as it could possibly be, and it was done well! I can’t say that every day, but I sure could yesterday, and that felt great.
Today is another day at home with the little kids!
All of a sudden, this boy can puzzle!Solly put his blanket to bed 😉
Tis the season for lightness.
Courtesy of Dekker and Laela on their walk home yesterday
I’m ready for it. Winter was short but brutal. Bring on the sun, the vitamin D, and the natural exercise that goes with biking, walking, playgrounds, and tag. Bring on the fresh air! *deep breath in, deep breath out*
I’ve been away from home for a while now, but today, I’m back at it. I’m on stay-at-home mom duty while Brady is off at work. I didn’t anticipate how refreshing today would be!
Brady is HAPPY at work, reconnecting with some of his friends, and feeling strong in his role as his family’s provider. He can spend the day doing something he truly enjoys, without having to argue with anyone. His change of scenery makes coming home so much sweeter.
I have enjoyed my days away, but I have been missing my munchkins. I knew being home again would be lovely, but I didn’t realize how refreshed I’d feel. I feel way more capable and motivated than I usually do.
So far this morning, the dishes have been maintained, and supper is in the crock pot. I did my hair and got dressed in real clothes.
Improvement anyway, lol
The big kids got out the door for school without me rushing them, and the little kids at home are happy. We’ve read lots of stories,
and there has been no yelling and minimal arguing. Wavy slept in and has been completely peachy since she got up! Easy peasy, these kids! Today, anyway 😉
Maybe its just a “first day back” thing, or maybe I’m better at this. Probably option #1, haha! But today has felt good 🙂
Thank you, Brady, for acing daddy duty, even more than usual! Thank you, mom, for the pizza feed! Today was a good day. Better than others recently. The perfect day for pizza.
My goodness, girl. As long as Wavy was in, she’s been out! Funny how these months have wailed by, yet the nine with her on the inside felt like an eternity! Haha! I can confidently say I’ve enjoyed the nine with her out WAY better!!
Waverly is growing! Sorry to say, I’m unsure about her weight this time around. Here’s the thing. I always weigh her at home on my scale, and while I know its not as accurate as the one at the doctors office, its at least consistent with itself. This last month, I took Wavy to the doctor for a couple of things, and they weighed her. Her appointment mid-March weighed her in around 19 lbs 10 oz, and then two weeks later, we weighed her again. The second time, she was dressed in jeans in and a hoodie, and had a wet diaper on. Her weight came to 20 lbs 13 oz. Now I know her clothes and diaper affected her weight that day, but I’m not sure by how much. Now, my home school says 19 lbs 5 oz. Sooooo she’s somewhere in there. Thats the best I’ve got :/ She has, however, moved into a big girl car seat! CRAZY! She’s growing and changing constantly. Her hair is longer, she’s back and legs are stronger, and her voice is louder!
She took a break from teething for a month or so, but she’s back at in just the last few days.
Development time! Wavy still doesn’t really care for her bottle, and she is LOVING food! Especially feeding herself. She can drink from a straw sippy cup but isn’t especially interested in it. We’ll keep trying for it, though, because the sooner she can quit the bottle, the sooner we can stop fighting that fight and she can just be happy and hydrated.
Oh ya, she waves, too!
Wavy sits SO well that I admit, I’ve dropped the ball pretty hard on her being on her tummy. Probably two weeks ago, if I set her on her tummy, she would cry and fuss and just lay her head down and whine. But recently, we tried it again and she is ALL over it! She kicks, tries to get her knees under her, spins around on her tummy, and effectively pushes herself backwards. Keep in mind, none of our kids have been early movers, our earliest crawler being 11 months. So this could be pretty exciting for us! The last thing I’ll note here is that Wavy has preferences now, and has certain things she prefers over others. She’ll still take just about anything she’s offered, but she loves cords, her little stuffed mermaid,
and Dekker.
Waverly was doing a bang up job of sleeping through the night but has somewhat given up on that since she jumped back on the teething train. She can sleep through, and she will again soon enough, I’m sure. She’s just a little off her game. Her schedule is less present than it was last month because of this change, but she pretty consistently only takes one nap. If she has two, she has a worse night, for sure. Lucky for us, she naps really well and really long.
She continues to be one of the most charming, engaging, welcoming people I’ve ever met.
I should be making Brady write these posts, but since he’s already got lots on his plate, I’m doing my best 😉
Brady took the kids for a walk/bike ride yesterday evening. It looked so beautiful, I’m going to just let the pictures do the talking.
They biked to the pond near our house, and threw rocks into the water.
Our kids love doing that, for whatever reason. They didn’t stay for too long. Wavy was cold, and it was coming up on bedtime, but it seemed to have been a beautiful time ❤️
