So the last post didn’t mention poop, diapers or babies. I don’t plan what I’m going to write, I just write. Parenthood is relatively new to me, I’ve only been a parent for 4 years, but I’ve been a worker, a student, a friend, a girlfriend, a daughter… for much longer. So I might talk about other things once in a while.
And to tell you the truth, it helps to remind yourself that yes although you are a parent; it is not all you are. It’s ok to let loose, go out or even party sometimes. I know firsthand that it’s hard. I’ll be out and constantly checking my phone for news from the kids or find myself staring at the background image of my phone, which is a picture of my kids (of course). Well I have A1 and A2 on my phone and Jack has A3. It’s impossible to get them all in one picture considering A2 is obsessed with trying to touch A3’s eye ball.
You see how the subject always drifts to the kids?!
What was I saying? Oh ya. Going out is also hard because of the price you pay. I’m not talking about money… there are consequences to going out, so it really has to be worth it. Let’s say you go out, have a good time, come home late.
6 am, you know it! Kids are up.
Although they don’t have a snooze button on the back of their heads, we’ve figured out a few ways to try and squeeze out 25 to 30 minutes of sleep for us, once they’re up. First person I need to take care of is A1 (4 yrs old), she’s up first. So we’ll plan it the night before and she’ll play in her room till mommy and daddy are up. Hold on, it’s not THAT easy. You’ve got to come up with good new game ideas so that they don’t get bored too quickly. For example, the night before, I’ll bring out the big tub of stuffed animals, set up a desk and chair for her in her room and tell her she can play class when she wakes up (pretending she’s the teacher and the stuffed animals are students). I must admit, it sometimes backfires because she’s so excited to play that she’ll wake up even earlier.
What I do with A2 (1.5 yrs old), is place books in her crib while she’s sleeping so that she can play with them when she wakes up and not call for us right away.
This usually keeps them busy for 20 minutes, after that we move to the next phase.
We have a basket of toys that we keep in our room (fun knickknacks, mc Donald kids meal toys, etc.). See, this basket is usually hidden and is only taken out weekend mornings for them to play with, in our bed. Since they don’t have access to these toys often, it keeps them interested for a longer period of time. The fresher the toys are the longer they play and the more we sleep.
All is good until they take out the big guns “We’re hungry!” Then we have to get up.
Basically what I’m trying to say is, it’s normal to not be sliding down the banister with the children fully dressed first thing in the morning.*
And if you do not have kids, cherish that snooze button and don’t take it for granted.
P.S The sliding down the banister is a Marry Poppins reference. I’m sure Jack didn’t get it either. I tried to find a video of it to post but couldn’t come up with anything. So here’s a pic.
Mary Poppins sliding down the banister with the children fully clothed and ready to go, first thing in the morning.
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