Produce and Sleep

I've got a bunch of weirdos living with me. Since when is the desire to eat SALAD considered normal for toddlers? They both love romaine lettuce, cucumber, bell pepper and parmesan drizzled with caesar dressing. Last I checked, kids their age typically refuse foods of the leafy green variety. Not my weirdos! It's both nice and annoying to have to share. Fresh salads have been a kind of weakness for me recently although I've always enjoyed them. That's not the only thing they love to devour. I can't remember the last time I got to finish any piece of fruit without sharing. They are like most kids, a bowl of Lucky Charms is often found with only the Lucky remaining untouched and goldfish don't stand a chance in this house. We've started buying ABC's and 123's in bulk and they can clear out easily 2 gallons of milk a one week. As the kids have grown older we've grown wiser. We buy Nesquick with no added sugar and fruit leather instead of gummy fruit snacks. There's no harm in bribing as long as it's called a "reward"

For instance: We have a "good job bank" for Amie to earn money for things she wants to purchase. Right now the goal is $20 for a pillow pet. (I think she's sitting somewhere around $14 earned in rewards.) We've offered the reward of .25 cents for every good behavior. She can earn money for Eating all of her meal, staying in her bed all night, going to bed without complaining/fighting, remembering our address and full names, no potty accidents all day, picking up her toys when she's asked. We've calculated the daily total to be $2 if she does everything we expect (she can earn it twice for her meals and toys.) Her normal day is only about .75 cents earned (for bedtime and no accidents, we just added the address part and it's still stumping her.)

Tonight I put the kids to sleep without complaint from either. Then I realized as I put the book away and went about my normal "me" time routine that a certain someone wasn't wearing her pull-up. I doubt it would have mattered since she's been getting up in the middle of the night just to go potty in my bathroom and tell me about it. (They have their own bathroom closer to their room. I guess she just wants the drowsy audience.) Against my better judgement I went back in there and woke her up putting the pull-up on her. She made the request for me to keep reading so I grabbed the book and continued the story. I could feel Lookie moving around tonight as I finished the last few pages of chapter 42. Stanley has just asked Zero to help him dig "one last hole" to find the lost treasure of Kissin' Kate Barlow. I doubt we have more than one or two more nights left to this story and I'll be left to find another bed time book in one of the boxes in my hard to enter craft room closet. At least my judgement on what qualifies as a good bed time book is less restrictive so I'm likely to find something in one o the boxes close to the top of the stack!

We've found that the best bedtime routine for us is to just sit there and read. Normally by 8:30 the kids are both sound asleep. We had tried for so long to come up with an effective bed time strategy but everything we did would work only 50% of the time. This is a success every time! We brush teeth, go potty and get dressed. After climbing into bed everyone gets their good night kisses (this week Daddy has been giving good night kisses before he leaves for work around 2pm.) Then I sit up against the wall and read chapter after chapter from the dim hall light that peeks through the slit in the half open door. When I'm done both kids are normally out cold, sometimes matty is still in his growl routine that signals sleep to wash over his mind and body.

I really should work more on the recipe albums but with Miah at work I'm not very motivated to sit in the chilly craft room all alone. I could be lounging comfortably on our bed watching another dumb Mel Brooks movie. (The past two nights have featured Dracula: Dead and Loving it and Robin Hood Men in Tights. Those two remind me of my childhood friend Anaka and all the silly adventures we would think up. It didn't matter where we were, we were characters in our our private struggle between good and evil in a galaxy far, far away. It makes me smile just thinking about those days and the friendship I shared with a like minded lady!)

I think I'll retreat now into the comfort of my warm and cozy bed where I can watch anything my heart desires on Netflix.

XOXO, A. Scott