Options, options, options...Have we begun to give this new lil generation too many choices? You know all of the books which tell us to give our kids the opportunity to make decisions and have opinions on things, allowing them to feel like they have some control in their little 4 year old lives!?!?!? Blue PJs or green...Fish crackers or pita chips...Soccer or swimming, Pink sippy cup or purple...boots or slip-ons and on and on. Anyway, a comment my father made this past weekend, hit home a bit..."Man, so many choices around here..."
Then when it is time for us to actually make the call and be the PARENT, in theory, everything will go smoothly because we have let them make decisions all day long. Who came up with this crap!?!?!? Do we honestly think that after having an opinion all day, they will choose to do what we say at night and in the morning? Please tell me I am not the only one who feels I have completely lost control of my littles? (Shout out to Kirk on the littles!) Can we use the excuse that we virtually had triplets? The little guy may have been born 14.5 months after the twins, but he makes up quickly for it in brains, humor and guts. So, in my mind they might as well be trips. Or maybe my type A, oldest of 3 personality is to blame? Clearly it didn't come from their genes...both John and I are cool as cucumbers!?!? NOT.
Am I the only mother that dreads that 10-15 minutes before everyone is finally in the car and buckled in? I'm not lying when I say I literally sit in the car for 5 minutes after we are all buckled in and just listen to music or do a quick look at FB because they can't move or get out!! Do you too dread the constant bed time negotiations (I'm thirsty; I forgot to give you a kiss and a hug, for the 30th time; mommy, I need to tell you something, etc. etc.). I know, I should be extremely grateful to have three little blessings to tuck into bed each and every night and believe me, I AM!! But, we have come to the difficult 2-four year olds and 1-three year old stage. I have tried moving bath time up, keeping the lights off, talking quietly, reading, Friday movie fun nights, AND I've tried to pick just one of these things at a time and do it consistently, just like the books tell us, etc. etc. etc. The bottom line is...it is always at minimum 30-45 minutes from when the first child is actually in bed to when I am able to attempt to keep all three in bed at the same time. It's like a game of chess each night, but with three little CRAZIES, and they ALWAYS seem to get the queen...
Tonight, alone again as daddy is studying and I realize I forgot to purchase more pull-ups...AWESOME! Worse...we only have 3 princess pull-ups left and it's too late to go to the store for more. Thank you Jesus for providing one for each CRAZY!! Always, look for the positive, right!?! So this leaves us with no room for accidents, or the "Mommy, I peed in my pull-up." You know, during those 45 minutes they have been laying in bed. Quickly turning the lights out, so the two male CRAZIES cannot identify the glaring pink color of the pull-ups, and praying this will not scar my boys for life...we get the 3 pull-ups on, with the observant elder pointing it out, and me stating that pink is for girls (except when mommy buys you handsome pink colored shirts) and I will get blue Mader pull-ups tomorrow. This is where we need your input...
Please post your comments!!
1. What are some tips and tricks that help
your family make it through morning and bed-time routine?
2. What choices do you give your children
and what things are non-negotiable?
I for one am going to tone down the options just a bit. We definitely want to teach our children good negotiating skills. Kennedy is already well on her way to being daddy's lil mini-me attorney. But, as John always tells me, "Quit giving them so many options! This is not the Ritz Carlton..." Quite frankly, it's gotten worse with this new work arrangement. And truly...it really doesn't matter if we sleep in until 8:30am. When I get the kids to school, I get them there. Have to admit...I really don't miss walking into that 8:00am leadership meeting at 8:03am pretending I was at another meeting, when secretly my purse is hiding in a cube I passed down the hallway!! ;-) A hard working momma's gotta do, what a hard working momma's gotta do. Well, actually...maybe I do miss it a little...but truly I am definitely making a much bigger impact with my three CRAZIES during this quiet period in my life.
Where is the Lord asking you to minimize the options and noise for your family? Something I have very much appreciated during these last 8 weeks is just being mentally still (a post for another day!). Just to confirm though...this SAHM thing is definitely NOT physically still at all, but there is a different sense of calm to our home for at least 30 minutes or so a day...which is much better than the 0 minutes from before!
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