Listen To Your Body!

Putting my kids to bed is always filled with some kind of drama.  Whether it's the brushing the teeth, the reading of the thousand books, the lights, or the repeated I need waters.   It's always something.

But last night, we got a little surprise drama that we didn't expect.

We had just put our four year old son in bed and were about to breath a sigh of relief when we heard that dreaded door open and those little footsteps coming towards our room.

"I can't sleep!"

"Go back to bed."  Take son to bed, put him in, kiss him goodnight.

Five minutes later.  Door, footsteps, "I can't sleep!"  Take him to bed,  kiss him goodnight.

Another five minutes, same thing. "I can't sleep!"

"This is the last time I'm telling you, go back to sleep!"  

"But I can't sleep!"

Then I thought I would try something new.

"You know what, you say you can't sleep but if you listen to your body carefully you'll hear that your body is telling you that it's tired.  Like right now, you see how you keep yawning?  That's your body telling you that you want to sleep!  You need to listen to your body.  Now, go back to bed."

He looked at me for a few minutes and thought about what I said.  Then he turned around and went back to his room.  

I'm so clever I thought to myself.  I reasoned him back to bed!  Yeah for me.

But five minutes later, we heard the familiar sounds again- door, footsteps, and then:

"Mommy, my body is telling me that I need to sleep in your bed for a little bit!"

"What?  I told you not to come out here again?"

"But you told me to listen to my body and my body is telling me that I need to sleep in your bed for a little bit!"

"GO BACK TO BED!"

Then my son starts crying and saying the following repeatedly, 

"but...my...body...is...telliinnng...me...(sniff sniff) that...I.need to sleep in your bed for a little (loud crying with lots of tears for the finally!) BIT!!!"

I start laughing hysterically.  I can't stop.  I'm shaking I'm laughing so hard.  I lift him up and carry him back to his bed all the while still laughing (as he's crying and telling me about his body's need to sleep in our bed).

I kiss him goodnight.

That's the last we hear from him until morning.  

I guess his body didn't need to sleep in our bed after all!

Facebook Status Intimidation

I've recently had a really hard time coming up with witty status updates on Facebook.

I don't know why but I've developed a phobia of the status function.  I used to post stuff all the time....Anastasia is:

...going to the park with her boys.

...wonders when this rain is going to end.

...loves watching the boys on their bicycles. 

...is so excited to go on her girls night out!

and I thought these were great.  But then slowly over time I started to notice how funny and witty other people's status' were.

Those few sentences delighted, entertained or informed everyone.  They were great observations or funny commentaries on life.  Mine, not so much.  I suddenly realized how totally ordinary my status updates were.  I started posting less and less of them.  I just couldn't think of anything that could compare.  I stood on the sidelines and watched the few active status updaters gets more prolific.  One was better than the next until suddenly it was like a status update play off ever time I got on.

How could I compete with that?  

I get on and think, come on, you can do it!  Be funny, be witty, be edgy!

Anastasia is...

-out of things to say.

-doesn't give a rat's bum what anyone else is.

-wishes she could say something that was even mildly amusing.

-wonders how she could possibly join tweeter when the Facebook status is already way too intimidating.

Nahhhhh!  I don't think I'll try any of these.

Maybe I'm not intimidated.  Maybe I'm just over the whole Facebook thing.  It could happen, right?

Dinner Time Laughs

"I said it's dinner time." I tell him for the millionth time.


No movement from the four-year-old on the couch.


"Come to the table now!"


Nothing.


"OK, I'm going to count to three - one, two..."


He comes running to his chair. Thank goodness the one-two-three thing still works. The punishment if I get to three is sitting on the stairs for four minutes. Not that painful but he still hates it and will generally comply with my demands if he things I'm serious about the "stairs."


So he's finally at the table for dinner. But he's not happy about it.


"I'm not hungry!" He declares.


"That's fine, you don't have to eat but you will have to stay at the table while mommy, daddy and B (baby brother) are finished eating!" I say authoritatively.


He starts to eat.


I'm smiling inside. I'm so proud of myself for sticking to my guns and making sure he follows the dinner rules. Then suddenly he says to himself.


"Grown ups are so boring!"


Now I'm laughing OUT LOUD.


If he thinks we're boring at four years old, what is he going to think of us when he's a teenager?