Skip to main content

The anti-napper

I am convinced my son is the anti-napper.
He must be like Oprah and not need much sleep. Most nights I am asleep before him. Currently, let's blame this on the homestretch of pregnancy. During the school year I will blame it on a 5:45 am alarm setting...but I have always needed at least 8 hours. I think toddlers are supposed to need like 12, but O is out to prove them wrong.
I do wake up before him, but only because I tend to wake up when Shaun leaves. Kicking begins, I have to pee and am famished. So I get up and squeeze in 15-20 minutes or reading, blogging or unanimated TV before O rolls out of his bed ( usually still before 8 am) requesting strawberry cow milk and a poptart ( or something equally un-healthy which I will glady give him for another 15-20 minutes of reading, blogging, or brushing my teeth in peace).
Then I spend the next 5+ hours trying to exhaust him so I can get a nap in. I think I can nap while he naps, wake up an hour before he does and get something productive done ( like my lack of a nursury that I have exactly 2 months to get done!).
For example on Wednesday we went to the zoo. Yes, it was triple digits. No, I did not take a stroller. I made my poor son walk ( mostly he ran). We sweated and walked until my back ached. We grabbed a quick bite to eat. I seriously expected him to be out cold before ever getting on I-30. I had much in my favor: heat, lots of sweaty exercize and a decent length car ride home. We get home wide awake ( well O was wide awake NOT ME!). I plopped him on my bed, turned on some cartoons and expected him to be out within 10 minutes. 30 minutes later......when I woke up he was jumping up and down on the bed. He told me it was snack time and asked to go play outside. I was so warn out at this point. NOTHING got done. I planted myself on the couch while he destroyed the house. Leftovers for dinner
Thursday was going to be better.
-Weekly shopping at WalMart ( this alone is enough to wear me out)
-storytime at the local library ( ok, not strenuous, but lots of kids can be draining right....at least for me)
-quick stop at the playground on the way home (it is sooooooo hot).
-play w/ playdo ( took about 3 minutes to mix all the colors together and be bored)
-lunch
-color ( lasted slightly longer than the playdo, and could have gone on for hours had I let him color the furniture and/or floor...i seriously considered this before taking them away)
-was going to try for a nap at 1 but realized he was no where near "rest" ready.
-so we went to the pool.
The pool always does the trick, and this time he did indeed nap...or atleast when I woke up from my quick snooze he was asleep.
Once again I was sooooo exhausted I couldn't do much even after my breif nap.
Leftovers for dinner again. I had meant to pick up the living room .....instead I took O back to the playground while Shaun cleaned.

I am wondering how to exhaust my kid w/out exhausting myself......How many days until school starts? That has to be more relaxing than this.....even 9 months pregnant.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Either/Or

Recently I met an old friend for lunch. He was actually my senior high prom date. He wasn’t just my prom date, but had been my friend for a good part of high school. And our group has mostly stayed in touch through the years. But not him. Even though we live in the same big metroplex, I hadn’t seen him in almost 15 years. At prom, He even won some kind of senior superlative, Mr. BHS or something like that. In other words, he was well-liked, nice, funny and smart. And it helped that he drove a Camero. We didn’t break up or have a falling out. He kind of just disappeared. And not just from me, but from everyone. And I had looked for him. At class reunions. On myspace. And eventually, only about a year ago, he finally showed up on facebook. When he did, I suggested we get together for dinner or something. And he responded with a really awkward email. Explaining that he was gay. Warning me. Trying to let me out of my dinner invitation if I wanted. And I already knew this. Possibly I had ev...

me too

I used to never question God. It was just part of the way things were. Just like I believed in Santa and the tooth fairy and the Easter bunny. And eventually I grew up and started to wonder. I always believed, But occasionally I started to wonder if he was always good. If he really loved me. Singular me rather than an all inclusive version. That he was paying attention. That my prayers mattered.` And I didn’t know that I should play by the rules. That questioning these outloud things in a Bible study or Sunday School class Will get you bumped to the top of the prayer list. Because I know. But sometimes I wonder. And I didn’t need their scripture memory verses or their books or their prayers. (but I guess prayers never hurt) And I was just hoping for someone else to say “me too”. And, Jason Boyett’s book, O Me of Little Faith Is one great big “me too” And like most books I like he asks a whole lot more questions than he answers. Hard ones. Ones without real answers. Ones that make me wa...

Of course I did.

Today I am supposed to be doing my last installment in five for ten and write about "yes". And this is not at all the post I intended. But life sometimes doesn't take the turns we want it to. And yesterday a teacher friend of mine called and told me about a memorial service for one of my former studetns and asked if maybe I would consider saying something. And keep in mind, that as a teacher, I pretty much speak to groups of people all day for a living. But. If I have to say something serious and heartfealt, even to an audience of one, I usually get all mumbly and stare at my shoes and forget what I was going to say. Even though I love this kid....and will miss him terribly I have a hard time imaging myslef on stage talking to an auditorium filled with grief stricken friends and family. I texted another friend about my reservations. And she knows all too well my mumbly shoe staring state. And she replied, "Did you say yes?" Did which I typed back. "of cour...