Tuesday, February 15, 2011

From Messes to Laughs: Surviving Sickness

An undisclosed rule of parenting I have learned is when I am sick, and in desperate need of restful sleep, my kids will wake up all.night.long.

So my house will look like this by 8 am the next morning because I am too tired to get off the couch.



And the kiddos will engage in all sorts of naughtiness because, inevitably, their energy levels will have increased dramatically due to lack of sleep.




By 9 am I will be ready for naptime.  They will not be.  I will put on their favorite show and try to doze as they are entertained.

For lunch, they will eat something simple as I prepare some sort of crock-pot meal (usually a soup) for dinner .  Upon completion of the meal and meal prep, they will be put down for naps.  And I will pray it lasts a l-o-n-g time.

Unfortunately, when they wake up there will still be four unfilled hours of which to survive until bedtime.

So we will take a walk to the library to return overdue books.

Voila! Soon it is bedtime.  With faces scrubbed clean, bedtime books read, and prayers offered, the kids are placed in their soft cribs for a nighttime slumber.

P.S. Dear children, please, please, don't wake up tonight.  I'm not sure you--or I--will survive another day like this.

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20 comments:

  1. Oh, it is so sweet to read that others have these days, too...I felt, for a minute, like I was there on your couch looking at my own house/children...I do hope (for your sake) they slept well and that you feel better soon!

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  2. Oh goodness, my house looks the same. I did dishes but there are so many dirty ones you can't even tell. I need to sort and put away the clean laundry today before my kids mix it back in with the dirty stuff. And we've been stuck indoors forever! If you lived close by we could get together and let our kids wear each other out. :)

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  3. I love this. THIS is motherhood people!

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  4. http://kristen-enjoyingeverymoment.blogspot.com/2...


    I HATE that moms get no rest when they are sick. And I'm starting to feel sick, and Luke has woken up the past 2 nights - it's been lovely.



    Good luck with the sleeping thing!!

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  5. Oh man, so sorry. Sometimes we moms need like a week to just sleep. Good luck.

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  6. Oh my.. That seems a little exhausting Amber.. Hope you are feeling ok.. and that the little ones sleep! :) They are soo adorable.. Love the pictures.

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  7. Oh, feel better! Our house is the same - and why why why do they wake up when you need sleep desperately?

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  8. Get well soon!

    And more sleep, I hope...

    Jack is on an anti-nap, stay-up-late rampage, and no one at our house is sick. Think that means it's permanent?

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  9. Uh, this is what my house looks like when I'm NOT sick. Am I doing something wrong?

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  10. Yes, I support you and your parenting. A walk to the library? The PERFECT way to kill the hours before bedtime.



    And you are so blessed to have a two-year old that naps. You have my envy.



    Today (and yesterday... and Monday, ahem) I put on _How to Train Your Dragon_, neglected to push stop and allowed it to stay on for 2 1/2 show cycles. Because I'm sick and desperate for a nap after how much I've been up at night the last, well, 8 months.



    I hope you get better!

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  11. Amber, please feel better soon! It always seems like children get more energy especially when their Mommy's are sick...

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  12. Oh my, if you are still sick PLEASE email me. I will bring you soup. I'm serious.

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  13. Oh lady. I wish I could come get your littles and let you get some real rest. And maybe have a cleaning party after your nice long nap.

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  14. Seeing the pictures, I just had to laugh. Oh, I remember these days! (I won't tell you that with teens around and a tired parent, it doesn't look that much different.)



    Hoping you feel better soon!

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  15. Those kinds of days are so hard. Crossing my fingers that all of you will get enough sleep!

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  16. Om Friday, I let my older two run around with markers (which ended up lidless, naturally) while the baby napped just so I could rest on the couch. I really didn't care about magenta or lilac getting on the walls and couches. This momma needed rest! Hope you are getting some of that this weekend, too.

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  17. Been there! That stuff makes the kids happy when they are little!

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  18. Ha! Love that you shared that pic. Can't get more REAL than that! I hope things have improved and you're getting the rest you need. Take care, lady! :-)

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  19. Fantastic! It looks just like mine - well, better than mine, but I'll pretend. Love the adorable red-headed ornament on the bookshelf :).

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