It's Spring Break here on Long Island, and all of my boys are home from school. That's right, folks - just me, one middle schooler, three elementary school students, and two babies. Oh, and my mother-in-law, who provides childcare while I work full-time from a home office.
Normally, I enjoy these breaks. After all, I'm not, nor have I ever been, a morning person, so it's quite a treat for me not to have to drag myself out of bed at some ungodly hour to get my oldest to school for his myriad early-morning activities. (No, he never walks in the morning. Yes, I realize that the middle school is reasonably close to us, and that I walked to middle school every single day. This subject is fodder for a future blog.) I also enjoy not rushing back, shuffling babies, convincing three additional children to get out of bed, brush their teeth, and comb their hair, and then dressing them appropriately (gym 2x/week), making lunch for the PICKIEST KIDS EVER, then driving all three to school, parking three blocks away, and RUNNING to get to the kindergarten door before it shuts and we are officially marked late.
Sample Taken from Report Card:
Times absent: 4
Times late: 31
Yes, I love Spring Break. Usually. This week, though, they have been up later and later, and sleeping later and later, every day. My ideal is to ignore them and have them quietly read in bed with flashlights at night. Unfortunately, my children do not know the meaning of the word "quietly."
Last Night:
1. Family watches "Gulliver's Travels" in Mom's room until 9:30 pm.
2. Mom approves television from 9:30 - 10:00 pm so that she can put the babies to bed in peace.
3. Mom goes downstairs at 10:10 pm and physically removes Wii from living room television. Directs boys upstairs to brush teeth.
4. Mom kisses boys goodnight and begs them to be quiet at 10:15 pm.
5. Baby #1 is asleep; Baby #2 is staring at the evening news, eyes glazed over, about to pass out.
6. BANG! BANG! BANG! on the wall between my room and the boys' room.
7. Baby #2 bolts upright and begins babbling and smiling.
8. Mom ignores wall and prays for silence.
9. Baby #2 falls asleep (10:35 pm).
10. Mom falls asleep (10:40 pm -ish).
11. BANG! BANG! BANG! on the wall.
12. [Loud arguing in the hallway outside the door to my room].
13. Baby #1 sits up in bed (10:55 pm).
14. Mom shhhh's Baby#1 and whisper-yells: "Get back into bed! Be quiet!"
15. Mom falls back to sleep.
16. Mom has awesome dream about a new house with three levels, a jacuzzi tub, and a separate garage that has been converted to an office just for her.
17. Mom is about to step into dream-jacuzzi....
18. BANG! BANG! BANG! on the wall (11:20 pm).
19. Mom morphs into her alter ego, Sleep-Deprived, Evil & Crazy Mom.
20. High-maintenance child asks: "Why are you so mad???"
Needless to say, I was unable to fall back to sleep after the last episode. Sadly, I also never reclaimed my happy place in Deamland. Baby #1 was up at 4:00 am, then when she finally fell back to sleep at 5:30 am, Baby #2 was wide awake and ready to face the day.
Arguably, this has been a rough week. Still, I've managed to gather some tips to salvage what's left of my sanity as well as to ensure that I'm minimally rested and able to make decisions at work the next day. Perhaps they can help you, too. If not, just drop your kids off at my house for a few days. Hey, one of us might as well get some sleep.
Tips for Getting Your Children to Sleep, Thus Increasing Your Own Sleep Time:
1. Wake your children up at the same time every day, even if they have no school. While it's tempting to let them sleep in, all it does is encourage a wide-awake child at their normal bedtime.
2. If you decide to allow them an extra hour on vacations, wake them at their usual time starting two days prior to their return to school. We often do let them stay up later than usual during vacation time, and they enjoy watching wrestling and other shows they normally wouldn't get to watch on school nights. (Yes, I'm one of those Moms.)
3. If your children keep you up late at night in spite of begging, pleading, grounding, removal of electronics and general unpleasantness, bring a wide-awake baby into their room at 6am, briefly baby-proof room, then go back to sleep for a couple of hours. If you don't have a baby or toddler handy, borrow one. I'm sure his/her parents will be happy to loan them out.
4. Allow the occasional sleepover for your most challenging child. While I am usually dead-set against these (again, one of those Moms), I must say that I let my ten-year-old have two sleepovers in the last two months, and both nights, everything was peaceful and I slept like a baby. As did the babies. Hmmmmm...
5. Hide the Doritoes at night. You'd be surprised at the activities these evil chips inspire late at night. Not to mention the morning clean-up.
6. Buy a pair of parakeets and place the cage in close proximity of your children's beds. Do not cover at night. 'Nuff said.
7. Promise them something "special" in the morning if they go right to sleep. In order for this tip to work more than once, you MUST follow through. Do not make empty promises, or this trick will never work again. Ever.
Feel free to share your tips. I can always use a new one.
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