Bedtime routine update:

Well, last night did not go exactly as planned but it was a step in the right direction.

I got home from a meeting & Jake tells me that Jace stuck something in his ear. Well, CRAP! So I start questioning him & he says it hurts "weally weally bad mama, right here" (points at right ear). Well my mom just so happened to be working last night (she's a nurse) so I took him down to the hospital & had her look. Indeed he has a bulging ear drum and it was bright red. I contemplated taking him over to the E.R. & checking him in, but they had just received patients that were in a roll over accident. So I came home, grabbed Brily & headed up to Urgent Care.

I really was really impressed with how quickly they got us in & out, they were all business no waiting! Brily has had the same symptoms minus the ear pain & I assumed it was viral. I went ahead and took him because if it was not viral I would need medicine for him as well. Well luckily it was just viral on Brily's part. But, poor Jacer boy has a bulging ear drum & an bad ear infection. The doctor asked me if he got them frequently & he doesn't. This is actually his first ear infection, she said it did not look good. They filled his Rx there & gave him his first dose, we loaded up and headed home. It took us longer to drive to UC than to be seen.

So on the way home I called Jake & told him to get the bath water ready. We got home & instantly put the boys in the tub. Jake bathed them while I made something quick to eat since we didn't have a very big dinner, only a snack before we left. I could not send them to bed hungry. They ate, we brushed teeth & took medicines. Then for the fun part, they were in bed at 9:40p and they were NOT pleased with the fact that they were not getting to watch a movie. I knew they were both sleepy because they had played hard that day & they only slept for maybe 10 minutes in the car. I couldn't really control that, no matter how hard I tried if they want to sleep they do. So I kissed them goodnight & left the room, with in minutes someone had to "potty." After a little chat to inform them that if they did get out of bed again, they would be in trouble. Well it wasn't 10 minutes & the door was opened again. Jace was up playing & had the light on. So he had to face the consequences, he was not pleased, he did stay in bed though. Just a few minutes later Brily got up & had the light on. (I left the t.v. on the blue screen for a night light until I could get to the store to get a different one.) Poor B, sometimes he is so afraid of the dark & I am pretty certain he has bad dreams. So when I open the door he instantly started crying, I didn't have the heart to spank him. I just told him that he needed to get into bed & that he was fine, brother was right there.

At that point I needed to get in the shower, it was 10:30p. I was in there probably 10 minutes & when I got out they were asleep!! YAY! I didn't have to cave & turn on the T.V. & it only took one warning & getting onto each of them once for a success! (Yes, I call last night a success! No T.V. was in itself a success!!!) They still slept pretty late today Jace was up at 10:30a & B was up at 30 minutes later, I blame the daylight savings for that.

Let me tell you though, their mood is 110% better, they are actually snuggling right now in the recliner watching a episode of Astro boy. Much nicer than them trying to strangle each other. Jace did get into a little mischief today, he decided to grab a permanent marker that I didn't have put up & jazz himself up a bit. He also colored on a piece of paper & hang it proudly on the refrigerator. Haha! I couldn't really get on to him, he was more upset that I wouldn't wash it off of him. He also colored his nails & if you know Jace he is ANTI-nail polish. So I teased him a bit about being a girl with painted nails (even though he looks Gothic with black nails haha!).

So one step in the right direction! Hopefully tonight will go just a little better & I will be pleased :)

Sleep... It's a hott mess...

The boys have always been very good sleepers, I cannot remember a time that they wouldn't just lay down & sleep. We have never had to "Cry it out" or anything like that. And they LOVE to sleep, even as wee babes they would sleep many hours, wake-up, eat & straight back to sleep.

Here a while back we allowed the boys to have a T.V. in their room to watch before bed. (I assume problem 1) We only let them watch about 30 minutes during the day but at night before bed they can watch a movie. (And please for the sake of all that is good and wonderful do NOT lecture me on how a T.V. will fry my kids brain! If you know these two you have seen the wild imagination they have, they are not one bit behind.) We also use it for night light purposes- I know that any night light that would be plugged in would be throughly examined & little fingers would probably be black from electrical shock. Most of the time, if he didn't have a 4 hour nap from 5-9PM B would fall asleep rather quickly. J on the other hand does not, he watches the entire movie. (See: PROBLEM) Then he will come in & ask us to change the movie that is over.

We have never been real strict with a bed time routine... EVER! I stay home with them so we would put them to bed whenever we went to bed & they would wake me up in the morning. And it never failed, every single Sunday morning, it's like they know Jake is home & they wake up at 8am just to aggravate him. We do not have a "set" bedtime or a routine really. We put on nighties (read:overnight diaper), brush teeth, take vitamins & allergy medicine, give kisses, start movie & they hop into bed lights out.

As of right now they do not nap, why do they need to when they sleep 10-12 hours a night. I would though like to implement a "rest time" of some sort. Again, with a newborn it is going to be wild crazy. I think it would be good for them to have time to chill & myself as well. And NO they do not have to sleep, but they would need to play quietly in their room and chill out for a while. No longer than 30 minutes if they are not asleep & they would be woke up after an hour & a half. I cannot do the 4 hour naps RIGHT before bed time.

Sure, while it is all unicorns & daisies to sleep in until 11am, but I was up until after 2am trying to get the little monkeys to calm down, lay down & relax. It's like up, down, up, down, door open, slam door, door open, "mommy, I gotta potty," back to bed, door open, light on, tv up, "mommy, I have to poo," back to bed, light on, jumps on bed, light off... It's a never ending vicious cycle for hours. Ending in me having to be a mean Momma & get on to them. Then I was up umpteen MILLION times to pee. The inner insomniac in me has trouble going back to sleep after I up. Also, we really need to be getting to bed earlier, my dear sweet husband has to be up early & going fighting with the boys is normally left up to me for the most part. It does make it really hard for him to get up the next morning at 5:30a to go to work when he doesn't fall asleep until after midnight.

So today we are on "No Nap Status" I am gong to take them to the park and wear their little hineys out. And hopefully implement the following night night schedule. I am also going to implement new "rule/consequences" and "daily schedule."

1. Start at 9:00p
2. Brush teeth & take medicines
3. Use potty & put on "night pants"
4. Tucked into bed by 9:30p

Simple enough, Right?! We are going to have to quit the movies cold turkey. I think it will mysteriously break tonight-wish me luck. I do need to get a very kid friendly night light that they hopefully will not bother.

I am not one for big change & I am not good about making a schedule & sticking to it. Hopefully this works, we really REALLY need it to. Both boys have been in terrible moods today are absolute bears! J has thrown numerous fits, hitting brother, etc. B has spilled a whole box of spaghetti in the floor, stolen toys, beat his brother with the fly swatter & they have only been up for like an hour.

I never claimed we were normal, sane, or functional. We are what we are... borderline side show. All we need is a talking dog & one 6 legged cat. (**Side Note: I did see the CUTEST 2 legged chihuahua on television last night. My heart almost exploded it was so freaking cute. It just bunny hopped around on it's back feet. Jake could tell I was totally googly over the silly think and make it clear that I was indeed delusional if I ever thought we were getting another animal. HA!)

And they are at it again, fighting over a Happy meal toy. Evidently it is time to load up & head out!!! Hopefully they cheer up, especially Jace, he is his mother all over again, such a morning person. Well, forget I ever said that last little bit.