Yearly Archives: 2010

Flotsam / Jetsam

A problem mostly of my own making

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We have a problem. Poppy has been getting up every night at 2am and climbing into bed with us. This all started when she had a nightmare a few weeks ago, and Rockford told her that she could come into our room if she was scared. A few days later, I reiterated that promise. And now, I have a wiggly child next to me every single night.

I asked her two days ago why she was coming into our room every night. “Because I love you,” she said. It’s hard to argue with that, but that really isn’t why we started our open-door policy. I don’t think she’s had any more nightmares. I think she’s just waking up at 2 and deciding she’d like a change of scenery.

Last night I let her lay there for about an hour, and then I tried to pick her sleeping self up to carry her back to her room.

“Mommy!” she said so suddenly and clearly that I wonder whether she was asleep at all. “I don’t want to sleep in my bed. I don’t like to sleep all alone.”

I took her to her room anyway, and I laid down with her for a few minutes. Then I kissed her head, turned on her radio and told her to go to sleep.

When I woke up this morning, there she was next to me.

Now, Rockford was the first one to suggest she could come in to our room at night. But I’m pretty sure this is my fault anyway. I can’t sleep when Rockford’s out of town, so I scoop Poppy up and snuggle with her. Otherwise it’s 3am before I’m asleep. And I don’t function well on limited sleep.
But I think the first step is to stop scooping her up when he’s out of town. Other than that, though, I don’t have a clue as to how to keep her in her own room.

Do you?

Family matters

In retrospect, rocks and sticks are pretty great

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Works-for-Me WednesdayYoungMe always got the same response when I told my mom I was bored: “Only boring people get bored. When I was a kid, all we had to play with were rocks and sticks, and we were happy that way.” (seriously). Poppy has only recently started telling me that she’s bored, and I have tried very hard not to tell her to go play with rocks and sticks. Instead, I usually tell her that if she’s lost interest in the 10 million toys in her bedroom, I will help her pack them up to take to a child who will enjoy them. The threat usually results in a teen-worthy rolling of the eyes from her, but she does generally find something to do.

I tell you this because today’s theme at Works for Me Wednesday is “Mom, I’m Bored – Summer Edition.” I’m not great at having on-the-fly ideas for entertaining the small folks. Here are a few things, though, that I have turned to in the past:

  • Spoons, cups, small toys and a big bowl of water. I haven’t actually done this in awhile, but it’s a nice diversion for a hot day.
  • Art time. The kids love art of all kinds. The simplest for me is setting them loose on their chalkboard, but their favorite is probably painting.
  • Story time. We usually have a chapter book in progress, and Poppy is almost always willing to cuddle up for some reading.

    • I’ve focused on Poppy here, because Pete is 2 and a half. That means he doesn’t have time to be bored. He’s far too busy scrappin’ and yellin’ and mixin’ it up.

    In other news, I have a problem. It is almost entirely of my own making, and I’m not sure how to fix it. Your input would be appreciated. Please click here to read all about my (in the scheme of things, rather insignificant) plight.

    Eating

    The daring adventures of a rib connoisseur

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    I called my dad moments after I saw the Burger King marquee advertising their newest offering. They’re making ribs now — flame-broiled, presumably — and there’s nothing Dad loves more than ribs.* He’s been keeping a list of his top rib spots for the last several years,** and considering that he orders ribs whenever they’re on the menu, it’s pretty hard to get on the list. The man knows ribs, and he isn’t afraid to eat them in the most questionable of environments. And ribs from a fast-food joint? I’d say that qualifies as questionable.

    So I called to ask him to try the BK ribs and report back, so I could share his opinion of them with you. I was not at all surprised to learn that they were already on his itinerary. Here’s what he had to say:

    They’re tasty, but they’re a little pricey. They don’t taste like fast food ribs, like you would expect, but they’re pretty tasty. I was surprised. They’re little short things — only about 2 bites on ’em. You get six of them for $7.50. I was impressed, but I doubt if I’d buy any more because they cost too much. I can go to a restaurant and get more ribs than that and get french fries and a salad, too.

    I was surprised to hear that they weren’t all that bad, even though they certainly weren’t list-worthy. I wondered if maybe Dad was just giving them extra points just for being ribs, but this guy had pretty much the same take on them. Thanks for the report, Dad! Your culinary bravery is impressive.

    *Excepting, perhaps, his children, his backyard and his motorcycle. Perhaps.

    ** Well, he’s been making me keep the list for him. It’s over there in the sidebar. In the event you can’t see that, though: