Bedtime Roulette

By 5pm last night I had two very exhausted kids. As I watched June Bug's head bob at the dinner table I pondered putting him to bed at 5:30.  Several people have texted and facebooked to see if it backfired on me. Yes, yes it did.  And frankly, I think it's because he should have gone to bed at 5. Seriously.

By 5:55pm all was perfectly quiet and two kids were sleeping...stupid, stupid me.

6:15pm would commence with an overtired June Bug wailing about how he was tired while I begged him to "please cry quietly so you don't wake Lady Bug".  By all means laugh.  It might be the most unrealistic and ridiculous thing I've ever asked of my toddler.

6:40pm all is quiet again.

3:45am Wailing June Bug because "piggy [piglet] is scary" only to be soothed by snuggles, aka holding mom in a headlock.

Luckily Lady Bug had the courtesy to wait until 4am to wake up. June Bug whined a little upon my departure, but apparently found something else to snuggle with, his underwear. Obviously, I mean who doesn't love a good snuggle with their Sesame Street intimates? Why the he!! 8 pairs of underwear were in bed with him to begin with is beyond me. How I failed to notice until 7am is another story...

::sobs::

You know those parenting days that make you want to throw in the towel and run screaming...without your 35lb double jogging stroller?  If you're a parent, I know you've had them, more than once. Or you're Angelina Jolie and have 2:1 nanny-kid ratio and a private jet to the Caribbean when you need it.  Yesterday was particularly tough and I'm sure I cried at least 4 times.
And then this happened, completely unprompted:

And I cried again. I don't even remember why it was a bad day.  ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤

Peace or Punishment?

As the weather finally cools off, I've seen a lot of posts and blogs about running. Some friends are doing big firsts and others are starting new programs. Both they and my kids have inspired me to run a little further and a little harder.

I have always thought the feeling of my feet hitting the pavement is therapeutic. Then I had two kids.  It's still therapeutic; but not in the mind-clearing-enjoy-the-outdoors sort of way but rather the I-will-get-rid-of-this-baby-weight-and-I-will-not-let-my-toddler-push-me-over-the-edge-dear-God-how-can-I-occupy-30-60-minutes-to-bed-time sort of way.

Because this:

= a desperation run

Desperation run:  we're going outside, you're sitting in the stroller and you're going to like it

It's a run. It's outside. It's that moment where running 4 miles while pushing 75+ pounds is easier than rationalizing with two children loudly declaring the end-of-the-world. It's peaceful and relaxing, not the torture it might seem.

See, they're happy......and my view is quiet pleasant. 

And by my definition it's quiet.  Quiet as in no one's crying. I'm not sure I know what silence is anymore. Lady Bug has found her voice and spends 90% of the run shrieking with glee.  Meanwhile June Bug has apparently decided he's my running coach. I am the comic relief to every jogger, biker and walker that passes us, as this little but LOUD voice commands "Run mama, run, no es fast, run please!"

I am running you little punk. ::sigh::  As he's clearly pointed out, I won't be setting any records in the near future, but at least my sanity is still in tact...I think.

Lesson Learned: I have no idea what I'm doing

If you're anti-sleep training you should probably to stop reading here. 

Though I will say this is not advice and I am in no way, shape, or form qualified to give sleep advice. This past weekend I learned I'm not even qualified to give myself sleep advice. Seriously, I have no idea what I'm doing. 

First-Time-Mama-Bug: No way, no how, I will NOT let my kid cry to sleep.  

By 7 months I read every sleep book there was and settled on something resembling the infamous Ferber technique, you know, the one that destroys lives.   One night and less than 10 total minutes of crying, June Bug realized I called his bluff and went to sleep.  Yeah, we had it pretty easy there AND I'm pretty sure June Bug still loves me...except when he's having a massive, mom-hating, meltdown...thank you terrible two's.

Second-Time-Mama-Bug: Obviously I am going to sleep-train Lady Bug as soon as she is deemed "age appropriate," (lest I start a mother-mud-slinging-battle).  After 12w of brutal colic and the daily nap battles we'd been fighting, I was ready and armed to get this girl to sleep! 

A glutton for punishment, I sat outside her room chanting: Don't cave mama, don't cave....and I waited, and waited, and waited. I waited for 20 minutes, listening to nothing.  

Abso-freakin-lutely nothing. She was sleeping.  

Night 2, she looked me straight in the eye, smiled, rolled over and went to sleep.   ::nervously looks around for hidden cameras:: I was sure I was being Punk'd.

I have no idea if Lady Bug is actually sleep trained. None. For all I know this is some cruel joke that's going to kick me in the ass next week, especially because I just blogged about it. But for now, I guess I'll enjoy that she's decided beauty sleep is a good thing.

My precocious little anomaly in her lady bug pj's.