Friday, March 20, 2009

exhaustion

I thought I knew how it felt to be exhausted. I'm the mother of three young children, all of whom tend to wake at night and crawl into bed with me.

Today I'm feeling the total exhaustion. Not just physically tired but mentally as well. I've been ready to drop since, hmm, this morning? The source of this I know - it's kids. And not just my kids. This week was the first week that I babysat both my nephew and his sister. While they are both very sweet kids, as are my own, the combination of all of them was trying. A lot of it has to do with figuring out a routine and sticking with it.

There are fights over everything - what to eat, what to watch, who gets to play with which baby or toy. Alexa is having to share a lot more than she's used to. Normally her room is off limits for the twins. I set this rule because she needs a space of her own to have her toys that aren't safe for kids under 3. But they were in there a lot as someone was always leaving the door open.

I'm tired of picking up toys, doing dishes, laundry, changing diapers, wiping butts (big and small), cooking food. I'm tired of being a referee and having to constantly stick someone in timeout because they are hitting again. This weekend I'm going to work up a dinner and snack menu. I'm going to come up with an activities list. And I'm going to put both feet down when it comes to quiet time. My friend is a daycare provider and we were lucky to have her watching Alexa for a little over 4 years. I now understand how she treasured her quiet afternoons, even if it was only for an hour. So much can be accomplished in an hour. Heck, just 5-10 minutes of doing nothing can rejuvenate you.

I plan on spending this weekend enjoying my three kids and resting for the week ahead. At least the weather is getting nicer, hopefully we'll be able to take full advantage of that!


2 comments:

Freedom's Thread said...

I'm amazed that you've taken all of this on! If anyone can pull it off it's you! I think putting together a schedule makes sense and it will save you the time to try to make something all can agree on later. Good luck!

Melissa - Andrew's Mommy

Laura said...

Aw, Becca, come on over and I will cook for you!

Jacob's milestones

  • weight/length @ 7: 55.6lbs, 48.75"
  • weight/length @ 5: 42lbs, 43.5"
  • weight/length @ 4: 36 lbs, 39+"
  • weight/length@ 3: 32lbs, 36.5 inches
  • weight/length @ 2 years: 26lbs, 33.5 inches
  • weight/length @ 1 year: 18lbs, 29 inches
  • walking: 11/17/08
  • standing: 3/31/08
  • crawling: army, 2/5/08
  • first time rolling: 9/30/07, belly to back
  • first smile: 9/7/07
  • birth date/time: 7/8/07, 12:49am
  • birth length: 19.5 inches
  • birth weight: 6lbs, 1oz

Elizabeth's milestones

  • weight/length @7: 53lbs, 47.75"
  • weight/length @ 5: 40 lbs, 42.25"
  • weight/length @ 4: 34lbs, 38"
  • weight/length 3 years: 28lbs, 35.5 inches
  • weight/length 2 years: 24lbs, 6oz 33 inches
  • weight/length 1 year: 18lbs, 1oz 27.5 inches
  • walking: 9/1/08
  • standing: 4/4/08
  • crawling: army 3/16/08
  • sitting alone: 2/29/08
  • first time rolling: 11/23/07, back to belly
  • first smile: 9/7/07
  • birth date/time: 7/8/07, 12:50am
  • birth length: 18.75 inches
  • birth weight: 5lbs, 8oz

Alexa's milestones

  • weight/height @ 10 (really 10.8): 186, 5'3"
  • weight/height @ 8.4 years: 113 lbs, 55.5 inches
  • weight/height @ 5 years: 61lbs, 4oz 45.25 inches
  • weight/length @ 4 years: 49lbs, 42 inches
  • weight/length @ 3 years: 38lbs, 38 inches
  • weight/length @ 2 years: 32lbs, 8oz 35.75 inches
  • weight/length @ 1 year: 22lbs, 3 oz 29.5 inches
  • 1st day of preschool: 9/3/08
  • solo somersault: 3/4/08
  • whistling: 3/2/08
  • potty training: 10/7/05
  • walking: 12/21/04
  • standing: 8/23/04
  • crawling: 8/21/04, only a week, then became a butt scoot
  • first wave: 7/27/04
  • rolling: 5/2/04, belly to back
  • sleeping thru the night: 3/1/04
  • first smile: 1/20/04
  • birth date/time: 12/4/03, 10:41pm
  • birth length: 20 inches
  • birth weight: 7lbs