It's Come Down to This

It all started about a month ago when Thing 1 and Thing 2 discovered the joy that (apparently) is playing underneath the fitted sheets on their beds. Personally, I have never tried this, so I wouldn't know whether or not it's fun. They, however, were in complete agreement.

Night after night, we would find their toys still underneath there long after the boys had fallen fast asleep. If a car had gone missing, it was usually under the sheet. Occasionally, we even found one (or both) of them asleep on top of the mattress but under the fitted sheet.

Cute.

This fun-with-the-beds activity has matured and advanced during the last week, however. The boys activated their wonder twin powers of naughtiness and started moving the mattresses off of the bed frames and into places that allowed for better jumping and sliding.

The hubby and I were not too thrilled with this, envisioning limbs stuck in bed slats and other grave injuries. So we quickly set to work disciplining the munchkins and convincing them that the fun that ensues is not worth suffering the consequences.

We started with sitting in the corner. They cried. They wailed. They said they wouldn't move the beds again. You know what else they did? They moved the beds.

Next we took most of their toys from their room. They screamed. They begged for the return of their toys. They understood that they could earn their toys back by not moving the beds again. Guess what? They moved the beds.

After that, we took ALL the toys from their room (including the beloved Yellow & Blue, blankets and pillows). They cried. They wailed. They pleaded for their stuff back. They said they wouldn't move the beds again. They moved the beds.

This time, Daddy gave them each a spanking. They wept. They were beside themselves with grief. They said they were sorry. They promised to be good. And then...they moved the beds.

And so this brings us to yesterday afternoon. Daddy was cleaning downstairs. Mommy had had enough.

What did they do at naptime? They moved the beds.

So what did I do? I moved the beds. Out of their room. There was much weeping and gnashing of teeth. And naps were taken on the floor of a very empty room. I then spent much of their naptime fixing the problem the only way I knew how:

I DUCK-TAPED THE MATTRESSES TO THE BED FRAME.

And, boy, was that a bigger workout than I had anticipated. I was sweaty and cranky by the time all was said and done. But you know what? Last night...they didn't move their beds. Today at naptime...they didn't move their beds.

Now, it is a little bit hard to get the sheets on and looking nice...but I am pretty sure we will live. But I can't believe it had to come to this.

uh oh!

it's official, shorty is on the move!

i wandered off to do something with his older brothers as usual. when i came back into the room where i had left him, he was in a strange location. how did he get there?

so i turned him around &, sure enough, he started sliding across the floor in search of toys.


he is lacking a little bit in style, honestly. but it is strangely reminiscent of his big brother n's early method.


it might morph into something classier, but for the moment that's not my biggest concern.

my biggest concern is that now, i not only have 3 children under 3 years old (all still in diapers, mind you)...i have 3 MOBILE children all under 3 years old.

life just got a lot more complicated.

How is God Revealing His Heart to You...

...through Your Journey of Motherhood?

This is the question I had the privilege of addressing this Mother's Day (along with my amazing friend Christina) during our worship service. I thought I'd share my answer with you and I hope that you will share your own answer with me by leaving a comment.


-->

Before preparing what I wanted to say today, I thought I should take a look at my day-to-day life and see what I could learn. As a mom of 3 boys under 3 years old, I talk in short little bursts of two to three words at a time. I discovered that I spend a lot of my time every day saying things like:

· stop that

· calm down

· stop whining

· use your words

· just wait

· it’s alright

· you’ll be okay

· shhh

· stop

· relax

· take a deep breath

· settle down

I don’t like to shout over the commotion., I try to wait for the boys to calm down and be still so we can put on shoes, change dirty diapers, solve a conflict, or whatever it is that seems to be causing stress at that moment.

How often do I wish my children would settle down and just trust that I know what I’m doing; that I have their best interest at heart; that I am not going to hurt them. Instead they fight, they scre4am, they hit, they run away, they cry and whine, they insist on being independent and trying to do it themselves. It’s like thye don’t understand that I just want to take care of them – that it really is better to have a clean diaper than to continue to wear a nasty one, that medicine may taste bad but it will help them to feel better, that it is much safer to get in the car than to play in the parking lot, that peas really are better than cookies for dinner, that I’m not going to drop them, that when I tell them not to touch the stove it’s because it’s hot and they’re going to get burned.

Even when they don’t listen, when they touch that hot stove and burn their hands, I’m there taking care of them – comforting them in their hurt. I know which medicines to use and how to put on a Band aid just right. They just have to trust me to do it.

I find myself saying over and over, “Shhh…be still. Mommy’s here.”

That sounds very similar to what God says to us in Psalm 46:10: Be still and know that I am God.

How often do I wish that I could just be still and trust that God knows what He’s doing, that He has what is best for me, that He wants to take care of me, that even the small things are things that matter to Him, that He’s got my back, that His grace is sufficient for me, that He ahs a plan for my life that is better by far than my own plan (even though it may be different).

There are so many different places in my daily life where I struggle to be still and to trust in Him. Day in and day out I fill my mind with things other than the word of God, things that can stand in the way of developing a closer relationship to Him. I place my confidence in things other than Him – my own abilities or finances, my husband, my friends, or my plans. I allow my emotions to dictate my actions, affect my decisions, or even justify inappropriate behavior. I let daily activities like laundry or dishes keep me away from quiet time with God.

God is saying to me, Meg:

· stop that

· calm down

· stop whining

· just wait

· it’s alright

· you’ll be okay

· shhh

· stop

· relax

· take a deep breath

· settle down

We moms are really good at calming down our little ones and taking care of them. Sometimes we forget that we need to stop trying to work everything out for ourselves in our lives. We need to sit down and be still, trust Him, and know that He’ll take care of it.

is it wrong?

Is it wrong that since my last post the moses basket has become my new best friend?

Not only will Little Britches sleep soundly in it for at least 2 hours twice a day, he is also content to just lie in it for unspecified amounts of time while I:

• do the laundry
• take a shower
• give his brothers a bath
• wash the dishes
• surf the internet
• update my facebook status

I can carry him from one room to another and pile the basket high with all the other things I would normally have to make several rips to get.

It is the perfect "chair" for the Little One, too, since he can be propped up against the edges (he normally throws himself violently to the floor when sitting upright). He is contained if he does decide to no longer sit, so I don't have to fear toys with tiny parts or stray craisins on the floor.

In short, it is the best babysitter I ever bought at Goodwill for under $3 and I highly recommend it. I wonder if it would work on the twins?

**disclaimer, this post was going to be some long and rambling parody of Keats' "Ode on a Grecian Urn" but I thought better of forcing English teacher humor on the blogosphere. You can thank me later (cookies, for example, would be a great way to thank me)**

swaddle twaddle

twaddle
1. -noun- trivial, feeble, silly, or tedious talk or writing
2. -verb- to talk in a trivial, feebly, or silly manner; prate

Looking for a clever title for this post, I learned a new word. And I love it. Since I participate in it all the time. This post will be no exception.

We've been having a rough go if it lately in the madhouse in terms of naptime and Shorty. Naptime and his big brothers is a story for another post entirely, so we'll stick to the little one. He's my Good Sleeper. He's my Mellow Man. He's my Easy Baby.

But, Houston, we have a problem. He cannot, will not, sleep unswaddled.

I love swaddlers. Not just swaddling with a blanket like they do at a hospital, but really using velcro to turn sleeping babes into burritos.

I used swaddlers on the twins forever. They were so happy to be snug and slept soundly while swaddled. When they got bigger, they started busting out in the middle of the night. they would end up with one or both hands free and manage to put themselves back to sleep without issue. (Or as was the case in this photo, one would use his free limb to beat his brother). The transition from burrito boys to free men was a smooth path for them.

And since it was about the only thing smooth about their infancy, I naively assumed that my Easy Baby would also make a seamless transition at around the same age.

(Do you hear that laughter? That's God -- he really enjoys practical jokes)

The little one is a worm. A flip-flopper. A roly poly.

Within seconds of being placed on the floor, he's squirming everywhere. And, apparently, being bound tightly with fleece and velcro is not enough to stop him. The problem with this is that he ends up face planted in the mattress without his arms free to help him get to a comfortable and safe position, which means no nap or night is filled with sound sleep. He flips over and screams his fool head off until someone comes to the rescue.

Fantastic.

Clearly, we need to make the switch to sleeping unswaddled. Clear to me. Clear to you. Not so clear to Captain Wiggles.

Not only does he not like to FALL asleep unswaddled, he also WAKES UP shortly after said sleep has been accomplished because *gasp* his arm moved.

Needless to say, this has been fun and games for all of us. My Easy Baby has been known as Mr. Cranky Pants around our house lately. Somebody help me! Finally...finally...after a week of crying and wakeful nights, he has managed to go to and stay asleep at night. It's dark. It's quiet. He's got it figured out.

Nap time, however, has been a nightmare. Over an hour to accomplish a fitful sleep state that lasts, on average 30 minutes. This is not acceptable to me.

I did have an epiphany this weekend, though. While refilling the diaper stacker, I saw the much loved but mostly unused for the past 5 months moses basket. Why was it much loved? It was snuggley and he would lie content in it for hours and often sleep.

Stop right there. Back up. Let's look at that again.

"he would lie CONTENT...and often SLEEP" in the basket.

Brilliant! I pulled it out and put it in his crib. Now at nap time, he sleeps unswaddled -- and not rolling over -- in the moses basket.

And there was much rejoicing.