I must admit that I love the spunk my children possess. While some moments leave me wanting to pull my hair out, other times God gives me a fresh sense of humor to sift all their antics through. One of the more entertaining aspects of this age is watching them try to finagle their way out of a tight spot. Oh, the drama! Oh, the placing blame on others!
Three examples from today:
#1-My R is a control freak. He is extremely specific about how he wants things done--not in an OCD way, just in a way that makes it obvious he needs to be in charge. One of the ways that has manifested itself lately is in his bedtime demands. Every night he seems to "need" another lovey (stuffed animal) in addition to the ones he already sleeps with each night. Yesterday, as I was making his bed I counted them and realized we are up to 13, in addition to three pillows and two special blankets. I informed him that from now on he could pick his favorite five each night. There was some push back, but I felt like I had won the battle. Tonight I noticed they were all in his bed again. When I questioned him he said.
"Mommy, dose are left from nap time. Sto-wee (the sitter) doesn't know da rules and she put 'dem in da bed. You need to tell Sto-wee da rules."
Ahem.
#2- We are having a real issue with having to get up with the children in the middle of the night for potty breaks. Each one of them typically wakes up at least once during the night. They will not get out of bed without parental assistance, despite nightlights, so we are up 3 or more times every night. I have been trying to cut back the liquid intake before bed (with limited success). Additionally, our children are BIG milk drinkers and tend to drink so much there is little room left in their tummies for food. So, tonight I laid down the law: no drinks with dinner. Once they had eaten all of their quesadilla, they were allowed a small cup.
P, is our worst offender of the milk-as-primary-source-of-nutrition diet. I promise the child could live on cereal, milk and tostito chips alone...sometimes I think he does. He whined and balked and put on a very dramatic show as he choked and coughed that he "jus' (fake cough)needed (cough cough)some-pin (cough) to wash it down(cough)."
He finally cut the act and started waving his arms over his food like a conductor. P loves music, so I just assumed he was enjoying the tunes playing overhead.
"That's a nice dance, P."
"I not dancin'. I'm jus' twy-in' to make 'dis food disappear."
I admit Daddy & I both almost spit out our food at that response.
#3
Dinner was finished. The table was cleaned up. Coats were donned. We loaded the car, got everyone buckled and drove about a half mile before K says, "I weel-y need to go potty now."
As I bit my tongue, took a deep breath and tried to think about whether we should attempt to make it home or stop, she continued,
"I had to go for a while when we were at dat rest-want, but I didn't tell you."
"Whose fault is that, honey?"
Without missing a beat, "Joke's!"
Ah, Joke...of course!
6 comments:
You are going to be so glad you took the time to write all these memories down. those kids are hilarious.
When my son was 3 he would drink about a gallon of milk a day, seriously, so we made a rule of no milk once it is dark out. It helped him with understanding time and with night time potty breaks.
Gotta love that little Joke, he is quite the character!
I've been reading your blog for some time now, and I just decided I have to leave a comment. I can so relate to you on so many levels.
I have two sets of boy-girl twins. My oldest are turning 4 in January so not too much older than your three. Then my newest set are just 10 months old.
I laugh hysterically so often at your blog entries. Your R, and my son Andrew seem so much alike. The whole following the rules thing is exactly what he's concerned with so much lately, and he also likes to be in control--he gets that from me, and wants to be in charge whenever he and his twin sister play any type of game.
And the whole Joke, imaginary friend thing is hysterical. My two have this imaginary Mini-dina place they talk about all the time, where they have another set of parents that of course allow them to do all the things we don't let them do. They have Mini-dina brothers and sisters, and a red house, and all kinds of quirky stuff. It's hilarious, but we often wonder where this stuff comes from. The imaginations these kids have is just amazing!
Anyways, just wanted to let you know how much fun I have reading your posts, and find it refreshing to know someone else has the same feelings and experiences I do, especially as some experiences are unique to raising multiples!
Heidi in MN
Love reading these stories - it's so interesting to me to see how little ones' minds work!
These stories are so funny! We were having the same potty issue w/ our 3 year old. My husband started taking him to the potty right before we went to bed and it's worked like a charm...he hasn't woken up since! He basically stays asleep and always goes. I know that taking 3 is more work that 1, but it might be worth it for a full nights sleep. Good luck and thanks for being so encouraging.
When my daughter was 2 or 3, she had an imaginary dog named Pepper. Joke reminds me so much of Pepper. I miss the days of imaginary friends!
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