I’ve been MIA from the blogging world because I was on vacation. No, I didn’t go anywhere exotic or do anything earth-shattering. I simply got to spend an entire week with Dr. Phil at home with us! Hooray! We got to do all kinds of fun stuff. We worked on the landscaping in our front yard, and it already looks so much better. I’ll be sure and post pictures once we get everything planted and exactly how we want it. We made a trip to the local Children’s Museum and had a picnic lunch. We visited a state museum on our alma mater campus and got to meet up with my sister, her kiddos, Philip’s mom, and his little sister. We had two weddings, and Janie loved seeing the “princesses” in their beautiful gowns. We went with our playgroup to the zoo and had lunch by the seals. My high school World Religions teacher was in town for a conference, and we were able to have him over for brownie sundaes. What’s cooler than watching one of your heroes color with your daughter at the dining room table? I can’t think of what else we did off the top of my head, but it was a fun whirlwind of a week with plenty of family time. I’m sad to see it go, but it’s nice to be back to my regular routine. I had let the housework and cooking get away from me (and we know how THAT stresses me out!), so I’ve had a busy day getting back on track.
As I mentioned in a previous blog post, I’m currently re-reading “The Happiest Toddler on the Block.” Part of Dr. Karp’s strategy for raising a happy toddler is spotlighting the good that they’re doing. One strategy is creating what he calls a “star chart.” You pick three behaviors to focus on (two that the toddler is already doing and one to work on). Then, sit down when they’re calm and explain that they’re doing a great job at the two things and say you’d like to help them work on the third. Let the toddler know that they’ll get a star each time they do any of the three things. Draw out the chart, allow the child to decorate it and pick out the stickers to make it their chart. Display the chart where everyone can see it, gossip about their success, give bonus stars for extra cooperation, get your child’s input for special rewards for every ten stars. Redo the chart every few weeks and add new behaviors.
Since praise is very effective with Jane, I decided to create “Janie’s Sticker Chart.” The two things that she does well already are sharing with Walt and waiting. The third thing that we’re going to work on is allowing Mom and Dad to put in her eye drops everyday. (Unfortunately, Jane inherited her mom’s “lazy eye.” It might be a cool party trick when you can control it like I can, but Jane can’t, and she needs these drops to blur the vision in her strong eye and strengthen the muscles in her “lazy” eye.)
We made the sticker chart this morning together while Walt took his morning nap. Janie helped me pick out the images online for the different tasks, and we drew up a chart on Microsoft Word. She retrieved it from the printer and helped me to put it on the refrigerator. She is sooooooo excited about her chart, and she gets a big thrill out of putting her selected Sesame Street stickers up for her achievements. It’s pretty darn cute watching her puff out her chest and point at her accumulated stars for waiting, sharing, and putting in eye drops.
Here’s the chart:
Hopefully the sticker chart continues to be a smashing success, and we’ll be able to go out for ice cream as a family when Janie gets 10 stars. C’mon, Janie! Mama loves ice cream as much as you do!
Happy 4th Anniversary, Philip! How has it already been 4 years since that special day?!
Reading the card Philip sent me before the wedding
Me and my sister
The girls
Flowers unite!
Love this picture
Me, my sisters, and my goddaughter
My aunt gave me her wedding dress. I had a few alterations done to make it my own. Isn’t it beautiful? What an awesome gift!
Lace detail and my shoes
I had to add another picture of the dress. I felt like Cinderella!
Philip & the groomsmen
The dudes
Mom & all of my brothers escorting her
The entourage of ring bearers and flower girls. Are they adorable or what?!
Talking with Dad, doing everything we can not to get too emotional before walking down the aisle.
Locking eyes for the first time that day
We are gathered here today…
Handing off my bouquet to Philip so that I can wipe my eyes. Our priest made us get emotional during the homily.
Receiving a crucifix for our home. Here, it is being blessed by our priest.
You may kiss the bride
The ringbearers (my adorable nephews) were ready to party!
My family
My bouquet. A friend from my sorority did all of the flowers. Weren’t they beautiful?
“Savor the Love” Life Savers for the guests
Our cakes with “The Best Day” Lladro statue from my grandparents in between
Cutting the cake
First dance
It looks like we’re the only two in the room!
Father-Daughter Dance
Dancing with Philip & his sister
Philip & his sister
Me & my siblings
We had an 11:00 wedding and luncheon afterward. After the reception, just the two of us went downtown in the limo while our family partied on at my brother’s house.
We took a bunch of pictures downtown
We had so much fun walking around in the dress & tux. We received a lot of well-wishes and ch
eers from people walking by.
Smooch!
Foreshadowing?
This picture was taken in a beautiful building downtown
If you can’t have an exorbitant amount of public displays of affection on your wedding day, when can you?!
Looking at Philip across the passageway
Champagne toast at dinner as husband and wife.
It was a beautiful day, and things have only gotten better since. We are so blessed to have such wonderful friends and family to share in these last four years! Here’s to many, many more!
The 9:45 p.m. weeknight bedtime is officially a habit for me and Philip. We finally got our Blizzards! Hooray!
We turn off whatever we’re watching or stop whatever we’re doing at 9:30 to get ready for bed. Philip preps the coffeemaker for the morning and lets Monty out while I start my getting ready for bed routine (which, by the way, seems to be taking longer and longer with each year!).
We “go and see the babies” together–always Walt and then Janie. In their sleep, Walt is a mini Philip and Janie is a mini Catherine. Walt startles when he hears us come in, sits up in a sleepy fog, smiles at us, and lets us lay him back down. We usually find Janie in some contortionist position that looks impossible to sleep in, and she sleeps through us repositioning her and re-covering her with her blankets.
Philip and I read for awhile in bed. I’m re-reading The Happiest Toddler on the Block by Dr. Harvey Karp, and someday I’ll finish Mockingjay. Philip usually starts dozing after a few minutes of reading and turns in for the night. I try to get my “pillow talk” in with him early so that I don’t end up with sleepy Philip, snoring between sentences.
If I’m not reading a book, I check Facebook or Pinterest for awhile on the laptop. I am self-imposing a strict lights out by 10:30 p.m. policy. I’ve gotten carried away with that quiet time all to myself and have stayed up until 11:30 or midnight a few times! So much for an early bedtime!
Philip and I go in spurts of being good about praying together before bed. We have a great book called Day by Day With the Catechism: Minute Meditations for Every Day Containing An Excerpt From the Catechism, A Reflection, and a Prayer by Peter A. Giersch. We’d alternate who read the passage each night, discuss the reading, and the person who read from the book led us in a spontaneous prayer and closed with a formulaic prayer that the other would join. I’m sad to say that we’ve gotten away from that practice, and I’m putting that book on my nightstand right now to remind me to get back into it. What do you and your family do for prayer time? What about you and your spouse?
Despite being faithful to the 9:45 p.m. bedtime and getting out of bed at 6:00 a.m. for my prayer time, the kiddos haven’t been on board with this plan. Two weeks ago, Janie and Walt were getting up at 6:45 and 7:00 respectively. This week, they wake up minutes after I’m out of bed, and today they woke up when they heard Philip’s alarm clock. So, I’ve had to do my prayer time most days during naptime. It works fine on the days that I actually get to do it, but it would be so nice to have that dedicated time in the morning to start things off right, use naptime to get a few things done, and maybe even have a little break.
How do you other moms out there do it? How much do you sleep? When are you getting up, praying, exercising, getting the stuff done you can’t get done with kids around, and having a little you time? What’s your average day look like?
Despite my best intentions, I can’t seem to make prayer time at the beginning of the day work on a regular basis, and I’m afraid it might mean learning to get by with less sleep. Those of you who know me know that that’s going to be a struggle–for everyone involved! 🙂 I suppose I better start praying that either (1) I learn to get by with less sleep or (2) the children start sleeping in.
All was going well with the new bedtime. I was feeling more rested, and I was thrilled to be done with the fire alarm morning routine. I woke up last Wednesday without an alarm at 6:30, and felt amazing. Unfortunately, the kiddos woke up shortly thereafter so I didn’t get in my quiet prayer time. It had to be done at naptime instead.
Then, I went to a concert Thursday night that kept me up past my new bedtime. It was super fun, and it was worth the late night! Then, it was the weekend, and the new bedtime didn’t apply because it was the weekend. Then, it was Mother’s Day and Philip started a week of working nights, and I just can’t seem to sleep very well when Philip’s gone.
Blah, blah, blah. Excuses, excuses. I know, it’s all very pathetic, but I’m getting back on track–TONIGHT! I will be in bed by 9:45, and I will continue to keep my bedtime. It’s too good for me not to! I’m enforcing the new bedtime around here for all weeknights unless an out-of-the-ordinary event comes up (i.e., an out of town visitor, family emergency, etc.). I know I sound old and lame, but, hey, I need to be old and lame. When you’ve got two little ones and a husband who works a crazy schedule like Philip’s, routine is key. I’m okay with being old and lame so long as it means domestic bliss around here. Philip and the kiddos are the ones I’m doing this all for anyway!
So, in short, I didn’t keep my bedtime last week, and we didn’t get to go out for Blizzards. Darn! If at first you don’t succeed… If we keep our weeknight bedtime for a solid week, we’re going to Dairy Queen for Blizzards next Wednesday. French Silk Pie Blizzard, here I come!
I’m looking forward to the quietness of the morning when I’m rested enough to wake up before the kids. Since I am going to be in bed at 9:45 tonight, I’m setting my alarm for 6:00 so that I can get up and have my coffee & prayer time without interruption. If I picture Jesus in the living room, waiting for me to join Him for prayer time, I get my rear end out of bed. The coffee helps, too. My new coffee creamers make that cup of coffee oh so delicious! I usually have two of these in the fridge at all times. Variety is the spice of life, they say.
That’s what gets me to bed early. What would you need to motivate you to be early to bed and early to rise?
I love sleep. I looooooooooooooooooooooove sleep. Fortunately, Janie and Walt (usually) love their sleep, too. Unfortunately, they still wake up fairly early, and I’m in the bad habit of going to bed too late. It’s a silly problem, and I really need to do something to fix it because it’s a bad day for everyone when Mama Bear doesn’t get enough sleep. When I don’t get enough sleep, I’m like this lady.
As I get older, I’m learning to embrace who I am and finally own up to my triggers (the things that set me off into crazy Mama Bear mode). Aside from hormones (ha!), my main triggers are lack of sleep, hunger, and a messy house.
I’m finally getting a handle on the messy house, and I’m discovering more and more healthy snacks to keep me fueled throughout the day. My big, remaining trigger is lack of sleep.
I don’t have a good reason for being tired or for staying up too late. Philip and I don’t get much time together in the evenings after we’ve gotten the kids to sleep, and we’re learning that we simply won’t get as much time as we used to have. He usually has to be up at 5:00 a.m. to be at the hospital for morning rounds, and the kiddos will be up shortly thereafter.
We make resolutions to go to bed earlier when it’s Wednesday and we’re exhausted from staying up too late, but we inevitably slide back into our old ways. We’ll watch one too many episodes of Downton Abbey, or I’ll waste away an hour on Pinterest after we’ve gotten into bed for the night. Before I know it, it’s midnight and I want to smack myself in the head for putting myself through what I know is going to be a tough wake-up call.
So, it’s time to build-in a new habit. There’s a new bedtime at the Boucher household, and it’s 9:45 p.m. That means we will be in bed at 9:45 p.m. There are several reasons we need to build this new habit into our routine:
Philip and I will both get the sleep we need.
I can have uninterrupted prayer time before the kids wake up. I have been doing my prayer time during naptime, but it’s unsuccessful for a few reasons:
I’ve been so tired from going to bed so late that I need a nap every now and then!
Naptime is the time when I can get things done around the house uninterrupted. I need this time to be doing other things.
Sometimes naptime doesn’t go according to plan and I’m not able to get a good prayer time in.
No more of what I call fire drill wake-up calls. When I wake up with the kids, I feel like I’m constantly putting out little fires until everyone’s settled and eating at the kitchen table. I end up re-warming my coffee several times before it’s even half-gone when I’m in fire drill mode.
More time to enjoy reading together or having a little pillow talk.
I can organize my thoughts before bed and relegate all of my mental clutter to the next day’s daily do-it list during this time.
We’ll be alert enough in the evening to re-dedicate that time to praying together as a couple before bed.
So, here’s to the new bedtime, and a more-rested & happy family! For a little extrinsic motivation, Philip and I decided we’re going out for a little Dairy Queen next Tuesday night if we successfully go to bed at 9:45 p.m. every night. Oh, how I love me some French Silk Pie Blizzard…
It’s hard to believe, but Philip has almost completed his first of three years as a pediatric resident. Yay, Philip! We’re so proud of you!
Thanks to the recent work hour restrictions put in place, Philip is able to see much more of his family than his predecessors. Nonetheless, he’s still working very hard, and sometimes the hours get the best of him. His most intense months are called inpatient months. During these months, he works a week of night shifts. With two little ones at home during the day, it’s tough for Philip to get much rest.
Inpatient months are difficult on our family because of the limited time we have with Philip. The trade-off is endless entertainment from sleepy Philip. He’s always sleep-talking, sleepwalking, or doing other goofy things.
During one of his most difficult inpatient months, Philip tapped me on the shoulder in the middle of the night and said, “Hey, who do you think will be the top-selling recording artist this year? Taylor Swift?”
Philip’s been known to sleepwalk and sleep-talk when we have a newborn. Sometimes it can be scary. One night, I had to intervene when I heard the bathroom fan and tub running. I intercepted Philip on his way to the nursery where he said he was going to “give Walt a bath”! Yikes!
Last night, I woke up at 2:45 a.m. to see that Philip had disappeared. I found him, asleep on the living room couch, and he had no memory of how it happened.
A few months ago, in the midst of an inpatient month, Philip decided he’d try to help convince Janie to take a nap. He said he’d try sleeping on the floor next to her daybed. The plan worked for about forty-five minutes. Then, I heard Janie making some noise. I decided to investigate, and this is what I found when I opened the door:
Philip was snoring on the floor, wrapped up in a blanket. Janie was standing over him in her footie pajamas, holding something. She had gotten the hand sanitizer off of the changing table, and was standing over Philip with the bottle, ready to squirt it all over him. Who knows what would have happened had I not come in. Now THAT would have made a good video! Here’s the scene caught on video:
Is my husband the only sleepwalking, sleep-talking resident out there?
