Mine do. Sometimes.

Our bedtime routine is pretty typical. The kids take a bath, together, nearly every night. After bath, it’s PJ’s, teeth brushing, and a story or chapter of a book. Then, it’s off to bed.

They go to bed at the same time, requiring me to bounce back and forth from one room to the next like a ping pong ball.

But… they like doing things together, even bedtime.

Often, these are the types of things I hear during the 30 to 45 minutes after bedtime is initiated:

-I need water.
*Ok, but just a sit or you’ll need to go potty.

-I need to go potty.
*Yep, that’s what I thought.

-I need my ball blankie.
*You’re actually holding it in your hand right now.

-I need my bear bears.
*You are, also, holding your bear bears right now.

-I need a towel for my pillow pet.
*Ack, I forgot. Here you go.

-I’m not sleepy.
*Well, I am.

-I will not sleep.
*Ok, as long as you stay in your bed, that is just fine.

-I need another hug and kiss.
*Nothing would make me happier!

-I need you.
*I’m always here. And I need you too.

Then, I sit with one of them (usually Zac) until I start hearing the sweet sweet sounds of light snores. Bedtime can be HARD, but at least they are in their beds where I know they are safe. I won’t always be able to say that (think: teenage years and beyond).
These are the things I try to remember when I am begging them to sleep.

Lilly, you are 5 years and 2 months old.
You can NOT wait to start Kindergarten in July.
You can count to 100, with only a little help at the beginning of each of the 10’s.
You love to play pretend, though you get a bit bossy.
You love your brother.
You have “a boyfriend. For reals.”
You sleep with bear bears, and with a towel on your pillow when your hair is wet.
You love dresses, the fancier the better.
You are dramatic, emotional, and stubborn.
My God I love you so much.

Zackary, you are 3 years and 4 months old.
You are excited for “boy Kindergarten” (aka Preschool) in July.
You can count into the 20’s before getting distracted.
You love to play with your sister, and you’re developing the ability to stand up for yourself, loudly.
You love your sister.
You love love love to dance.
You sleep with your ball blankie, and still suck your thumb.
You dress and undress yourself, sometimes at inappropriate times.
You are loud, funny, and tempermental.
My God I love you so much.

Today’s topic? Indulging.

In our 100 mile per hour world, what do you do to indulge?

Me?

I drink coffee. Hot, iced. Home brewed or coffee shop perfection. It doesn’t matter. I drink it and it makes me happy.

I shop. Usually bargain hunting and not always buying much, but looking through the racks is relaxing for me. Unless I’m looking for something specific that I’ll likely never find.

I rent movies. Not usually for myself, but renting a movie for the kids on the weekend usually results in a little time for myself.

I read books. I don’t have a great one going right now, but I’m always on the lookout for that next great book or series.

I play on my iphone. Checking email, social media, and fun games entertain me pretty much every evening for a little while before bed.

~   ~   ~

Things that I do not consider indulging?

Taking baths. I like the idea of a long hot bath, but I never enjoy it as much as I think I’m going to. For one, the bathtub is in the bathroom between the kids’ rooms, and I never want to risk waking them up after they finally settle down for the night. Also, I always find my mind wandering to other things I could or should be doing.

Painting my nails. I love a good manicure and pedicure, but the time it takes for them to dry is frustrating, and I usually end up messing them up with my impatience.

Sleeping in. I don’t remember what this feels like…

I ask you, In our 100 mile per hour world, what do you do to indulge?

Friday evening, I got home late from a work trip. I am SO grateful to have great friends like Becca, who was awesome enough to pick the kids up from school, feed them, and entertain them until I got to her house that evening. They had a blast and I had no doubt that they were well taken care of. Win!

Saturday was a BIG day. An awesome girl turned 3, so the kids and I got to celebrate her birthday at the splash pad. The party ended in the kids getting a goodie cup containing noisemakers and pixie sticks, in addition to other candy. THAT, my friends, was a fun filled ride home!

Saturday evening we attended another big bash, the wedding of lovely Michelle and Jon. They had an amazingly unique and vintage style wedding, and we were so grateful to be a part of their big day. The kids played and danced for hours, which meant bedtime was a breeze!
I also turned on the AC for the first time on Saturday. We are THERE people!

Sunday morning, my guy took the kids and I to breakfast, where they were relatively well behaved. In the afternoon, we watched movies, went to the library to pick out some books, read books, hit up the grocery store, made cookies, and avoided cleaning at all costs.

It was a good mix of parties, time with my kids, time with my guy, enjoying the sun and relaxing in the AC. All in all, another great weekend!

How was your weekend?

1. I love to read, and yet I can not get into The Hunger Games. It makes my stomach hurt. Apparently that makes me super sensitive or something? I can read (and watch) The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo more easily than The Hunger Games. In fact, I’ve read the first two books and am dying to get my hands on the third. Then again, I also cry every time I think of I’ll Love You Forever, so there’s that.

2. I have never had the Chicken Pox. Please don’t infect me.

3. I love high heels and flip flops equally. For work, I’m all about the high heel. At home and one weekends, you’ll definitely find me in a flip flop. My car is currently housing at least one pair of each.

4. I can sing the words correctly to most current hits. However, I probably can not name one artist correctly. If you tell me who sings something, I’ll probably forget. I will, however, still feel confident singing right along.

5. If you had told me five years ago that I would be a runner, I would have laughed in your face and told you you were crazy. And then probably asked if you wanted to grab a beer and stay out too late.

6. I hate horror movies. Give me something funny, sentimental, action packed  or even suspenseful, but keep those horror flicks to yourself.

7. I get addicted to silly sitcoms – usually the ones that no one likes so they get canceled.

8. I love vegetables, salads, and “real” food. I also love pizza, ice cream, and adult beverages. What can I say, it’s all about moderation right?

9. I once had my tongue pierced. I have a tattoo. I once went skydiving. Watch the comments people, I’m not sure my mother knew about that last one.

10. I have a black thumb. Unless growing weeds counts? I once killed a cactus by forgetting to water it. I’ll let that sink in (pun totally intended).

11. I drink a ton of water most days. I used to drink a lot of soda, but now I limit it to road trips for work. I could cut it out completely, but I just love soda with fast food on a road trip!

12. I have never broken a bone. I have had only one surgery (iLasik), and I have only been admitted to the hospital two times (Lilly & Zac). I hope and pray that my luck with good health continues.

13. When the kids are with their father overnight, I tend to eat Peanut Butter and Jelly or cereal for dinner. Because I can. Bonus points if it’s Frosted Flakes.

14. I’m a teensy tinsy bit superstitious, so I couldn’t end this list at 13.

~   ~   ~

YOUR TURN! What would I be surprised to learn about YOU?

Over dinner the other night, I grabbed a pad of paper and asked the kids some random questions. Mostly just to giggle at their answers.

So, with no further ado… this is what you get when you interview my kids.

Q – How tall is mommy?
L- Bigger than us.
Z- When I standing on a stool then I be bigger than mommy.
L – 18

Haha, Zac thinks he’s so big when he’s standing on a chair. Wait, who lets him stand on chairs? And I don’t even know what Lilly’s 18 means, but she seemed darn confident.
~~~

Q – What does mommy like to do most?
L- Kiss us
Z- Put together “Don’t break the ice” to us.

Right on, Lilly. Zac, you’re crazy.
~~~

Q – What do YOU like to do most?
L- Wear this swim suit all day
Z- Drink apple juice and play and drink milk and water and go to sleep and watch the sun go up and watch the sun go down and and and eat food and eat candy and eat Shyla’s gum…
L- And I like to play with my barbie dolls and have girl time with you and I like to eat potatoes.

Boy this one got them going. Apparently kids like to talk about themselves? Who knew.
~~~

Q – What makes mommy super happy?
L- Being nice to you.
Z – Kiss! And hugs!

Yes and yes.
~~~

Q – What makes YOU super happy?
L- I like my dolls
Z- Baa blankie make me happy

Sounds about right.
~~~

Q – What is your favorite thing to eat?
L- I like potatoes and I like fish. Like sushi.
Z- Macaroni and cheese.

Really not sure what’s going on with this potato thing. The rest is right on.
~~~

Q – How old is mommy?
L- We don’t know.
Z- 4
L- 4? Really? That’s not fair.

No, I’ll tell YOU what’s not fair… oh, never mind…
~~~

Q – How old are YOU?
L- I’m 5.
Z- Um.. 5.
L- Zac, you’re really 3.
Z – I’m just pretending that I’m 5.

This one was a given. We have this conversation daily.
~~~

Q – What do you want to be when you grow up?
L- I’m not sure. I have to decide.
Z- A mommy. I mean a daddy.

Hee hee hee.
~~~

These questions were pretty “off the cuff,” what questions do you think would be fun to ask kids?

When I say “travel,” please don’t think we travel far. I’m talking road trips, of anywhere from 2 to 5 hours. Still, the experience is pretty much the same. Think about a CD stuck on “repeat.”

Here is what a road trip with the kids looks like these days:

~   ~   ~

We start with extreme excitement!
Mommy are we going on vacation yet?!? Is today the day??? Are we leaving now???

Eventually we start driving. We are usually about 20 minutes from the house when we get hungry.
Mooooommmm. I’m hungry. I’m even even even even even even even even even hungrier.

Hungrier that what? I don’t know.

Without a doubt, Lilly will whine about getting there and Zac will suck his thumb and stare out the window.

This conversation happens often:
ME: Zackary, please stop kicking my chair.
ZAC: slight pause, more kicking.
ME: Zac, seriously stop kicking my chair.
ZAC: I not kicking your chair.
BOOM
ME: Zac, that was a kick. Please. Stop. Kicking. My. Chair.
ZAC: I only PRETENDING to kick your chair.
LILLY: giggle giggle giggle.

This conversation is always fun as well:
LILLY: I spy with my little eye something… blue!
ME: Is it the sky? That car? Zac’s eyes?
LILLY: It’s… nothing! Tricked you! hahahahaha!

ZAC: I spy with my eye something yellow!
ME: Is it that street sign?
ZAC: yeah!
LILLY: NO ZAC, you’re supposed to trick her!!! UGH!!!

Traveling with kids is so fun and always rewarding, but definitely has it’s challenges.

What do you do to entertain kids on a road trip??

Time away from my kids isn’t unheard of to me. The go to their dad’s one night a week. And, there are times that I travel for work so I’m gone for a night or two.

But four nights. Never have I been away from them for four nights!

They were understandably excited. And I was so excited for them. They spent the long weekend with Jeremy and his parents, as well as lots of extended family and friends. They got showered with presents and with love. From what I heard, they were well behaved and I know they had an amazing time.

It was so good for them, and yet I was so happy to have them home!

Luckily, the boyfriend and I were able to plan a weekend away at the same time. It unfortunately wasn’t all four nights (leaving me two nights to sit and home and miss those kids!), but it was a perfect mix of relaxation, historical sight seeing, eating and drinking, and talking and laughing.

Oh, and looking at spooky (haunted?) buildings.

What is your favorite way to spend a weekend??

Easter morning, I woke up to a very excited little girl who had seen an egg on her way to my room.

A very excited little boy woke up due to all of the commotion only minutes later.

I managed to keep them calm long enough to get my coffee (pretty much an essential), and give them some morning hugs. Then, it was ON.

Posing with our baskets

Getting ready to eat massive quantities of jelly beans.

Being silly.

After finding eggs and exploring baskets, we ate a special breakfast and, later, headed over to my parents house for more baskets, more eggs, family time and fun.

All dressed up, in duds provided by grandma and grandpa Yager.

Cousins

Silly

We had a great time, and I am a lucky mama. Happy Easter!

]]> http://vicariouschelsea.com/2012/04/easter-2012/feed/ 3 http://vicariouschelsea.com/2012/04/why-i-blog/ http://vicariouschelsea.com/2012/04/why-i-blog/#comments Tue, 10 Apr 2012 00:15:28 +0000 Vicarious Chelsea http://vicariouschelsea.com/?p=2336 [...]]]> Clearly, blogging has not been easy for me lately. I struggle to find the time. I write blog posts in my head daily. Usually in the car driving too or from work… or while working out… or while playing with my kids.

By the time I sit to blog, it’s gone.

Frankly, I’ve debated keeping my blog or not.

Yesterday, however, I was searching for a particular blog post I wrote about Lilly years ago. I did not find it. I did, however, end up spending well over an hour reading back through old blog posts at random. Some made me giggle, some made me tear up… all made me happy that I had it as a record.

So, I will do better. I blog for me, and for a record of my family and our lives. And, yes, my family looks different than when I started blogging. But my life is really, really good. Amazingly good. Hilariously good. And I plan to write about it.

Because so many of my past blog posts pulled at my heart, I’d like to share a few with you. These are in no particular order – again, they came up during an unsuccessful search for a post about Lilly getting her ears pierced. So these are truly random, but my favorites from the random ones that came up!

This is a wordy post about an adventurous day looking for an elusive festival.

This was a tough post where I questioned my effectiveness as a mother.

A post about my cousin, complete with the only pic you’ll ever see of me in a bikini.

A 9/11 anniversary post.

A post about Zac’s second birthday, including a picture I LOVE of him and I.

A post about “That Friend,” who I’m thankful to have back in my life.

Funny things I caught myself saying.

I’m literally forcing myself to stop there. Look through them, or not, but know that new blogs posts will be coming. I plan to post about Easter, about the kids going to California, about great weekends and great dates, and about our lives in general. You know, like I used to do.