When babies are little you talk about the witching hour. That is the time when it is either getting close to their bedtime and they are about the have a massive meltdown or when they are up past their bedtime and in the middle of a meltdown. They can't communicate to you that it's coming, but you know it is. Well, it doesn't just happen with babies.
Amanda's time is 7:00. She starts to get really cranky around 6:00-6:30 and if she doesn't eat by 7:00 she is a nightmare. Usually eating gives her a little more energy and therefore a little more time, but most nights she is crying and begging me for food while I am trying to make dinner. I refuse to feed her because I don't want it to replace the real food we are having at meal time, and it is a delicate balance that I most often lose.
Last night it was the same thing. Andy came up from his man cave in the basement right about 7:00 and Amanda was already moaning and groaning about how she cannot eat peas because she hates peas. I said, "Andy, Amanda's crying, what time is it?" just to see what he would say. He immediately answered "seven o'clock" and smiled. We've had this discussion before and I've explained to him that if Amanda is losing it, it is most likely around 7:00. A little inside joke with my 10-yr-old. I wish we had more and they weren't filled with so much conflict.
So Amanda complained all through dinner that she couldn't eat peas and she was so so tired and her pasta didn't have enough alfredo sauce on it and whatever else she could think of to complain about. She just really wanted to go to bed. Then Sarah started in. She was tired too and blah, blah, blah. I don't know, I can't remember it all and it starts to turn into whining so I just shut it out.
Of course once they have eaten, and yes Amanda ate all her peas because dessert was on the line and she likes dessert more than she hates peas, they are full of energy and start running all over the house. This isn't just an expression, they were really running up and down the halls and in a big loop from the living room to the dining room to the kitchen. They weren't doing it quietly either, especially since we have wood floors, they were yelling and laughing and pounding on the floor.
Eventually we finally got the kids to head upstairs while Charlie and I finished eating and picking up the dishes. Lately bedtime is such a battle because they go upstairs and then just start giggling and tickling and messing with Andy and goofing off. I hate it. Hate. It. But last night they decided to surprise us. All three kids got dress in their pajamas, brushed their teeth and went to the bathroom before we got upstairs. Charlie kind of clued into what was going on so stopped me on the steps and we just hung out for a bit. Andy read the girls two books and then they got into bed. When we finally decided it was safe to go into the bedroom the girls were already tucked into their bed and only needed a kiss goodnight.
So nice, so refreshing, so wish they would do that at least once a week.
No comments:
Post a Comment