November 4, 2009 at 11:49 am (Day-to-day)
Tags: Bed Makeover, Insomnia, Sleep, Sleep Solution
I finally thought I had a handle on this sleep thing.
I was wrong.
After resculpting my life so that I limit caffeine, exercise often, worry less, and try to go to bed at about the same time every night, I’m now finding my sleep, daily comfort, and general sanity interrupted by just about everything—the children’s go to bed music, the dishwasher, the dog, the shifting sheets, the too flat pillows, the nighttime chill of autumn, the overheated effect of wearing socks to bed, and the ill-timed and unceasing surprise beeping of electronic gadgetry midway through the night.
All that, plus my hairdresser didn’t give me a short enough trim last time I saw her. Now everything in my life just seems all wrong.
Concurring with my sleep angst, my husband (he’s usually the one who escorts the dog outside at 3 a.m.) suggested a bed makeover. “Yes!” I thought. “As for so many ills of life, the solution is shopping! New sheets! New comforter! New bed skirt! Hooray!”
What I didn’t realize is how many comforter sets are dark, geometric, and look like they’re from Tony Danza’s “Who’s the Boss?” bedroom. Holy 1980’s—yuck.
In the end, I settled on an all white, puffy, fluffy, comforter set (even with pillow shams—I have arrived!). It was a run-off between that and a tasteful green ensemble which, once on my bed, looked like the kind of thing a toad would slip into after a particularly warty evening; the princess and the pea green bed—ewww. Still, while everything is now on and looks great, I have another note for next time: when stripping (or in my case, gutting) one’s bed down to that very icky, shiny, lingerie blue mattress surface, especially when alone, be sure to allow half an hour of work time and to utilize sweat-wicking sportswear.
Perhaps all that work will be enough to make me sleep through the night tonight. We’ll see.
9 Comments
October 21, 2009 at 10:41 am (Day-to-day)
Tags: Colonial Williamsburg, Vegetarian, Vegetarian Classics, Vegetarian Kids
Many of you already know that my 11-year-old son, Jake, went vegetarian about 10 months ago. His decision was precipitated by the compassion he felt for a beheaded pig we happened upon during an outdoor cooking demonstration on our Colonial Williamsburg vacation last Christmas. Looking back, I can't blame him.
Feeding a vegetarian kid isn’t difficult, in theory. Feeding a vegetarian kid who doesn’t love vegetables, that’s the hard part. Making sure that every meal isn’t some jumbled reworking of black bean vegetarian enchiladas, that’s next to impossible.
That aside, the real challenge for me is working in the meat that the rest of us enjoy without relegating Jake to PB&J five times a week. What every parent really wants is to make one dinner, not one dinner for every member of the family, right? And Jake doesn’t mind if the rest of us eat meat—he just doesn’t want to gag any down himself.
Then Monday, a breakthrough. My sleepless night (see my 10/19 post) gave me some menu planning time, during which I realized that I can use vegetarian main dishes as side dishes on the nights that I’m making a roast or serving burgers. This strategy may have been obvious to everybody else out there, but I guess I’m a little slow on the uptake. And, considering that Monday was the first time I’d done any intentional grocery shopping since…well, I can’t remember when…it was a great opportunity to turn over a new leaf.
Here’s what I’m planning on cooking this week (recipes can be found in the cookbook, Vegetarian Classics by Jeanne Lemlin):
Stuffed Baked Potatoes with Spinach and Feta Cheese (Sounds good with pork roast!)
Baked Orzo, Broccoli, & cheese (Chicken breast as well!)
Bow Ties with Green Beans in Tomato-wine sauce (1/4 tsp red pepper flakes goes in this sauce—tangy!)
Caramelized onion, walnut, and goat cheese pizza w/beer crust (Only for grown-ups tastes? We’ll see. )
Havarti & Sprout sandwiches (Had this on Monday night with pickles and cheetos—HOME RUN!!!!)
Classic Vegetarian Split Pea Soup & Shepherd’s Pie too (Classics—how can we go wrong?)
I’m two days in to my new cooking plan, and so far, so good. I think today will be baked orzo day, with chicken for the carniv’s among us. It’s just crazy enough to work, so keep your fingers crossed!
17 Comments
October 19, 2009 at 1:02 pm (Day-to-day)
Tags: Children, Children's activities, Family, Insomnia, Kids, No sleep, Over-tired, Parenting, Sleep, Soccer
You wouldn’t know it by looking at me, but I’ve been up awake since 3:45 this morning. Combine an overstimulating weekend with no exercise, a too early bedtime, and a kid dumping the dog on my bed in the middle of the night, and it’s like a no-sleep potion designed especially with me in mind.
It’s OK, though. I’m usually good on the first day after an iffy night. I’m giddy, I’m kidding around, I’m making my shots at tennis, I’m shopping at three stores in one morning and not even breaking a sweat. This sleep-deprived, get-it-done version of me is the one that makes my husband say, “Mom should get less sleep more often!” Two days from now, though? I’m wondering whether make-up and clever tailoring will conceal my freshly sprouted horns and tail.
My own sleep situation is making me think better of my children, whose less than ideal behavior I often label as “willful disobedience” even though it’s probably caused by something more like “radical exhaustion.” Let’s add up the facts: I didn’t want to get up on Saturday morning, and 11-year-old Jake didn’t either, but he didn’t just get up—he got up and played a regulation-length soccer game in a 40 degree nor’easter at eight-freaking-thirty in the morning! Add to that a junior cotillion ice breaker on Saturday afternoon, a sit up and be charming social engagement with family friends in the evening, church on Sunday morning, and a 2-hour classical music concert on Sunday afternoon, and you tell me how we’re doing on the exhaust-o-meter.
Babies, thankfully, rub their eyes when they’re tired. They nuzzle a parent’s neck. They get cranky and cry. Older kids, I have a feeling, just keep going wherever their parents tell them to, complaining or not, until they hit a steel-reinforced brick wall that will grow poison tipped spikes if watered with enough caffeine, sugar, and sit-still time.
So today I’ll give my kids a break. Not an “I’ll let you do whatever you want no matter how you behave” kind of break. More like an “I’m going to chuckle at your otherwise irritating antics like you’re trying to be funny and get you to bed at a reasonable hour so you can sleep it the heck off” kind of break.
Come to think of it, maybe I should take a dose of that medicine myself.
4 Comments
October 5, 2009 at 2:49 pm (Day-to-day)
Tags: Busy Schedule, Children, Coughing, Family, Fever, Headache, Kids, Parenting, Sick Kids, Sickness, Sneezing, Temperature
Temperature: 100.3 degrees.
Symptoms: coughing, sneezing, headache, fatigue.
General mood: surprisingly pleasant, openly affectionate, remarkably agreeable, and awfully quiet.
Yes, we’ve got our first sick kid of the season here at home, and it couldn’t have come more out of nowhere. It happened on a Sunday morning right after a hairy canary Friday night and Saturday day, wherein we’d somehow managed to squeeze in school, a girl scout meeting, a girl scout ceremony, a homecoming parade, a kids fun event at church, a soccer game, a playdate, a birthday party, and a visit to the local corn maze.
That’s enough to make anybody sick.
To be honest, I practically couldn’t sleep after I looked at the ink-barfed calendar that I’d loaded up the day before (who schedules ANY mandatory children’s activity 2 days after Christmas?!?!?!!). The craziness of these kids’ schedules would drive a celebrity right to the front page of a supermarket tabloid. Think Mariah Carey completely disoriented on Total Request Live. Or a freshly shaven Britney Spears. Thankfully I do not have broad enough media exposure to embarrass myself royally with a “they’ve gotta go where?!?!” nervous breakdown in the middle of a sea of paparazzi.
But back to the sickie.
Neither of my children has run a good fever in a long time, and, besides being a natural braking mechanism for our schedules of insanity, I’ve found that sickness just brings out the sweet in them. The “I love you” eyes. The cozy cuddling. The “It’s OK, Mom” expressions. They’ll downright melt you.
So here I am…hating the germs but loving the sneezer. I mean, I’d love him anyway, but the sweet symptoms make liking him pretty much effortless. And if you’re looking for a silver lining in this anti-bacterial world of ours, man, that’s it–right there.
2 Comments
August 16, 2009 at 10:27 am (Day-to-day)
Tags: Birthday, Birthday girl, Family, Misbehaving child, Parenting, Punishment
Open question: Is it ever OK to punish a kid on her birthday?
Suppose you discover first thing on the big birthday morning that she lied about putting away all her clothes (like you asked her to) the night before. Suppose that even after you ask her again to put away the clothes she just shlumps them into a gigantic pile with all of the other shlumped, not put-away clothes. Suppose that visitors come to drop off birthday gifts and you have to remind her to say “thank you” after which she disappears to the room where the TV and video games are waiting on standby. Suppose that…well, you get the idea.
You don’t want to ruin the birthday for her, but you certainly don’t want her to ruin the birthday for you.
What’s a parent to do? Ideas?
2 Comments
June 5, 2009 at 8:23 am (Day-to-day)
Tags: Family, Germaphobia, Last day of School, Parenting, Resolutions, Summer Resolution
…as in, today is the one and only day left in the Capital School District’s 2008-2009 academic year! Hip hip hooray!!!!
I resolve now to have a mentally healthy summer. I will end playdates before the children (and I) go off the deep end. I will hold onto my schedule gently but firmly. I will strike a good balance between fun and structure (too much of either is never a good thing).
I will water my plants every day. I will keep my pantry straight. I will set up a drying rack outside so that they bathing suits are never too wet for too long.
I will stock up on healthy snacks. I will turn off the engine when I’m stopped in the drive-thru.
I will buy less, socialize more, and try hard to stay in touch.
You wouldn’t think it would be this hard, would you?
6 Comments
June 4, 2009 at 9:14 am (Day-to-day)
Tags: Booker T. Washington Elementary, End of School, Fairview Elementary, School Countdown, William Henry Middle School
…as in 2 days left of school–thank goodness!!
I’m thankful too (so thankful!) for all of the professionals who have committed their lives to teaching and nurturing my children. I’m thankful for classroom teachers Ms. Murrian, Ms. Lessard, Mrs. Tierson, and Ms. Hall-Zeno, as well as good old Mrs. Montano, who took Hayley into her classroom after school every day after the shuttle bus dropped her off. I’m thankful that we made the transition to two new schools without much of a hitch (though I still miss you, Fairview Elementary!). I’m thankful that God provides new friends at every turn. I’m thankful that our school institutions do not tolerate bullying, and that even bullies can turn themselves around.
As thankful as I am for all that has gone on in this school year, though, I’m thankful that it’s almost over!
2 Comments
June 3, 2009 at 8:55 am (Day-to-day)
Tags: Date Night, End of School, Resolutions
…as in 3 days of school to go! Wahoo!!!
Today’s resolution is a simple one: Every other week I will get a babysitter and go out with my husband.
Yes, we are sadly in the dateless doldrums, which (believe me, everyone) is neither of our faults. We just don’t get around to going out that much. Or we’ve had such busy weeks that we just want to relax at home. Or the free night arrives and we realize that we’ve just not made arrangements.
So, today I resolve to make a standing appointment for someone (anyone?) to come to my house and hang out with my kids so I can get with my guy (my husband, that is) and see some part of the world that does not include our house, the public library, the grocery store, or Sam’s Club. We’ll explore strange new worlds (like the movie theater) and explore new civilizations (like the bowling alley). We’ll boldly go where no one has ever gone before without their kids (the local pool) and reconnect with each other after days spent in the frazzlement of industrial work and stay-at-home motherhood.
Who knows, maybe we’ll even have an uninterrupted conversation…that would be nice for a change, wouldn’t it?
3 Comments
June 2, 2009 at 8:44 am (Day-to-day)
Tags: Endorphins, Exercise, Last day of School, School, School Countdown, Sleep, Summer Resolution
…as in only 4 more days of school!
Next on my list of summer resolutions: fresh air (no matter how muggy it may be) and exercise, every day.
The way I look at it, staying cooped up in the house with the AC on and the shades drawn is a little like going off the medication that your doctor tells you to take every day even if you’re feeling OK. For the sake of endorphin maintenance (as well as better summer sleep and achieving weight goals a la Bridget Jones), I’m going to pump it up somehow–an evening bike ride, afternoon water treading, a friendly game of tennis, a walk with the dog–whether I feel like it or not, because I know I’ll get the blues if I don’t.
And, yes, I’m always looking for exercise buddies. If you’re in the mood, give me a buzz!
4 Comments
June 1, 2009 at 1:30 pm (Day-to-day)
Tags: Banana, Countdown, Emeril, End of School, Last day of School, Smoothies, Smoothies Recipe, Strawberry
…as in 5 days to go until the school year is over!! Yup, in my neck of the woods, school gets out ridiculously early–my birthday is June 21st, and I can remember one or two years when I celebrated it in school!.
Still, I’m happy for the kids to have a break, and I’m happy that we’ll get some extra sleep every morning. Oh, and did I mention that I’m looking forward to spending more time together…at the pool! at the beach! in the backyard! Really, I am!
The first of the year and the last day of school are my resolution-making times; here’s my summer resolution for today:
Replace mom’s morning hot chocolate with strawberry banana smoothies for the whole family; for the not-yet-smoothie-savvy among us, here’s my favorite recipe.
In a blender combine all of the following ingredients: 1 large ripe banana (peeled and sliced), 1 cup washed strawberries (stemmed and hulled), 1 cup plain yogurt, 1/4 cup orange juice, 2 tablespoons honey; add 1/2 cup raspberries or peeled and sliced kiwis.
Feel free to substitute or add other fruits like blueberries, mangoes, or peaches, and to substitute pineapple juice for the orange juice. Emeril says it will work just as well–and it’s his recipe, so he should know!
Recipe for “Yummy Wake-Up Smoothies” from “Emeril’s There’s a Chef in my Soup! Recipes for the Kid in Everyone”
4 Comments
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