Closer Than He Thinks....

The kids & I just got back from spending 10 days with my parents, & as I was putting Asher to bed last night he got a big confused...

Asher: "Goodnight.  I love you, Gra.... Mummy!"

Me: "Grandma?  Just how old do you think I am?"

Asher: "Forty!  HA HA HA!"

He said it like 40 was outrageously old, but he's not that far off the truth!

Idle Threats

Last night PChad had a meeting, so I put the kids to bed.  Asher knows that once he's in bed, he needs to be quiet, & if he calls out we usually ignore him because he will just keep talking if he knows he has a willing audience.  So, when a few minutes later I heard him calling for me, I did not answer.

He was persistent though, & after awhile decided to change tactics, "Mummy!  Are you being rude & ignoring me? ... Mu-mmy!  Well, I guess I will just have to turn my light on & read then!"

(We have also discussed that he may not read at night, & have removed his bedside lamp because the temptation was just too great)

"I'm going to read now, & I might just read all night!"

I wasn't too concerned that he would actually do it because he knows he'd be in big trouble.  But after a few more minutes he couldn't take it any longer.  He came out of his room to tell me, "My arm really itches & I need some lotion!"

Doggie Dreams

Digby sleeps in PChad & my room, & often during the night Digby dreams.  He makes little ‘bruff, bruff’ sounds which are cute, but if they go on too long, can be annoying since they keep me from sleeping.  PChad has always been a hard sleeper, & is never really bothered by Digby’s dreams.

 

The other night Digby was having some loud dreams, & barking full on.  At breakfast PChad & I were telling the kids about his loud barking in the night, & Chancery asked, “Did you hear it too, Daddy?”

 

PChad: “Yes, it was pretty loud.”

 

Chancery: “Wow! It must have been to wake you up!”

Hello? Hellloooo?

A few nights ago, after PChad had put the kids to bed, Asher started calling out, “Daddy?  Daaa-ddy!”

 

I was tutoring, & PChad was on the phone, so neither one of us could answer him…

 

Asher: “Daddy?  Daddy!  Is anyone there?  Hello?”

 

“There has to be someone!”

 

“What if there is a fire?”

 

It was nice to know that he was so concerned about fire safety, but when PChad got off the phone & went to see what the fuss was about, he got this report…

 

Asher: “My neck is sore.  It’s so sore, it’s like it was cut off like Nearly Headless Nick!”

 

It was quite the analogy!

“The Deal”

Every night before bed, we ask the kids to say what their 3 favourite things were that happened that day.  A few nights ago when I asked Chancery, she said “the Deal” was one of her favourite things.

 

Now, the kids are not allowed to watch TV or play video games until 5pm, but I had made a deal with them at 4:30, that if they could play nicely together with no fighting or arguing, they could watch TV at 4:45.  About 5 minutes into it, they were fighting & arguing.  I started coming up the stairs, & Chancery said, “No, Mummy, we are talking about it!”

 

They wanted to sort it out on their own.  However, I have 2 very stubborn, opinionated children, & neither one would back down from the injustice they thought they were suffering from at the other one’s hand.  So I had to get involved.

 

It was now 4:45pm.  Chancery asked if they could have a new deal.  So, I told them that if they could not fight or argue for the next 10 minutes they could watch TV early (it was only 5 minutes early, but any extra time is extra fun!).  This time they had a tiff, but they talked it out (instead of fighting it out), & they managed to get the 5 minutes extra.

 

Even though the first attempt was unsuccessful, the second worked, & Chancery said it was one of her favourite things from that day.  Maybe I’ll have to make more deals!

Trying to Pull One Over…

Most mornings around here start with the kids joining us in bed for awhile before we get up.  Some days we read books, & on days when the kids don’t have school we allow them to play games on the tablet, or phone, or the DS.

 

Asher came into our room this morning & asked, “May I go get my DS?”

 

PChad: “No, it’s a school day.”

 

Asher hasn’t had school the last two Fridays, so he answered, “No, I don’t have school on Fridays.”

 

PChad: “Yes you do, & today is a school day.”

 

Asher: “But I had a dream that God told me I don’t have to go to school today!”

 

It was a valiant effort on his part, but we still made him go to school…

Big Ears

Last night Chancery woke up with a sore ear.  We decided to take her temperature & give her some tylenol.  While she was sitting with the thermometer in her mouth PChad was trying to figure out the right dose of medicine to give her.  He had picked up the bottle & was reading the chart on the side.  As he did so, he kind of muttered, “How old is she?  Four?”

 

Chancery’s little voice rang out, “And a half!”

 

She listens to every little conversation going on around her & has a very good memory too.  We always have to watch what we talk about with her big ears around!

Sleepy Talk

Asher has been sick the last few days, & apparently last night was having some weird feverish dreams.

 

I heard him calling for me, so I went upstairs to see what he needed.

 

Asher: “My little nightlight was on, it was on by my alarm…”

and he seemed to have gone back to sleep.

 

Me: “Asher, are you awake?”

 

Asher: “Yes, I’m ok.”

 

 

Later he was doing a very sad cry.  PChad went up this time…

Asher: “I lost my map!  I know I don’t really have a map, but I lost it.”

 

PChad said he seemed to know these were dreams & they didn’t make sense, but it was very frustrating to him all the same.

 

Asher: “My mind is just not letting me get to sleep!”

Flat Chancery

PChad has had a lot of meetings in the evenings lately, so I’ve been putting the kids to bed more often.  When he gets home from his meetings, he will often go up to the kids’ rooms & tuck them in again.  PChad was a bit surprised when he almost stepped on Chancery the other night!  She was just lying right by the door!  He turned on the hall light to see what was going on, to discover this…

 

Chancery had taken off her clothes & then carefully laid them out to look like a person!

Last Night….

I couldn’t get to sleep at all, no, no! ♪ ♫

 

These are the things that run through my mind when I can’t get to sleep…

-I wrapped all the stocking presents, & I know that I took one thing out of the pile for Asher, but did I put something BACK in the pile to replace it?

 

-Now that we have presents under our tree, it’s going to get harder to put water in the tree stand.  I should get a funnel with a piece of hose on it.  That would make it easier…  Wait, I’ve seen those before!

 

-I’m really hungry!  I’d love to have a cookie, but I know I shouldn’t eat cookies this late.  I SHOULD eat celery, but who WANTS to eat celery?  Maybe I’ll have some raisins.

 

-I heard my phone beep downstairs.  I wonder who would have messaged me at this time of night?  Maybe one of my friends can’t sleep either!  I should go check.

Consequences

I had put Chancery to bed for her nap, & after about 10 minutes of ‘barking’ from her room, I went up to investigate.  She knows she is not supposed to be loud, but to sleep, so since her stuffed puppy Ginger seemed to be such a distraction, I took it away from her.

 

After I took Ginger away, I went into the washroom.  I could hear Chancery calling out to me in distress

 

“Mummy!  Did you put Ginger in the toilet?”

 

I’m a pretty strict Mum, but I wouldn’t go that far!

Turning the Tables

At naptime, I heard a little sing-songy voice coming from Chancery’s room.  I quietly snuck up the stairs, & opened her door.  Chancery was sitting on her bed, with her pillows stacked, & her stuffed dog, Ginger, on top.

 

Me: “No, this is not what you are supposed to be doing.”

 

Chancery: “Sorry, Mummy.”

 

Me: “You need to lay down & go to sleep.”

 

Chancery: “You frightened me though!”

 

Me: “Well, you are being naughty.  If you weren’t being naughty, you wouldn’t have been frightened.  Now, lay down & go to sleep.”

 

Chancery: “Then don’t frighten me anymore.”

 

As if it’s my fault she wasn’t sleeping…

Not So Sleepy-Time

At naptime the other day, I noticed Chancery was making quite a bit of noise, so I went to check on her.  There was an open magazine on her nightstand, so I asked her…

 

Me: “Chancery, were you reading this magazine?”

 

Chancery: “No.”

 

Me: “Well, I’ll take it away so you won’t be tempted.”

 

Chancery: “But the author wants me to do that!”

 

Such a clever girl!

Following Instructions

Lately we’ve been having a bit of trouble with Chancery at nap time.  Apparently her stuffed dog “Ginger” has a bit of a talking issue, & talks & talks & talks, keeping her awake for most of her nap (suspicious, no?)

 

So, as I put her down for nap yesterday, I warned her not to talk, & then I warned Ginger, that if she was caught talking, I’d take her away & put her in the closet.

 

Chancery took a nice, long quite nap.  When she awoke, she proudly announced, “I was so quiet, & I didn’t talk at all!  I didn’t tell you that my pants leaked & my bed is all wet!”

 

Me: “Was your bed wet for a long time, or a little bit of time?”

 

Chancery: “My bed was wet the longest time ever!”

 

Awesome.  I guess I’ll have to be more specific in my instructions from now on, & add that if she has issues with her pants, that she is allowed to voice them.

I Got Sucked In!

Last night, I put the kids to bed a bit early since they had missed their naps.  We usually read a book in Asher’s room, & Chancery was trying to climb up into his bed, while Asher was pushing her away.

 

I told Asher that he had lost the privilege of having a book, so I prayed with him & then left the room.  After reading to Chancery & getting her settled in, I heard Asher asking for his sheets to be tucked in.  I went & tucked them in, but told him that if I heard him talking again, I was going to take his buddy away.

 

A little while later & heard Asher saying, “Please, Mummy, can you read me a book?  I didn’t even get to read one book today at all.  Please can you read to me?  I promise I’ll be good!  I just want one little book, because I didn’t read any books today at all!”

 

I felt bad.

 

He went through a whole day without having a single book read to him…

 

How can I expect him to have a love of books if he didn’t even read one today?

 

So, I went up, & told Asher that I would read him a little book, but he had to promise to go right to sleep afterward, & to behave properly in the future.

 

He promised, I read, he went to sleep…

 

I told PChad later that night about the long process of putting Asher to bed.  When I told him about the book, he was quite surprised that I got suckered into it.  I think Asher may have found my weakness…

Strange Dreams

Chancery has been waking up the last few nights, crying in the middle of the night.  The first night I went into her room, & it took a bit to get her awake enough to stop crying.  Once she finally figured out I was there, she said, “I don’t want to have a time-out!”

 

I assured her that she had been dreaming, & she didn’t have to have a time-out.  She just laid down & went back to sleep, easy-peasy.

 

Last night, she woke up again, & I went into her room.  She looked at me & said, “Asher dropped a book on my foot yesterday, & he hurt me!”

 

I asked her if he did that in her dream, & she replied, “No, he did that yesterday!”

 

I assured her that it probably wasn’t on purpose, & now was time to sleep.  She promptly laid down & went back to sleep again.

 

While I’m not thrilled at being woken in the middle of the night, I am glad that it’s so easy to get her back to sleep, & it’s a bit funny the things that wake her up!

I Hear Noises At Night

Asher has a habit of trying to read books in his pitch-black room after we put him to bed at night.  So, about 15 minutes after I got the kids in bed, when I heard him talking (he reads aloud), I figured he was reading.  I went upstairs, opened his door, & turned on the light.

 

“What are you doing?” I asked.

 

“Just singing a little bit, and praying to God,” he replied.

 

I couldn’t really fault him for that, so I just said goodnight again, & quietly closed the door.

*Yawn* … *Ya---wn*

Asher was sitting at the table eating his afternoon snack.  I was in the kitchen making a latte, & I started yawning, & yawning.  Between yawns, I asked, “Why am I so tired, Asher?”

 

Asher: “Probably because you didn’t have a sleep at naptime.”

 

Me: “Maybe.”

 

Asher: “You should have slept, Mummy, because if you don’t get enough sleep, you will be grumpy when you wake up in the morning.”

 

Me: “Do you think so?”

 

Asher: “Yes.”

 

Me: “Well, maybe I’ll just have some coffee.  Do you think that will help?”

 

Asher: “No.”

 

Me: “Well, why not?”

 

Asher: “Because I don’t think it has those chemicals in it that you think it does.”

 

I had explained to him a few days before about caffeine & how it helps you to stay awake.  I guess he had been paying more attention than I thought!

Was he trying to tell me that PChad had switched my coffee to decaf?

Snooze Buddies

I caught these two on the couch the other day.  They had been quiet for awhile, so I thought I’d see what they were up to…

 

Thanet must have thought that it looked like a good plan, because he joined in the action (or lack thereof) too.

 

But all was not quite as it seemed…

 

I’d been duped!  They hadn’t been sleeping at all!

Naptime Discussions

After hearing singing & yelling from Chancery’s room throughout the entirety of naptime, when I entered her room I did not expect the excuses she had…

 

Chancery: “I had a GOOD sleep!”

 

Me: “No you didn’t.  You didn’t sleep at all!”

 

Chancery: “Well, Ginger was singing…” she said with distress in her voice as if there was nothing she could do about it.