Counting Down the Minutes

So Sweet When They Are Sleeping - She Always Says She's Sleeping Beauty

God bless the energy of my children, but OY VEY, I am just counting down the minutes until bedtime EVERY DAY, and I am not exaggerating.  I am thoroughly exhausted, drained, spent, I really have nothing left even a few hours with just me and my kids.

We had a fun but non stop Shabbat, had a wonderful dinner with friends last night.  Because sundown is so late, we do not start eating until 9pm or later, we did not get home until after midnight.  The only one of us who had a good nap was the baby, we all went right to sleep once we walked home.  I know everyone was exhausted because the kids and the whole household did not wake up until 8AM! That is late in our house, the kids usually jump out of bed running and teeming with energy every morning around 6am.

So we slowly got ready and headed to synagouge together, we were invited to lunch and by the time we got there which was around 2pm, my husband decided to have a "me" day, which he does for me all the time on Shabbat.  I love it once everyone is ready, he takes all the kids and I get to have a quiet house and a great nap.  So it was his turn, and it was perfect for me, there were a lot of amazing people and great conversations, and the kids were busy with friends, and it was absolutely delicious.

We got home around 4:30pm, and I literally kept glancing at the watch, just whining, complaining, over silly things, that are probably a big deal to the kids, but I had very little patience for it.  This was a fun weekend, but definitely not my most relaxing Shabbat.  The baby figured out that his baby bottle and the top of the baby bottle came apart, so he was excited to play with it.  It is a glass bottle, but with a rubber cover, www.lifefactory.com, he has thrown it hard and it has not broken, however if the cover is not on the top of the glass could break.  So I was just standing by, NOT RELAXING, then my daughter kept on being the instigator to everyone else crying - I could not wait until 6pm to start the bed time preparations.

My oldest son cannot understand why it is still light outside, he says IT'S MORNING, so I try to explain how in the summer time the sun goes down later.  I think maybe that is why they wake up so early because they feel the light coming in their room, but then again, today they slept deep for two hours more - THE JOY OF PARENTHOOD :)

So while I am attempting to relax once they are all in their beds, my oldest comes out and says he is not tired and then proceeds to trip over a table, I get him some ice and tell him he is tired or else he wouldn't have done that, and tell him to go to bed.  The my baby lets out a yelp and I run to quiet him down, and it startles and wakes up my daughter who was the first to fall asleep, THANK GOD, while I was calming the baby, she just turned over and fell back asleep.

24/7 together in an RV for a month - hmmmmmmmmm - as I tell everyone definitely not relaxing, but I am excited.  I know for sure it will be an adventure, especially now with the baby almost walking, he may be the most active one.  My oldest likes to watch the road and my daughter likes to eat and watch movies, the baby is just on the move.  Last year he was 4 months, ate and slept when we drove 17 hours a day, got to Atlanta, GA in a couple of days.  This year we are taking it slow, going with the flow, enjoying the go go go.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend,
Shavua Tov,
Coach Yulia