Morning Bloomer...Can I Get a Hallelujah?!

This isn't a complaint. It's reality with my goofy children.

So for some reason, Alexander decided to be WIDE AWAKE at 4:30am when Chris was leaving for work. While Chris loved the cute interactions from his caboose (not his butt, his baby) so early in the morning as he was getting ready to leave, I know he felt bad that I had to deal with those big brown eyes so wide awaky at 4:30am. 

One of our saving graces is "Baby First TV" (channel 9400 on Dish Network. I don't know what it is on Direct TV). And I'm pretty sure it's on the basic packages for both services. There's no need to upgrade to something stupid to have that channel.

 Sure, some critics will say that we're expecting the TV to do our jobs. But Baby First TVs Nighttime Baby Programs have music and soothing pictures. It helps him calm down (and me too...the music is nice). Plus, being artsy, I like the photos and imagery.  Considering we read X-man so many books and chase him around the house and interact with him as much as we do, I highly doubt we're abusing Baby First TV.  So I see Baby First TV as a blessing bestowed upon me as a parent in the 21st Century.

No, this isn't Chris. But this isn't too far from reality around here.

Well, knowing I was barely conscious for this wide awake ball of energy of ours, Chris turned on the channel and laughed that instead of "Nighttime Baby Programs" it was "Early Morning Bloomers".

Well, that's exactly what we had! 

But this time, it didn't really work. Sure, X-Man sort of lied on the bed with me and watched it, but by 6am, he was ready to do more. Usually Christian would be up by then, but not this time since he was up later than usual with Chris working on the Pinewood Derby car the night before. 

By 6:30, I  was desperate, so I hoped Barney on PBS (a show I would never let the kids watch for the sake of my own sanity) would do the trick, but no such luck. 

Good, because I didn't want to try that one again. 

By the time I got the other two kids out the door between 7:30 and 7:45, I was in pain with exhaustion. This is the price I pay for staying up until midnight practically every night working on customer orders, artwork, and trying to get ahead with some block sets. Plus, I have two decorative items to make for the Pinewood Derby on Saturday. 

But then something amazing happened...at 8am, Alexander started acting cranky and tired. Could it be? Could this be a lucky break? 

Not getting my hopes up too much, I tried to lie him down in his crib...

And...

Just imagine the choir singing Hallelujah too....You know the soundbite....

So I decided to take advantage myself and lied down on my bed. Well, first, I took the phone off the hook (well, this is 2013...there is no hook. But I clicked the button to accomplish the equivalent), and wondered if I should put a sign on the door that said a combination of these two:

AND

But I took my chances. 

And let's just say, we're fully recovered. Alexander is in my good graces again and I feel like a normal human.  I am so glad I didn't have anything planned this morning. But if I did, I was so tired and desperate, I may have flaked out. That's why I'm glad two of my 4 weekly Jazzercize classes are in the evening. It's more hectic then, yes, but I am certain to be awake and Mikelle can watch Alexander.

I look so peaceful when my kids are sleeping.

UGLY SHIRT DAY

Yesterday was "UGLY SHIRT DAY" at school and Christian said he wanted to participate. So the day before, I had a blank white T-shirt and I got him a funny necktie decal to iron on. Then I said we can use Sharpies to decorate the shirt. Well, he started acting weird about he whole thing and said he didn't want to participate anymore. That made me a little sad, but I didn't push it. But then later he said he did. He drew some pictures and Mikelle and I did too. This is what we ended up with for his "Ugly Shirt" on Wednesday.

I think he was still self-conscious about it and probably kept his hoodie jacket on the whole day. That's okay. We still have the shirt for another day!