Sunday, March 14, 2010

Lots to say today / Revised bedtime schedule

It was daylight savings time and the clocks moved forward so I expected the kids to get up early. Both Ronin and Audrey were restless in their beds and I had to keep going in there to settle them. They both got the cold that Nikko got from me: coughing & runny noses. Today was day 2 for Nikko's cold and the skin below his nose is red from his constant sleeve-wiping. Ronin is much better at asking for a nose wipe, but since he doesn't always ask right away he uses his sleeves and his cheeks are bright red with irritation. Audrey's drippy nose started in the afternoon so tonight, both she and Ronin are having difficulty sleeping.

Nikko had such a verbal day today. During breakfast he found an empty paper towel roll in the recycling bin and started making roaring sounds through one end. I stood on the other end and put it to my ear, then roared back into it. We had a little exchange but it was short-lived (too many kings of the jungle!). Later in the morning I was drowsy on the couch sitting next to Audrey when Nikko came up to me and put his open hand and fingers over his face, saying "Sleep." Then he put his hand over my face. I think he was observing me, not saying that he himself was sleepy. This morning Nikko wanted to watch The Reef, but after a while I was getting annoyed that it wasn't engaging enough so I put in Finding Nemo and the kids were content with it. Denis told me that Nikko was saying, "Shark bait! Whoo ha ha!" just like in the movie, but I didn't hear it. After lunch, Denis was munching on some peanut butter cereal when Nikko showed interest. Denis told Nikko to say Shark Bait to earn some cereal, and Nikko repeated it clearly. Except for the Whoo ha ha. In the afternoon we were watching Racing to the Rainbow (The Wiggles) when I noticed that Nikko was saying something and then dropping to the floor, bounding back up, saying it again and dropping to the floor. He was imitating Captain Feathersword who says, "Well blow me down!" then a crew member blows at him and he falls down in a heap. Nikko was pointing at no one in particular, saying, "Well blow me down!" and then he'd drop to the floor. I thought it was hilarious! Ronin does this as well, but Ronin comes up to me and says, "Well blow me down!" then waits for me to blow at him before falling backwards in a heap. When we were taking the boys into the basement for a romp, Nikko was walking down the stairs singing, "La la, la la," from The Wiggles' Mermaid Song. Nikko really seems to be in a sing-song mood lately, and I have to listen really closely to find the melody. Finally, at bedtime, while I was dressing Ronin, Denis said from the bathroom that Nikko said, "Bathtime." Clear as a bell. But he couldn't get Nikko to repeat it for me, so I'll have to try it on Nikko tomorrow.

One last note. Tomorrow, pending wake-up times, I'm going to try to put the kids to bed earlier. I'm going to try it for two weeks to see if it affects their sleeping patterns, to see if sleep begets sleep, and to see if it helps eliminate the early morning wakings. I had to sit and think about what our schedule would be like and it's REALLY early for us. I don't know if I can keep this schedule but I'll try:

7:00a - Breakfast
8:10 - Nikko off to school
10:00 - mid morning snack if needed
10:30 - Audrey's nap #1
11:20 - Nikko home from school
11:30 - lunch
1:00 - Ronin's nap
2:30 - Snack time
3:00 - Audrey's nap #2
5:30 - Dinner
6:50 - Audrey's bath time
7:10 - Audrey's bed time
7:15 - Nikko & Ronin's bath time
7:45 - Stories and prayers
8:00 - Nikko & Ronin's bed time

Am I going to be able to do this?? Any gaps in between times are for playing time w/the kids. The available times for going to Costco or early morning errands are between 8:30 - 11:00, and from 12:30 - 4:00 if I forgo some nap times. Tuesdays would be late dinner days because Jenna comes between 4:30-6:00. There are tons of parents that put their kids down before 8p, so this should be a doable list. And somehow I guess I should cut myself some slack as long as the boys are in bed at either 8:15 or 8:30 LATEST. I hope I can do this for two weeks! Maybe it will be just what we need.

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