Mom Tip: Blame it on Wednesday

Breakfast used to be a mine field in our family. If I made one wrong move, Caedmon would absolutely blow up on me and then we'd begin a downward spiral of bad behavior & discipline. Not a fun way to start the day.

I'd hand him milk and he'd yell, "I wanted juice!"

I'd hand him orange juice and suddenly he wanted apple juice.

It was brutal. I'm not the type of mom that says, "Oh, okay. No problem. I'll get you some apple juice instead." No. I'm more the "Let me hear you say 'Thank you for providing something healthy and sanitary for me to drink'" kind of mom.

Not only was food selection a source of strife, but I found that the kids were eating the same thing most days. So, I came up with a little system because we all know a SYSTEM can:

Save
You
Stress
Time
Energy &
Money

I made a notecard with our breakfast meal plan (which stays the same every week) and stuck it on the fridge. Now, each morning I just consult the handy-dandy notecard to figure out what the Littles are having for breakfast. No thought. No pressure. No walking on egg shells in fear of a land mine.

Sunday: eggs
Monday: yogurt (with or without granola)
Tuesday: cereal
Wednesday: oatmeal
Thursday: eggs
Friday: free choice
Saturday: cereal

That way if Caedmon says, "Why are we having oatmeal today?" I can respond, "Because it's Wednesday." Blame it on Wednesday. And for whatever reason, in his little mind, it takes all the responsibility off of me and puts it on Wednesday.

I love our little system and think I'll keep using it until the Littles are big enough to make their own breakfasts. If breakfasts are a mine field in your family, give it a shot. Once the kids adjust to the idea of the new system, you will find a lot less strife surrounding the breakfast nook!

A Blurry Line

After a good conversation I had with a friend recently, I was left thinking about the difference between living a disciplined life and being legalistic. At first glance, they can look the same. At times all that separates them is a gray fuzzy line.

One quality is a Biblical virtue. The other infuriated Jesus. That sounds a little dangerous. Like there should be more distinction.

Speaking of things that deserve a little more distinction...especially first thing in the morning!

                            

 

Last week I mentioned a few adjustments I'm making for 2012. One was my commitment during the month of January to give up desserts and to only drink water. The other commitment was finding one 15 minute time block per day to focus on prayer. Those can be good, healthy commitments which provide the right structure to help me accomplish the goals I'm trying to reach, or they can turn into legalism.

So how do you know which side of the fence you're on? How can I make sure that my heart is really seeking to honor God instead of just living according to all these man-made rules...crossing all my "t's" and dotting all my "i's" just to impress myself or some random people who probably don't actually care that much?

Here's a few thoughts. Ask yourself:

1. "What specific goal am I trying to accomplish?" (i.e. losing the 5 pounds I gained over the Christmas holidays or having a more intimate relationship with the Lord)
2. "Is this structure that I've put in place really going to help me accomplish that goal?"(When it stops helping you accomplish the goal and you're just doing it because you're "suppose to", you need to drop it and find a new way to accomplish your goal.)
3. "How will I measure my progress?" (Weight loss is easy to measure, intimacy with the Lord is a little more tricky.)
4. "Should this be an on-going discipline or a short-term commitment?" (I'm not giving up desserts indefinitely. But a more intimate prayer life is something I'm hoping will become apart of who I am long-term.)
5. "How will I handle failure?" (I've already realized that the weekends are going to be really difficult for me to find that 15 minute time block. But instead of throwing in the towel, I've just adjusted my structure to say that I will find one 15 minute time block five days a week to focus on prayer.)

I think most of us are finally motivated to change something in our lives when the pain of NOT changing is greater than the pain of changing. And, according to Dr. Henry Cloud, when you realize your maturity is not strong enough to make that change, you should add a little external structure. The external structure (or discipline) is simply a tool to get us from point A to point B. 

For me, these added disciplines are a stake in the ground, a line in the sand acknowledging that I believe God wants to move me from here to there, and this is my simple, tangible starting point. You've gotta draw a line somewhere!

HELP! My child won't sleep!

I'd like to introduce you to my new best friend...

Anyone who has followed this blog for very long knows that we have some "sleep issues" around the Wood household. We have had Sammy home now for nearly one year five months, and I could count the number of times he has slept through the night on two hands.

When Sammy first got home, he would have night terrors and be very scared throughout the night. That took about 3 months to get through, but he never caught on to sleeping all the way through the night. Once we moved him out of his pack-n-play in our room into sharing a room with his brother (at about 6 months home), the trend continued. Every night he would wander into our room and simply want one of us to walk him back to his room. This could happen anywhere from once to 4 times a night.

More recently, he's become quite the party animal in the middle of the night. No longer feeling the need to check in with mom & dad if he wakes up, he finds all kinds of things to do to keep himself entertained.

• We've found him sitting on the couch watching TV at least half a dozen times. We keep one of our remotes up high on a shelf so the kids don't touch/lose it. But Sammy would push a little table across our living room, climb up, step over to the entertainment center, and get the remote down! I came out recently (at 3 AM) and he had turned on our Apple TV, found Netflix, and found a VeggieTales to watch.  That's better than the time I found him watching a trailer for Good Will Hunting! We now take the remotes in our bedroom at night. 
• On another occasion, he destroyed one of our bathrooms. When we discovered the mess the next morning, there was a half inch of standing water on the floor, all of the beach towels had been pulled out and were sopping wet, 2 tubes of toothpaste had been eaten, and mouthwash was all over the place. 
• 3 times we've found him sleeping on the couch the next morning (once with Andy's laptop as his pillow)
• And let's just say that there has been more than one time that we have found him butt-naked 

We tried putting up a gate, but he learned how to knock it over. We've tried leaving a special stuffed animal and mini flashlight in the hallway for him to get in the middle of the night. Not interested. 

17 months, People! Do you realize how long that is? 

At some point you start to lose your mind and begin thinking of crazy ideas like just leaving and checking into a hotel or putting a small mattress inside of a dog kennel. Don't judge me... :-)

Last week, my dear friend (who also happens to be an incredible mom) introduced me to Melatonin. It is a chemical that your body naturally produces and can help with sleep issues. She had given it to her kiddos to help them adjust from jet lag and then gave me the rest of the bottle. 

I'm not a doctor or pharmacist, so don't hold me liable, but I could not keep this new found friend a secret!

I've given it to Sammy for 4 nights now: 

• 1st night: he didn't wake up until 6 AM
• 2nd night: made it to 6:15 AM
• 3rd night: 6:40 AM
• 4th night: 7:15 AM!!!!

Now, I don't plan on keeping Sammy on this indefinitely. But his little body is not accustomed to getting the good night sleep that he needs. So I am using this as a "system reboot" to help him form a habit of sleeping through the night, and then we'll wean him off. 

So, I am not trying to prescribe (or even recommend) this to anyone. I just realize that there may be some other sleep deprived parents out there who are about to lose their minds and they need another option. If that's you, talk to your doctor/pharmacist, do a little research, and maybe, just maybe, it will change your life! It is working gloriously over at the Wood household!

$2 Fun

Instructions: 

1. Buy 2 cans of silly string from the dollar store.
2. Take your crazy kids and husband outside.
3. Let them go at it!

Must See Movies

What is it about the Holidays that makes us all want to watch way too many movies?

Andy & I don't make it to the theatre very often (mainly because it's so freakin' expensive), but we watch many-a-movie in the comforts of our own living room. It's nicer that way because you can snuggle on the couch and make out afterwards without being interrupted by the high school theatre employees. Just sayin...

We watched 4 movies (all out on DVD) over the holidays that were really awesome. If you've not yet seen these, you will not be disappointed.

Let me know what movies you saw that are worth seeing...I'm always on the lookout for a good movie!