A Little Unwell

Earlier this week on Monday, Sawyer had his follow up ENT appointment. Results were not great. Ears are still red, both previously inserted tubes are now out, and he's retaining fluid in both ears. Needless to say, he failed the hearing / audiology tests pretty spectacularly and isn't hearing very well at all. He's scheduled for his second tube surgery next week.

On Tuesday, Connor continued complaining that he couldn't hear out of one ear. So we took him to the pediatrician for a ear check. Raging ear infection in his left ear. They were not at all surprised that he couldn't hear. And this is for the kid who rarely gets them.

Wednesday I had to try to catch up on work, because I was falling behind with all of the kids appointments, runs to the pharmacy to drop off and pick up prescriptions, and just everyday life of therapy and after school activities.

I've had a persistent cough for about a month, nothing too serious, just more annoying than anything. In the past week or so, I've felt like I was coming down with a cold. Fuzzy head, headaches, scratchy throat. Again, nothing terrible, just a little annoying.

The holidays. They're busy and chaotic. Work always gets busy this time of year, proposals needing to go in before the end of the fiscal year.

So I finally forced myself to visit the little clinic. The medicine in the photo is mine.

Persistent cough. Slight cold.

Actually, a left ear infection, bronchitis and pneumonia.

Good stuff.

Antiobiotics for the infection and pneumonia. Cough medicine for daytime and nighttime. And some prednisone for my swollen glands in my throat.

Now if only I could finish up some work and actually get a little extra sleep, like the doctor recommended.

Under the Weather

You know it's not good when Sawyer actually sleeps. During the day. And is covered up with a blanket ...

First Ever Family Vacation

It's only taken us eight (or nine) years ... but we finally took our first ever family vacation, without the very helpful grandparents who usually invite us along on their vacations. Our destination was Folley Beach, South Carolina.

The car ride was a little long (about 9 hours), but the view when we pulled into our hotel parking lot was well worth the wait. The Atlantic Ocean reaching up into a beautiful blue sky with white clouds and bright sunshine. We left early after Daddy arrived home from his fire shift, and drove until late afternoon. We checked in, found our swimwear, and immediately made our way out to the beach.

The boys LOVED it.

Normally we visit the beach in December, when the water and the air temperatures are mild at best. They are sometimes downright cold. Not this time. The air was warm, and the water was warmer. It was a perfect summer evening at the beach. The crowds were thin (it was a Wednesday) and the tide was out.

Sun, sand and surf ...







We spent the next few days soaking up the sun and the water, both on the beach and at the outdoor swimming pool. The boys were happy in both places, though given the riptides, it was much easier at the pool.

There were some challenges, of course.

Even giving up the gluten-free-casein-free diet a few months back, feeding the twins is always a big one. They're incredibly limited in what they will eat, so our restaurant options were few and far between. We managed to get by with some pizza, chicken fingers, french fries and Cracker Barrel. And Arby's, several stops at Arby's.

Sleeping was also an issue. The boys don't do a lot of it, so it made for some short nights and early mornings. We also had to worry about the noise our two little boys make for our hotel neighbors, whether it was the vocal stemming or the stomping or the banging on the headboard.

And the long car rides, which speak for themselves.

After we finished our time at the beach, we spent a day traveling. We drove through historic Charleston, enjoying a scenic drive along the Battery and through historic downtown and the market. We had a late breakfast at a Cracker Barrel in Mount Pleasant, and then Connor and Josh took a tour of the U.S.S. Yorktown and the others at Patriot Point. The twins and I relaxed under a shade tree with our screens, iPads for them and a Nook for me.

And on our way home, we made a very special stop. We picked up our new puppy, Bruno. His breeder was located in rural South Carolina. New puppy photos are here ...

The rest of the beach photos are here ...

Winter Vacation

You may have noticed the new photo at the top of the blog. The other one was just three or four years old. Finally, we have a group photo of all three boys that is not staged or pieced together in PhotoShop. A magical moment in the middle of our winter beach vacation, where all three boys were loving our trip to the ocean.

It was a great trip. Special thanks to Grandma and Grandpa for inviting us, and for helping us take care of three little boys (especially the two who liked to get up much too early). The rest of the photos from the trip start here.

Beach. Pool. MyPad. Lunch. Bed.

That's how Xander would sum up our trip.

And it's a pretty good summary. The weather was nice, with several days in the upper 70s and even one day in the 80s. There were a few cooler days in the 60s, and even a few days with clouds and rain. But we still had a good time. We made several trips to the beach, even though the water was on the chilly side (mid-60s at best). We made several trips to the pools (both indoor and outdoor, complete with water slide and lazy river). We had our screens (iPads for the twins, iPod Touch for Connor, television and wi-fi computers for the rest of us). And we had lots of good food. Not quite enough bed, especially with the sleeping arrangements and Sawyer's unpredictable sleeping patterns.

And now we're back home. Slowly finding our way back into our routine.

School. Work. Therapy. Homework. MyPad. Lunch. Bath. Bed.

I'm pretty sure we all like last week's routine a little bit better. But so it goes.

Off Schedule

Off Schedule, a photo by here we wander on Flickr.

Sleep. It seems so incredibly easy for most of us. But it's so elusive to a few. Sawyer is one of them. He struggles with sleep. He doesn't need as much as the rest of the world, and it only takes one off day to set his schedule off for days or weeks at a time.

Time changes mess with him. So do changes in routine. Like this week, which is Spring Break. The schedule is off. So is he.

It was two o'clock in the afternoon. Sawyer was dead asleep in the middle of his floor. He's been up since three o'clock in the morning, completely awake and ready to start his day.

Round and round we go ...

On the Mend ...

Last night Sawyer slept for nearly 12 hours.

I probably should have known it was too good to be true. He NEVER sleeps that much. But after staying up late myself to work on a project, I was thankful that he slept in (you know, to 7 o'clock, on a school morning).

Yes, that's sleeping in. I promise. It's much better than 4 or 5 o'clock, which are closer to his normal. The last two or three days were right around 5 o'clock.

So this morning it was a little after 7 o'clock when he came crawling under my covers and into my bed. Daddy was still on shift at the fire station, and he's gotten used to climbing in and claiming his side of the bed on those mornings. He was happy and snuggly and fine.

Or so he seemed.

Just after lunch I got the first text message. Sawyer didn't seem like himself, was crying a little and trying to lay down. One of his classmates had already gone home this week with strep, so his teacher just wanted to give me a heads up. I texted her back that I could come get him anytime, if she thought it was necessary. We've let him sleep it off at school before, especially after a rough couple of sleep nights.

The phone call came shortly after. He was now crying, holding onto his ears for dear life, and nothing seemed to make it better.

These are not good signs. Sawyer rarely, if ever, cries, and certainly not uncontrollably. The kid has put his hand on a hot stove, suffered second-degree burns that blistered ridiculously in a matter of minutes, and not even blinked an eye. Pain tolerance is off the charts.

For him to cry like that, and not stop, means something is seriously wrong.

My work project got put on hold. I packed up a few things and headed off to school to sign him out. I went ahead and called our pediatrician, who is great with the boys and who always makes time to see you, even late on a Friday afternoon. Our appointment was in an hour.

We came back to the house for a quick stop. I rounded up a few things for our office visit, made arrangements for Daddy to pick up the other two boys from school, and we headed on our way.

From the moment I picked him up from school, he never stopped crying.

We made it in to see our pediatrician. She did a quick exam. I explained the symptoms, we made some educated guesses. A quick look into his ears confirmed it. The left ear was really bad. The right one wasn't much better. Double ear infection, both bad. No sign of strep, which was good news.

Next came the treatment. If it had been Connor, we would have done an oral medication. But the twins don't do oral medication. We're lucky to get Tylenol into their systems every once in a while. Today Sawyer fought even that, and he normally likes it.

So it was shots. Two, one in each leg. And honestly, he didn't even really cry about it. He cried more just being at the office and being examined than he did when the shots were administered.

He was asleep in his booster seat before I ever pulled out of the parking space. The combination of the little Tylenol I managed to get into him, and the big dose of medication, were working their magic.

He slept the rest of the day. And woke up about 10 minutes ago.

At least he's not crying. He still looks sad and pitiful, and he can't seem to find a comfortable position to lay down and play his iPad at the same time. But he's not crying.

There is nothing worse for me than hearing one of the twins cry. Nothing makes you feel more helpless. They cannot tell you what's wrong. And they don't cry - not the real cry - very often. So when they do, it's usually something pretty important.

You know, like a double ear infection. A really bad one.

And while I don't know how much sleep any of us are going to get tonight, I think the worst of it is over. Sawyer isn't crying anymore, and that's the most important thing. He is not himself yet, but he doesn't seem to be in pain. And if he wakes up tomorrow and still doesn't feel well, the pediatrician told us to call. They will get him in tomorrow morning for some more medicine if he needs it.

Thank goodness for a good pediatrician. She makes time to see you regardless of the day or time, and she knows the standard treatment isn't going to work with my boys.

And thank goodness for great teachers. They know when something is not right with your baby, and they have your number in their phone and call you the minute they can't make it better.

No, this life is not always easy.

But there are so many people in our lives who help make it easier.

Sleep ...

Sometimes it is so elusive ... and sometimes it simply crashes into him.

Sawyer has had a rough sleep pattern the last few weeks. The change of season and time certainly play a part. The rest is simply his internal clock, so different from the rest of ours.

There have been a lot days that have started around 4 o'clock in the morning. There have been a lot of nights with only five or six hours of sleep.

And then Saturday night there was the oddest of all, asleep by 7 o'clock one evening all the way until 6 o'clock the next morning. Sawyer doesn't do all night, and he certainly doesn't do 11 hours on any given night.

And now this, sound asleep at school by lunch time. Who knows how long he will sleep, or what, if anything, it might mean for tonight. A vicious cycle, round and round we go ...

Special thanks to Sawyer's teacher Mrs. K for sharing the photos.

Asleep By 7 o'clock ...

Asleep By 7 o'clock ..., a photo by here we wander on Flickr.

This really does not bode well for the middle of the night.

It Looks So Simple ...

Sweet Angel, a photo by here we wander on Flickr.

But it's not.

Sawyer has always struggled the most with sleep. Or perhaps more accurately, we have always struggled the most with trying to get Sawyer to sleep.

The truth is the kid really only needs about six hours of sleep on any given day. That's it. So when you try to put him to bed at a decent hour for a five-year old, say around 9 o'clock, that doesn't get you very far into the night.

Not once, but TWICE this week alone, he has woken up at just after 3 o'clock in the morning. One of those nights, he didn't even go to bed until after 10 o'clock the night before.

The time change has not helped, of course. But it's more than that. It's simply his internal clock. Apparently 3 a.m. is when he's ready to start his day.

The rest of us, not so much.

So it's a struggle to balance what he needs with what the rest of us need. And it's a vicious cycle that just keeps going and going.

To Sleep .. Or Not to Sleep

To Sleep, a photo by here we wander on Flickr.

The poor kid.

Sawyer has always had more trouble than any of our boys when it comes to sleeping. He hasn't napped consistently since around his second birthday, and he hasn't required more than 7 or 8 hours of sleep per night since that time either. His internal clock can be way off at times.

Last night was one of those times. He was tired late in the afternoon, laying around on the couch in the kids' playroom. Around 7:30 he finally gave it up, one foot still in the talking letters toy tote and a pillow pulled over his head (he craves pressure, always, but especially when he sleeps).

At first I was worried he might be getting sick. The weather is changing. It's that time of year. And he's at a much bigger school, with lots of different classrooms and potential germ-carriers, I mean classmates.

But no, three hours later we realized he was not getting sick. His internal clock was just off. He took a three-hour nap.

And then he was done.

Josh went to his room to get him. We let him sit on the couch with us for a few minutes, but he seemed sleepy still. I took him for one more potty break, then asked him to go back night-night with Mommy. He took my hand willingly, and let me lead him back to his dark room where we both climbed into his bed.

I stayed for half an hour. He was sleepy and full of yawns, but he just couldn't give it up. I closed him in his room, told him night-night and left to find my own bed.

Sleep didn't find him until very late this morning. He was still wide-awake around 4 a.m. when I made another pass at laying down with him to try to help him sleep. It lasted 20 minutes and I once again closed him in. He only wanted to jabber, not lie still and try to sleep. And Mommy was still sleepy.

I heard him off and on the next few hours, and we suspect he fell asleep again sometime between 6 and 7 this morning. Which made him a bear to get up at a little after 7 to get ready for school.

We put a note in his folder for his teachers. Last night I had written about keeping an eye out for signs of sickness, because this child is never tired. Unless he's off schedule. And then you're in for a rough couple of days.

I updated his folder this morning to warn them about the sleepless night. He may or may not crash on them at school, but he will be cranky. And sooner or later, he will crash. Could be at school. Could be at speech therapy after school (of course it's today of all days). Could be after we get home.

But make no mistake, the crash will come. It always does. It's a vicious cycle.

Last night was the first rough night, but it will not be the only one. It generally takes a few days to get back on track. Here's hoping it happens sooner rather than later. And that his teachers survive the day!

To Sleep ... Or Not to Sleep

Off Schedule, a photo by here we wander on Flickr.

That's the million dollar question in our house.

This has been a rough week in terms of sleep, and I may or may not have wanted to strangle the adorable child in this photo. This was 7 o'clock in the evening, which is a tad bit early for him to be thinking about going to sleep for the night. Luckily for him, he managed to sleep for 12 uninterrupted hours this night.

Now the three or four nights before that were a bit different. As in about seven hours less, every single night. The kid was falling asleep around 10 or even 11 at night, and then promptly waking up for the day about five hours later. Yes, 3 o'clock in the morning and he was wide awake and ready to start the day. And no, he didn't go back to sleep. Not once. Not even a tiny little nap in the middle of the day. And he was still never ready to go to bed, despite the string of long days and short nights he was accumulating.

So I was not in the mood for an early bedtime only to be followed by yet another middle of the night wake up. But, luckily for all of us, it finally caught up to him and he managed to sleep for more than a few consecutive hours at a time.

Sigh. Let's hope tonight is another good night, and not another short one. Sometimes that one good (dare I say normal) night of sleep is enough to throw it all back off again. Fingers crossed ...

Struggle

Brothers, a photo by here we wander on Flickr.

Summer can be hard on Sawyer and Xander. It lacks the same structure, the same routine that comes with going to school, of having to be at certain places at certain times on certain days. Connor and I love that freedom - sleeping late, making plans as we go. The twins, not so much.

One of our biggest struggles with the boys is always sleep. We really wish they needed more of it. Eight to ten hours a night, and that's pretty much it. They usually fall asleep sometime between 9 and 10 o'clock at night and are up anywhere from 5 to 7 o'clock in the morning. Usually.

On Sunday, Sawyer fell asleep on our two-hour drive home from the lake. At five o'clock in the afternoon. He didn't want to go to bed that night, and didn't fall asleep until well after 10 o'clock.

He was up at 3:45 that morning.

And I mean up as in wide-awake, not a trace of a yawn or sleepy eyes, awake. Josh got him some cereal and milk and let him go to the play room, where he was already headed anyway.

And it's been a struggle ever since. Staying up late, waking up in the middle of the night, sleeping in and then really, really staying up late (like until the middle of the night). He's actually still awake. And he's been in his room since 9 o'clock, except for a potty break which he tried to use to escape to the play room (no such luck, kiddo).

Xander doesn't have the same struggles, at least not to the same extent. But he also has them. An unexpected nap or sleeping in just an hour more than normal can throw him off for days. He was awake in his room for hours tonight, too, which is actually pretty rare for him. He'll probably sleep in and the cycle will start all over again.

Sometimes I tell people that they cannot be my children. I love to sleep. I can sleep for hours and hours and hours. If my children would ever let me. I'll take their eight hours and trade them for ten or twelve, please. Even just a few nights a week. Pretty please.

I think it would help their dispositions. And I know it would help mine.

Is School Over Yet?

Bumpin', originally uploaded by cheryl.

Connor very much wishes that it was - as of right now. Or maybe even yesterday.

We spent the holiday weekend at the lake, and he had a big time. So big, that he really, really didn't want to leave last night. He was sad and chatty the whole way home, which was way past his bedtime.

This morning, he was nearly impossible to get  up and get dressed. He didn't touch his milk or dry cereal. He actually fell back asleep in the car just a few minutes out of our driveway. He also slept a few hours at school, according to his teacher.

Clearly he thought summer break should have started today. He was one tired little boy after a big, fun weekend away.

I'm guessing an early bed time is in order, but wish us luck in actually accomplishing it. It's another sunny, beautiful day in our part of the world. And it doesn't get dark until well after bed time, so it's usually a battle.

A Little (Okay, A LOT) Late

Apparently staying up until 2 a.m. baking cookies and getting up in time for school don't exactly coincide.

And maybe, just maybe, I shouldn't have given Daddy such a hard time when Connor got those tardies earlier this year (you know, two in as many weeks). His tardies were only a few minutes late, so that should count for something. But I digress ...

Last night after the kids went to bed, I turned into Santa's helper - preparing all the Christmas gifts for the people who support our boys during the school year. It turned into a late-night, early morning affair before it was all said and done. Making cookies is not something I can do with three little boys running around - they tend to pinch cookies off the baking sheets (Sawyer) or borrow the bowl of cookie dough (Xander) or lick the mixing spoon (Connor). It can be a problem, so I usually wait until they're down for the night. So it's round after round of baking, cooling, packaging, labeling, and so on.

Five hours later, around 2 this morning, I finally climbed into bed.

And the alarm should have gone off just a few (much too few) short hours later. And it did, sort of. The red light came on, which means the alarm is on. But it's a clock radio, you see, and there was no music. None. No sound at all. Just a red light. Which isn't exactly likely to wake anyone up.

Station off the air? Tuner knob moved off the usual station? Volume turned off? Xander does like to line things up on our foot board of late, so he has access and he does love buttons. But I digress again ...

The hows or whys don't really matter. What matters is that the alarm simply didn't make a sound, and I quite simply didn't wake up on time.

I'm not sure how I managed to wake myself up at all - because a morning person I am not - but I knew the moment I woke up that something was wrong. The house was quiet, much too quiet. And it just felt wrong. That would be because I was getting up just before Connor's school was about to start - at 7:35, instead of 6:35, which is when the alarm should have gone off.

And, of course, the irony is that my usual alarm clocks - aka Sawyer and Xander - were also still sound asleep in their beds. That happens maybe once a month at this time of the morning. It would be this morning. No 4 or 5 a.m. wake up calls today. Of course not.

So I get up, rush to get dressed (because I can't drive through car line in my pajamas today - it's already over), get everyone else dressed (because the twins will also not just be driving through car line today), get everyone fed, presentable and out the door. We made it to school by 7:25, which is nothing short of miraculous in and of itself given how late we woke up and how not awake the entire house was at the time.

No measly few minutes late for me. Nope, we were 40 minutes late. And I still had to drag (literally drag) Connor out of bed and force him to get dressed. He ate in the car. I was that mother today.

Here's hoping tomorrow goes a little better. Annoying buzzer alarm set - check. Cell phone alarm also set - check. Early bedtime for Mommy - working on it. Or maybe mother nature will take it's course - they're calling for snow and freezing rain. Maybe we'll all be sleeping in tomorrow ...

To Sleep or Not To Sleep ...

Once the boys gave up naps (you know, a really, really long time ago), I foolishly thought we were done with our sleep issues. The boys were getting older, surely they would figure out a pattern that works and stick with it. Right?

Not so much.

If you can say he has a schedule at all, Sawyer has been off of it this week. He's normally up somewhere between 5 and 6 o'clock every morning. He's also taken to stripping down and peeing down the vent, so that means we have to actually get him up at that ungodly hour.

Xander usually follows an hour or so behind him, although our once late sleeper is now sometimes one of the first ones up these days, too. He's still in a pull-up at night, but you have to watch him or it will soak all the way through. You have to get up as soon as you hear him moving around, too.

Connor, unfortunately, doesn't have a choice anymore. He's up at 6:45 for school whether he wants to be or not. He usually doesn't. In fact, he often burrows back under the covers or has to be dressed while laying flat on his back practically still asleep.

There haven't been naps in our house in years. And bedtime usually runs anywhere from 8 to 9 o'clock on a school night. The boys are up and out early, awake all day, and still usually resisting bed.

Which brings us back to Sawyer, who always resists being put to bed and who is really and truly off schedule. Contrary to what you might think, you don't want him to take a nap. Even getting up that early, it's still a bad idea. Because he doesn't know how to nap. He knows how to be awake or asleep, and there's no middle ground. He's either wide awake or falling asleep (whether sitting, standing or doing whatever, with the blink of an eye, he will fall deeply and soundly asleep).

Yesterday he fell asleep on the car ride home from Connor's school. At 3 o'clock in the afternoon. He slept until just after 8 o'clock last night. No amount of noise or light or rubbing on him (or his brothers jumping on him) could wake him back up. He was down for the count.

And I'm sure you see where this is going ...

He was wide awake at 8 o'clock. He stayed that way. All. Night. Long. And he stayed that way all morning, all afternoon, and all the way up until about 15 minutes ago when he finally gave it up again (he's been in his room since 8 o'clock, and just now fell asleep).

It makes me tired just thinking about it.

To Sleep ... Or Not To Sleep

To Sleep ... Or Not To Sleep, originally uploaded by cheryl.

Sleep issues. They come and go in our house. And lately there have been more and more of them.

For as long as we can remember, Sawyer has required less sleep than any child we know. Somewhere around 8 hours on an average day. Sometimes less, hardly more. It's been that way since he was a toddler. And it doesn't matter when you put him to bed - early or late - he always wakes up between 5 and 6 in the morning. Always.

The last few months we've seen a return of the sleepless night, where he is quite simply wide awake after only a few hours sleep. Somewhere around 1 or 2 in the morning, he wakes up and stays up. For hours and hours. Sometimes he reads and scatters his book collection all across his room. Sometimes he dances across the floor in that ever constant need of motion. Sometimes he simply laughs and laughs, usually at something we cannot see or understand. He is simply awake, at a time when the rest of the world is sound asleep (or trying to be).

Last night he was awake from at least 2 to 4, after that I finally fell into my deep sleep and didn't notice if he was awake any more or not. Josh said he got him up shortly after 5, because at that point he was banging on the his door wanting out.

And now he's sound asleep in the sun room floor. He will be for several hours. And then we will start the merry-go-round again. He won't want to go to bed tonight. He will try to wake up in the early morning hours and stay up. And then he will crash at school.

Round and round we go ...

Big Boy School

It's hard. Harder than he thought it would be.

Connor still likes his big boy school, but it certainly wasn't what he was expecting.

Early mornings, before the dawn. Lots of work and little time to just play. Quick lunches (where, sometimes, the time runs out before the food). Late afternoon (and usually hot) recess. Homework, endless homework. Not enough free time. Baseball practice and games, too.

He is one tired little boy. Between school and baseball and his usual adventures, he is simply worn out. You don't notice it every day, but it's there.

It's the tears and frustration that too easily break through. It's the way he rubs his eyes in the late afternoon, long before he should be thinking about going to bed. It's how he nearly falls asleep (and sometimes even does) in the middle of homework. The way he zones out in front of the television the minute he gets home from school. The way he fights for every extra minute of being allowed to stay up, only to fall asleep within seconds of his head touching his pillow.

He is, quite simply, exhausted.

Tonight it was homework that did him in. At 6 o'clock. He was tired and not cooperative. Daddy was not in the mood to play games. Neither was having much luck with the other. And so he was put to bed, at 6:30 in the afternoon. And he's been sound asleep ever since.

Poor big boy. Growing up is hard ...

Finding the Rhythm

School is officially in session for all the boys. Connor started a few weeks ago, and those he's home today with a lingering illness, should be back tomorrow. The twins are approaching the one week mark. We're slowly finding our rhythm in this new routine.

It's a little bit of a marathon. Connor gets dropped off around 7:30 or so (trying to avoid those tardies) and the twins get dropped off at 10:35. The twins get picked up at 1:35 and then we make our way over to Connor's school to take our place in the car line. We will wait for about 45 minutes every day. It's not going to be fun.

Connor is still having trouble with the early mornings, even with earlier bedtimes. Yesterday he resisted an afternoon nap, even though he was actually sick, and held off for several hours until he crashed. He slept from 4 yesterday afternoon until about 7:30 this morning.

The twins have always had an off sleep schedule. Sawyer is almost always up before the dawn. Today it was around 6:30. Sometimes it's earlier, sometimes it's later. But it's never much later. Xander has lost his ability to sleep in at our new house. He's usually up before anyone these days.

And we're not sure which came first anymore, but we've been working hard at finishing up the job of potty training the twins. Both still wore pull-ups at night, even after we finished day training last year. But we took Sawyer out of his shortly after we moved into this house during the summer. He was staying dry all night, and we've not really had any accidents out of him since the switch. He's even progressed to the point that he will actually take himself to the bathroom if he needs to go, which is nothing short of impressive. We'll omit the fact that he's also the reason Buster no longer gets a water dish in the sun room, because apparently that looked like a good place to potty when the need struck him, too! Minor setback, really.

Xander is another story. He likes to use the bathroom more frequently than either of his brothers, as in every hour or so, if not more often. He's been more of a challenge. He still has accidents during the day, especially if he's doing something he really likes (like the computer). He cannot pull himself away for such mundane things as the bathroom or food. Computer trumps all things, even necessities apparently. He also tends to have accidents at night (meaning he just doesn't bother to get up and go because his door has long since been unlocked - he's not our night wanderer).

So we're working with him on it. After a few weeks of changing the sheets every single day, we've gone back to the pull-ups, for now. But the good news is they've been dry the last few nights. We're just making ourselves get up with him at whatever ungodly hour he decides to stir. Sometimes it's as early as 5 or 6 a.m. We take him potty, and often put him back in bed. Unlike the others, he will lay there and rest even if he doesn't fall back asleep.

And that's where we are right now. Trying to adjust to new sleep schedules, new school schedules, fitting in a little t-ball, and working on a little potty training in between.

Rise & Shine

Early risers, we are not.

We knew this year's school schedule would be an issue for us. Josh and I both like to sleep until at least 8 o'clock. Connor has pushed 10 o'clock all summer long, and Xander is often right there with him.

Poor Sawyer is the only one who likes to see the dawn. He's never required much sleep, no more than eight or nine hours a night. Naps have been gone for years. And it doesn't even really matter what time you put him to bed, he's still going to be up before the sun. His usual wake up time hovers around 6 o'clock, sometimes a little before and sometimes a little after, but not by much. On rare days, he'll sleep in. But it's usually only after a really hard day of playing or activity. And once he sleeps in, then he will not be ready for bed until midnight or later. It's a vicious cycle with him.

The rest of us, we like our sleep. And Connor's new school starts at 7:45 in the morning!

So far, it's been a struggle. Connor keeps snuggling under the covers when we tell him it's time to get up for school. Or he might get up and let you help him get dressed, then quickly hop right back under the covers fully dressed. Or sometimes he will just sit up in bed and take a look around, proclaim it to still be dark and therefore night time, and then plop back down in bed. Morning person, he is not.

And big kid school is apparently not as forgiving as preschool. Today Connor got his first unexcused tardy, four days into the school year. That's not a promising sign.

Daddy was running a little behind this morning. He missed his alarm and then had trouble getting Connor to eat his breakfast and get moving. They left a little later than normal. And they arrived at school a little later than they probably planned. Daddy said he was in the middle of a long car line when he pulled up to school at 7:40, with about 20 cars ahead of them and 15 or so behind them. Apparently a lot of people were running behind. Or not planning on such a long car line at that time of the morning.

Regardless, I just don't think I agree with handing out tardies already. Maybe all of those people should have been there a little sooner than five minutes before school. But, it's Monday. It's four days into a new school year, with a whole lot of new students and new parents. Is the school trying to tell me they have their end of arrival and dismissal down to perfection at this point, because I just don't think I agree.

Since I do afternoons, I can tell you dismissal is still taking a ridiculously long time. We arrive to get in line at 2:10 (and even at that time, we're still about 25 cars back from the start of the line) and it doesn't start moving at least 2:45 or later because the bus riders, van riders and the walkers are all dismissed first (and school technically dismisses at 2:35). Surely to goodness that's not going to be the normal process. If it is, the twins are going to throw a fit every single day, and I might have to join them.

I'm not saying I don't understand the importance of kids being at school on time or the logistical nightmare of dismissing that many students at one time, because I do. And anyone who knows me knows that I'm punctual to a fault and generally pretty laid back. But how about giving kids (and parents), especially for kindergartners who are used to later start times and shorter days, a little break. You know, maybe at least a full week or two to figure it all out.

Oh well, at least we're not alone. From the sound of it, a lot of people went home with tardies today.

Rise & Shine

Come next week, I think we're going to have one sleepy little boy.

This summer has not been a good one in terms of keeping the boys on any kind of normal schedule. They've been living in our schedule, which doesn't always work with the rest of the world. Bedtime for the boys has been between 10 and 11 o'clock at night, and wake up time ranges anywhere from 7 a.m. to 11 a.m., depending on the boy.

Sawyer is always the early one. The boy lives on an average of only 8 or 9 hours of sleep a night, with no naps. Oy. If he happens to fall asleep on any given day because of a rough few days (either activity or sleep wise), you're going to be sorry. Because that nap means he won't fall asleep until well after midnight and he will still be up by 5 a.m. Trust me, naps are not good, and I never thought I'd say that about any child of mine.

Xander is kind of a sleepyhead, but it comes in phases. He is usually the only one who's happy to be put to bud. He climbs right in and immediately starts sucking on that thumb. He's usually out first. He's often the second or third one awake, he's definitely not like his twin brother. Early isn't his style, unless he's not feeling well or he happened to fall asleep at dinner time the night before (which does happen on occasion). He's probably the only one of the boys who misses the afternoon nap.

And Connor, poor Connor, is about to enter the real world. He will do so begrudgingly. He is absolutely excited about going to big kid school. He talks about it practically every single day, asks questions about the day, what kind of backpack he can have, if he can wear his new school shoes, if his friends will be in his class, and well, you get the idea. He's curious, excited and ready. But that sleep pattern is not going to come easily. He's been a travel boy this summer. He hasn't had a regular bedtime before 10:30 all summer long. And he certainly doesn't wake up before the sun comes up. He will have to be at school before 7:45 a.m. He NEVER sees that time of day. EVER. Oy.

We've been trying this week to slowly move the boys back to a school schedule. Bedtime by 9 o'clock and then getting up when they wake up. Sawyer would do well on Connor's school schedule. Connor would prefer the twins (the 10:35 a.m. start time would fit nicely with his ideal wake-up time). Xander will like his schedule, except for the odd days when we might have to get the twins up to take Connor to school because I'm not off from work yet (I get home about 7:45 a.m. on the mornings after I work). But our attempt at a school schedule has not been going all that well.

I'll even give you an example. Two nights ago, Connor was in bed by shortly after 9 o'clock and was actually asleep very shortly after that. Sometime early that morning, he decided he was scared of something in his room and climbed into our bed for the rest of the morning. I had to nudge him awake at 9:45 in the morning. He buried his head under the covers, stretched himself back out, and proclaimed it was "too early" to be awake.

Yes, our big boy is in for a serious lifestyle adjustment. Not necessarily the school part. But the schedule. Wonder how often he's going to fall asleep at school that first week or so?