17 August 2011

Sucking down Darjeeling with Marie Antoinette & her sister

Not going to ramble much today - tired, think I may ever so slowly acquiring Marcel's cold & listening to the joyous sounds of Ben hammering on every hard object in the house with his little plastic play hammer. It's rainy & cold & we're attempting to not spend money this week so Ben & I haven't left the house today & there may be a touch of cabin fever setting in.

I've thrown all nap theories, claims & rules out the window this week. Ben has a touch of the stuffy nose, etc. that may be his cold in the making so he's been a grouch & tired so he needs a nap but I am still severely lacking in the patience department & can't handle the thought of his nap avoidance techniques that drive me insane on my best days. So earlier this week I found myself thinking through my options as Ben cranked & fussed & threw his toys around like a pleasant little chap. I remembered how my mom always got her other grandkids to sleep when they didn't want to - she'd hold them in the rocking chair (not all of them at once, she's not THAT good), tell them they didn't have to sleep, just rest & be still, close their eyes & they could get right back up in 10 minutes or so. This never failed to fool their pea brains & they'd conk out immediately. Has now worked like a charm twice this week with Ben so I'm adding it to my emergency repertoire. As far as I'm concerned he's over napping but if he's having a particularly rough day like these (or when he's at daycare so exhausted from playing) he can have one. I discussed this particular theory with the early childhood woman yesterday & she said it's good - even when toddlers are ready to give up their nap, they're going to go back & forth for a while & yes definitely need naps in special circumstances.

I actually expected to be taken to task for rocking him to sleep instead of following the proper settling rules but she apparently didn't care. Anyway, it wouldn't have changed my mind since it's only once in a while & it works so well that I can just plop him down on the couch a few minutes after he falls asleep & go about my day without disturbing his ridiculously deep sleep. Mom's technique worked so well that I celebrated by making one of my favorite recipes of hers too - Kentucky Derby chocolate chip/pecan pie. Can't wait to cut into that tonight when Marcel is home!

Anyway, Ben is having a hissy fit at the moment after bumping his hand on something - this is always the biggest clue that he is getting sick or is tired, can not handle any hint of an injury no matter how teeny weeny - so I should go figure him out. Smells like I may also need to change stinky diaper number 3 of the day as well. Joy of joys.

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