Last night the only thing that stood between me and the desire to lock my children in their bedroom indefinitely was a heaping bowl of chocolate ice cream with sprinkles AND chocolate sauce. The kind that gets hard and crackly when you put it on the ice cream. They kept popping up out of bed long after they should have been asleep and me and the ice cream, we barricaded ourselves in the bedroom to wait for Pete to get home and rescue us. By the time he arrived the boys were sleeping cherub style in the same bed, the ice cream had worked its magic and somehow telling Pete about the day was such hysterically funny therapy we both ended up with tears streaming down on our cheeks.
I love making that man laugh.
And I also know that parenting is way too hard to do by yourself. You always need back up. And next to ice cream, girlfriends are my next favorite way to de-stress and feel like a human being again instead of just a dead mommy.
Have you heard of the (in) real life event hosted by (in)courage? It’s a free webinar everyone can tune into from home in their jammies on Friday April 26. Then on Saturday it’s an excuse to meetup with girlfriends and tune in for the Saturday line up. Honestly, it’s the best reason to make time for friends. And discover that they too understand the game of bedtime whack-a-mole.
I’m sharing about our (in) real life meetup over here today. Because I’m hosting one again this year. And if you’re in the NOVA area I’d love a chance to say hi.
And feel free to tell me what your night was like last night, eh?
I am way too familiar with the game of bedtime whack-a-mole! Last night my youngest had a softball game in 40-degree weather with brisk winds. It was miserable! We got home an hour after bedtime and still had to get through the shower/teeth brushing/tuck in routine which meant lights out for the kiddos was around 10. And one of them had trouble settling down, so I never got my Mom- downtime. Still pouting about that a little. (And I’m signed up for a meetup on April 26. Can’t wait to meet some new friends!)
Bedtime whack-a-mole….I LOVE IT!! Spring Break last week messed us up as far as our 4-year-old’s bedtime routine is concerned. :-/ And the time change didn’t help either. What was previously 8 pm is now 9 pm, so to her, bedtime is now what used to be 7 pm.
While I don’t want her to grow up too fast, it will be SO nice when she goes to bed without a fight and goes right to sleep.
Ha – I got that phrase from Glennon over on Momastery – isn’t it the perfect descriptor? :)
‘bedtime whack-a-mole’! Love that phrase and know it only too well!
Excellent idea, Lisa! Sorry I am not in the NOVA area to attend.
At the risk of being trite, it really does take a village of support to raise kids.
Thanks for your words.
Oh, those bedtime battles are exhausting! Especially when you just want to sit down with a big bowl of ice cream! Last night was actually the best bedtime in awhile – the 4-yo was only out of bed once, to be sure I was still upstairs. I’ve finally learned that it’s better for my sanity to just stay upstairs for 30 minutes so he knows I’m near, before I go downstairs to relax with the hubby. Anyway, you know I’m excited for inRL!! Anna and I are getting together this week to plan and order our host goodies! Girlfriends help me keep my sanity, too. :)
All my girlfriends live across the country, scattered about in towns I may never step foot in. We laugh together over instant messages, and phone calls, and Facebook – but it isn’t the same. Friends that were once offline pals, that moved away, and friends I’ve been so blessed with that I’ve never ever met in person, and possibly never will, but hope with everything inside my girlfriend heart I do. My mother and husband are my in real life “girlfriends”, if you will. I’m thankful I have them but there’s still a void there that I hope it filled.
Janelle Marie
Last night my husband did bedtime while I read and sipped a chai latte at the coffee shop. Mondays are my nights out, I do a lot of solo bedtimes during the rest of the week and somehow those few hours of quiet do wonders to fortify.
I’m signed up to attend in(RL) and think I want to change it to hosting. Just for a chance to see if there’s anyone else in Nova Scotia who’s up for this. =)
How funny! Last night, my husband did the bed time herding while I escaped to my room and enjoyed the last of the leftover chocolate cake you suggested I make last week, along with some homemade coconut milk ice cream :) I was able to eat mine before it was all melty, I’m glad you enjoyed yours!
I joined in for Bible time, and after, the whispers started from the boys’ room. They stopped suddenly and we wondered what was going on. Our second son came in a little later to tell us that The Tyrant, aka four-year-old , aka youngest, aka one of the strongest willed boys I have ever known, was asleep. He usually visits us several times and then stage whispers all sorts of nonsensical things and ends up talking himself to sleep.
The 14-year-old decided that it would less painful to cuddle him to sleep, than to “have his ears talked off.” We laughed and my husband checked and his ears were still there!
Fun!!
Thank you!
Elizabeth, that is so precious! And what a smart kid!
lol do you really want to know how my night went!!!! No rally it wasn’t that bad, I can say that now that all the little girls are sleeping, but in the mist of the craziness I was trying hard not to loos my cool !!!!
Can I just tell you about tonight, instead? Because tonight? Let’s just say it was one of those “throw-down tantrums on the floor” kinda nights by the 4 year old and “homework revolt” tantrums by the 9 year old and “parenting is stinkin’ hard sometimes” tantrums by this mama. Pass the ice cream, please! I can’t wait to host my (in) real life event at my home. Getting more excited by the week!
Thank you, Lisa-Jo, for sharing this! I am a single mother and I have a bad habit of beating myself up in my mind every time I feel that I fail as a mother(which of course is pretty often). Since I immediately feel like hiding my faults and flaws, I have started to ‘confess’ all my faults and flaws as a mother to those close to me. Luckily those close to me are perfect listeners, but still I get the feeling I’m the only one feeling this way. So thank you for describing your feelings and how your day went. It made me feel far less alone in having those feelings and that sort of behavior, and made me feel far more normal :0)
My husband and I rented life of Pi (beautiful movie) and had to pause it three times to get the baby back to sleep. Bed time whack a mole indeed :)