Hurricane A

We just returned home today from visiting my mother in law. Peter's brother, wife and their four kids (ages 2-12) were also visiting. A valuable lesson has been learned. Eleven people (and a dog) is entirely too many people to have living under one roof for any extended period of time. (unless perhaps, if you live in a mansion) It's not like this is the first time we've tried it. Each time we've come away shaking our heads saying "That was not a good idea." But this time my sister in law and I verbally agreed it was too crazy and too stressful and we shouldn't do it again. This won't be a problem.

In relation to the previous paragraph I had a colossal lapse in judgment. I had planned for our family to go swimming on Saturday afternoon. I thought it would be a nice break from the craziness at my mother in law's and also a treat for Miss A who ADORES swimming. What I failed to factor in was the tremendous lack of sleep which is seemingly inevitable when we are hanging with the aforementioned relatives. On these occasions I find I need to adopt a carefree attitude towards bedtime otherwise I stress myself out trying to convince A to go to bed while the house is still buzzing with children AWAKE, HAVING FUN, NOT SLEEPING, without her. Friday night was no exception and Saturday morning came too early.

It all started well enough. Miss A was predictably thrilled to go swimming. It sort of went downhill from there. The waterslide was closed for maintenance. Baby B needed a nap and was all shivery and zombie like. A was obedience challenged due to lack of sleep and that is more disconcerting while doing an activity involving water where you can drown if you are acting recklessly. It became more and more apparent the longer we were there what a terrible idea it had been to go under those circumstances. I was not however, prepared for the finale.

I knew in my bones that when it came time to leave the pool there was going to be hell to pay. I tried all of the usual tricks. The countdown. The explanation. The temptation about all the FUN TIMES TO BE HAD AFTER SWIMMING TOO!!! And yet... I was also tired. Which also translates to being tired of putting up with any more crap. So, when it was time for our 5 minutes in the hot tub before leaving and she waded off back into the pool I was not having it. I counted to 5, no dice so I then physically hauled her off to the family change rooms followed by Peter with Baby B in tow.

It was then that she unleashed the tantrum of all tantrums on us. She screamed for like, 10 minutes straight in a small tiled change room. I am certain that all four of us have suffered irreparable hearing damage. It wasn't just the screaming but the impossible task of getting her dressed while she was still damp and physically resisting with ever ounce of strength she had. Both Peter and I were trapped in some kind of purgatory where we were both incredibly furious and sympathetic at once. She kept repeating "I wanna go in the hot tub!" over and over an over. We seriously began to question her sanity. She was exactly like a very small psychotic person. When the tantrum was nearing the end she collapsed into me sobbing, hicupping and repeating in an exhausted whimper "I wanna go in the hot tub." It may sound funny reading it now but I can assure you it was not funny while it was happening. It was, in fact, terrifying. Not unlike, I imagine, surviving a hurricane.

Afterward I felt horrible wondering if there could have been any way to avoid what had happened. I blamed myself for putting her and the rest of us in that situation. I suppose I will file it under "things not to do when A is incredibly overtired". I have been schooled yet again on the severity of Miss A's temper and I will do my best to prevent exposing her to that combination of unfortunate circumstances again.

Yet ANOTHER Cautionary Tale (come ON!)

So, last week was pretty bad. It was bad for so many reasons. Basically, Miss A got a cold. No big deal. But she starting coughing at night. So I ended up pulling out some Tylenol Cold and Runny Nose for ages 2-11. I administered this for three nights at bedtime. And her behavior disintegrated with each passing day. Oh, the anger. The rage. She was irrational. She was up. She was down. She was INSANE. And I blame sleep deprivation for the fact that it took me three days before I discovered that it was the bleeping Tylenol that was doing it. And it wasn't even ME that discovered it. My mom (who's still living here) was the one who said "Could it be that cold medication you've been giving her?" one night after we were all suffering aftershock from the temper tantrum thrown at bedtime. Oh. I consulted the internet (I'm too lazy and tired to look for the links) and found that they are repackaging that stuff and not recommending it for children under six. Not only that I found reports of it causing some children to be "irritable and hyperactive". That would be the biggest, fattest understatement. I also found reports of night terrors. Which had also been occurring during that time. Did I ever feel like a big fat loser. Her behavior was making us all crazy and I was the one causing it. And my poor girl, when I would try to talk to her about how the way she was acting was NOT OKAY she proclaimed with heartbreaking sincerity "But I can't help it!!" She wasn't kidding.

I lay in bed that night thinking about all the times when her behavior had resembled that level of insanity and I believe that all those times were directly related to that cold medication or medication that we were prescribed for mild allergies. I always attributed this behavior to the sickness and her being rundown and overtired. Now I'm certain it was a sensitivity to the medications.

I just feel like such a schmuck. But I post this in hopes that some of you might avoid the same disaster. Or perhaps have experienced a similar thing and want to console me?

Glutton for Punishment

So B wouldn't settle down until 12:30ish last night, followed by the usual night feedings. And then Miss A decided to get up at 7:30 this morning. This is the kid who NEEDS to sleep until 9:00.

Yet I am sticking to my plan to have her wear big girl panties starting today instead of pull-ups. This seems like a very bad idea considering how little sleep I've had and am likely to get anytime soon.

That said, we have had zero accidents thus far. We are going to a paddling pool this afternoon, so we'll see how that goes. So far it's been good for bribery purposes.

And now some pictures. This one's for Beth. I believe this would qualify as "smooshy face".

The Best and the Worst

The best things Miss A is doing right now.

-Saying "Bless you!" when people sneeze. (I personally am doing a lot of this right now due to allergy season.) This evening she called "Bless you!" all the way from the living room while I was doing dishes in the kitchen and sneezed. My heart went all warm and fuzzy.

-Pretending. Especially pretend picnics and tea parties.

-Saying "Thank you" without being reminded.

The worst things. (This list might be longer than the first...)

-Not sleeping well.

-Sometimes refusing to do even the simplest things. Example: Putting on her jacket and shoes even when she WANTS to go where we are going.

-Screaming "Don't say DAT!"

-In general, being difficult about almost everything.

I'll stop there because I don't want to dwell on the negative. There's always good and bad in everything right?

Did I Mention...

How much I miss naps? Not naps of my own (I'm not much of a napper) but I really wish Miss A still took them. Especially since she's been getting up a lot at night these days, which I hope is due to the cutting of two year molars and not just a habit she's getting into. Last night at around 4:00 am she called from bed "I need Dada to take me to the Doctor!"

The previous night was actually worse and then we were out of town the following day and I managed four hours of driving, miraculously without even the urge to fall asleep at the wheel. I did however have what I call a 'fatigue headache'. So actually, I could go for a nap these days. Unfortunately, I seem to be the only tired one. We settle for quiet time on the couch together. I take what I can get.

Issues

Okay. We are having issues. There's the bath phobia thing. Then this weekend Miss A had what I think you'd call a 'Night Terror'. It was SO scary! She woke up and when I tried the usual stuff that I do when this happens she started to freak out and scream and writhe and kick. She seemed afraid of me, she hid in the corner of the room and when she'd look at me she'd scream. No matter what I said I couldn't calm her down. Eventually, I left the room and called for Peter's help. I began sobbing uncontrollably because I just couldn't believe what was happening. Peter was somehow able to pick her up and soothe her and then we sat together in the living room for a while watching a show to make sure she was calmed down. She seemed fine all of a sudden and kept asking "Mama feel better?" She went back to bed relatively easily and slept the rest of the night without a problem. It took me a long time to go back to sleep since I was so freaked out by the whole ordeal. Has anyone else experienced this or anything like it?

We also seem to be struggling with eating right now. Like, not in a picky way. In a, I don't want to eat anything kind of way. She's nibbling on stuff but she really doesn't want to have anything to do with sitting down and eating a meal. This is SO not her. She is the girl who loves to eat. Who eats bizarre things. Who has a huge appetite.

And then there's the crying. Everything seems to make her cry these days. She's just really not herself. I would describe her as miserable actually. With very brief sunshiny moments. Not nearly enough sunshiny moments these days.

So I don't know. I'm feeling pretty down about all of this. I keep thinking about how I will deal with this stuff when I have a new baby to deal with as well. I know I will be lacking the patience I need to handle this stuff. To be honest I'm lacking the patience now. My belly is getting bigger and more in the way all the time and it makes it difficult to wrestle with a very strong toddler. I'm feeling a bit like I'm treading water and my legs are slowly turning to lead.