Wednesday, November 01, 2006

Fall back....flip out!


I do believe that the end of Daylight Savings is a mother's worst nightmare! I can only speak for myself, but I'm sure there have to be others who's children flip out around this time of year. What is up with this? There was a time when I got excited about this wonderful fall day. The thought of "falling" back made me giddy because I would actually get a free hour of sleep that night.

Well, those thoughts are long gone! These days, with three small children, I have to say I would rather stick a sharp object in my eye than set the clocks back. It totally screws up what I have been working on as a mother (especially one that loves to sleep) for the past year. I mean....I have a system! That system, which includes a digital clock strategically placed in my girl's room, can't help but get a giant kink in it when 7:30am (permission to leave the room time) feels like 6:30am. Not cool!

Ever since the crazy time change my kids have been flipping out on me. The girls...by waking up at inappropriate times, and Andy.....by being just plain grouchy! Every day, like clockwork, (no pun intended) the boy screams out from his crib at 6am. I try to roll over and pretend that I didn't just hear the cry, but I'm not one to ignore and just fall back asleep. Jimmy however, he is oblivious. Luckily, after a few minutes Andy will doze off again, and I can get back to sleep. But.....right when I do, and I'm off to dream land again, I feel this poking sensation on my side. Oh, yeah.....you mother's know the "poking" sensation. One of my two girls, most likely Emily my 4 year old has successfully managed to wake me up once again. I could get one of many questions after this. 1. "Mom, I need to go to the potty." 2. "Mom, can I get up?" or 3. "Can you get me some cereal?"

I would just like to know one thing. Why is it that us mothers are the ones that hear all the cries, or get all the pokes? Does God give fathers the ability to sleep through screaming baby cries at 4am, and some sort of poking repellant for those early morning risers? I personally, don't see the humor in it, but whatever.

9 comments:

Michael said...

How does the time change work in CO? Here in TX, when we set the clock BACK an hour, 7:30am feels like 8:30am not 6:30am. Feeling like it's actually earlier happens in the spring for us.

Of course, I think we need to get rid of time zones and standard time anyway, so what do I know. Maybe I'll write a blog about my theories.

Melissa said...

I guess your right. All I know is that my kids have been waking up earlier and are very grouchy! See....all the chaos is taking my brain cells too! I can't even share my frustrations correctly.

Michelle said...

I hear ya Melissa!! Instead of me having to wake the children up in the morning to get ready for school, they wake me up at 6am with energy like I have never seen.

If I try to ignore them, the screams and chaos just get louder and more out of control. And what's crazy is that I am not even putting them to bed any earlier, even though it's pitch dark by 6pm, for some reason their bodies just know that is really 7am and they should get up.

Windy Smith said...

You quietly whisper in Emily's ear to go ask Daddy this time and don't come back to your side of the bed. Then you lay there like you are sound asleep when Jimmy finally rolls out of bed to help her you have won a little more sleep!! Ofcourse she can't just poke him she needs to crawl up on him and shake and act like she is hurt and then I promise he will jump right up!!! I know it sounds like I have given this a lot of thought...take it as you may!!!!

Caci said...

I understand exactly what you mean Lissa! I get ALL of the pokes too. They NEVER go to "Dad's side of the bed". Maybe they know that he won't get up...maybe they know that he won't care. I usually (very grouchily) get up, throw some cereal in a bowl, tell them to do whatever they want as long as they are inside and not yelling. And then give them explicit instructions not to wake me up again unless they are bleeding profusely or the house is on fire. Now I know why mom made us "sleep" on the floor in her room if we woke up before her. We weren't even allowed to get our own cereal or go watch cartoons. And don't think about rolling over or making a sound. I dreaded waking up before mom. It is really difficult to lay next to Jeffrey and not laugh about something! Anyway, because I have given those explicit instructions to my children about not waking me up...I found Annalisa in bed with a t-shirt on and nothing else the other morning. Apparently she woke up to go potty, didn't make it to the potty, put her panties somewhere (she doesn't know where), and went back to bed. When I asked her why she didn't wake me up to tell me, she simply said, "You didn't want me to wake you up." Well, how true!!!

Michael said...

Caci, did you check the milk churn? I hear that's a great hiding place for messed up clothes?

Caci said...

Hilarious Michael!!! But I think Lissa Loo Loo is the only one who hides her clothes in there...and unfortunately I don't have one in my house, but if I did I bet I would find something in it!!! Thanks for the tip!

Melissa said...

You both can laugh and joke all you want, but we all know who had the best ideas growing up! Whether I got caught or not, all my ideas were genius!!!!

Caci said...

and they still are!