World War III and The Battle at Bedtime

There was never a child so lovely but his mother was glad to get him to sleep.
    -Ralph Waldo Emerson

It's 8:00pm, the baths have been given, the stories have been read. I'ts time for the upstairs world to go dark and little weary eyes to close and dream. Mike and I tip toe downstairs, pour our victory wine and settle in on the couch for a movie. 

Mike and I have had this on going battle of keeping Zach in his bed at bedtime. For days he's found ways to sneak into our room with all of his bedding and every stuffed animal he owns. He makes the most elaborate beds on our floor as we remain clueless asleep in our bed. As a last effort to contain our three year old and keep him in his own bed, Mike has decided to put a baby gate up in front of his door. Genius! He can no longer beg us for the door to stay open...because it will be open. He can no longer cry about how he's scared of the dark because the bathroom light will be on just bright enough to make his room dim. He can lay down in his cozy little bed curl up and fall fast asleep because all of his demands have been met. In a perfect world, that's how it would have happened...but this isn't a story of 'what would have' this is a story of 'what did'.

It's 10:00pm and the house is silent, aside from Sherlock Holmes playing on the TV.  The pitter patter of little feet above our heads ended about and hour ago and we are feeling very proud as Mike's plan of attack to the bed time war seems to be a total success!We spend the next hour finishing the longest movie of our lives...clean up the kitchen, put away the remaining toys (something I have to do every night for my own sanity)and head upstairs.  Walking very carefully up the staircase...paying close attention to the stairs that creek and trying to skip them, we make our way to the top...and that's when we see it. 


In front of us lays the sacrificial baby gate. A perfectly good gate that fell victim to a very angry 3 year old. The once intact and fully functioning gate is now a tattered mess. The plastic crisscross pattern that connected to the wooden frame are ripped away on the right side making a perfect sized arm hole to reach through and open the gate. Mike and I stare at each other in disbelief. How had we not heard anything? How was he able to do that so silently? Questions we will never get the answer to. We turn the corner looking into Zachs room...following the trail of little white plastic chunks all the way to his bed where he sits like a King. Like a hero...he knows what he has done, and he's not remorseful. 


A thousand things were going through my head...but what stood out the most was that there was a little part of me that was proud. I know right? But its true. I was proud that my newly turned 3 year old was able to problem solve and figure a way out. While I was slightly against the whole locking him in with a baby gate idea...I had to cave in because none of my brilliant ideas seemed to have worked. And here I was downstairs secretly worrying about my poor baby all alone locked in his room...as he is silently tearing down the walls we put up. Who's genius now I ask?


Mike calmly (hes always the calm one) walks into Zach's room...gets down to his level and looks into his big beautifully smug eyes and says, "Zachary...this makes Daddy very sad, you broke my gate. What do you have to say?" Our little boy, 1/2 Mommy, 1/2 Daddy stands up, looks into his 'sad' Daddy's eyes and says "Well....Daddy....you made Zachary VERY angry by putting up the gate...so I found a way out." Mike walks out of the room where I am red with contained laughter and looks defeated. I have to ask...."Mike, are you mad because he ruined the gate?" Mike reply's, "No, I am mad because he's smarter then us. "


Now midnight Mike helps Zach make a nice cozy bed on our floor. In 5 hours we will be getting up with Blake and if we don't cave in we will never get any sleep. Defeated again by a 3 year old this war isn't looking good. The score tonight? Zach: 1 Mommy and Daddy: 0 
Tomorrow night we will try again...Since plan A, B and C failed by epic proportions were busting out the big guns. A new door knob with a lock on the outside. It breaks my heart but someone has to win...and I will not let a 3 year old take us down. Welcome to my life, I live where the wild things are.

 

Welcome to my world

In August of 2007 I gave birth to a beautiful little boy named Zachary. Hes a mellow non dramatic child who is very cautious in everything he does. Having Zach was a blessing....he was the quintessential 'easy baby' who never cried...wanted to explore and was independent. I could lay him on a blanket and he would be more then content for at least an hour.  Zachary was able to go to restaurants with out crying...anywhere with out crying. Nothing made this kid mad. He was amazing.

June 2008 when Zach was 9 months old I discovered that I was pregnant....again. I would like to say the tears I cried were tears of joy, but they were not...those came later. I cried for my sanity...for now only having 18months to get to know my first born Zach, for the 'free' time I had and was no for sure going to lose, for having to push another baby out...for everything really.

February 4, 2007 I gave birth via C-Section to a beautiful little boy we call Blake. I cried...and yes, they were tears of joy. He was perfect. I should have known what kind of baby he would be as I laid there strapped to the table. The Dr said he came out...fist first. Like he was punching my stomach. He was a mommy's boy from the get go. He always wanted to be touching me, snuggling, and cuddling. He started sleeping through the night when he was one month old which as most mothers know, is truly a miracle. He wasn't like Zach as a baby....but He wasn't 'hard' either. He didn't like to be laid on the floor. He was the baby that always needed to be held. By the end of the day my arms were rubber. Not only was I holding a newborn all day, I was also trying to handle my 'easy' one...who infact was still a baby.

Blake started walking when he was 8 months old....sign number two of what kind of kid I had created. He was running by 10 months and seriously hard to catch. When Blake was 13 months old...I found him on our refrigerator.Its around that time that my husband and I started joking around that our baby was straight out of the movie The Incredibles. Every day he did something new that shocked us. In the midst of all of Blake and his shenanigans Zach too had become a wee bit more mischievous.

This blog is a little look into the life of a mother of two very energetic little boys who are constantly learning and discovering something new to get into.The stories of how they shock their clueless parents, frighten their naive grandparents and amaze strangers. Welcome to my world. I live where the wild things are.