TGIF (The Great, Impossible Feat)

The day really got rolling at 5 a.m. when Owen woke up for his bottle. I am not a morning person...so the closer it gets to morning...the more irritable I get. I much prefer the feedings in the middle of the night. There is something about getting up and going back to bed again only to know that you will need to get up for the day soon. It is also a sad reality that Owen likes to eat slower in the morning as if he to purposely minimize that amount of rest you would have remaining. The reason I mention this is because I never did fall back asleep. I went to bed and laid there...soon after April got up...I cannot sleep when I hear someone moving around and before I knew it, I needed to get up for work.

Needless to say, by the time I got the boys in the car and headed off to work, I was feeling quite irritable. As I drove down the road....I checked out the facebook statuses and saw a series of yaaay it is Friday and TGIF....since I knew holiday weekends meant no rest for me, and actually more work...I wanted to sharpen the T, the G, the I AND the F and shove it up their....................

Speaking of brown....after a long day at work, I decided to shoot for a few minutes of peace by settling Brendan in the other room with an Elmo potty training video. This plan quickly backfired when I was required (by Brendan) to sit and watch this video with him. First of all, I am an old school Sesame Street fan. When I watched Sesame Street Snuffy was still invisible and considered make believe, Mr. Hooper was still alive and Elmo (Thank God) did not exist. I am not a fan of Elmo. 2 years ago, I would not allow Elmo in my home...but the joys of parenthood have made me susceptible to all sorts of evil like Elmo, Dora and Yo Gabba Gabba. Also I am not a fan of excrement. I can change my children's diapers like a pro, but I do not want to talk about bowel movements. I do not want to hear 3 year olds say that "I say I poo", "I call it deuces", "I call it tinkle". It is very unsettling. So to have to watch a whole feature on potty time...well it was painful. Especially when they start singing about how old people do it, pets do it....it was too much to handle. But I did it for the greater good.

After the wonderful Elmo extravaganza concluded....I watched Brendan bounce off the walls as Owen fussed in April's arms. It was almost 8 p.m. and I was foreseeing another evening where bed time would come late and relaxation time would be non-existent. During Owen's stay in the hospital, Brendan really learned how to work the system. He is a clever little sucker and has taken our great appreciation for him to the next level and uses it to his advantage. One of the ways he does this is to make April or myself (and in many instances both of us) sit with him in the room until he falls asleep. This is something new since Owen was born and something we allowed because we felt sorry for him for all he went to while we tended to his sibling. Lately, he has gotten a bit over the top. I was tired and saw my chance of rest, or even a nice walk slipping farther and farther away as time ticked by. Brendan was getting more and more riled up and I decided I was about to challenge myself and him.

I decided it was time for bed for Mr. Brendan Lee shortly after 8. April stayed out in the living room with Owen and Brendan and I went to the bed. I started out in my typical wishy washy mode...by allowing him to rest and watch TV. He watched for a bit and headed out of the room to get April. So, I decided I would show him. I turned off the TV...shut the door tight and laid him in bed. He fussed for a second and headed to the door. He tried it and it did not open. He attempted it again and failed. I laughed to myself...ha ha ha I will show you. But in actuality, he showed me. The third time was a charm and the little sucker opened the door, turned back towards me and grinned and walked out into the living room.

His disobedience burned my butt and I marched right back out to the living room and picked him up off the couch that he was beginning to bounce on and dragged him back to bed. This time I locked the bedroom door and laid him in bed. Brendan immediately jumped out of bed and tried the door. Fail! "Stuck" he said as he tried again. No success. I picked him up and laid him back in bed. As he prepared to jump off again I warned him I would take him to his crib if he moved. He begrudgingly laid on the pillow and started chanting...."Momma...moomah...mom...momma." He attempted his departure again and I calmly threatened him again. He sang his momma spiel followed by "eeeee-eeee, oooo ahhhh....bottle....dad...doooo ....dad". It was clear he was trying to break me and this would be a battle of wills. I offered to rub his back (because that is a great fighting tactic). He told me no and proceeded to chant and roll and bounce. He laid sideways and pressed his feet against my stomach. He whined and sat up and fell back several times. After about 20 minutes I heard April try the door and I ignored it. I was not going to let him win this challenge. He laid on me a while fake whining and continuing his momma schtick. I wanted so bad to scold him, but I knew I would be acknowledging his poor behavior. I wanted to laugh at some of the ridiculous words he would make up as he sang...but I knew he would think he was funny (which he was) and play it up for all it was worth. I rolled to my other side and breathed deeply. It was about a 45 minute experience in all...but that little guy fell asleep and I won! HURRAH! Phase One of project getting Brendan to sleep independently so Mom and Dad can have peace and quiet time once again was a success!

Afterwards, I put on my most secure training bra (this is a joke, however if I don't put down the twinkie's, moobs are in my future) and I headed out into the full moon night feeling exhilarated at my accomplishment. Not just because I got the beast to sleep, but that I was still going for a walk instead of sitting on the couch like a blob. Werewolves of London played on the ipod which I thought was fitting for the evening and I had a tremendous walk/jog. I felt good by the time I got home. The thought crossed my mind that Brendan could challenge me again tomorrow...or that this one good workout was not going to alleviate all of the flesh caused by months of stress eating....but then I reminded myself that that was tomorrow and today is today. This instant I was victorious. A complete success story of my own making. I reminded myself how ecstatic I felt at that instant for challenging myself. I thanked the powers that be for my two great kids and my wonderful wife. I officially marked a point on the board for Team Mom and Dad....and I wrote this blog to you. And now....it is off to bed. Until next time folks.......