Morning Masterpiece

If your middle child decides that 3:30 AM is a great time to start the day, and then your youngest joins him at 5 AM, don’t think that when they’re settled and watching TV, you should be able to get a little snooze in on the couch. Because if you do, you might wake up to this:


Max had decided to get out the art supplies and make some pictures. Ella was sitting up on the table with him applying the stamp pad ink to her face.

Sick Question

Possible State Standardized Test question occurring in our house:

Scenario: Max goes to bed sick Monday night. He wakes up at 4:00 AM and remains awake until morning. He then goes to bed Tuesday night and wakes up at 3:00 AM and remains awake for a few hours before returning to sleep. On Wednesday night he goes to bed and awakens at 2:00 AM, remaining awake for a few more hours.

Question: Based on the pre-established pattern, what time will he wake up after going to sleep tonight?

But I'm not tired!

At 3 AM this morning, Max was screaming because he wanted me to cut his fingernails.

It’s 7AM now, and he hasn’t gone back to sleep yet.

Calgon...take me away!

It's 10 PM. Ella and Cameron have been asleep for two hours.

I'm trying to take this last opportunity to finish my grad work so I can actually graduate on the 10th of May.

My middle monster is still awake.

He's in the bathroom, making a lot of noise, and I hear the water running.

I ignore it.

Becasue if he's in there, that means he's not out here...and I can do my work...
without him forcing my chair next to his,
without him trying to sit on my lap as I type around him and his big head, stopping him from touching my screen,
without hearing his Barney "computer" echoing in my ear,
without having to find him more food,
without having to explain to him why he cannot have juice
without having to answer all his questions of what I'm doing.

Finally he comes out.

"Mommy, come see. Look what I did!" he exclaims grabbing my hand, escorting me away from my computer to see his accomplishment.

Bubbles are flowing over the powderoom sink.

"Look Mommy! I made a bubble bath in the sink! Let's find a duck to put in the bubble bath I made in the sink!"

Must've been a very bright moon.

Max has developed fear. He no longer climbs to the top of the indoor playscapes. He adamantly declined to go down any waterslides at Wisconsin Dells. He even refused to walk down the deck stairs to play in the backyard today (it was actually above freezing here in MN).

Last night, he attempted to join me in the family room after his bedtime…again. But I had work to do and refused his offers to sit next to me to read a book, play on his Barney computer and just sit on my lap.

His last attempt to stall his bedtime involved his new found fear. “Mommy! I’m scared!” he yelled down to me. “Max, go to bed!” I hollered back up to his room, tired of climbing stairs for the 5th time to return him to his bed. “But Mommy, it’s dark!” he persisted. The hallway light was on but I went upstairs to check on him anyhow.

Only to find a boy lying in his bed….with sunglasses on!

Of course it was dark! I ended up putting his bathroom light on as well, and made him take off his sunglasses, but later I found him sound asleep, with his darkened specs back on.