Early Bird

Mornings are a little rough when the boys first get up. I can't even put in my contacts without a fight breaking out. Lucas' aggression towards Ryan has gotten pretty bad lately. I can no longer leave them alone without someone getting hurt. Lucas is constantly scratching or biting Ryan (who I'm sure is provoking him sometimes). The constant screaming and fighting is really draining for me. I always have to be on alert to make sure someone isn't bleeding or being hit in the head with a truck. It's not uncommon for many timeouts to be issued before 7am even arrives. It's enough to make me want to crawl back in bed!

Doesn't he look so cute and innocent?

My point in sharing this is that lately I have been craving a little time to myself more than ever before. And I have finally accepted the fact that my only time for that is before the boys wake up in the morning. This really isn't an issue for me, since I am naturally a morning person. I feel most motivated and energized first thing in the morning.  But since having children, I have gotten into the habit of stealing extra sleep any chance I get. It's not that I sleep in....my boys are up between 6:30 and 7 almost every day. But with Ryan always in our bed by morning time, I can't get up without waking him. So I stay in bed until he wakes up. More sleep for both of us! However, since we moved the boys into a room together, we have really been encouraging Ryan to stay in his bed all night. And every few nights or so, he actually does!

So I've started a new habit of getting up with Adam, around 6 or 6:15am. This usually gives me time to get dressed and pour a cup of coffee before one of the boys is up. The other day I even had time to put on some makeup and take my hair out of the ponytail that it has literally been in for the past three months. When I walked by the mirror I was honestly surprised to see myself looking half-human for a change. It was nice!

So how am I dealing with the loss of sleep? I'm going to bed earlier. I used to go to bed around 10 or 10:30. But since moving, I can't figure out our cable channels so I don't really have anything to watch on TV at night. So I read in bed and try to turn out the lights by 9:30 or 10 at the latest. Even with all the wakeups at night with the boys (and using the bathroom 3-4 times!), I am usually getting enough sleep. I know this will all change when the baby comes along next month, but for now I am relishing the 20 minutes to myself in the morning!