There was an old woman who lived in a shoe...

Who had so many children she didn't know what to do.
She gave them some broth without any bread,
And whipped them all soundly and sent them to bed...

As a child I never understood this nursery rhyme. Why would she whip her children? That's horrible. Finally as a mom of three I'm starting to understand. In fact, there have been several occasions in the past month when my children have had their little bottoms popped before finally settling down to sleep. I used to consider myself pretty in-control with my children's good sleep habits. Guess someone forgot to read "THE book" to Clara...

Last night the dear two year old faked me out. I thought she was asleep, so I went downstairs, only to hear her in 5 minutes playing with a pretend vacuum cleaner in the playroom. (Of course, she isn't quite bright enough yet to play with something a little quieter). And yes, Amanda, it is the vacuum cleaner you believe to be possessed.

Then there was the night a few weeks ago when I awoke at a quarter to 4 am only to hear "Mommy!! Door Locked! Mommy!! Door Locked!" Clara had climbed out of her crib & was in the bathroom. She had taken off her pjs and diaper and was standing there covered in BLUE bath foam. It was everywhere from her toes to her curls. Needless to say I was NOT happy about giving a 2 year old a shower at 4 in the morning, but I did see the humor in it. I tried to take a picture even, but she apparently was embarrassed and wouldn't let me take one. She kept turning away saying "No picture Mommy" and proceeded to cry throughout the entire shower because she was upset I tried to take a picture. I suppose I should be happy she feels some guilt in the matter.

This week, we made the decision to put the younger two in a room together. What would make us decide such a crazy thing, you ask? Well, in a rash moment of extreme discipline, Kevin decided to take all the girls' toys away. Now before you go thinking what a rotten parent my husband is, his actions do have some merit. My children, like many children these days, do not appreciate what they have. And why should they? They have everything - which of course is partly our fault. They mistreat their things & frequently fail to listen whenever we tell them to pick things up. So, Friday, Kevin had had enough. We have now moved Clara into Lila's room and Clara's old room has become the "checkout room." Kevin and I spent three days sorting books & toys - purging a few, separating a few, and sorting the rest. They are now all in one room and the girls must now "check out" their toys one at a time. The ability to check out toys is earned by good behavior. We're hoping this will help them appreciate their things a little more. In the meantime, this has become "reorganize the house" week, and now that we have the girls rooms and toys situated, we have plans to move everything from the "school room" to the loft so that the front room to the house will not always be in disarray and be the first thing people see when they walk in. Kevin's considering making it the media room. We shall see. Of course, moving Clara into Lila's room hasn't helped the going-to-bed situation much. Hopefully in time the novelty will wear off and my children will magically become good sleepers again.

Anyway, I realize this has been much rambling... I haven't had much blogging time lately & needed to catch up!