The Queen's Rambles

Mike’s vacation goals have been met. I just put Elsa to bed. In her bed. Without me holding her. Without me nursing her. SHE FELL ASLEEP IN HER BED.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I know many of you expect your children to do that on their own anyway. We are attachment parents (even though I’ve never read anything by Dr. Sears and don’t believe that there is one correct parenting style). She’s been sleeping in our bed since the beginning. When she was really little she would sleep in a moses basket, but she outgrew that pretty quickly.

Now, if she would just sleep through the night we’d be golden. She’s been waking up a couple of times a night, which isn’t so bad I guess. I think she’d sleep better if we’d get a fan in here, but I can’t seem to remember to buy one when we are out and about. That’s the bad thing about living in a three story townhouse. The top floor is always hella-hot and the basement is always freezing.

Erik is having a sleepover tonight. I know he will be just fine, but it feels weird not to have him around. Mike is off at a D. C. United soccer game. I got him tickets for his birthday. I didn’t realize I was buying them from a resale place (StubHub) so it was a bit of a surprise when the tickets arrived and had a different name on them. Mike and his buddy are convinced they won’t be able to get into the game, but I told them it’s a soccer game, not an airplane ride.

Elsa hasn’t had any boob since Sunday! She was asking for it tonight, but was easily distracted. I think we can officially say she is weaned! It is good, except for the horrific change in her pooping patterns. She used to poop at 1 pm. If we were very unlucky she would poop around bedtime, but that was pretty rare. I seriously do not remember ever changing a dirty diaper while we were out since she’s been in disposables (and she’s been in disposables exactly a year).

This week? She is a poop machine. I’ve had to change at least 7 diapers in public, in my van, or at friends’ houses. I can’t seem to keep enough wipes in my diaper bag. She has been eating a can of beans every day, so it’s not been pleasant.

My friend had her pool set up tonight and it was hilarious to watch the difference between her kids and my kids. My kids are. . . shall we say. . . not dainty. She has a “family size” wading pool in a rectangular shape. Elsa hopped right in and began pouring water over her friend’s head. Her friend, another two year old, freaked the heck out and refused to stay in the pool. It was too cold and she didn’t like the water.

Erik and his little buddy were doing jumps into the pool. They were running a long way, then jumping over the side and sliding across the bottom of the pool (splashing Elsa in the process). Elsa thought this was the most hilarious thing ever and would jump when they jumped. The other little girl thought she was being torturted by the Spanish Inquisition. Erik’s jumps were insane. I think he has a future in the triple jump. He could easily clear the side of the pool and land half-way across it. His little friend is much more timid and would run up to the very edge, stop, then do a small little hop across the side.

Erik may not have great handwriting or be able to focus well at school. He may hate drawing. But man, oh man, is that kid full of physical prowess. I took my camera, but the battery was at home charging. Doh!

Speaking of school. Grrrrrrr. His teacher said exactly what I thought she’d say in response to my e-mail about Erik’s hearing. I honestly don’t think he has a problem with his hearing, but I was trying to politely tell her to speak up. He never once has a problem hearing the sub as far as I know.

So she will try to enunciate more clearly, but Erik’s only hearing problem is “selective hearing” and a refusal to focus on the subject at hand. I honestly can’t say she’s wrong, but I find her attitude extremely off-putting for a kindergarten teacher. I’m trying to figure out if she’s like this with all the kids or if she has a special dislike of Erik. I think he’s a really charming, personable kid who is well liked by many adults but I can see how a teacher would find him exhausting and frustrating. I find him exhausting and frustrating. It’s hard to be an authority figure to a child who questions everything, has his own ideas and refuses to go with the flow. Those are all qualities we admire in adults (most of the time), but are very difficult to deal with in a small child.

Ok, maybe I will risk going downstairs and watching a little TV. It is very nerve wracking to be two floors away from Elsa. I need to find the baby monitor.