Life with Lottie

I realized earlier this week that a blog that was supposed to be about our family has largely devolved into a large opportunity for me to whine about one thing or another. So here's a kid update. Because, believe it or not, in the midst of all the holiday nonsense of late, the kids have been growing and changing. Shocking, I know!

I am not sure who wins the award for leaps and bounds this month (in fact I'd almost say it was a tie) but I thought I'd start with Lottie since I don't blog about her shenanigans quite as much. Lottie has really become a lovable pill. Her favorite phrase at the moment is "No mommy," which I believe is the Lottie equivalent of a swear word. I am not the only one who gets the perpetual "no mommy." Ryan has been on the receiving end, as has Isabel, the cats, and I swear, completely inanimate objects if they get in her way. And something is frequently in her way these days. Lottie doesn't stroll anymore, she practically leaps at things using very rapid steps which almost equate to a run. Up the stairs, down the stairs, around and around the house, on the potty, off the potty, you get the picture. Usually shrieking about something. One of the most heinous parts of the "new" Lottie, however, is that sleeping happens only on her terms. Ryan and I are perhaps the WORST parents in the world when it comes to enforcing good sleep habits because we are weak and spineless in the face of the two-foot tall blond onslaught. We were the same way with Isabel. Unlike Izzy, who would lay in her bed and cry for assistance (convinced I am sure that the 2 inch drop to the ground from her mattress would kill her), Lottie has no problem climbing right out of bed, opening the bedroom door, and marching into our room at all hours yelling either "Cup" or "No mommy." She does not accept being put back into her bed and most of the time won't come peacefully into ours unless we accede to her demands. This makes my sleeping life a huge let down these days. Because once installed into our bed, she begins an elaborate ritual with her cup (hand pacifier to mommy, drink cup, demand pacifier back, demand mom take cup, stare at ceiling for approximately two mins, demand cup be returned to her for a repeat of the ritual). We usually do this for about 20 mins until she finishes her cup. Once the cup is completed (and by the way, the cup MUST be milk. We tried water once and she protested so loudly that the cats bolted out of the room in a second flat), she begins her elaborate bed hogging routine. This usually involves pulling my hair hard enough that I roll over to get away from her. She then inches closer and higher so she can get a good grasp on my scalp. (At this point, most nights I am also greeted by a loud "Hi" in my ear.) I move farther and farther to the edge of the bed so by the time we're done, she has my pillow and the prime place on my side. By this time, about an hour or more after the Lottie invasion, I am sleeping with the cats at the end of the bed or in the guest room because she doesn't usually bother Ryan if left alone with him.

Needless to say, I've had a hard time being positive by the morning. And, because the routine has intensified in recent weeks, Lottie herself has a hard time being positive as well. Strangely, Izzy, our usual morning grump, has been waking up happy these days. Thank goodness. I think with all the sleep deprivation, Ryan would otherwise find me hiding out with cats in the AM otherwise. As for Izzy, we've entered ABC season in a big way. They've started on learning the alphabet in preschool and we've been instructed through those ever "helpful" handouts teachers leave for parents in the boxes to work with our children on pre-reading skills. I say helpful sardonically since I never find any of those things particularly enlightening and instead have lingering guilt about not reading Eloise for 8 straight weeks in a row. (Apparently I am supposed to be reading the same damn story over and over again since repetition is the mother of learning.) In the spirit of prolonging my bad mommy-ness, I find the whole process of learning a bit daunting. I kind of expected Izzy would be able to identify the alphabet by now. She's been singing the alphabet song since she was two and could identify her name by 3. I find myself constantly fighting off bad mommy impulses of "why aren't you learning this?" I hope this is somewhat normal.

Anyway, I am sure Iz will learn her letters soon and Lottie will learn to sleep again someday. I just have to remember that I am supposed to be enjoying this, even half dead.