Meredith Carson... Across the Pond and Back Again...

Routines are good for children.  This seemed a logical fact when I had my first baby ten years ago.  That first baby was not a textbook/easy/sleepy baby, so logic and all of my parenting books told me that what she required was a stricter, more serious routine.  Surely that would sort her out.  I remember holding her in my arms in her dark nursery, swaying back and forth while counting the number of times I lovingly stroked her back.  When I reached 150, it was time to lay her down in her crib and leave the room whether she was ready or not.  That was the routine.  I was 25 years old, had no idea what I was doing, and I was certain she was judging me harshly through her tear-filled eyes.  I clung to my routines for at least six months because I was sure that they were all that was holding us together.  At some point I figured out that all of my routines were robbing me of the joys of motherhood, so I went in a differ...

Have you met my narrator? Yes, I live with my very own personal life-narrator.  As I go about my daily business, her little voice punctuates each activity with helpful comments like, "Mama, you cleaning up cat throw up," and (as I'm climbing into the shower), "You naked, Mommy.  You got a booty."  I do my best to reply affirmatively to each of these conclusive announcements. Not only does she narrate my each and every movement, but she has also found herself to be a very worthy subject..  My two-year-old likes to give us up-to-the-minute reports about her state of being.  In keeping with the style of a proper narrator, she keeps it all in the third person.  "Lili needs chocolate milk," she might broadcast or, "Lili doesn't WANT to take a shower!!" Earlier this week, I found her struggling to get out of a pair of footed pajamas in her bedroom.  She was easy to find as I simply followed the sound of her passionate screechi...

I am feeling terribly uninspired lately.  We are continuing to adjust to life on a schedule.  We really embraced summer time this year.  Early mornings and routines have not been embraced with great zeal so far.  I have also been spending a LOT of my energy trying to prevent this person from doing THIS in the middle of the day... Sure, it looks lovely, BUT if Lili sleeps at all during the day, she doesn't want to go to bed until 10 or 11 o'clock at night.  Not cool.  So chances are, you might find me playing "Hide Seek," hostessing a bubble bath/ tea party, or singing the Elmo's World theme song repeatedly at about 5 pm each evening.  Things could certainly be worse. Sweet Dreams, Friends.

Boy, my head is spinning a little.  We have not exactly eased gracefully into the new school year.  None of us seem to have latched on to the concept of, "Early to be, early to rise..."  In fact on Monday morning, after she had fallen asleep in her cornflakes three times, I simply sent Sophia back to bed and took her in to school an hour late.  I decided it was more important that she be conscious than on time.  Call me crazy. I am enjoying the one on one time that I have with Lili now that those other people are off at school all day.  Having me all to herself means that Lil has plenty of time to declare her appreciation for different parts of my body.  This is particularly apparent when she climbs into the shower with me, pats me on the bum and chirps, "I like ya booty, Mama."  We've also played countless games of "Hide Seek."  When the excitement level gets too high, sometimes Lili forgets which part she is playing.  She has been kn...

Why don't I have any time?  Why is having three children so much more demanding that having two?  How much harder could it be, right?  I think I have solved the mystery this weekend.  Here goes...  Lili wakes up at around 6 am.  Sometimes I can convince her to catnap off an on in our bed until about 7:30.  Then for the rest of the day, she is my constant companion.  She showers with me, accompanies me on all of my errands and climbs onto the open door of the dishwasher and stomps her little feet as I load and unload it.  She begs for bites of my breakfast, lunch and dinner and chats to me while I'm in the bathroom.  If there is ever a moment when she is not by my side, it can be counted on that she is up to something naughty.  She enjoys removing lights and ornaments from the Christmas tree, "cleaning" the toilet and filling it with tissue AND she also likes to empty all of the drawers in my bedroom.  If she takes a nap, it u...