Don't Touch my Elbow!

Children are so exhausting. I love them so much and they are the most meaningful, wonderful things in my life, but some days I am so relieved when they go to bed and I can have a few quiet moments to myself. Tonight I put them to bed at 8:00pm and I felt like I was going to explode if they didn't go to sleep immediately. I thought Chloe would never stop rubbing my elbow. Yes, I said rubbing my elbow. She has this weird habit that really irritates me. She rubs, holds, pinches, kneads and just generally grinds my elbow into a meaty pulp every night while she is going to sleep. (It really isn't that bad but it does get on my nerves). It started when she was a tiny baby, just found her hands; she would hold my elbow and fall fast asleep. It was great; anytime she was tired all I had to do was say "Here sweetie take mommy's elbow" and she'd latch-on and go fast asleep. It isn't so wonderful now that she is almost four years old and still rubbing elbows. I guess I should try to break the habit, but I keep hoping she'll just outgrow it. Thankfully Drew doesn't have any weird sleeping rituals except that he rolls all over the bed until he finds just the right spot and then he goes sound asleep and I can move him wherever I want. (Except back in his crib, which will wake him up faster than anything). I was so careful to teach him to only sleep in his crib and he was so good about it until I went back to school and started spending three nights a week with my parents. I don't have a place for him to sleep there, so he has to sleep with us; therefore, once we go home it is impossible to get him in his own crib. I really enjoy them being there with me. Anytime I wake-up at night I look over at each of them and it makes me so happy to see there sweet sleeping faces. Nights are so peaceful it helps to offset the chaos of the day.

Today, for instance, they missed nap and it was just craziness from that point forward. They took a lamp shade completely apart while I was cooking supper. Drew hit Chloe with a match box car and Chloe hit him in the head with her shoe. I made them both stand in the corner. Andrew tried to squish Simon the cat by sitting on him. They were jumping up and down in the recliner and trying to climb over its back. It was just one thing after another all afternoon. The best time for me, was outside playing; except for having to remind Drew to stay away from ants, they listened pretty well. Going outside is my sanity break so many days. If they are wrecking the house we put on shoes and socks and go outside. They play with the dogs or Bob the cat, swing, dig in the sand or play king of the mountain on this head-tall gravel pile we keep by the dog kennels. What am I going to do when it gets too cold to go out? I've just got to move somewhere that stays warm all the time.