Sometimes I laugh when I think about the mom I expected myself to be. I was going to never let my children watch TV and especially not anything that wasn't on PBS. I was never going to allow my children to eat sugar, hot dogs, Cheetos, french fries, or Cheese whiz. I was going to spend every second of my day reading to them, singing with them, and working on amazing craft projects that could later be sold as fine art, and teaching them to read and write before they turned 2. They were going to always be dressed in the very cutest clothes and of course always be clean and tidy without a hair out of place. I could just imagine a passerby coming up to us to compliment my children on their amazing displays of obedience and manners and my little angels would just look up so sweetly and say "Thank you. Our dear mother has taught us well."
Well, I'm actually happy to say that didn't turn out to be me. In fact, that dream is actually quite the opposite of my life. Granted, I still strive for less TV, healthier foods, more activity and learning time, cleanliness and obedience but those things certainly do not ever meet the standards my old self would have set. It is actually funny because there are several things that I remember saying that I would never allow and now that they do I actually love them.
One of those things happens to be my children's bad habit of sucking their thumbs. Yes, I know it is bad for their teeth and they take in more germs that way but ohhhhh I just can't think of too many things sweeter than watching my babies suck their thumbs. They both seem to get much more cuddly when their thumbs are in their mouths. They slow down and let me just hold them and kiss on them while they go to town on those shriveled up little thumbs. Jack likes to rub his ear or his tummy at the same time as sucking his thumb when he is sleepy. I just love it! It will be a very sad day when that stops. When Addie gets sleepy or cranky (which usually means sleepy) she wants her Cuddles. Cuddles is the most important member of our family right now because we cannot exist without her or him...I guess Cuddles is a girl because she is pink...so we couldn't exist without HER. She is this little blanket that has a bear head in the middle of it. It sounds kind of weird to describe it but really it is quite cute. It used to be super soft and pretty. Now Cuddles looks kind of dingy no matter how much I wash her and she has lost her super softness. But it doesn't matter to Addie. She drags Cuddles all over the house all day long and freaks out if we accidentally leave Cuddles in her bed in the morning. We lost her for about 10 minutes the other day before bedtime and it was definitely a scary time for the Pope family. We tore the house apart in those 10 minutes until I remembered that Addie had been playing in the pantry before dinner. I opened the pantry door and I think I may have heard angels singing because there was our dear Cuddles.
My latest guilty pleasure has been happening ever since Jack was sick a couple of weeks ago. We let him sleep with us during that time because it was just easier on me to not have to walk down the longest hallway in the world just to put my hand on his forehead to check for fever 500 times a night. After he was better Levi explained that he can't sleep with Mommy and Daddy anymore and only got to because he was sick. Jack seemed to understand and stayed in his bed that night...until about 5am. He came around to my side of the bed (which is empty because I sleep in the middle) and just quietly climbed in and went to sleep. I pretended like I had no clue he was getting in our bed because it is officially against the rules but after I heard him start snoring I pulled him close and got to cuddle with him...until Levi woke up around 6 and took him back to his bed. That has now become a regular routine and even though Levi and I remind Jack every night before he goes to bed that he is not allowed to sleep in Mommy and Daddy's bed, I still enjoy every time he does.
I know at some point I will have to crack down on the thumb sucking, take away Addie's Cuddles, and take Jack back to his bed but I don't think I'm at that point yet. It is weird because I dread the work it will take to eliminate these small habits and I hope they will dissipate on their own but at the same time I know my heart will break when my babies stop being babies. Maybe we need to have just one more... ;)
Well, I'm actually happy to say that didn't turn out to be me. In fact, that dream is actually quite the opposite of my life. Granted, I still strive for less TV, healthier foods, more activity and learning time, cleanliness and obedience but those things certainly do not ever meet the standards my old self would have set. It is actually funny because there are several things that I remember saying that I would never allow and now that they do I actually love them.
One of those things happens to be my children's bad habit of sucking their thumbs. Yes, I know it is bad for their teeth and they take in more germs that way but ohhhhh I just can't think of too many things sweeter than watching my babies suck their thumbs. They both seem to get much more cuddly when their thumbs are in their mouths. They slow down and let me just hold them and kiss on them while they go to town on those shriveled up little thumbs. Jack likes to rub his ear or his tummy at the same time as sucking his thumb when he is sleepy. I just love it! It will be a very sad day when that stops. When Addie gets sleepy or cranky (which usually means sleepy) she wants her Cuddles. Cuddles is the most important member of our family right now because we cannot exist without her or him...I guess Cuddles is a girl because she is pink...so we couldn't exist without HER. She is this little blanket that has a bear head in the middle of it. It sounds kind of weird to describe it but really it is quite cute. It used to be super soft and pretty. Now Cuddles looks kind of dingy no matter how much I wash her and she has lost her super softness. But it doesn't matter to Addie. She drags Cuddles all over the house all day long and freaks out if we accidentally leave Cuddles in her bed in the morning. We lost her for about 10 minutes the other day before bedtime and it was definitely a scary time for the Pope family. We tore the house apart in those 10 minutes until I remembered that Addie had been playing in the pantry before dinner. I opened the pantry door and I think I may have heard angels singing because there was our dear Cuddles.
My latest guilty pleasure has been happening ever since Jack was sick a couple of weeks ago. We let him sleep with us during that time because it was just easier on me to not have to walk down the longest hallway in the world just to put my hand on his forehead to check for fever 500 times a night. After he was better Levi explained that he can't sleep with Mommy and Daddy anymore and only got to because he was sick. Jack seemed to understand and stayed in his bed that night...until about 5am. He came around to my side of the bed (which is empty because I sleep in the middle) and just quietly climbed in and went to sleep. I pretended like I had no clue he was getting in our bed because it is officially against the rules but after I heard him start snoring I pulled him close and got to cuddle with him...until Levi woke up around 6 and took him back to his bed. That has now become a regular routine and even though Levi and I remind Jack every night before he goes to bed that he is not allowed to sleep in Mommy and Daddy's bed, I still enjoy every time he does.
I know at some point I will have to crack down on the thumb sucking, take away Addie's Cuddles, and take Jack back to his bed but I don't think I'm at that point yet. It is weird because I dread the work it will take to eliminate these small habits and I hope they will dissipate on their own but at the same time I know my heart will break when my babies stop being babies. Maybe we need to have just one more... ;)
Addie has to have Cuddles to eat too!
My loves sucking away on their little thumbs.
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