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You wouldn’t BELIEVE the cheers from my girlies when they found out we were having artichokes with dinner tonight. When they actually made it to the table–I kid you not!–my 7YO did a little chant. “What are we eating?” Cue the 4YO: “Artichokes!” “What do we love?” “Artichokes!” I’m pretty sure this isn’t normal–but I love it!
The problem with artichokes, of course, is that I bought them a couple of weeks ago and started cooking them tonight before remembering that my prime objective this week is to make bedtime a little earlier each night, in order to prepare for the WEEKEND OF DOOM. Yes, folks, that’s right. This weekend we spring forward.
The inhumanity.
Before I had kids, I didn’t actually ENJOY springing forward, but I did love falling back, and really, how much did it matter anyway? No biggie, right? You get used to it. Just don’t forget the clocks and be late.
Ah, the good old days. Now I spend the week before springing forward in a frantic rush to start accustoming my children to their new bedtime, and while it makes for a hectic week, come Sunday morning? It’s totally worth it. We never make it the whole hour ahead, of course, but even 25-35 minutes is a really good start. And honestly, in some ways, springing forward can be easier. If you’re one of those parents whose kids sleep in naturally, well, that may not make sense, but putting my kids to bed earlier, in a dark and quiet room, is easier than teaching my poor 7YO to sleep in. (Her siblings don’t really either, but they, unlike the 7YO, conk quickly at night.)
But wait. You’re wondering how artichokes matter in this scenario.
Have you ever seen a pre-schooler eat an artichoke? Because they don’t exactly do it quickly. And then the 20-month-old gets restless, and you find Curious George on Youtube on your kitchen computer (which your awesome, awesome husband installed for you), because if you let him down from the high chair he’ll just climb up on the dining room chairs and dump the butter, or the plate of artichoke leaves, or his sisters’ water cups…you get the idea. And you know what happens when Curious George comes on? Both of the girlies start eating in slow motion. And since Daddy isn’t home from work yet to distract the 20-month-old, and toddlers don’t really get the concept of how to eat artichokes, it becomes the longest dinner ever. Which makes an early bedtime routine that much more difficult!
We managed, though. More or less. Now starts the week of the kids being up a little earlier each day, which is less than ideal, but still the better option.
Did I mention that I hate, loathe, despise, and abominate Daylight Savings Time? (I do like old movies, though. Kudos for you if you know the reference!) There is hope, though. Someday I’m going to have teenagers, right? And teenagers like to sleep in, right? Which means that this whole time change/parental torture thing will get better, right? RIGHT?
Of course, then I’ll have teenagers.
We’ll just focus on the silver lining right now, shall we?