How to Deal

I'm not going to lie; this was a tough week. The first couple of days I missed my little peanut to pieces. The few days after that he made it much easier to go to work by not taking his afternoon naps. He has taken two solid 1 1/2 to 2 hours naps a day for quite some time. You could set your watch to this kid's nap patterns. But for some reason for the last few days he decided that predictability (and sleep, and a happy mama) was for suckers. On Wednesday his babysitter texted me around 3:00 to tell me that he had been sitting in the crib for the last hour babbling on and on to Elmo. I went to pick him up and he was as happy as could be, making snacks for everyone in the play kitchen and organizing the toys. Molly marveled at how sweet and happy he is, even when he doesn't nap. I laughed a little. Sure...right now. Swing by my place around 5:30 and let's have this conversation. Sure enough, around 4:30 the whining began. He whined because when he dumped his Little People from one bucket into another one didn't make it. He whined because he pushed his car to the back of the couch then couldn't get it. He whined because I wouln't let him empty the fridge. You get the idea. Around 5:15 the whining progressed to full-on tantrums. Happily for me, it was Shannon night, which meant that he was Matt's problem. So Matt took him to the mall, which is all decked out in Christmas decorations and has a train and a carousel. So that worked wonders. Meanwhile, I sat on the couch wasting my precious one hour a week of free time on Facebook.

Thursday Benjamin took a 40 minute afternoon nap. Again, happily, it was date night for Matt and Shannon, so Crabbypants was Brandi's problem.

Friday was the icing on an already delicious cake. When I arrived at work half the lights were off at the school. As of 8:15ish (school starts at 8:30), Edison was on their way and the administration was confident that all would be fixed within two hours. At 8:30, after the bell rang, the principal came on the loudspeaker and said that a squirrel had sacrificed himself on the power lines, that all electricity in the entire school would be off within ten minutes, and it would come back on around 4:30 (school ends at 2:51). Needless to say, five-hundred middle schoolers and no power the last day of school before a nine day break makes for a super day. When the bell rang at the end of the day I collapsed in an exhausted heap in my desk chair, so glad to be done for nine days. Two minutes later I got a text from Molly: Ben skipped his afternoon nap altogether once again.

Now before you say, "Shannon, clearly he is ready to go to one nap a day," allow me to paint you a picture of Mr. Naps Are for Suckers. Around 4:45 he tripped and dropped his cup of water. Then he screamed bloody murder for 45 minutes. He screamed while I changed his clothes (and he kept trying to take them off), and he screamed the entire drive to dinner with our friends. 45 minutes. I suppose two months of colic prepared me for just that moment. Fortunately the restaurant had balloons and food, Ben's two most favorite things, so we were spared having to ditch our friends to spend the evening at home with a screaming toddler who clearly knows best when it comes to naps. It is abundantly clear that he is most assuredly not ready for one nap. Also, in the midst of the screaming, I was able to catch a glimpse inside his little mouth, where I found a pearly white molar just poking through. Apparently he's skipping the middle teeth and going straight for the back ones.

But the week wasn't a total wash. I have my coping mechanisms.

• Every morning on the way to work I play my "Pump it Up" mix. It starts off with "When You Were Young" by The Killers, winds through some Bruce, some Otis, some Death Cab, some Coldplay, some U2, some Snow Patrol, some Fray. It's not a long drive, but I skim through to whatever I need for the duration.
• When I get to my classroom I have a different "Pump it Up" mix to which I rock out.
  
• During the course of the day I sometimes stop, sit on my desk, and tell a random story.
  
• Sometimes I punish behavior problems by making them dance in front of the class.
• To teach grammar and the parts of speech I make up sentences and stories about my students and their love for each other, Twilight, and Taylor Swift.
• After work I pick Ben up, rock out to more "Pump it Up" tunes on the way home, then set him up with some toys while I play on Facebook. And I don't feel bad about it.
• Sometimes on Wednesdays Ben and I snuggle on the couch and watch Tuesday night's episode of So You Think You Can Dance. Then we dance.
• I ponder the simple pleasures of my life.

And what are those simple pleasures, you ask?

• Teaching Ben funny tricks like fake falling and blowing raspberries.
• Playing with Ben's blocks; sometimes with him, sometimes not.
• Thursday nights on NBC. Honestly, I'm not a huge TV person, but Community, Parks and Recreation, The Office, and 30 Rock easily comprise the funniest damn two hours on television.
• Glee. I may or may not have a pretty serious crush on Dr. Shuester. Also, two of my friends and I watch it at the same time at our own homes and comment on it on Facebook while we watch. It's fun.
  
• Reading. It doesn't happen very often anymore, but when I have time, it is a delicious treat.
• Watching Ben play.
• Looking at photos.
• Snuggling up with my Soul Mate to talk and/or watch lame-o television.
• Date nights.
• Taking pictures.
• Spending time with my two best boys.
• Thinking about things I'm looking forward to.

And what, you ask, am I currently looking forward to?

• Spending this next week with my funny little family.
• Milking our new Disneyland passes. Man did I miss having that.
  
• Thanksgiving. Mmmmmmmmm.............mashed potatoes and gravy.................
• The Feast with my 5th period class. But that's another blog entirely.
• Our first Christmas in our own home with Benjamin. I can't wait.
• Reading A Christmas Carol with my English class.

So that's how I get through weeks like this one; I cling tenaciously to the big and little blessings, I pray constantly, I snuggle a lot with my husband and son, I listen to a lot of music, and I sing and dance. And it is thusly that even on days when the power goes out, the adolescents get crazy, and the toddler screams all night long, it is well with my soul.