A Few Random Things

I am working on a longer post, one with more of a point, but I do need to post a couple of important updates:

I bribed Luke today, which I try to avoid when possible. But it was for something very important. I told him that I would buy him a small Ben Ten action figure if he would let me try to pick the wax out of his ear. Seriously. But it is a really big ball of wax, and I have been resisting it for months now. Today it just became too much for me. And here is the real clincher, the real point at which you will understand my sickness: I had to walk the two miles to Target because my car is broken down. And I remembered this when I made the deal.

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Luke has a real talent for sniffing out weakness and social taboos. And then of course, working to explode it all. On Monday, I took the boys swimming by myself, and when we got out of the pool, the family locker room with the shower was occupied. Since Henry was shivering and blue, and since Luke gets excema if we don't shower him and moisturize him after chlorine exposure, I decided to break the rule and take Luke with me and Henry into the women's locker room. I didn't tell Luke the rule, that children of the opposite sex over the age of three aren't allowed in the main locker rooms with their parents. I simply told him to hop right into the first shower stall and not to come out, that I would be in the next stall with Henry. But, moments after Henry and I began to soap up, I heard in Luke's voice booming out at me, in that echoing way that can only happen in a locker room, "Mom, do girls have testicles? Mom? Mom? Do girls have testicles?"

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Henry now believes that sleep is a new and exciting game, and he is determined to be the winner. Every day, nap is a huge battle that has three possible results: I put him in the stroller and go for a walk, during which he finally passes out; he doesn't take a nap; or, I yell at at him enough that he finally stays in his bed and goes to sleep. And I should reiterate the fact that I am laying with him, patting his back while expecting him to go to sleep--it isn't like I have locked him into his room alone. For some reason, bedtime is fine, but then he wakes around 3-4 in the morning, and getting him to go back to sleep is very difficult. I am accustomed to waking up with one kid or another at 4:30 or 5 every morning. My body has adjusted. But I'm not doing any earlier. Contrary to what Henry may think, this is one game that I will win.