Saturday, July 10, 2010

The Morning After

Ever have one of those nights that you do something maybe you shouldn't have?  Then, suddenly remember the next morning?  And can't believe you did what you think you did?

Well. That's me this morning. But, sorry, my "naughty" something isn't quite as "naughty" as you'd think.*

It took us forever weeks to break Jeven's habit of asking for and drinking milk in bed, during the night.  Being the 4th child, and me being deprived of sleep after 4 children, I would give in to him. He'd get a glass of milk before bed, brush his teeth. Then, about 2 a.m. he'd ask for more milk.  And, wanting my precious sleep, I'd give it to him.  

At some point, I realized that he wasn't going to stop this habit on his own.  He'd be a 40 yr. old married man, asking his wife for milk.  And, he'd have no teeth because they'd all milk rot away.

So, we finally broke the habit.  It seriously took probably 2 wks.  The boy is STUBBORN.  

We've been having some really high temps. here, these last few days. All we have for a/c is window a/c units.  They do fine but our house never really cools down during the night.

It was no real surprise when Jeven woke me in the middle of the night, asking for a drink of water.

"Mom, I thirsty. Can I have some water?"

"Ummm. Ok"

I stumble to the kitchen with Jeven hot on my heels (literally, hot) both of us half asleep and walking a little funny.

Now, my children have gotten a tad spoiled.  We have a Brita water pitcher.  We don't hardly use the tap water for drinking.  It's actually fine but...after you've had Brita, you'll never go back.  

But, the pitcher was waaaayyy back in the fridge. Behind the Costco bottle of ketchup. Behind the economy sized box of yogurt.  Behind the 2 liter of pineapple flavored soda.  And, the generic Crystal Light pitcher was empty.

So.  You'd THINK I'd just fill his cup with tap water. Right?

Nope.

I filled it with the pineapple flavored soda.

Usually, with the water, I put just enough to quench their thirst. The kids take a few sips then I dump the rest out.

Nope.

I FILLED that cup. With pineapple flavored soda. For my 4 yr. old. In the middle of the night.
Jeven chugged. About half way through, I recall having 2nd thoughts and trying to take it away from him but...he just kept chugging.

Back to bed he goes. 


My first thought upon waking this morning was "What have I done!!!?? Soda??? In the middle of the night?  To JEVEN?!!"

I fully expect him to wake tonight and come to my side of the bed, asking "Mom, I'm thirsty. Can I have some highly sugared flavored soda of some kind?" 

Talk about regrets......

*Call me a prude or goody-goody but I've only had one hangover my entire life.  And, it wasn't when I was 20 something. Or in my teens. But, it was actually 3-4 years ago.  I'm not much of a drinker. Boring, but true.  And, honestly it doesn't bother me.  Addiction runs in both my family and my husband's. So, not a bad idea to stay away from the stuff.  The benefits to my children will be worth it.

3 comments:

  1. Oh no! Quick! Throw the rest of that soda out! My four year old wakes me up at least once every night to go potty and ALWAYS wants a drink of water, too. Which leads to her waking up again a couple hours later to go potty and then she wants another drink... You get the picture. I'm in the process of trying to break the water habit with her. Or at least encourage her to go potty, get her OWN drink and then tuck herself back into bed without waking me up!

    And I've had more hangovers in my life than I could count. BUT I don't drink at all anymore, for the same reasons as you. And man, I've got five kids, I need to have my wits about me!

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  2. I think most every parent has done something like this. I know I have. And yes, the regrets come in the morning, but so does the resolve to make things better. :)

    Our girls have water bottles that are filled before bed and sit at the bedside for when they get thirsty at night. We've done this for years, and it's sure saved on everyone's sleep unless they forget to take the water bottle into the bedroom. Then we hear, "My water bottle! I'm thirsty!"

    Would something like that work for you?

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  3. Judy, the water bottle would work great until the boys started having water fights at bedtime. I can picture it now.....( ;

    I've been reading your blog but unable to comment! But, I AM still reading and glad you had a good trip! Take care!

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