Thursday, February 25, 2010

I Don't Know About the Rest of You...

...but mama needs her quiet time.

Every morning, I crawl out of bed at 6:00 a.m.

It's so much cozier in my warm bed, but I know that if I don't steal away now...I will not have another opportunity at quiet, uninterrupted time.

So, I wrap myself in my fluffy white robe...

...stuff my toes into my minky slippers...



...and pour myself a piping hot cup of coffee.

The house is dark.

Quiet.

Still.

You can hear the clock ticking.

But nothing else.

My cup warm between my palms.

Husband. Babies. Toddler. Dogs.

All in bed.

I wiggle the mouse and the computer screen comes to life....

...I squint, until my eyes adjust...

...and I check my email...read through my blog roll...check the Yahoo! news page...

...and savor.

The quiet, dark, still house.

The sun starts to come up...and rustling can be heard in the rooms.

Husband is getting into the shower...

...babies are stirring...

..."Mama, I'm awake!"...

The day, whether I like it or not, it about to begin.

And it won't be for another 23 hours that it will be this quiet and dark and still again.

The next 23 hours will be filled with diaper changes, breakfasts, lunches, dinners, nursing, crying, arguing, cajoling, negotiating, begging, pleading, laughing, playing, train track assembling, tickling craziness.

But no matter how tired I am...I find a way to crawl out of bed before the rest...

...because if I don't...

...I *feel* it.


(buy this print here)


What do you need to do to find your center?


(P.S. Notice how Bible time is glaringly missing? Working on it. Promise.)


(And don't forget, today is the last day to enter the Figgy & Wink Giveaway!!!)

14 comments:

Chelle Belle said...

That's what I've started doing too and am doing right now. Unfortunately one of my babes has decided that she wants to start not going to bed after her feed so I end up running up and down the stairs plugging a sucky in every 5 minutes trying to get my me time. (In fact I am right now.) I hope its just a phase cuz I so miss that time and I "feel" it too!

Jeannett said...

Chelle-could you try waking her up an extra 30 minutes earlier for her feed (i know, i know...that means YOU get up an extra 30 minutes earlier)...but that might be just enough to keep her super drowsy and fall back asleep. Just a thought.

joy said...

yes, i love this in theory, but in order to beat the kids, i'd have to be up at 4:30. good grief, you'd think getting up at 5:30 would be early enough but i swear, the kids can hear the mouse wiggle and see the light of the computer in their rooms. they wake up if we get up early. i'm sincerely glad you get some quiet time though. it is a necessity.

Jeannett said...

joy-the girls wake up for a feed at 5:30...and then go back down until 7.
remember when henry was waking up at un-godly hours (read: 4:45 a.m.)? well, we taught him that he is NOT ALLOWED to come out of his room until 7. he doesn't have to sleep...he can play with toys, read books, or play on his rocking horse...but he CANNOT pound on the door, kick the wall, or stand there wailing for us. so, yes, he hears me typing and calls for me and i yell back through the wall "henry, it's not 7:00 yet, i will come get you when it is time." "okay, mama." and then he is quiet until i go in there to rescue him.

alarm clocks are miraculous things. try it.

andy gibson said...

Excuse me, but I am not in bed at that hour 4/5 days a week thank you. Three days I'm already working out with George, and Thursday is bible study at 6am in SLO. Geez.....

Saturday on the other hand...you need a shotgun to get me to move.

grace said...

I always want to get up earlier then everyone. but...well...I don't. It's a goal of mine.

Laura said...

Wow, I really admire you! I can't make myself get out of bed until it's absolutely necessary (as in, I will be late to work if I stay in bed one more minute). I would probably benefit from some quiet time, but sleep is so sweet!

Debbie @ OtRD said...

The photo of your kids at the top of your blog is beautiful!

Just wanted to drop by and thank you for stopping by on my SITS day. It means so much to me!

Kate said...

what about having a 1 1/2 - 2 hour quiet time in the middle of the day? that's when i get my time. charlotte is beyond napping so now we are working on quietly playing for those 2 hours. but suz still sleeps, although today it seems she will just be quietly reading for the time and elizabeth will either sleep or play in her crib. i am in desperate need of my alone time too and that works best for us.

Just Jenn said...

Hats off to you!! Way to Seize some time to yourself... I would sleep!! What beautiful babies!! This minute ~ I could just love them, hold them, play with them and give them right back to you!! =) I could not do it! but... I have done many things by the grace of God I did not think I could do!! ha ha! Looking forward to blogging in your world too~ so many wonderful women in this world!
Blessings! Just Jenn~
www.seizingmyday.com

Alissa Nicolau said...

Hello Jeannett, Feel like I know you. Found you earlier yesterday through the Pleated Poppy and I'm so, so glad I did cause we're kinda similar. I have a little boy who is soon to turn 4 and twin girls who are close to 4 months old. The girls are also fraternal, named Marlo and Sabine, Marlo was almost a Lucy but we still call her LuLu! We also have an Avo, my husband is Portuguese. I have questions and concerns about the girls and their development. They were born at 34 weeks, in the NICU only an additional 2 days after I was discharged, I also had a c-section. Marlo holds her body very stiff while Sabine is floppy, floppy, floppy. We aren't seeing any early intervention people yet. We do have an appointment to see a developmental ped in April. I've loved your blog. I love your writing and can't wait to hear more about the girls, their development and your every day. Very happy to have found you - Alissa

Alissa Nicolau said...

Forgot to mention that I too sewed the nursery bedding! My machine frightens me but it had to be done because I fell in love with an Amy Butler book.

Melissa said...

Since my 2 year old wakes me up around 5:45-6am every day...I don't get the quiet time...hmmm...I'm working on that...I was thinking black out shades...but he wakes up before the sun comes up...so that's not gonna work!

I work full time...so many days I eat my lunch at my desk so that I can get through all my blogs! :)

Chelle Belle said...

Thanks Jeannett, I've been thinking about setting my alarm so I can do just that, great minds think alike I guess heehee.