It HAS to get easier. Right?

Night before last was one of the worst we have had in a while.  After I picked the kids up from the babysitter, I had to stop by Mom & Dad's to try to do something with my computer.  Apparently my old computer thinks it awesome to hold all of its content hostage so that I cannot actually get to anything.  The current and most prevelant example is Outlook which holds all of the addresses of all of our friends/family.  This is the reason that nobody got a Christmas card from us this year.  This is also the major reason that we had to push back Adrianna's baptism.  I cannot send out invites if I don't have addresses to send these invitations to, now can I?  Big fat computer fail.

The babysitter said that both kids were angels all day!  Adrianna ate all of her food!  Brock didn't have to go into time-out once!  He didn't have any accidents!  They both took great naps!  Once we got to Mom & Dad's, they pulled the ol' bait-and-switch.  For whatever reason, Brock was MAD at Papa Jimbo (my dad).  He wouldn't talk to him and he didn't want Papa to help him do anything.  I know that a large part of this is because he is having jealousy issues with Adrianna.  Even more so as she is getting older & slightly more mobile because now we are crossing the daunting bridge of ::dun dun dun:: sharing.  The most horrible thing that an older child can endure is having to share your things (toys, parents, friends, clothes, whatever) with your younger sibling (I'm speaking from experience here), especially when you are two.  When you are two years old, all of your stuff is an extension of you.  The word "mine" isn't one of their favorite words just because it is easy to say and it's funny to watch their parent's heads explode.  Kids this age truly think that if you are taking a toy away from them, you are taking away part of them.  Then, when you take the toy in question and give it to their younger sibling . . . well, you might as well cut their arm off because it will truly be less traumatic for them to endure.

We have been dealing with these issues ever since Adrianna was born because, try as we might, we just couldn't make a 23-month old grasp the fact that one day, that lump in momma's belly would be a living, breathing, crying, toy-taking being that he would have to forever share his world with.  You can read as many parenting books and listen to all the sage advice from been-there-done-that parents that you want and it still cannot prepare you for the blood-curdling screech that your sweet darling child lets out when the green-eyed monster takes over.

After getting extremely frustrated and unsuccessful at coaxing my laptop to cooperate with me, I realized that we needed to get home because both kids were getting tired and all of the ingredients for a disaster were being lined up, just waiting to be pouring into that giant mixing bowl.  Adrianna fell asleep on the way home and promptly woke up once the cold February air hit her chubby little face.  Brock was fading but still awake when we got home but he immediately began to scream once I turned off his "moo-bie" (that would be movie for those that aren't fluent in Brockenese).  I finally got both of the kids in the house and they were both wide awake.  Adrianna's normal bedtime is between 6:30-7pm and she didn't fall asleep until 8pm.  After several fights that ended in tears (both mine and his) Brock finally went to sleep around 10pm.  I finally get to sleep around 10:30 and Adrianna woke up at 11 wanting to eat.  In my half-asleep state I remember thinking, "Maybe this is good that she's awake now.  This must mean that she is going to sleep the rest of the night!"  At 4am she proved me wrong.  And she wouldn't go back to sleep.

Fast forward to last night when I'm thinking, "Okay.  Yesterday was rough but tonight is going to be better."  When the kids and I got home from the babysitter's I gave Adrianna a bath, gave her her last bottle and tucked her into bed.  Next, I tackeled Brock.  He was ready to eat so I made him some macaroni & cheese and immediately afterward gave him his bath.  This was all done by 7:30pm.  I was so proud of myself.  Apparently I angered somebody by being so cocky.  By 10pm Brock had coughed so hard he made himself throw up.  Luckily I got him into the bathroom before he made a mess on his sheets.  At 11:30pm Adrianna woke up.  Got her back to sleep by midnight.  At 1:30am Brock woke up coughing again and threw up.  Again.  Got him settled back down by 2am.  At 4:30 Adrianna woke up and wanted to eat again.  At 5:30 Brock woke up because his throat hurt from so much coughing and wanted some juice.  At that point I had to get up to get ready for work, but sheesh.  I'm wiped out!  I know that this will pass but when it starts on a Monday night . . .  well let's just say that it makes for an incredibly long week.  Hopefully tonight will be better.