Flying Solo

So Ryan's out tonight, which means I have the boys alone. (Well had, seeing as they are both now in bed.) It's not too unusual, given that I stay at home with them, but bedtime alone is a totally different kettle of fish. By the end of the day their mood tends toward hyper (usually because they're excited about Ryan's coming home) and getting dinner and bed done can be something of a marathon between hyperactivity, bickering and clinginess.

It's nights like this I wonder if a stricter routine wouldn't make things more smooth, but at the same time I know it wouldn't really work here, we played till we were ready for dinner, then following their cues moved to bath and bed. They still get what they need, when they need it, I don't need a clock to know when they need it. I listen to them and give them what they need, and as well as getting their needs met they a) feel confident and secure with me and b) learn to communicate better with me, because if I respond as soon as they speak clearly, they tend to go for instant gratification the next time around and come out with a clear request right away! Speaking of clear communication Liam has learned to say milk - at least I get some warning before he attacks my shirt for a feed now!

Although the night ended up later than I would have liked for both of them, they are both fed, bathed and asleep none the less. Due to overcooking last night, I managed to have a proper meal for them tonight, as I usually resort to takeaway on the nights Ryan's out. Liam and I got some lovely one to one time when Zeke went down for a nap immediately after Ryan left. He says something that sounds like "Ah wuv bu" and follows it up with a kiss - I think it's I love you - how gorgeous is that? Then, not long after Zeke got up, Liam went down so Zeke and I had a play alone too.

We had a bit of an adventure with the bath tonight too. Went in to begin running it and noticed a nasty ugly black spider sitting near one of the jets (we have a corner spa bath) While I looked around for something to get rid of it, it disappeared into the jet itself. Closer inspection showed it had built a web around the entrance too, and had been established for a while. Not sure how I missed it, I guess it's because I mostly have showers and the jet are high up the side so it's normally not that full for the boys, I guess it never got disturbed before. Anyway, I tried pouring water into the jet to flush it out without success, and realised I'd have to turn the spa on to blast it out - apparently it's not just air, it's water too, so I had to fill the bath first. Meanwhile Liam and Zeke were losing it about not having the bath already even though water was going in. Got the water to a level where the spa would function, turned it on and out came the arachnid and a big chunk of web. Gross! The boys kept losing their cool, because now they had to wait while I let some of the cold water out and added hot - in retrospect I should have just filled it with warm water, got the spider out and stuck them in. Finally they were in, although Liam decided he didn't want to stay long. Zeke more or less got clean as well :)

As hectic as it can be, it's kind of nice being the only one here at bedtime. Zeke usually prefers Ryan to read to him at bedtime, so I get a chance. We read Dr Suess ABC book, he's obviously read it a few times, he knows some pages by heart! Liam tries to read along with us too, although he's mostly interested in the page numbers.

Well it's late now, and I've had some time to myself, blogged away and should probably get some sleep. Feeling a little bit awesome tonight though - one on one time with both boys, proper dinner, hunted down a spider and bed. Not a bad job if I say so myself :)

Our "visitor" - not as big as it looks, the camera was zoomed in pretty close for  maximum gross effect.