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kristacecilia
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| Posted: Dec 17 2012 at 11:27am | IP Logged
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Is anyone else finding their children to just be more overwhelming, misbehaving more, and generally more crazy this time of year?
Someone please tell me it's not just mine. I was seriously thinking I needed to put mine in school and agonizing over the decision when a teacher-friend told me it's the time of year and all her students are the same way.
Is that true for you?
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Krista
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JodieLyn
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Yep.. anytime they're antsy with anticipation it's a nutty day.. this season lasts longer. I think (maybe) that it's a bit less here since we don't put up Christmas decor until Christmas Eve.. the Advent stuff isn't as delirium inducing as the Christmas stuff BUT focus still sufferes regardless. But that's true when everyone is wanting to be outside on a pretty day or right before a family trip or pretty much right before anything special that is being highly anticipated.  
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JennGM
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| Posted: Dec 17 2012 at 12:43pm | IP Logged
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Mine are wound up tightly...and it just gets worse every day.
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Jennifer G. Miller
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Betsy
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YES!!!! I had hope of doing some school this week. What was I thinking??? The good news is we still have wrestlng practice this week....which has helped at least ware them out. 
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pumpkinmom
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Yes! You would think they would be on best behavior this time of year. 
Our biggest problem is adjusting to winter weather and not being outside as much. Running around outside for an hour or two is really helpful with this type of behavior. I can't get mine to go out much. Saturday was a nice day and they went out, but just one day doesn't help. It needs to be every day! I may start praying for snow. That will get them to go outside! 
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kristacecilia
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You have no idea how much peace of mind this brings me, ladies. I was seriously distraught about if we needed to change our educational approach because of the behavior going on here. It seems ridiculous to even say that, now.
Thank you!
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Krista
Wife to a great guy, mom to two boys ('04, '06) and three girls ('08, '10, '12!)
I blog at http://kristacecilia.wordpress.com/
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Aagot
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| Posted: Dec 17 2012 at 1:37pm | IP Logged
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I had planned for school this week but decided by Thursday of last week to forget it. We will clean and spend time outside.
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Pilgrim
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Crazy here, too! It has been a few weeks at least that behaviors have been just antsy, and difficult. Of course the busy-ness of this season, along with other things making the schedule crazy have not helped at all!   
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SallyT
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Things are nuts here, too. On top of the normal craziness of the season, my 10-year-old had an asthma attack last week which landed him in the hospital overnight and now, though he feels much better, he's still a)stuck inside, and b) flying on steroids, in both nebulizer and pill forms. These make him LOUD and extremely hyper. Add to that the return of the college girl, which has thrown us all off our schedule . . .
In. sane. I find myself longing for January, just a little . . . I'm not at all a grinch, and I love Christmas, but this year the tree isn't even up yet and I'm already looking forward to when it's down again. Is that terrible?
Sally
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JennGM
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SallyT wrote:
Things are nuts here, too. On top of the normal craziness of the season, my 10-year-old had an asthma attack last week which landed him in the hospital overnight and now, though he feels much better, he's still a)stuck inside, and b) flying on steroids, in both nebulizer and pill forms. These make him LOUD and extremely hyper. Add to that the return of the college girl, which has thrown us all off our schedule . . .
In. sane. I find myself longing for January, just a little . . . I'm not at all a grinch, and I love Christmas, but this year the tree isn't even up yet and I'm already looking forward to when it's down again. Is that terrible?
Sally |
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Those steroids are terrible! My boys aren't even on caffeine, sugar, or steroids and just bouncing. My little one is just beside himself. He keeps saying he's so excited for Christmas.
That's just putting it mildly. All I'd like is just some silence.
I'm right with you on the decorations. We set the tree up last Sunday, decorated yesterday, and I was so half-hearted. I didn't even pull out all the ornaments. Most of the decorations aren't going to be pulled out and I can't WAIT until it's all down so we can go back to the normal chaos, not the frenetic chaos.
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SeaStar
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| Posted: Dec 17 2012 at 6:43pm | IP Logged
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Here, too!
I don't know if I am going to make it with ds until Christmas. He is so wired- he's now in a state of anxiety because the UPS man has not brought any boxes specifically addressed to him. This afternoon he was in tears over this. Umm... so much for the real meaning of Christmas at our house.
The O Antiphons are throwing him this year, too, as they are still fairly new for us, and I can see he is struggling to make sense of them. He was not so thrilled to see the ornaments come out tonight.
All this will continue to build until Christmas Eve, when he will sleep a few hours and then pretty much be up the rest of the night in anticipation.
We are clinging to our school routine this week, since that is familiar to him and keeps him busy all morning. Otherwise I am sure he'd be staring out the window just waiting to ambush the UPS man.
Oh, my. Ho Ho Ho.
Sally- I am sorry to hear about your son. Asthma is so scary- and a night in the hospital, too. 
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JennGM
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SeaStar wrote:
| All this will continue to build until Christmas Eve, when he will sleep a few hours and then pretty much be up the rest of the night in anticipation. |
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Hmmmm, sounds like my oldest and yours have a lot in common. It seems now every Christmas he's in tears around 1 or 2 am because he can't go to sleep. He'll pretty much have an all night vigil because of the excitement and then be a wreck all of Christmas Day.
It's worst at Christmas, but he gets excited about every holiday. I stupidly forget to factor that in my planning for anything. I should write "Go to bed early because ds is going to wake you up...." or "Schedule quiet time" and "outside time or House of bounce to burn off energy"
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Becky Parker
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I've been in tears about my kid's behavior lately. It's just awful! My mother is here staying with us and she requires quite a bit of physical care, as well as the emotional tole it is taking on me to see her this way. Combine that with these wound up kids and it's just nuts.
Adding to the issue is the fact that big brother is home from college which adds to the excitement, and I dropped our normal routine because of my mom being here. I think that was my first and biggest mistake!
I know I am doing the right thing by having my mom with us but I'm becoming disheartened.
Sorry, didn't mean to have my own personal pitty party here!  Really just wanted to say you are not alone!
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Becky Parker
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Krista, reading your comment about putting the kids in school ...
I remember my days as a classroom teacher when the weeks from Thanksgiving to Christmas were just nuts! All the teachers would watch the clock just waiting to let the little hooligans out! One teacher I worked with told me the Christmas Program that required so much practice was really just an excuse to drop the rest of the academics because the kids weren't going to learn anything anyway!
So yes, it's the same in school, the parents just don't have to deal with it until 3:00 ... unless they are teachers too!
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mamaslearning
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What happens with it's not the kids but ME that is crazy!? The adjustment to winter, the dark, dreary days, the anticipation of family gatherings (That I LOVE and look forward to every year)........I think I'm more excited than the kids and keep 'rearranging' our schedule.
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juliana147
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I wish I could give all our frazzled moms a few quiet moments with a cup of tea! We wouldn't talk, just drink our tea, while children ran wild!
Sally, I'm so sorry to hear about the hospital stay.
And I know Lara is right about the adjustment to winter, and our schedules! I am trying to make an extra effort to take care of myself this year. Exercise, and at least one cup of tea. I found some white tea, which is new for me, and I am really enjoying it.
It's hard, though. With so much going on, something has to give, and I don't want that to be the things that bring us closer to Him. So, I juggle, and it's not perfect.
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SallyT
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Becky, it is hard having company from "outside" and maintaining anything like a routine, but I am sure you are doing the right thing by having your mother with you. These times are chaotic, but rich in their own way. I look forward to having my mother come Christmas Eve, to stay for five days. At least then I have no expectation of keeping a schedule!
We are really experiencing the "outsideness" of our college child this holiday, more than I remember from any of her other holidays at home. She had a grueling semester, and now she's hyped up about going to Rome next semester, and meanwhile, everything her younger siblings do irritates her, and she's not good at overcoming her irritation. I've had, more than once already, to tell her that she *must* be pleasant to people, and that our home is not a hotel, here to cater to her desires. In fact, I really need her help, and so far she's been pretty grudging about giving it. I remember my own re-entries from college to home as sometimes difficult, but whew. I have new empathy for my own mother! My daughter is a very good kid, but I'm not loving being on the receiving end of her tough-semester fallout.
Thanks for all the good wishes for asthma boy! He is much better, and his behavior is evening out some, though he still can't go out, and still has to have nebulizers multiple times daily. I think my own mental state will be better once the house doesn't feel like one big sickroom, with him camped out day and night on the couch outside the kitchen, surrounded by plastic tubing and kleenex. He and I are both going to the doctor today, he to follow up on the hospital stay, I for a sinus infection. My own coping mechanisms will no doubt be better once I actually feel better . . . and, hopefully, feel like getting ready for Christmas. So little is done right now . . .
Sally
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SallyT
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I have to add that Christmas audiobooks are saving us right now. My 9-year-old is sitting here with me making Christmas gifts with popsicle sticks while we listen to The Best Christmas Pageant Ever. Yesterday we listened to The Christmas Doll. My modest goal for this week is to have busy hands and engaged ears. That's as close to school as we're likely to get.
Sally
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SeaStar
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JennGM wrote:
Hmmmm, sounds like my oldest and yours have a lot in common. It seems now every Christmas he's in tears around 1 or 2 am because he can't go to sleep. He'll pretty much have an all night vigil because of the excitement and then be a wreck all of Christmas Day.
It's worst at Christmas, but he gets excited about every holiday. I stupidly forget to factor that in my planning for anything. I should write "Go to bed early because ds is going to wake you up...." or "Schedule quiet time" and "outside time or House of bounce to burn off energy" |
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Yes- they are cut from the same cloth. It's not just Christmas... any major holiday, with birthdays being right behind Christmas. I can't remember any of us being like that growing up... we were excited, yes, but we could sleep!
My ds will go to sleep Christmas Eve, usually by ten, but then he's up around midnight for the duration. And comatose by three the next afternoon. What fun!
One year we went ice skating for three hours on the afternoon of Christmas Eve to help wear him out. Didn't work, though the rest of us were pooped.
Well, one bright side is that I'll never be one of those moms staying up into the wee hours wrapping Christmas presents on Christmas Eve. Nope-
St. Nick has to act fast here- there's only about a two hour window for getting the presents under the tree....
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JennGM
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| Posted: Dec 18 2012 at 10:19am | IP Logged
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I wasn't like that. And I really try to keep things low key so I don't get him more excited. Doesn't help.
My second son is the exact opposite. His birthday was last Thursday. He changed into his pjs in the afternoon so tomorrow would come faster (he was going to bed, but we had to change back and run errands). Later after dinner he didn't want a bath or reading before bed, just straight to bed so the morning would come faster.
Now THAT is what I used to do.
Polar opposites, these two. But I could have it worse. My sister's son (same age as my oldest) two years ago woke up very early (before 3:00), opened all his gifts, and finally went to his family around 4 or 5 saying he was lonely and could everyone come down?
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Topic: Crazy kids?
