Sleepers....how does it happen?

I was talking with my Mom tonight discussing what great sleepers the kids are... Jenni had an activity and asked me to put the kids to bed early, like 6:30pm and they all went to bed so easily. That even included Matthew messing around while brushing his teeth. WHICH is another post just in itself.

Anyway, I was commenting to my Mom how well all the kids go down and I wanted to post my usual experience with Nicholas. I would venture to say this is my normal experience with him and tonight was no exception. I got the other kids down roughly around 6:30ish (that is not the normal time), probably 6:35 and Nicholas was quite grumpy. Baby whining... Cries if he is left out of the crowd, cries if he thinks that I might leave him.

Anyway, I put him down to grab a bottle for him and of course.. he freaked out and started the baby whining.. Its kinda cute, but I was pretty motivated to take care of him so I got the bottle ready quick like. I went and picked him up and he saw the bottle and immediately knew that he was going to be fed and like the good kid he is, stopped crying. Anyway, I started feeding him and he immediatley starts to fall asleep. I have to admit, he is super cute and I felt bad for him, becuase he is obviously exhausted, you know... doing all those BABY things that wear kids out I guess. Whatever those are...hmmph, he should try being an adult sometime.

The feeding goes as planned and he eats well and is practically sleeping. I stand up and start to walk him/carry him to his bed and his eyes open and drift back to sleep. This happens two or three times as I walk upstairs to his room. As I get him into his room and he senses his bed, his eyes pop open and I big ole smile comes across his face. Its almost like he is saying, 'finally, this is what I really want'. I then put him down and this is what is funny, he gets all excited and starts flailing his arms and kicking his feet, with a HUGE smile on his face. Its so funny and cute at the same time. I put the blanket over him and give him a kiss, and he rolls his head to one side or the other and goes to sleep.

My question is, how does a kid that is half way asleep get so flippin' excited about bring in a crib and going to sleep? How does a parent create sleepers that we have? Trust me when I say that I am not complaining. The fact that my kids do sleep has made mine and my wife's life exponentially easier and its been a huge blessing. I just wonder how it is done. Is there a magic formula? We are huge proponents of schedules, especially with young children, but do some kids just come out of the womb tired? Anyway, I certainly dont have any infinite wisdom to share on how or why sleepers are made the way that they are, maybe its just luck, but feel free to comment and share your wisdom!

Have a great evening...

She said what?

I'm sitting here waiting for the Dino Buddies to cook wondering what to make of the experience I just had at the grocery store.

I picked the girls up from school and ran to Top Foods to pick up a prescription. It was a quick errand - just an in and out. I pulled Nicholas out of his car seat and carried him because at 7 months and 20 pounds carrying him in the bucket is ridiculous. So there I am carrying a baby walking down the parking lot with the three bigger kids in tow (and I guess bigger is a stretch since they are all 5 and under). We go to cross the street into the store and a woman rolls down her window and shouts, "My gosh, are you having fun yet?" huh?! I smile and cross the street wondering why people have to open their mouths sometimes.

Getting looks, stares, smiles, etc. is not unusual when I go out with my kids and I always want to shout, "it's only 4 kids people!!" Getting comments though are not as common. This is what happened next...

We walk over to the pharmacy and of course there is a line. My kids are usually pretty good on errands but Matthew has been having a hard time with everything lately. Today he really let loose. He put on a display that would make any 3 year old proud. It was a tantrum of gargantuan proportions. Laying on the floor, kicking, screaming, shouting "NO" - you get the picture. Like any good Love and Logic parent I tried to be calm as a cucumber (though I must admit I was dying inside), stepping over him and let him carry on. I had a prescription to get and then we'd be out of there. Several people had already walked by giving me the sympathy look - you know, the "I"m so glad it's you and not me look." But one lady didn't have her filter on. She walked by, turned to me and said, "He needs a good spanking...right now. What a brat. He's acting so bratty." My brain doesn't work that fast so I was still trying to process what she just said to me instead of coming up with an appropriate 'mind your own business lady' response. While my head is still whirling, she backs up, comes right over to Matthew and says, "You are being such a brat. Bratty Bratty Bratty." Then stands up and walks away.

What?!

The kicker is, me prescription wasn't even ready. The pharmacist said it would be 10 more minutes. I smiled kindly, gathered my kids and left empty handed.