Tough Sunday

Today is a Sunday that doesn't really feel like a day of rest. Jim woke up for a meeting bright and early which left me to get the kids ready all by my lonesome. When Jim was the Elders' Quorum Pres. this happened every Sunday, so this wasn't the biggest deal. However, I guess I don't manage my time very well, cause the kids and I were late for church. Late and grumpy. That's just the beginning.

During sacrament meeting Jim and I played musical chairs while passing Hunter off to each other between hallway visits. I SWEAR we hardly ever took Tralee out during sacrament when she was Hunter's age. She was perfectly content to sit with us, scribble pictures, play with puzzles, and be a good girl in general. Hunter wants to move move move!!! Sitting is NOT an option for this little man. I try busy books, flash cards, puzzles, food, toys, crayons, candy, ANYTHING to get him to sit still, but none of it works. Hunter wants out of the pew. I look at other families sitting quietly all in a row and wonder how they get their kids to sit perfectly still. Maybe it's not very nice of me but, I'm happy when I see another parent struggling with their toddler. Oh good! It's not just us, I think.

A while ago, a family member told me a story about how a certain parent NEVER took their child out in the hallway during sacrament when they cried, cause that just taught their child to cry so they could go out into the hallway. Seriously? How long should I let Hunter wail, and how long should I watch people turn around a stare at us because they can't hear the speaker before I go out in the hallway with him? I've also been told that when you leave sacrament with a screaming child, you shouldn't let them go play, but let them sit still in a classroom until they stop fussing. We try this. However, even after we're sitting back down in sacrament with the kids, it doesn't take long before Hunter is ready to leave the confines of the church pew again. We're not doing anything different with Hunter than we did with Tralee, so it leaves me to conclude that Hunter and Tralee's differing church behaviour is just a boy/girl thing. I talked to other moms out in the hallway (most of them with their sons) and all of them concluded the same: Boys can't sit still. Girls (for the most part) can. F.Y.I, it you're a parent of a boy who sits perfectly still in church, please don't comment "Oh. . . we have a boy, and he's a little darling angel during church" cause you just might make me cry.

Second hour Jim watched Hunter while I taught my Primary class (it must be said that I LOVE my primary kids), then he passed him off to me so he could teach his YM class, and while doing so Jim stated, "He's been a grump!" Jim wasn't kidding. Hunter wanted up, so I lifted him up. As soon as I did, he wanted down. So I tried to set him down, only to have him lift up his feet and cling to me. At one moment, where I attempted to sit with my nine-year-old class during sharing time, Hunter scrambled off my lap, ran to the front of the primary room (where the Bishop was teaching sharing time), found a Birthday sucker under the podium, and started doing a I'm-happy-I-found-a-sucker-dance. This made all the kids start laughing, which took the focus off the Bishop. I had to walk to the front of the room, take the sucker away from Hunter which made Hunter WAIL, then I promptly left the room . . . again.

While out in the hallway Hunter either wanted to be held, or he wanted to walk into all the rooms he shouldn't (the gym where all the men were having a lesson, the men's room, or any classroom where the door opened for a second while someone walked in or out). The third hour of church seemed to last an eternity. At least Tralee was bright and cheery when I picked her up from nursery. She's been such a good little joy to have around lately! I love that little girl!

Hunter promptly fell asleep on the way home from church, only to wake up and refuse to go back to sleep as soon as I pulled in the driveway. Jim quickly ate a sandwich before zipping off to another meeting. He's still at a meeting now, then he has another church activity to attend tonight. Poor guy has been working so hard lately, he even worked most of Saturday. He still hasn't found time to rest. I almost feel guilty thinking about the nap I'm about to attempt with the kids. I sure hope it all works out, cause it's been a dousy of a Sunday. I could really use some shut-eye. . . and some advice about how to tame a one-year-old boy enough to sit still even through HALF of sacrament meeting.

Nighty night night (I hope).