Reading, the best thing ever. Why? Because for x amount of time each day you can be someone else, somewhere else, not the Mommy of three tiny Hooligans. Hooligans who seem to only live to find out how long it takes to make your eye start twitching every morning (ten minutes, depending on the shenanigans). For that short time while you're reading, the world around you quiets down (usually because it's nap time) and you can zone out for a while, ignoring the laundry, dishes and vacuum. You can transport yourself to New Jersey, Louisiana or a post apocolyptic North America (can you guess what I've been reading) where little voices aren't asking you for juice, cookies or to go outside to play in the dirt. Not that I have anything against playing in dirt, I just don't have any I want them playing in.
If you're lucky, your Hooligans are small enough that when they ask you to read them a book... you can say "I have that one memorized! Why don't you hold it while I recite it?" and then while they flip through their book, you read aloud from your book! They never know the difference and then they SUPER love that one book because it changes everytime they ask you to read it...Girl A has caught on, and it's probably best I read from books she will soon be reading herself, but still, I've got another year before Boy catches on and at least 2 with Girl B.
It also masks the shows that they love to watch, but you don't. Yo Gabba Gabba is a perfect example. It gives me nightmares. That guy is just weird in body proportions and I don't even know what the little critters are supposed to be, but the hooligans LOVE that stupid show. The sit so quiet and intent, that I can trim fingers and toes without a fuss! Yo Gabba Gabba comes on and I fire up the Nook or grab the book I have been reading and beam myself out of a bad situation! 25 min later I am feeling less stressed and the kids are asking for snack!
"You want to play in the bath for a little bit? Ok, I'll give you as long as it takes me to read one chapter!" Sitting on the bathroom floor, or on the toilet lid is not the most comfortable place to read, but hey, they get to play and you get to relax! Sometimes I get to the end of my chapter and ask if they're ready to get out yet, if they answer "no", WOO HOO, I've got another chapter of quiet coming my way!!!
"You want me to sit by you until you fall asleep? Can I bring my book?" You bet your sweet patunia I can bring my book! They don't want to snuggle (even though they say they do), they just want you to sit on their beds so they can poke at your face or hands or arms while they sing, wiggle their feet or cover their faces until they nod off to sleep. Girl A asks me to say a word, and them make the sound of each letter in that word while she spells it based off of my letter sounds...we can do that while I use words from my book!
Another good reason to read, is that it makes the kids want to read. Requests for reading books at bedtime is up, everyone pretends they're "mommy" and sits and reads a book. Sometimes Girl A brings me a piece of paper she has folded in half, telling me she wrote a book and asks if I'll read it. There is nothing written inside except for her, Boy's and Girl B's names. So I ask her to read it to me and her imagination takes off. I've been read stories about princesses without shoes, princes who fight horses and anything you can think of. All because they see mommy reading and want to know what it's all about. :-)
Reading, the best thing EVER!
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