AAARRRRGGGHHHH. (translation: studying after DS's bedtime was a great plan when he actually...

[RollerCoasterMama]

This is going to be harder than I thought. Summer school online classes started this week. And DS is being SUPER stubborn about everything and pushing his bedtime later and later and then getting up several times starting right about when I turn my lights off. 3 days in and I'm 2 days behind. Not that it's hard, I'll totally catch up but seriously.

Somethings gotta give. I need As in everything or this isn't going to happen.

Doesn't help that STBX is out of state for military stuff and only calls once or twice a week - when DS refuses to talk to him.

Oh well...he's quiet for the moment. Better try to snag another 15 mins. But I can't study very well this way. I think what I might have to do is actually take a real lunch break at work and put on head-phones and do it then. Otherwise I'm never going to pull this off. I'm only taking one class at a time this summer, but they're very condensed. Gotta learn it now and quickly.

[Halfasianmomma]

Just wanted to say: You are a SUPER Goddess for trying to study at home with a needy LO to care for.

I don't know how you do it (my brain goes to mush after DD goes down at 8:30).

[RollerCoasterMama]

Originally Posted by Halfasianmomma

Just wanted to say: You are a SUPER Goddess for trying to study at home with a needy LO to care for.

I don't know how you do it (my brain goes to mush after DD goes down at 8:30).

I don't know how I'm going to do it either--I have the same mushy brain problem! This is the first time I've tried anything like this. But DS is 3-1/2 now and I'm a year past the tough decisions about the divorce, so no depression or drama sucking my energy away. I finally did get a good run at it from around 10:00 - 12:00. Unfortunately, I always was a nocturnal studier, but I didn't have a family and full-time job back then! Gotta work on that!

Big picture. The pay-off is huge. I just need to do this one day, test, class at a time. If I look at the whole picture with all of the "if"s it freaks me out.

I'll get there again. However, it will help immensely if I can get his current sleep issues resolved! That would make us both happier and healthier! And get me to bed earlier!!!

[Peony]

I am in the same boat with my Ds as well. For the past 6 weeks he has been in this phase on not going to bed until late, I get no studying done. It is killing me.

[Ornery]

I'm not going to take summer classes because of this problem. I had a really hard time studying over the past year and I can't imagine doing it over the summer when my kids stay up super late.

Good luck!

[RollerCoasterMama]

It doesn't help that DS and I both have the summer cold from hell, but his is about gone, and hopefully mine is almost done too. I ended up getting some work done on my lunch break yesterday. Last night, I didn't even try. DS's sleep schedule has been so screwy lately and then he's been sleeping in every day for the past week. (He never sleeps in.) So last night I avoided the fight altogether and declared that we were both going to bed early and he could bunk in with me the whole night. Usually he starts in his own room then joins me if he wakes up. The downside is that I didn't sleep as well, but he slept HARD all night. So hopefully that will help. And if I need to switch to having him sleep in my room then going to work somewhere else, I will. He always wakes up so happy when he's allowed to sleep with me the whole night. The extra mommy-time means a lot to him. The only reason we don't do it full time is that I really don't sleep as well and it adds up after a while.

I will be on target by the end of the weekend. It's going to take some work, but I can do it.

My reward...I have a cabin in the woods rented for a week between summer school and fall semester. No responsibility. No cell phone (there is a land-line and internet). Just me, DS and the cat out in the woods for a week. Bliss.

[punkrockmomma]

You said he's been sleeping in, is it possible for you to wake up earlier then him? I know last semester I would crash when my DD would go to bed, I found I just didn't have the ability to to do homework at night. So, what I started doing was waking up early, around 6:30 a.m to do homework. I also scheduled DD to be in day care past the time my classes were done so I could work on homework. Would putting him in day care say twice a week, for a few hours, be possible, or do you have someone who could watch him so you can get work done? I'm not sure how your DC is, but my DD LOVED day care. Being an only child, it was a great way for her to to spend time with other kids, and to do activities she doesn't get to do at home. Just an idea, I'm not sure what your exact situation is. Also, I came up with this plan because I couldn't rely on DP for help with DD at all during the week because he works 2nd shift, so I understand the difficulty of trying to find time to study without the help of having another parent around. Doing things this way worked out really well for me. Good luck with your class.

[RollerCoasterMama]

Originally Posted by punkrockmomma

You said he's been sleeping in, is it possible for you to wake up earlier then him? I know last semester I would crash when my DD would go to bed, I found I just didn't have the ability to to do homework at night. So, what I started doing was waking up early, around 6:30 a.m to do homework. I also scheduled DD to be in day care past the time my classes were done so I could work on homework. Would putting him in day care say twice a week, for a few hours, be possible, or do you have someone who could watch him so you can get work done? I'm not sure how your DC is, but my DD LOVED day care. Being an only child, it was a great way for her to to spend time with other kids, and to do activities she doesn't get to do at home. Just an idea, I'm not sure what your exact situation is. Also, I came up with this plan because I couldn't rely on DP for help with DD at all during the week because he works 2nd shift, so I understand the difficulty of trying to find time to study without the help of having another parent around. Doing things this way worked out really well for me. Good luck with your class.

"Sleep in" means he sleeps until 7:00 instead of 6:00. I'm not much of a morning person really, so getting up at 5:00 to work for an hour would be a last resort...I'll do it if I have to, but I'd rather get my work done at night. I work full time already and he's in preschool full time. He does usually like his school. I'm only take 1 class at a time this summer, then 2 in the normal semesters. The work load is definitely do-able. We just need to get past this summer cold we're both fighting. And STBX will be back in town in a couple of weeks, so he'll go back to having him at least once a week for a couple of hours plus a every other weekend-ish. So I will get some child-free time then. I just need to find my stride. And get healthy!!!

[RollerCoasterMama]

Co-sleeping full time might be our new arrangement. DS and I went to bed super early last night. This morning after a great night's sleep, I'm almost healthy, he's well rested, and he let me work on my own long enough to do two days worth of assignments. I'm really lucky that this is an easy part of the book and I learn quickly. But I'm feeling more hopeful about this whole thing now! If giving DS extra mama-time while we're sleeping is going to be what he needs to let me do this, then I'm more then happy to do that. He's been through a lot of changes this year too.

Thanks for letting me vent mamas!