The 7 PM Bedtime - No, really!

Sleep never seemed to mean so much until you had children. The biggest problem was whether a nap on Friday night before you went out would do any good, or just make you too groggy to thoroughly enjoy yourself! Saturdays were meant to sleep in till 11 am, then hit the diners (at least here in NJ). However you spent your time, sleep or lack thereof wasn’t a big deal. Tired? Take a nap…or stay up all night if you want!

After children, pees, poops and sleep time because the obsession. Was she sleeping too much? She’s up every two hours – is she getting enough sleep? I remember with my firstborn, my mom fed him, swaddled him and put him in the crib at 2 pm. By 7 pm, he was still asleep as I hovered anxiously over the crib making sure his chest was still rising and falling.

At this point, my children are 4, almost 3 and 1 and they go to bed at 7 pm. WHAT? Domestic Goddess, do, do, tell us how we can achieve that magic number!

You know what I discovered with my first? We allowed him to stay up until about 8 pm. For some reason, that was the magic time for me. I would then get up from where I had been relaxing with him, nearly sleeping in my arms and bathe and get him dressed for bed. By the time I was through, it was nearly 8:30 and I was too pooped to do anything else for the rest of the night. This continued until I came upon the book- the 7 pm bedtime. Written by a stay at home mom, just like me, only not as beautiful and brilliant, this book outlines the sleeping problem faced by many parents – do we keep them up for quality time, or put them to bed at a reasonable time so WE can have quality time together? I was at home all day with the little ones, why keep them up that extra hour? My husband was home by five – plenty of time for that quality time.

So we tried it…..and it worked! They fell asleep by 7:30 – letting us know that they were TIRED and needed to go to bed at that time. And lo and behold, I was not feeling like a wrung out dishrag!

For those parents who walk through the door at 6 pm, obviously this is not for you. But for those parents who are exhausted by the time their little one gets to bed, try it! You will be glad you did.

Sirius

I've left you, dear readers, for much too long without my sage words of wisdom, or barring that, a quick laugh. I hope you all had a great Fourth of July - it was overcast here in Jersey, but hey, any day I can use the grill and not cook inside is a great day for me.

I want to talk about something near and dear to my heart today, and that's my Sirius radio. I have one in the car and in the bedroom and am aiming for one in the living room.

Oh, Domestic Goddess, you ask, why o why do you need to PAY for radio? Don't you want to listen to the repetitive commercials and obnoxious DJs who think they're funny and continous promotion and contests?

Dear readers, no. I abhor terrestial radio. And I'll tell you why. The first time you hear the Miller light commercial it's funny "Mr. cell phone holster man". The seventh time in a 30 min time frame, not so funny. DJs who are weak Howard Stern imitators (both black and white) not funny. Steve Harvey on WBLS in the morning (New York)......funny for about 10 min. How much slack jawed country talkin can a refined lady like me take? Don't get me started as to why I never hear Greyhound commercials on any stations but WBLS (New York)

Oh, Domestic Goddess, why does Sirius please you so?

Well, dear reader, although I am a refined lady, I do love Howard Stern. Yes. Now, I've said it, it's out. I've listen to him for nearly 25 years on and off. Yep, since high school. Now that that's out on the table, I also like Sirius for the following reasons:

Siriusly Sinatra - Nobody swings it like Frank.
Elvis Radio - Nobody sings it like the King.
Foxxhole - Where else can you hear Paul Mooney's riff on zoo animals and catching a taxi in New York. This is the guy who WROTE for Richard Pryor.
80s Channel - Like it or not, I'm a child of the 80s...."Sweet Dreams are made of this...."
Family and Kids - While in the car with the little ones, they love it!

there's more, but I won't bore you with the further outlining of my musical tastes, although I know you all are DYING to know.

The best part of Sirius? No commercials and no annoying jabbering DJs trying to make a name for themselves by being outrageous.

You can also listen online at www.sirius.com. I'm listening right now!

Back next time with more meanderings!