The Mrs. Yoy Blog: The Quarantine Coronacles

Last night totally sucked. The boys went to bed around 7:30.  I followed suit a little before eleven. Mr. Yoy got sucked into Netflix's House of Cards and I think he made it to bed sometime after midnight. Big E came in at some point and asked Mr. Yoy to lay with him in his bed. I was just happy it wasn't me. Big E returned to our room around 2:30 and wanted to get into our bed.  And this is where the night from hell began. I cannot sleep in my bed with my offspring.  I know some of you love to cuddle up with your kids and happily sleep the night away.  I am not that mom.  I cannot relax if they are anywhere near me.  I don't want to hear Little E violently sucking his thumb in my ear.  I don't want to smell Big E's rank middle of the night breath.  I want to be left alone.  And once I've been wakened, it takes me at least an hour to fall back asleep. I told him he was welcome to make a pillow bed on the floor next to me if he wan...

This story is about a month old, but I've finally been able to talk about it and not want to vomit. Mr. Yoy and I have been trying a new discipline technique with Big E.  He is a very strong-willed child who never seems to be affected by consequences.  He has trademarked the term "SO WHAT?!" Part of our new, more effective, parenting technique is to disengage him when he starts arguing about something that we've already discussed. This particular evening, we found ourselves at the mall.  I took Little E to return something at Sears.  Mr. Yoy took Big E to return something at Macy's.  The plan was to meet at Ted's for dinner. Little E and I arrived first and secured a table.  I watched as Mr. Yoy entered the restaurant and waved him down from the back booth. IS HE BEHIND ME? Big E had decided that he was NOT going to eat at Ted's.  Instead of arguing over the restaurant, Mr. Yoy just walked in.  Usually, he'll give us some lip, but he a...

Hi, it's me.   Mrs. Yoy.   I'm still here, I'm just going through some life stresses and it has killed my desire to write. But here goes nothing... Big E turned six in November.  By my count, he is well on his way to being 6.5, which sounds very old to me.  Except he is still completely reliant upon me for most things.  I think he is capable of many tasks, but I'm either too impatient or too Type A to allow this to happen. He was pretty tired after dinner and he wanted to get cleaned up and go to sleep. I told him he was allowed to go upstairs and start a bath for himself while I waited for Little E to finish eating. Big E made his way upstairs.  I heard him walk into the bathroom, flip on the lights, and then CRASH! And then crying. I bolted up the stairs.  Even though I can barely walk from this morning's workout, I bounded up the stairs two at a time. Big E was tangled up in the shower curtain.  The rod had come out of the wall...

Today I was mystery reader for Big E's class. The plan was to do a Navy Seal sneak in, read to the class, and sneak out.  No tears. No drama. I signed in at the front desk and turned down the Kindergarten/Pre-K hallway. There was a class of older kids filing into the art room.  On the opposite side of the hall was another class heading into the computer lab. And perfectly placed, directly in my line of sight at the far end of the hallway, was Little E.  Returning from a trip to the bathroom during his class's rest time. I froze.  Did he see me?  I tried to duck behind some second graders, but who am I kidding?  I'm six feet tall.  I cursed my wardrobe decision.  Why had I not worn my camouflage? Alas, there was no where to run. Ok, play it cool, Mrs. Yoy. MAMA!  MAMA! Like a perfectly calibrated missile, Little E located his target, me.  He was so happy to see me.  He lunged at me, grabbed onto my leg and hung on for d...