Bedtime and Motorcross

Ben is up and so am I! I have been having this trouble with Ben for awhile now. He wakes up at least three times a night and will cry REALLY loud and hard (at times, til he throws up) if I don't come in and pat his bottom til he goes back to sleep. Which is strange, because I can put him down at bedtime, awake, and he'll go to sleep just fine! I think I could just let him cry (most times) if Mike didn't need to get his sleep so much, (he's got to get up and go to work!). So if I let him cry, essentially I'm sentencing Mike to a rough day. What to do??? He'll wake up at 12 or 1 then maybe at 2, and then again at 4 or 5. I decided that if we have had "one of those nights", and if its past 4 am when he wakes up, I'm bringing him in the spare bed with me. Only that means that I don't sleep very well, but Ben and Mike sure do!! (But I COULD, ha,ha take a nap during the day which is why I feel Bad for Mike, he can't do that!) I know I'm perpetuating this waking up problem of Ben's. Last night I didn't take him in the spare bedroom til 5:30 a.m. and then he was up for the day at 6:30. I'm thinking that maybe we'll have to take a weekend and just leave him in his crib till he cries himself to sleep each time during the night. Any suggestions?

Yesterday, after we all went to church, Ben and I met Mike at the Englishtown Raceway. Mike had been there a few hours already on his motorcross bike, and was tired when we got there. It was cool to see him go around the track a few times anyway. It was the first time we'd been to this track and it was quite an experience. Its is funny to see these little guys on the track with the big guys and they are all keeping up with one another. Even though the smaller bikes go slower, what they don't have in speed they make up for in guts! Those kids have NO FEAR! I held Ben and watched for some of the time, but the allure of the mud puddles was too much for him. Soon, I was handing stones to Ben and he was throwing them in the puddles. He laughed and laughed!
Mike asked me, later, if I thought he'd remember the trip to the track the next day and I replied that he probably would, just the part about the mud puddles!

It's neat to be getting involved in this sport. Its such a family affair. At the track that we are members, in Chatsworth,NJ, the whole family gets involved. In the summer, the family will bring their bikes and set up a pop up tent over a picnic table, and some camp chairs and be there the whole day on Saturday. Some people even camp overnight! You'll see a lot of Moms lounging under the tents reading books and talking with each other too. Lunchtime, they put out a huge spread. I imagine its wonderfully fun for the kids to spend time with their Dad (and sometimes Mom too!), like that. Having him ride and help them ride. Now that's quality time!

Yesterday I talked with a woman who had brought her two sons 9 and 11 and their bikes. She was watching them like a hawk. She was pacing up and down the stands craining her neck to see them both. When they'd come close to the start of the track she was there waiting for them, and waving. You could see them looking for her. I thought, "I bet there is a head full of grey hair under that pink hat!". Well, I'm not so sure now! When the boys came around again, she waved them off and they both rode over to her. She went to the first one saying you are coming up too slow to the hills you need to give it more gas"! as she had her arm around him. Then the next boy, she said something about sitting back more on the bike for more balance as she put both hands out in front of her and acted like she was sitting on a bike. I thought...."oh wow she was watching the boys to help them ride better, not because she was scared to death that they would get hurt!" She later told me that they were supposed to race today but didn't feel like they were ready because of lack of practice. She said that she and her husband owned a horse farm and it had been too cold lately for the boys to get out and ride their bikes. I guess she figured that she had come all the way out there, so they weren't going to waste the day! I have to say, I was more than a little impressed with that Mom as I watched her critiquing her boys and then later ordering them to help her load up the trailer. She was right in there, loading the bikes up and then strapping them down.
I was more than a little ok with still being able to pick Ben up and put him in the car seat! I'm not ready for the next stage!