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#i have work at 7am. my alarm goes off in less than four hours. i would LIKE to get more than ~3 1/2 hours of sleep
zukkaoru · 2 years
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i love sleep. would love to be able to get some one day.
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angelbrock · 3 years
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con artist love - c.b oneshot
summary: two con artists hate each other but they're set on a mission together to rob a money laundering-staged bank. however, some things go out of hand. - A/N: This is my first ever imagine, i really hope you guys like this! <3 
warnings: SWEARING! SOME SWEET LOVIN 
 AU - SOME PARTS OF THE STORY IS BASED ON A TIKTOK ABOUT GOING FROM ENEMIES TO LOVERS - THE FALLING OFF A ROOFTOP THING - AND SOME OF IT IS BASED ON THE NETFLIX SERIES ‘THE GREAT PRETENDER’. 
masterlist
//
your point of view
i woke up to my alarm being blared at my face, to which i groaned at. i slammed my hand over the snooze button, burying my face back into my pillow as i slowly dozed off; until i felt something poke me from behind. i swatted it off, covering myself with my blanket. then, i felt something poke me once again.
"mmmh." i swatted at it for the second time.
"wake the fuck up!" i jumped up, spuinting my eyes as i adjusted myself to the light. i rubbed my eyes, furrowing my eyebrows intensely, "finally. you're such a heavy sleeper."
"what the fuck are you doing in my apartment, and why are you waking me up at," i looked over at my alarm, "seven in the morning." i rasped out.
colby, the asshole who woke me up, smirked in response, "sheesh, quit being a bitch," he rolled his eyes, chucking a piece of paper at me, "our boss assigned us to a mission, and unfortunately, it's with you." he stuffed his hands into his pockets. i groaned, throwing my head back in annoyance. "nice hairdo, by the way."
i shot a glare towards him, flipping him off before tying my hair up in a bun. "what's the mission." i asked blandly, taking the blanket off of me and getting out of bed.
"i just gave you the mission, cant you read?" i rubbed my temples.
"okay first of all smartass," i walked towards him, pointing my finger directly at his face, to which he brought his face back to avoid, “it’s 7am and i only fell asleep at four in the morning, so you either tell me what our fucking mission is, or you tell boss to find another partner for you. and i’m sure that you don’t want to get on his nerves either, do you bud?” his eyes were widened at the end of my sentence. i let out a gasp, feeling breathless when i finished talking. 
“jesus christ, someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning.” he spoke to himself more than anything, grabbing my finger and pushing it away from his face. “we have to rob a bank. but nobody gets hurt, the whole bank is just a setup for money laundering.” 
“is that it?” colby nodded, “that’s easy. when do we start?” 
“we have to be there by four.” my mouth went agape for a moment,
“then why the hell did you wake me up so early?!” i pushed his chest slightly, a yawn escaping my mouth. he smirked a little, 
“because you’re cute when you’re mad.” he nudged his shoulder against mine, “i’ll see you at two. and be ready with the equipment, i’m not lending you mine if you forget any.” i rolled my eyes at his statement. he walked out the door, flashing me a snarky smile before leaving. 
i pressed my tongue against my cheek, replaying his comment, you’re cute when you’re mad. hm, is that so? i sighed, well i cant go to bed now, since that blue eyed bastard woke me up. might as well start preparinng myself now. i picked up the paper that he that thrown at me earlier, actually bothering to read it. i pouted slightly then nodded, sounds good. 
TIME SKIP - 3:45PM 
i jumped when i heard a harsh knock on my door, but before i could even go and answer it, colby barged inside without warning. “yo grumpy, let’s go.” 
“do you always have to barge in like that, or?” i sarcastically questioned, grabbing my backpack and swinging it over my shoulder. he shrugged, 
“yeah, it’s just you. i don’t need to be polite to you, do i, hm?” he spoke back, smiling just as sarcastically. 
“i wish i hadn’t known you since sixth grade.” i scrunched my nose out of mockery. “let’s go.” he huffed out a laugh, walking ahead of me. i shut and locked the door behind me before i caught up to him. “okay, what’s the plan?” 
“we need to find the roof to this place, apparently there’s some spare room where the security cameras are located, you need to disable them and i’ll get the guards.” i nodded, the elevator ride being awkwardly silent after talking. 
“right, why exactly did boss choose me and you to be partners again?” i rose an eyebrow, fixing my beanie. 
“i don’t know, he said something about us two being compatible for this job,” i gave him a look, “yeah, that’s what my reaction was too. but apparently as much as me and you hate each other, we work really well together. skill-wise.” i just hummed back in response as we walked to my work car; a black jaguar sports car. “i’m driving.”
“uh, what?” i fake laughed out, “i hope you realise that this is my car.” 
“and i hope you realise that i’m the main getaway driver.” he snarkily replied back. i rolled my eyes, tossing the keys at him. he swiftly caught them, smiling sarcastically once again. i got into the passenger seat, putting my backpack near my feet, “aaalright,” he started, buckling his seatbelt, “you got your gear, or did you forget again.”
“fuck off.” i grumbled, looking out the window. god i hate this guy. or do you? the small in my head scolded me. i shook my head at the accusation. 
once we got to the destination, i furrowed my eyebrows at how fancy this ‘bank’ looked. “damn,” i shut the door of my car, getting my bag. “for a money laundering scheme, this place is fucking huge.” colby hummed in response, slinging his gear bag over his shoulder too. “okay, i see a back exit. there must be an emergency exit right above it, maybe we could climb up the ladder to it.” 
“you’re smarter than you look.” he pushed past me, i squinted my eyes at him in annoyance. 
“fucking dick.” i whispered to myself. walking behind him, keeping a close eye behind me. god, i wish i had a different partner. compatible, pshh. boss is fucking stupid to even think that. 
we eventually found an emergency exit, climbing up the ladder and into the building. we hid behind a wall that led to the security room, colby looks over his shoulder, “okay, we have to distract those guards, then we can get in there.” i didn’t respond, waiting for the sign for us to go. 
“hey! what’re you guys doing here!” my eyes widened, 
“oh shit.” i whispered, “we’re um-” before i could even finish my sentence, colby had already shot the four guards that had approached us with tranquilizers, which also caught the other two security guards’ attention, to which he did the same thing to them. “colby, what the fuck are you doing?!” i whisper yelled at him, opening the door quickly and walking in.
“saving us! what else?” i rolled my eyes,
“are you saving us, or are you trying to get us caught?!” i took my jacket off, sitting down at the computers. “because whatever you’re trying to do, is 100% going to get us killed!” i whisper yelled again. 
“shut the fuck up, as if you could think of anything better. ‘uh-i-we’. pfft.” he mocked me, chuckling to himself. “damn relax, it’s just tranquilizers, it’s not going to kill them. they’ll be awake in like two hours.” i clenched my jaw, staying quiet and focusing on hacking the security systems to disable them. 
“there’s so many cameras here, holy shit.” i typed in some codes, switching computers a few times. i had my eyes all over the screen, but colby’s eyes were on me. i could feel it. “stop staring at me dipshit, i can see you through the screen.”
“don’t flatter yourself, sweetheart. it’s not everyday that you have guys staring at you.” i turned my hand back to flip him off, causing him to chuckle. after a few seconds, all of the cameras had finally been disabled. i got up from the seat, 
“let’s go, let’s go!” i quickly hurried out of the security room, colby following me close behind. “i’m going left, you go right. there shouldn’t be any workers now. if anything happens-”
“-i’ll buzz you in, gotcha. now go.” we split up, i took my gloves out of my bag, putting them on and using a screwdriver to get the locks off. i stuffed one of my trash bags with all the money that was in the safe. 
i repeated this to about five other safes, i now had two big bags filled with $1000 bills. i was going to do my final round, just when colby had buzzed me in. “y/n! the dude that owns this money laundering place is outside the building, head up to the roof! and then i’ll tell you what to do! over n’ out.” 
“oh fuck,” i buzzed him in, “yes, copy that. over n’ out.” less than a second later, i hear some other guards screaming out at me, 
“whoever’s there! surrender now!” i slung the bags of money over my shoulders, sprinting past them, “GET HER!” i ran as fast as i could. i bolted up the stairs, taking one of my tranquilizer and shooting it at them. 
“y/n, we have backup here waiting, just make sure the money bags are tied and throw them over the roof. we’ll catch them.” colby buzzed in with me, “be careful, please don’t get hurt.” my eyebrows furrowed at the last sentence, feeling a slight flutter in my stomach. 
“o-okay. th-thanks.” i buzzed back with him. please be careful... never thought he’d be the person to care about someone like me.. 
i reached to the roof, doing as colby said; throwing the money bags over, “you got nowhere to go now, pretty girl.” i breathed heavily, 
“colby, help.” i whispered into the earpiece.
the group of guards began walking towards me, causing me to walk backwards towards the edge. i slipped a little, gasping then catching myself. “y/n, i’m gonna need you to trust me with this one, okay? please.” i furrowed my eyebrows in confusion. 
“what?-”
“just trust me,” he said into the earpiece, “i need you to jump.” my eyes widened.
“what?!” i whisper yelled, 
“what the fuck have you done to our money, bitch.” 
“just trust me y/n! jump!” i mentally cursed to myself, here goes nothing. i’m gonna die. 
 “you’re stuck with us now, get her!” before they could get close to me, i pointed my fingers into a gun position, 
“bye bitches.” then saluted to them, stepping off the edge. they all shouted for me, i was falling down two stories. yep, i’m dead. the air grew more tense and heavy around me.
i closed my eyes just as i thought i was going to land on the concrete grounds, i felt as if i was being embraced by someone. then, i heard the grunt of someone familiar, “are you alright?! y/n?!” colby’s worried voice called out for me. i slowly opened my eyes, seeing his face inches away from mine.
“colby?” i whispered lowly, feeling my eyelids getting heavier, i felt insanely dizzy. i hummed a little. he had caught me in his arms, holding me tightly. 
“oh shi-” was all i heard before passing out. 
TWO HOURS LATER
i heard faint voices as i slowly woke up. i was now laying on my bed. “congratulations to both of you, you both did amazing on this mission.” “thanks boss.” colby’s deep and tired voice responded back, i felt shivers down my spine when he spoke. “alright, i’ll leave you to it. tell her i hope she feels better.” i was now laying on my bed. 
the door opened and shut. i heard colby sigh, then i felt his hand cup my cheek; his fingers gently brushing a few strands of my hair away from my forehead, those same butterflies fluttered in my stomach. i shut my eyes tightly before slowly opening them, he retracted his hand away from my face. i gulped a little, opening my eyes completely. “bgh.” my hand went to the side of my temple, “ugh.” i groaned, my head was pounding. 
“grumpy’s awake,” i turned my head to the side, making eye contact with him. “how you feeling?” he quietly asked.
“like ten pounds of bricks took a shit on my head.” he laughed a little, watching me get up slowly. i groaned, my hand slipping, 
“woah, be careful.” he held my waist, getting up a little and helping me sit up. “you’re still a little drowsy.” i looked into his eyes as he helped me, trying to ignore the tint in my cheeks, his face was turning a little red too, he cleared his throat and sat back down. 
“what happened anyways?” i asked, pressing on the side of my neck, feeling it ache.
“one of those douchebags shot you with a tranquilizer dart.” i huffed, “but, we succeeded on our mission.” he smiled a little, “i guess we do make good partners.” i shrugged a little, 
“yeah, i guess we do.” i smiled a little. “thank you for saving me, by the way..”
“of course, i wasn’t going to let you die.” he looked away, “i can’t let that happen.” he mumbled under his breath. i bit the inside of my lip, trying to fight a smile. “thank you for trusting me.”
i breathed out a small laugh, “no problem.” it then fell silent for a long time before he spoke up.
“hey, grumpy,” i giggled to myself at the nickname, humming in response, “um..” i rose my eyebrows, indicating him to continue, “i- i just wanted to say that i’m sorry for treating you like shit all the time.. i just-” he sighed, gulping. “i-”
“just say it colby,” i softly spoke to him. 
he bit his lip out of nervousness, “i’ve liked you for.. years now..” holy shit, “and-and i know i don’t have a chance with you, but, after seeing you in danger today, i couldn’t see the sight of you ever getting hurt. and i completely understand if you don’t feel the same about me, but i-” i cut him off, getting up and cupping his cheeks before caressing my lips over his. he was taken aback from the kiss, but slowly melted into it. 
he brought his hands over my hips, pulling me on top of his lap. i ran my fingers through his hair as our lips moved softly. fitting together perfectly. i pulled away for a moment, “i can’t believe i’m saying this,” he pecked my lips gently, “but i like you too colby.” he smiled, i copied his expression before kissing him once again. 
“thank fucking god.” he mumbled against my lips. i giggled. continuing to kiss him. he got up from the chair, my thighs wrapped around his waist as he led us back to my bed, laying me down and getting on top of me. “who knew con arists like us could ever fall for each other.” our noses brushed against each other, looking deeply into one another’s eyes.
“who knew.” we smiled before kissing once again. 
that, is cliche isn’t it. oh well.
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johnny-and-dora · 5 years
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i’ll hold your hands, they’re just like ice
“I was thinking about...our kids. Our future kids, I mean.” He says, still determinedly fixated on the window, and Amy feels herself completely melt.
or, the one where jake & amy have a snow day. (festive fluff - happy holidays!)
read on ao3
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There’s a certain way that Amy Santiago expects to wake up on a Tuesday morning in late December.
It involves her eyes gently flitting open to the tuneful, familiar vibrato of her trusty alarm clock at 7am . It involves slowly unfurling herself from her cocoon of blankets, skimming through the news on her phone, scrolling through the comments on her laminating blog.
 For the past four years, it’s also slowly come to involve the love of her life sprawled next to her - usually finding increasingly creative ways to enable the snooze on Amy’s many, many alarms and trying his hardest to tempt her back to bed for five more minutes.
(She can roll her eyes all she wants, but she can’t deny that Jake’s methods usually prove very effective before she can finally lure him up with a forehead kiss and the promise of coffee.)
The almost sub-zero temperatures – and, of course, the always warm hands and soft puppy-dog brown eyes of her husband – never fail to make sticking to her perfected December routine a reasonably difficult task to fulfil. But Amy loves her schedule almost as much as she loves Jake Peralta, and so it’s a routine that she rarely breaks, even when everything outside of the comfort of their bed feels like some kind of barren icy hellscape.
So it’s a surprise, then, when she’s woken up on a Tuesday morning in late December by the unmistakable sound of chaos coming from the kitchen, a picturesque pale sunrise framed by the windows that tells her it’s far too late to be 7am, and an empty space next to her where Jake should be.
Amy can’t lie; for one, hideous, jarring second, she panics. Still disorientated by sleep, she can feel horribly familiar dread rising in her throat at the horribly familiar emptiness of his side of the bed – but then she feels the body warmth still radiating from the sheets, and her ears tune to his voice belting Mariah Carey in the next room, and she relaxes. She chides herself for falling into old habits so easily, grateful that they’re merely old habits now.
Her rings glint on the bedside table – a promise of forever she’s more thankful for than most - and she quietly slips them on, smiling softly as she wraps up in a makeshift blanket cape and makes her way towards the kitchen.
Jake’s not going anywhere, and neither is she.
She leans in the doorway, instantly feeling lighter at the spectacular sight of her husband, dressed in pyjamas and a bright red Santa hat, fully engrossed in singing along to cheesy Christmas songs with intense passion while he makes pancakes and coffee. She isn’t completely sure she isn’t still dreaming.
Amy fondly watches him for a minute, unnoticed, weighing up the entertainment value of scaring the shit out of him against using him as her personal space heater– she eventually goes with the latter, draping her arms around his waist in lieu of a greeting. Melting into him from behind as she rests her chin on his shoulder, she feels his laugh vibrate through the both of them and immediately feels a hundred times warmer.
“Hey, babe. Enjoy your lie in?”
“Mmph. You’re warm.”
He turns around and she cups his face with her hands, tilting her head up to kiss him.
When they break apart, he smiles at her in that stupid fond way; and she can’t help it. She forgets about how cold it is and forgets her anxiety about work and being late and pretty much everything else in the universe except his stupid face, because it’s stupid and adorable and she could probably spend all day kissing it if she could.
He takes her hands in his; interlacing their fingers and trying not to grimace at how freezing she inevitably is.
“You are...so cold. How are you always so cold? Are you a reptile? Have I married into some kind of secret underground lizard mafia? Are you going to drain my blood and steal my heat?” Amy rolls her eyes.
“Yes, Jake. You got me. I’m only here because I want to steal your heat.” She says, deadpan, and Jake waves a triumphant finger like he’s just solved a case. 
“I knew it! I’m the best detective.” He squeezes her hands fondly before letting them go to return to the stove. She pours freshly made coffee into two mugs and takes a sip from one, leaning back against the counter and watching Jake work, humming along to the radio.
“I’d ask if you wanted to help me with these but I presume you want our kitchen to remain not on fire.”
“Ha ha.” They stay like that for a few minutes, Amy stifling laughter as he overdramatically flips the pancakes in sync to the music - but now that she’s less frozen and can actually focus, a glance at the clock creeps uneasiness at the break in her routine back into her system.
“Wait, aren’t we...super late for work? Our shift started an hour ago.”
She tries and miserably fails to sound nonchalant at the idea of not being punctual - Jake turns around to raise an eyebrow at her and she makes a face at him. Childish distracting marriage it is.
“...Have you not looked outside since you woke up?”
“No...” Amy tugs her blanket cape around her a little defensively and he smiles, gesturing to the kitchen window with his spatula like a wizard waving a wand. She makes her way over to the window, half-expecting to see some kind of post hurricane apocalypse devastation she somehow slept through...
...and instead it’s just the familiar view of the downtown Brooklyn apartment building across from theirs, perfectly intact – and buried by at least six inches of pure, white snow. Everywhere she looks is blanketed in white, like the entire city has been dusted with icing sugar. The entire scene looks like the backdrop of the Christmas card they got from her parents this year – it’s breathtaking.
She turns back to Jake with wonder glowing in her face, warming at the childlike glint in his eyes and his goofy, eager wide grin.
“Snow day!” He declares excitedly, plate of pancakes in each hand, and Amy can’t help but smile.
“It’s beautiful.”
“I know – and even better, city stopping. Holt sent a text telling us not to bother coming in an hour ago –the night shift are covering us seeing as we can’t get there and they can’t leave.”
“So?” “So, I woke up early, got way too excited at said snow, knew we weren’t going anywhere and shut off all your alarms so you could actually have a lie in.” He grins, and not even for the first time that morning she wonders how she got so lucky.
“I love you.”
“Love you too. The point is, everyone’s way too distracted by the snow for any crime to occur, which means we get a day off, which means –“ He hands her a plate – “celebratory snow day pancakes!”
Amy laughs and starts to eat, fondly watching from the window as the big family from the third floor that always send them a card run outside to pelt each other with snowballs. Jake puts one arm around her and she rests her head on his shoulder, blissfully content.
The snowball fight escalates after a few minutes, the kids engaged in an all out war with the parents even joining in, and Jake becomes immersed in it like it’s one of her mother’s favourite telenovelas.
At first she thinks he’s trying to figure out which kid to place a bet on winning (her money’s on the girl with the red scarf and the powerful throwing arm) but when she actually studies his expression it’s all wistful and dreamy, and she can tell he’s far away. She nudges him gently.
“What’re you thinking about?” Amy asks, half concerned and half curious. Their empty plates and coffee mugs are discarded on the kitchen counter, radio turned down to a quiet hum of vaguely festive themed white noise, both of them still fixated on the snow outside.
“Nothing.” He says, unconvincingly, and she has to remind herself not to use her interrogation room voice on her husband.
“You’re always thinking about something, Jake. Usually about fifty different things at once.” He exhales a short laugh at that, looking at her with such pure affection it almost sweeps her off her feet.
“Yeah, you’re right. It’s just...embarrassing. And sappy.”
“I like embarrassing and sappy.” She smiles, gently pushing him to open up – but he just shakes his head in response, gaze returning to the window where they both watch the dad pick one of his kids up and spin them round, laughing.
A few years ago she would have determinedly kept pushing further - but now Amy stays silent, the (fairly recent) luxury of knowing that he’ll open up sooner or later not lost on her. It only takes a minute before he speaks again.
“I was thinking about...our kids. Our future kids, I mean.” He says, still determinedly fixated on the window, and Amy feels herself completely melt.
“Oh.” “Yeah. Just...days like this, where we could go out and play in the snow...and they’d be wrapped up in like fifty different layers from head to toe, just like you, running around in cute little hats and scarves and coats...and we’d have snowball fights and build snowmen and then afterwards come inside and have hot cocoa and fall asleep watching cheesy Christmas movies on the sofa. I’d...I’d like that.”
“Yeah?” She prompts gently, her heart swelling at the picture now in her head. She’s thought about it too, of course, now more than ever – buying presents for her seemingly endless nephews and nieces, seeing Gina’s seemingly endless pictures of Iggy in adorable little jumpers and tiny bedazzled mittens, dodging her mom’s near constant invasive questions about grandchildren despite the six she has already.
She’s already far too excited for their first Christmas as a married couple, preparing for a few nights spent crammed into the usual cabin upstate with the whole family. It’s going to be complete chaos. She can’t wait.
“Yeah. Not right now, because I still like having you all to myself way too much...but soon. One day. I just...I really want...” He trails off but he doesn’t need to say any more – she hopes how she squeezes his hand is enough of an answer. They’ve talked about this a lot, even more so since getting married.
Not now, but soon. Not if, but when.
“Me too.” Amy says, trying very hard not to spoil a perfect and romantic moment by crying at how much she loves her husband, burying her head deeper into the fabric of his sleeve so that he won’t notice. He kisses the top of her head and she can tell they’re both thinking about the same thing, warmth spreading through her whole body at the thought of soon sharing the holidays with kids of their own.
She could never picture having kids so easily until they’d been together for a while and she realised she just couldn’t have had them with anyone else. He’s always had a way of altering her life calendar in ways she couldn’t possibly expect, and she doesn’t think he’ll ever stop doing it.
Amy just hopes to God that they won’t inherit his eyes, because otherwise they’ll probably be able to get away with anything.
Like getting to her to go out in the snow, for example – she’s basically resigned to her fate as soon as she sees Jake looking longingly as the picturesque winter painting outside their window.
“You want us to go out there, don’t you.” She says grimly, almost physically shivering in anticipation of how cold it is. He turns to look at her in mock offense, eyes glinting.  
“Amy Santiago-Peralta, don’t tell me we’re not going out in the snow. You love snow!”
“I love the idea of snow, in theory. In practise it’s cold and wet and gives you an excuse to throw things that are cold and wet at me.”
“...You also get to throw cold and wet things at me?” He offers as a tempting incentive, and she sighs, taking one last glance outside – even she has to admit, it looks beautiful out there.
“Fine.” She says, resignedly, and it’s almost worth it for the gleeful look on his face as he speeds out of the kitchen to get dressed. She pads out of the kitchen after him, glancing at their beautifully (and haphazardly, due to the chaotic nature of her husband’s artistic visions) decorated tree.
Suddenly, Amy can’t help imagining toys in bright colourful wrapping paper and bright twinkling fairy lights, the adorable pitter-patter of tiny excitable footsteps waking them up far too early on Christmas morning, leaving treats out for Santa, baking Christmas cookies together as a family. She smiles brightly, wondering when that picture got so vivid, wondering how soon that might become a reality.
Amy has a feeling that, very soon, maybe even this time next year, it’s going to get even harder to stick to her usual Tuesday morning in late December routine.
She can’t wait.
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.... I never put chapter 20 on here, did I. Double chapters it is. (20. Katja & 21. Once upon a dream)
this time with AN included as-is, I’m too lazy to rewrite this shit for the tumbler
(who even reads fanfics on here...? fanfiction.net AO3)
20. Katja
As he arrives in his room, Law takes a quick look at his alarm clock, then a deep, ragged breath immediately after... she's out loafing around again, isn't she. He's a little ticked off, not gonna lie; first of all, because of... this. She just keeps doing this. Which would be less of a problem if she'd show any progress, but she's not. Second, he's tired, terribly so. All sleep he's had today was the unplanned nap in the canteen early morning, and the ounce of patience he's gained from that has ran out. He's just about to leave the indifferent coma period behind where you can just keep going and going, until your emotions start to get hard to control. Even later, you become an actual zombie and eventually black out. In his own body, that would happen in about 24 hours from now, but in this one? Already there.
And the underlying source of it is that he's grown totally paranoid.
That's why he hasn't managed to get any shuteye. Or get anything else done. His own shadow spooked him once, for fuck's sake... and it's all because of that godforsaken alleyway adventure, which really drove home how utterly helpless and vulnerable he is at the moment. Deer in the fucking headlights. He's straight-up disgusted with himself.
He stomps up to the surface; anyone noticing him remains silent and makes sure to keep out. His crew knows this way of walking... and are not eager to provoke his thinly veiled ire.
He just came from the dining hall, she won't be there. On deck of the Polar Tang, nothing except so much light that his tired eyes may as well go blind right now. The dull headache that missed its appointment the other day just arrived uninvited, too... all it took was some natural light and fresh air. Glorious.
He climbs the rope ladder to the Sunny; noone's around the steering wheel, but he can hear, and see some people around; he goes straight up to them.
“Nico-ya,” he calls out from afar; “do you know where the hell she's at?”
“I'm... in heaven,” he hears right next to him as soon as he's finished talking. He stops in his tracks, looks, and sees... quite something, he supposes. It's throwing him for enough a loop to be more dumbfounded than pissed for the time being.
The bottom of the pile is a knocked-out Bepo; leaning onto him are Carrot, who's also out cold, and Kat, who has a very relaxed, leg-swinging Chopper in her lap. They all have a cup in their hand or lying around, just like Nami, Robin and his good-for-nothing crewmates a bit further away.
As he doesn't react fast enough past getting worked up again over them hogging his personal couch and a mouthed 'what the hell,' she speaks up again. “It's nice, warm and fluffy here~ Wanna join?”
… she's taunting him. Kat has no idea, but she's fucking taunting him right fucking now. Any other day or time, he'd gladly lean onto Bepo and have a damn good early afternoon nap, or any other kind of nap, really. But today is not the day. He'd love to, yes; it's the best fucking quality sleep he has access to. Usually. But because Bepo is wide awake from around 6pm to 7am, he can't use him as a pillow at all while rotting in his room, keeping one eye on this girl during the time he actually could be doing that. Just... take a deep, deep breath. Stay calm, man. Stay. Calm.
He sighs, clenching his fists, and now that Kat's actually looked at him, he can already see from her mildly worried expression that she's catching onto his current mood. “... Kat-ya... I swear to god...”
Hearing that changes her reaction with some delay, however... the smallest smile appears on her face which she tries to suppress; she locks her hands and takes a long sniff of air while looking skyward. Soon, she gives up on hiding her glee, and a shit eating grin appears on her face and she just looks very, very pleased with herself. “... I've been waiting for this.”
“... what?!” Law frowns, having no idea what got into her. Was it something he said? It has to be.
She doesn't seem fazed and keeps giggling to herself while lifting a just as confused Chopper from her lap and slowly standing up.
“Oh, oh!! I understand!” speaks up the reindeer snickering soon after as he comes to the solution; “That's your name, it was on the tag at the coffee shop! Katja! Ha ha ha!”
… oh. Oh. Jesus, really? Law lifts his hands to his chin as if praying instead of giving into his initial urge to smack himself on the temples; he knew that it's an abbreviation, but he'd have never thought that the original was that of all things... and she's been fucking waiting for him to accidentally pun on it. And, on top of it all, this might be... no, it certainly is the very first time he called her by name, too. Why him... and why now. … he could cry if it weren't for his pride. So instead he squeezes his eyes shut and is furrowing his brows really, really hard to keep it together.
He can hear her stop in front of him, then, after a few seconds, he feels the most delicate  little tap-tap of four fingers on his shoulder; cracking an eye open, he can see Kat holding out a half empty cup of coffee. Is... she offering this...?
“I suppose you need this more than I do,” she says. It could be just his imagination, but it certainly sounds like her voice is softer than usual. Considering the vague throbs of his head, this is lowkey appreciated.
“Um...” As he's vacillating how to handle this development, a half-conscious Bepo woken by the racket trots over and pulls both of them into a literal, but way gentler bear hug than what other people have been experiencing that day. The content of the cup survives this, somehow, and Kat is holding it out to the side.
“I miss captain,” the mink mumbles, then probably falls back asleep on his feet. At least he doesn't really move for a solid minute afterwards and is just rocking a bit to keep some kind of balance.
Peeking up towards Bepo, a sad smile appears on Kat's face. She reaches over with her free hand along the orange-clad pelt with a sigh and gives Law an awkward hug of her own, then breathes a 'garchu' into his hat. He can't help being startled and shrink a bit in surprise at this; hopefully the others don't notice anything of that past the tic of his shoulders.
“Sorry, didn't mean to stay out for long,” she says then; “I can see you are not up for bullshit today.”
Sometimes... she's as giggly as Carrot. At others, almost as apologetic as Bepo. She also tends to be physical, even if for split seconds... uses people as hunting targets, and now she's picked up mink-brand hospitality both in theory and practice. This girl must have been one of them, or some animal, in a previous life.
He groan-sighs; that spark of patience? These two just managed to raise it from the dead. Somehow. The mood swings devoured his energy to try and push away, though, or to just get worked up again about the affection of a still-kind-of-a-stranger. Now, hold on, my dude... try to not embarrass yourself by falling the fuck asleep in this incredibly comfortable and safe-feeling hug roll right now.
“... let go of me, knuckleheads,” he grunts, nestling around after the short pause he needed to pull himself together. From the corner of his eye, he can see a very pleased Robin. And Penguin and Shachi slurping away at their own coffee in unison at an incredibly slow pace while staring at him specifically. At least that's what Nami does, who's likely sporting the very same expression as the other two, after all.
They all look so infuriatingly smug.
“So, what I wanted to say... I've just had two cups, but thanks,” he addresses Kat a second later as Bepo shambles back to his previous location with an 'aye aye;' the semi-wake Carrot appreciates this and doesn't hesitate to hog double the space than before she got knocked off as soon as he lies down. Chopper sips from his extra sweet mocaccino while also settling back down, and is silently wondering why she even asked for coffee if she was about to take a nap.
Suppressing a yawn with all his might, Law continues; “... and I think I've mentioned it already, but don't do that. The touching.” … yeah, he did mention it, albeit offhandedly. Occasional pats and pokes are okay, but he's not gonna list an entire 'Trafalgar D. Water Law's Personal Space: A Rule Book' right now. Or ever, really. People either know their shit or they don't, and get away with shit or they don't.
“Oh, right... sorry,” Kat mumbles nervously as she recalls the vague memory. Never mind, she definitely is as apologetic as his navigator. As she prepares to gulp the rest of her drink down in one go, she stops; “You sure you don't want any?”
He raises an eyebrow. “I am... why do you keep asking?”
“I helped make it,” she says, lightening up a bit; “it's vanilla and almond flavored.”
Honestly... he keeps forgetting that she actually works in a place where stuff like this is made. All despite having called her 'cafe girl' for the longest time before, and even after their... accident. Then it became just girl, woman, or simply she-slash-her, which did cause the rare confusion when Ikkaku was around or involved in a matter. Anyway, sharing is caring and all that, but that thing there sounds like a sugar bomb. Which may help him, because his blood sugar levels are not that great at the moment, but at the same time he's not big on vanilla, so... once again, no, thanks.
“I like my coffee black, K...at.” Okay, he almost did it again... and why? Good fucking question. Why call her Kat more than once today, when he was perfectly fine with some variation or combination of the previously mentioned things thus far? He's just been over this, too... Must be exhaustion. And hormones, perhaps. Will have to watch his mouth a lot for the few hours left of this shitty day.
She bites down on her lip to try and hold back the chuckle. “Just say it... say the thing you wanted to say,” she smiles, downing the brew.
“Not in a million years.”
***
*insert Twilight parody line at the end*
Me, looking at my imaginary bullet point table: “You know what would be a good idea? Have a chapter that doesn't have Kat's PoV at all... and name it after her... Yeah.”
(Note: as I REEEALLY need to start working on my BA thesis due around the end of April, this project will likely get totally sidelined. Or speed up because of my procrastination skills. We'll see. After all, I have like 5x0.5 chapters lying around (and about 2 that are finished) and just need to add pacing fillers and patch things up.)
21. Once upon a dream
Kat takes a quick look at the underwater window; it's already nighttime. She should pull herself together soon and stand up, no matter how comfortable the edge of the bed is right now. The room's also perfectly cozy in this rare moment, she could nod off if she doesn't watch herself... especially since she's actually lying across the thing. Don't fall asleep again, man. Put that watch down for a sec, if you have to, and three, two, one, sit. I said three... two... theeere you go.
As she scoots to the side, she peeks at Law for a sec, too. Apart from one round for a glass of water, he's been perfectly silent and still in his chair all afternoon. From what she sees, he's barely keeping his head up, literally nodding off himself, if he'd allow that. He also had a couple of suppressed yawns earlier. Sympathizing with him here... though she's not exactly tired, it's more of the empty feeling one gets after a long, busy day. Still, her body feels heavy and her head light since she herself was in a limbo a minute ago; Kat gives her cheeks a good slap. How long must it have been, the last time she peeked out the window and it was still kind of evening? Fifteen minutes? Thirty...? Definitely not an hour, that cannot be.
“Just go if you're already this dull,” Law moans from over his notebook that hasn't had any new information written into it for a while, then he turns outward. He might have been waiting for her to leave so he can just fall like a log...
“You're one to talk...” She yawns. “Y'ere tired enough yesterday, but today you've been lookin'... really bad.” Like, really bad. Now that Kat can take a good look, he's... indeed in a very rough shape. Maybe she shouldn't have mentioned it at all, but she's getting worried, especially now that she's seen his face. Man, it's been a while since she last had bags under the eyes… If she ever pulled an all-nighter, this is probably what it would look like. He looks two minutes from collapsing on the spot...
He sighs, rubbing his temples. “No shit... I wake up frequently in the first place, but today was especially bad. Your body really is not big on these temperatures.” It's either that or the 'new' environment, can't blame anything else. Honestly, he may be a rather restless sleeper in the first place, but this extra disturbance really throws a wrench into his routine. The best rest he's had this week was that almost-hour in the hall this morning... partly because it was a dreamless one.
“I also had some shitty dream that just kept going every time I managed to fall asleep?” he groans, having reminded himself of that, too. It was all kinds of annoying. “That the alleyway was in it is one thing... but running late for college? On a tram of all things...? Fuck me, I never even finished school, save used one of those things.” Huffing, he closes the book on the desk; he can feel at least four joints in his hand pop at that. His back hurts, too... there's no way he'll get anything else done today, provided he did anything noteworthy at all. At this point, he's just pissed at himself. He leans onto one arm to rest his head, that weighs more and more with every passing minute, on.
Kat, meanwhile... is very much alert, and concerned, to say the least. Because she knows that specific dream pretty damn well. Been a few months, and she thought it might be over already... yet Law did just describe that recurring, anxiety-induced semi-nightmare right now. All of this is looking just as she imagined... oh boy.
“Um... Law?” She blinks over to her bag, then back at him, before reaching inside after short consideration.
He sighs, trying his best to keep his eyelids from closing before being anywhere near the bed. “No need to look at me as if I needed a straitjacket, okay...? I need some rest, is all.”
“I know, it's just... I've been having... unusual dreams, too,” she says standing up, fiddling a little with the board facing her; he looks up with tired eyes. She's... unsure whether it's an appropriate time to show this to him... Following some hesitation, she does turn it around.
Law squints a little to see the thin-lined doodles better, also getting up from his chair. As he steps forward, his frown quickly changes from general irritation and vague anger into worry, confusion, and maybe discomfort... he almost looks scared. Kat can't help but avert her eyes and stare at his feet instead while fighting the urge to do anything with her fingers that itch for fiddling with stuff; she's feeling very out of place right now.
He reaches out to hold the drawings pinned to the corkwood; as soon as she feels the smallest tug, the object is released and she peeks back up at him.
Most of the wrinkles have disappeared, and he's taking in the little details, as few as there are, one by one. His fingers trace down the paper with a gentleness that she has never seen from him before, or even imagined him being capable of. He seems to mouth a word or two... it's as if she's handed him an old, lost photo instead of a couple of rough sketches, really. The way he looks at them, too... there is... a desolate feeling about it. Longing.
He blinks.
“... you couldn't fake this if you wanted to...”
That voice is also new. She's heard him talk calmly, but this is way softer than that. Thinking about it, this might be the first time she's heard him whisper, isn't it? However, it also feels wrong. Sad... He's hurt, seemingly on the verge of tears. But... she doesn't want to see this person sad... and especially not make him sad. Oh no... oh no...
Getting to the bare-bones stick doodle of the gates, he closes his eyes. “... since when?”
While it's nearly the usual tone, it also sounds as if it could break any time... All she can do right now is to enter default anxiety mode and just... spill it. “I saw the first one... when I fell asleep down here.”
“How much... did you see?” Good lord, how much could it be...
That question sounds as if she was eavesdropping on purpose or something... Considering that this seems to be very personal and a sensitive issue to Law, it certainly feels like it. “There were... three dreams, I think. I don't remember a lot from the first two, but... today I hung out with that man, in a bright town. Later the buildings turned into white sand... and we played in it.”
A bitter smile appears on his face. Of all things... building something like sand castles with him. In that rubble... on that rubble. “A white city, eh...?” Don't cry... barely awake or not, don't you dare fucking cry, shithead.
“... yes. And, uh...” This information... might not even be relevant, but she might as well mention the other... characters? People? “some children joined, too. Most of them had a uniform. First was a little dark blonde girl, with pigtails...” She doesn't remember anything noteworthy about the others...
While generally avoiding to look at his face right now, it's obvious that this bit was indeed important, and must have hit him pretty hard; he hugs the paper support and lowers his head, resting his chin against the drawing board.
“... that went on for a bit, until a man and woman came, to...” She stops. Fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck. Can't just finish the sentence like that, what if they were his parents?! Wait, she thought the man looked like Law. They absolutely were his parents and whatever has happened he's super upset about this already. FUCK. How the hell can she continue now, if a couple of vague descriptions, about ten lines of a building and the mention of a white... a White...
The scorching coals of distress turn to ice in her chest, and she dares a short look back at him, then stares at her hands that kind of feel as cold as if they were her own. Her thoughts take a quick detour to do simple math, then from one old memory scrap to another, followed by some anecdote fragments in a collection she read that was not for her age at the time.
She doesn't like the idea. It's not her place to inquire about this, if true. Think anything about this, if true. Maybe, just maybe, it's not the truth at all. It's so extremely unlikely, after all. It still does feel like she stumbled upon a terrible secret. Forbidden knowledge. Because... she knows why that place was familiar. And it would just make perfect sense, if, by chance...
“I remember... the newspaper from that day,” she says finally after swallowing hard, squeezing out the words one by one, feeling their weight. It's one of those memories that just flash in front of her from time to time; when she's sitting in the kitchen in the golden hour, or having apricot jam on bread, like back then. In this one, she's barely eight... looking at pictures in a paper. The old, crackling denden mushi is receiving the only radio signal available, the news are just about over. They repeated something that's been a topic for a week or so. There's... an image of a town, labeled as an archive photograph...
“It was headlines. I didn't read the article, wouldn't have really understood anyway, but... I remember the photo... of a big building. And the fence in front. That's what it is... that's the place I've been seeing... right?”
He's as still as a statue. There's some noise, something between a hum and a whimper, hard to decide... he nods after some delay. Kat is at a loss as to how she could proceed, if at all... saying more would be awkward; leaving would be even more so… doing anything, even existing, is awkward. In the end, Law's the one to break the silence.
“I was sick… with nowhere to run. Didn't even know who to blame, I just wanted to take revenge on anything... and everything.” After the hastily uttered train of thought gets out, he takes a deep, shaky breath. Fuck it, she already knows. He gave away the missing critical pieces to an incomplete puzzle, like the utter tool he is. Most he can do right now is to tell her whatever seems... safe. Just enough to satisfy her questions, barely enough to let this issue die right here. It's just...
Putting an end to that a few months ago is still so fresh in his mind. It made him rethink a lot of things, and just generally think of that godforsaken day a lot again... old wounds were ripped open, and they are not done healing, not at all. He's been trying to just cover it all up until this alliance business dies down for good, and right now there is only a mess of strong feelings with no coherent thoughts attached. It's hard... finding words for it right now is just too damn hard.
Law reaches out; Kat is too puzzled figure out what to do, or how she should interpret the gesture, so she doesn't stop the unsure, icy fingers from barely tapping her chest.
“He was the one... who saved me,” Law breathes, lowering the drawing board in his other hand.
It takes Kat a second to remember that right under the T-shirt is the center of his big tattoo, pretty much the image of the Heart Pirates' jolly roger. The only 'he' she can think of... and that's kind of like that one smile she saw today, isn't it. And there's the heart motive, buried under either smoke or fire... “... the man in the feather coat...”
He hums; he's not touching her anymore, but his hand hovers over the spot for another moment.
Kat meanwhile regrets not waiting with her dumb question until a more suitable time a lot... and is also getting choked up. It's not even because of an episode after a long time spent in comfortable numbness, or that seeing sad or miserable people makes her restless, especially if she's attached to them... it's rather that, if nothing else in particular stuck with her from that frigid, snowy dream, she remembers the feeling very well. It was a lot like the one she had as a little girl, of her mother being hypnotized and abandoning her. Never saw the end of that recurring nightmare. She always woke up after the person responsible, -the local shopkeeper, for some reason,- just laughed and laughed at her misery... All in all, it felt like shit. This man also must have died, or else Law wouldn't be like... this. Quite frankly, just remembering the name of Flevance and connecting it to the crumbling sand town caused a visceral reaction she cannot put anywhere. This body never really let go of Law, did it...?
As his hand starts to slip away, she reaches for it intuitively; it just seems... the logical thing to do? Except it's not, not really. He doesn't even like things like this... God, she's also been exhausted mentally with all these people around, and even wasted more energy on this silly hug business, zeroing her leftover sense of self-awareness. Oh well... if she's already at it, and thinking about it, there's one semi-logical step left. It's normal to do that in these situations anyway, so...
Kat takes a hesitant step ahead, and pulls him once again into a gentle one-armed hug: just a bit tighter, and a bit less awkward than the previous one. The hand she took a second ago is raised back up to roughly where Law's own heart would be and she holds it so carefully as if it were made of something really brittle, like an actual shard of thin ice. Also can't help but note that her body is exactly a head shorter than his... will have to resist the temptation to lean into the curly hair, even if it's inconveniently tickling her neck right now.
Law really wants to be angry, or anything other than tired and empty, really, but the half-hearted attempt is a complete failure. Instead, the only emotion he can muster is deepest shame; normally, he'd just brood down here alone, maybe cry into his pillow, but... he's not alone right now, and needs this. Really badly. Someone to latch onto, like a gross attention leech... And it feels so damn great. She's also rubbing his back a little, and may or may not have just lowered her chin onto his head. This is nice, so, if only for a little while… okay, this should do it... the three to five seconds of self-indulgent cuddling are over. He takes a deep breath to calm down and try to pull himself together as she mumbles something into his hair that he can barely make out.
“You are such a brave and smart boy...”
His heart swells upon hearing that, and he feels the first tear break free from under strict supervision; she probably didn't even mean to say it out loud, and the rather infantilizing nature of the statement aside... although it's part of the problem, really... her soft-spoken demeanor just makes that voice sound a lot like his father's. A little too much. There comes the first hiccup, soon followed by many more...
Kat drifts back to reality upon hearing the first sob, and finds herself unsure what to do again; she has no idea how to handle a situation like this. Did she ever have a crying person around when she did something past just... standing in a corner and feeling bad herself? At any time? What did... what did her parents do, how did they calm her down? They... what they did was... there's... nothing. They humored her for a minute, maybe. When it was just a scratch, told her that it's no big deal. All she remembers are the times they made her cry over something stupid instead... being straight-out terrified at times, going as far as hiding the shards of a broken vase or mug in the cluttered backyard. Even when she stepped into an old nail, she didn't tell a thing, although she was old enough to know that she ought to get tetanus vaccination afterwards.
She can feel anger boil its way up her throat; god, just... in how many ways did growing up with those people fuck her over...? No... no, no, no. No thinking about that, she has someone else here, and they need some kind of help or support. But she's so useless... augh, maybe she shouldn't be here at all right now...
“Law... do you want me to leave?” At least she can't do any harm with that...
The answer is not exactly direct, but a whimper like that sounds like a 'no' in any situation. If that wouldn't be enough, his hand also curls around a wrinkle of the tee.
Kat sighs, releasing his hand and wrapping her now free arm around him instead; she also takes the board before he drops it, and tosses the thing on the corner of the bed, near where the wobbly book pile is. What else could she do now, though...? She doesn't really have a sure means to calm him down... maybe... maybe she could sing, or rather hum something, stay until he falls asleep. Let's see, it has to be something soft... and preferably not holiday-related. There's not a lot that she knows perfectly by heart, though. Oh god... um, maybe that one, the one her mother sang to her and her brothers after going to bed, until she just stopped doing it one day. Which was quite a shame, really; she loved it a lot. Seems like she can still remember the tune, too... alright.
While she was contemplating, her right hand wandered up to his scalp and is absentmindedly scratching away at his nape ever so softly. She stops for a split second upon noticing, but resumes just as quickly- he hasn't said anything, nor reacted, so it should be okay. In fact, it seems to be doing a pretty good job... Law's less tense, and his breathing less erratic already. Alright, he should be fine in a few more minutes; shushing will be fine for now. As soon as he's down to sniffling, she leads him to the bed to sit.
Since he doesn't seem to be letting go of the t-shirt any time soon, she joins him with one hand still on his back. Maybe five motionless minutes pass before she takes a look at him; he's barely conscious leaning against her, isn't he... whether it's just to avoid stressful dreams or being on autopilot, he's still not willing to let himself fall asleep. What a stubborn oaf.
She sighs a little, and concentrates on a single note before humming the old song, after all. The last thing she kind of remembers before drifting off is thinking about how to lay him down without waking him up.
***
Today's #mood be like mspaintadventures.com/?s=6&p=005143
I'll try to churn out one more before I go on a forced hiatus, just so it stops on a less depressing note... that aside, story time!
So... I have zero connection to America. Live in the area where West and East Europe meet, in the middle of nowhere basically. And yet, I remember coming home when I was 10, and the TV showing some 3-hour news special on 9/11. The single suspended mental image of the television showing one of the planes before impact as I throw my backpack down before I go eat just stuck with me. There are many other little things, like the marzipan lion from my brother's first birthday cake hanging out in the kitchen window for months (I was barely 2 then, like? holy shit); seeing the few drops of blood on the concrete after a kid named Márk hit someone in the face in kindergarten as they cry in the background; the moment I saw a thick snake slither at my feet as I wanted to go down to the cellar outdoors around 4th grade (I've felt uneasy down there ever since, was a favorite before)... They are 3D photographs of minuscule length if any... as a visual type, I might have more of these than the average, but it's amazing that billions of people, if not everyone, has these lying around in their brains. Humans are wild, man.
Anyway, I remembered that, and decided to put something similar in here. Same for the song, which is the main motif of “Esti Dal” aka Evening Song. (quote-unquote best version I could find rn was this flash mob /watch?v=b055cHvLgtk) Kat's a semi-self-insert, after all.
ps.: The universe is a cold, uncaring place, and remembering is the most powerful FUCK YOU at your disposal, and erasing memories of someone or something is the most cruel punishment you can impose- all I'm saying is, that the least you can do is share these memories in some way or form. Go write something, you tool. And me, too. Yes you, I know you'll be reading this in a few weeks again to check where you left off when you last were unmotivated to continue. And yes, you did indeed write the commentary for... whatever chapter this is before finishing 19, bitch. I see you. Shia LaBeouf that shit. JUST. DO IT.
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instarsa-blog · 7 years
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Abuse Story: Alarms? Really?
I’m someone who sleeps in late and stays up late - sleeping in to 7pm at most and staying awake at 7am at most. Part of the reason is because I am in an LDR; she’s in PST and I’m in EST. For a long while I’ve told myself I need to get healthier sleeping habits, and she agrees with this, for both of us. I use to use my alarm set at 1pm so I could at least wake up at a more decent time... baby steps you know? But I had stopped that habit because I get mad insomnia sometimes, so waking up at 1pm would sometimes only give me three hours of sleep, which would be worse than before.
For the last week now, I’ve dedicated myself to a new setup for my laptop, and have been forcing myself to GET IN bed at 5am and TRY to sleep... still pretty late but definitely an improvement than 7am. It’s been actually working! Adjusting to this type of schedule has been helping me have less nights of insomnia too, which is greatly refreshing.
I was talking to my girlfriend about this actually, only just last night, claiming how giving myself a set time was working... and thought of using my alarm again. I remembered how my girlfriend had her alarm set across her room so it forces her to get up and turn it off, so I thought this method would work for me too - I relocated my clock near my bedroom door since I thought it to be the best place, since my bed is in the far corner from entry. So I set it at 1pm as per my preferred time, gives me recommended hours of sleep....
Cue today. You know how when you’re half-asleep half-awake, and can sense things in your subconscious or whatever? I remember hearing my alarm and my body not exactly registering it. The next thing I knew, I heard my mother shouting at me, being shook once, and my face being touched in a way it caused pain.
I only then registered the events after the forceful touch - who wouldn’t at that point, that’s enough to wake a person up. So I tiredly, crankily ask what the heck she wants.
“YOUR ALARM HAS BEEN GOING OFF FOR THE LAST TEN MINUTES, GET UP AND TURN IT OFF!”
I look at the clock out of confusion and-
The clock said 1:01pm.
Now I know I didn’t set this thing wrong - I had to do it at least four times last night from Daylight Savings and relocating twice. I started complaining that it was just a minute, not ten. I... I remember her yelling at me more and telling me to “just turn it the fuck off or she would”. By the time she’s standing over my clock in clear obvious frustration to figure out how, it’s only 1:02pm. I actually SAW the number change while she did this.
I say, “Ok I’m going to turn it off,” and by this she leaves, still yelling outside my door. I like to sleep nude - it’s just comfortable. When I got up and turned it off, I still had nothing on obviously, and I rested against the door just to wake myself up fully for a moment. Everyone needs time to fully wake up, right? It was already affecting me emotionally... it’s like I prevented insomnia but the very thing that helped also caused me massive anxiety because of my mom.
While I’m standing there against the door, she tries to enter and thinks I had the door locked. Without even giving me another minute, I hear her yell “open this goddamn door or I’ll bust this shit down you’re gonna fuck it up don’t even try me,” so with needing to think on the spot I exclaim, “I’m not even dressed yet!” Quickly she retorts on telling me, “then get dressed RIGHT NOW!” Within LITERALLY A SECOND of me moving from the door to get dressed, she attempts opening it again so I push myself against it once more and exclaim, “give me some time?? I literally just woke up??”
By this point is when she starts screaming at more, claiming I’m having a “smart ass attitude”, and how she “doesn’t need to deal with me”, that I was “being a bitch”.She claimed she had to shake me five times until I finally woke up.
She... didn’t even give me literally FIVE MINUTES to register to my alarm! Even subconsciously I only remember being shook once, and when I claimed she must have slapped me too, she said I was lying! Ok, maybe she didn’t necessarily slap me, but I then claimed “well you did SOMETHING to cause my face to be in pain right now” and she said... I was LYING! When I was clearly in PAIN!
What bewilders me about this entire thing is that this is the first time I’ve used my alarm in a while. Yes, it’s near my door - but my sibling’s room is closer to my mom’s location, and their alarm goes off every morning at 5:45am. I know this because I’m use to hearing it since I’d be up that late. I usually hear it go off for at least ten minutes until my sibling turns it off themself. My mom sleeps DIRECTLY ACROSS from my sibling’s room and does NOTHING about this. She was DOWNSTAIRS IN THE LIVING ROOM when mine went off. I sleep UPSTAIRS.
Maybe she was on edge too which may have caused this... and I would have understood that if she had just said so.
But I’ve been sitting here, typing this, ever since I woke up after these events. I got dressed but I hadn’t left my room yet, I hadn’t used the bathroom, I hadn’t eaten. I’m too terrified to leave my bedroom. Even right now I hear her screaming from downstairs.
I know this story doesn’t compare to other abuse others go through... I just needed a place to vent, and this is my blog so I mean. I’m use to abusive things like this - and far, far worse - happening in my home, so I may share more, or I may entirely delete this for anxiety reasons because it may cause hate in my direction.
This... over an alarm though... I just? This was ridiculous?
Moral of the story for me: don’t set alarms.
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Updated 2/13/2019
Hey Parents,
Did you ever notice that the concept of time is really tough for kids to understand– all the way from birth up until they are like 7 or 8?
It’s a real problem, because we use time to manage everything in our lives!
When to wake up,
when to go to daycare or the babysitter’s,
when to the store,
when to eat,
when to nap,
when we come home from work,
when to celebrate holidays,
when to go to parties,
when to take a bath,
when to go to bed….
And through all this, our poor children don’t even know what we’re talking about when we say, “We will get to have bath time at 7 o’clock. Please wait til then.”
How can we help kids understand what’s coming next in the day?
It’s no fun to be thrown into things without any warning or understanding. What would that feel like to have NO IDEA what is going to happen next until someone else decided for you? And you HAD to do it?? 
I would throw a fit too!
Subscribe today to receive your FREE Guide! 
Case in point-
I was feeling so sad for my poor daughter the other day. She was getting so frustrated because she couldn’t understand why it wasn’t time to eat dinner.
Having a family dinner is very important to us, so I was hoping she would wait until dad got home from work. We do this every day, but those last 15 minutes are always a battle! 
There’s got to be a way to fix it. I’m done fighting this every single day! 
I did what every mom does- I complained to my friends about our problems. My awesome sister-in-law Monica (an amazing mother of four who I really look up to) gave me the best idea!
She said that she had heard of a tool that you can make at home, DIY, for less than $20 that will help children better understand time and routines.
Ummm…. YES PLEASE!!!
I took her suggestions and added my own twists. I call it our “Routine Clock.”
I’m focusing on two parts of our daily routine- eating times (snacks and meals) and sleeping times (nap and bedtime) by marking those events on the face of an analog clock for my child to see.
Do you have any great ideas on how to improve this “Routine Clock”? Tell us about it! Comment below!
Step 1: Gather materials.
Here’s what you’ll need:
A cheap analog clock
Mainstay Sterling & Noble Wall Clock – Black
Sharpies
Sharpie 30078 Permanent Markers, Fine Point, Classic Colors, 8 Count
Scissors
AmazonBasics Multipurpose Scissors – 3-Pack
A screwdriver
TEKTON 2796 6-in-1 Screwdriver
Stickers, paint, or any other fun decorations your child might like!
RENOOK Stickers for Kids 1500+, 20 Different Sheets, 3D Puffy Stickers, Scrapbooking, Bullet Journals, Stickers for Adult, Including Animals, and More,Christmas Stickers for Kids. Crayola Washable Kids Paint, Classic Colors, 6 Count, Painting Supplies, Gift
Not required… But there were tiny screws that are easy to lose, so my husband’s magnetic tool tray might have come in handy. I wish I had thought of it beforehand.
Titan Tools 11061 Mini Magnetic Parts Tray
Step 2: Remove the minute hand (or at least mark the hour hand).
The overall goal with this clock is for my child to watch the hour hand approach a marked time for a snack or a meal or nap time in order to visualize when those events are getting closer.
The problem is that the minute hand crosses each of the marked time slots every hour of the day, while the hour hand only crosses them once per day (once per day during the hours that my child is awake anyways…).
So I really need my child to watch the hour hand, not the minute hand. By removing the minute hand or at least marking the hour hand, my child knows which one to keep an eye on.
You’ll have to remove the clock face for this step. It was super easy to do- just take out the screws on the back of the clock.
The minute and second hands were easy to cut with scissors. I did leave a small bit of each hand so that I could set the time on the clock.
If you would rather not cut the minute hand, just mark the hour hand with a sticker or by painting it or using a sharpie to change its color. This will help it stand out so that your child knows to watch the hour hand.
Step 3: Use a sharpie to mark the times of various daily activities on the face of the clock.
Replace the face of the clock. Again- so easy, just screw the face back on.
I tried light-colored sharpies so that my child could still see the numbers under my markings.
As my child practices with the clock, I would like to start teaching her how the numbers correspond with the time, which corresponds with our daily activities. I really didn’t want to cover up the numbers with dark colors.
I found that the light green and yellow sharpies were TOO light. You could hardly see the color. But the darker pink and darker green were perfect!
****Idea- One limitation of this clock is that it still only works to help my child understand the daily routine, not to prepare for curve balls that life throws when the routine is thrown off.
If you want the clock to change based on what your plans are for the day, don’t use sharpies. Try using dry erase markers so that you can add different tasks or activities based on what new things are going on for the day!
Then just erase your clock at the end of the day so that you can put the next day’s tasks on the clock!
For my purposes, I color coded the clock using green and pink. Pink marks are for meals and snacks. Green marks are for naps and bedtime.
My child usually goes to sleep at 7pm and wakes up at 7am, so I marked from 7 to 7:15 in green to mark bedtime/wake up time. Her nap is around 1-3, so those times are marked in green.
Breakfast is between 7:15-8, lunch is between 12-12:45, dinner is between 5-6, and snacks are from 10-10:30am and 3-3:30pm. Those times are all blocked out in pink.
Marking a range of time during which we generally eat or sleep rather than marking one specific time allows some flexibility.
For example, we start lunch any time between 12:00 and 12: 45.
Step 4: Decorate it!
I have not been blessed with a talent for drawing, especially on a curved surface like the face of a clock, so it was surprisingly difficult to make my clock look cute!
In the end, I decided I’d better go simple. I outlined each different task in black sharpie to make the time slots nice and defined, added a boarder around the face of the clock, and called it good.
But let’s be real- kids aren’t judgmental. They love you no matter what, and they’re excited about new things with pretty colors. So I had nothing to worry about.
If my little one were a little older, I would probably invite her to decorate it herself.
Oh, and I also added labels on each routine so that my awesome husband knows what’s coming up next. He always wants to help but doesn’t always know how. Win Win!
Step 5: Set the time.
Just follow the directions on the package!
Step 6: Put your new tool to work!
Well, we completed our clock about a week ago.
My daughter is catching on fast. I make sure to show her the clock each time a snack, meal, nap, or bedtime comes up. She is starting to point to it all on her own when we are getting close to one of those times in our day.
I chose not to hang it on the wall. Rather, I keep it on the counter.
Giving My Daughter a Heads Up
When a meal or nap is coming up, I hand it to my daughter (she loves to hold it) point to the color coming up. I ask her, “Do you know what’s going to happen soon?” or “Do you know what’s coming up next?”
Then we talk about it and I give her a 5-minute opportunity to finish up whatever she’s doing before it’s time to transition.
Helping her Understand When She Needs to Wait
It’s so much easier to tell her that she needs to wait to eat! (She doesn’t mind waiting to take a nap….)
If she’s getting hungry just a few minutes before dad gets home from work, I just show her the clock and say, “It’s not time for dinner yet, but look how close it is! Almost time!” 
Then she can hold the clock and check back to watch as dinner time gets closer and closer.
I have noticed frustration levels for both me and my child decreasing every day! It’s so nice to have a simple way to help her look forward to what’s coming up next in her routine.
Did you try out this “Routines Clock”? How did it go?? Comment below!
Do you have any great ideas on how to make these clocks better? Tell us about it! Comment below!
I hope this resource helps some cute kids out there!
And parents, as always, keep up the good work!
(As a total side note, I recently learned about another amazing tool to help children with time! This one is a clock that lights up green when it is “wake up time.” If the child wakes up too early, the light is off so he knows to keep resting or engage in a quiet activity until the light turns green signaling that he can begin his day! AMAZING!)
Click on the image below! Mirari OK to Wake! Alarm Clock & Night-Light
Sincerely,
Mrs. S
Please share this post with a parent who could use some help teaching their kids about time!
Please comment, like, and subscribe to my weekly email list for updates on the world of parenting!!
Does your child struggle to understand time? Time is an abstract and difficult topic for young children. Here's an amazing DIY resource that will help you and your child! And the best part- it's less than $20 to make! Click here! Photo by Elena Koycheva on Unsplash This post may contain advertisements and/or links for products and services that I value.
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grgop · 5 years
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Day 2: Exploring Dugi otok. First stop Soline
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The fish ponds near the bay of Luka
Morning at the monastery
The first morning on the island started without the alarm clock waking up at 6am. It was friday, fresh air, the sound of the birds in the yard, early rays of sun through the window shutters. Somewhat different change from the everyday in Zagreb. I haven't slept so good in a while and felt as if I had been plugged into a charger during the night. The fact that I didn't have to go to my workplace in two hours and had now a luxury of the prolonged weekend might have also helped.
The best part comes when you open the window and instead looking at the neighbour in his underwear at the balcony of the 8-flat building on the other side you first have a look at the monastery's yard. Gardens, walls and the workshop. Looking to the right (southwest) you see the hills and forests along with the main road that goes to Sali or Žman in other direction. If you look just straight behind the walls of the monastery you see the houses of the Old Village Zaglav. What it looks like you can see in the video below.
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The morning in the monastery
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Friar Izak preparing his breakfast
Usually one of the monks would walk around the yard and do his stuff. I had a desire to start exercising in the yard which is ideal for yoga, work out and similar. However, this desire quickly disappeared when I went downstairs for the breakfast. We had an earlier agreement to have a breakfast at  7am. And so it was. We took half of the fridge on the table and I grabbed me some stuff into my travel lunch bag as having the lunch at the monastery was no longer an option. And really, the first and the last time I had lunch with the monk-fellas was on my arrival day.
So, the plan was to spend the whole day exploring the other side of the island, the northwestern one. To visit some of the following places: Veli Rat, Verunić, Soline, Božava, Brbinj and Dragove. In case you haven't, you can read the first blog post to find out more about the reason I came here and was excited to go around.
Anyway, in almost all of these places I had a few names on my "Middle Earth Map" which were potentially good candidates for the interview and recordings of the insight into the local life and customs. Since I spoke to one guy from Soline the day earlier so the plan was to go first to Soline.
However, things didn't go as quiet as planned and I postponed the trip for somewhat later since Mirel, my bodulovac companion, was busy. We fixed it though the next day which you will read in the new post. I also took the time waiting for him to go around the monastery and here’s one video:
youtube
Took most of my camera equipment and food survival pack out while greeting the monk-bros and our cleaning & cook lady. Goran's car waited for me in the shades close to the bell tower. The weather forecast was actually great - a sunny day up to 20 degrees Celsius. Or for my US friends - up to 68 degrees Fahrenheit. Which meant only one thing - t-shirt!
And now starts what I have always wanted - to go around exploring the unknown area in search of the new challenges on my own with the camera in my backpack. Turned the Indiana Jones adventure mode on, kept calm and put the sunglasses on.
Gremo na zmorac ... or... Off we go to the north
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Okay, maybe they don't say it that way but hey - I'm the new one so don't judge me, judger. As far as I know "zmorac" is kind of the northwestern wind that blows from the sea to the coast. Similar to "maestral" I believe. Also, the wind directions serve as the world directions (north, south, west...) in many places on the coast but also in other Mediterranean countries.
Here come short experiences and descriptions of the long ride along the main road from the southern part of the island to the last inhabited places in the northwestern part of Dugi otok. Now, it all takes less than an hour of a decent ride by car. Of course, I couldn't miss the opportunities to stop here and there on the road to go out, take some photos and look around.
Leaving Old Village Zaglav went smooth without problems. Remember the narrow streets surrounded with little stone walls? And the cars that can face you at any moment? I tried to be careful the whole time as I was driving someone else's car and because of these specific dangers. But let me tell you something about driving the car on the island in general. And it also affected me in the end as I became more "relaxed" and absorbed the local driving logic. I heard many people don't have a drivers licence and since the roads are mostly empty (apart from the summer tourist season) you automatically become more relaxed and confident on the road. However, some were way too confident and careless and there were accidents, especially on the curves.  Then you also have the wild animals that can jump on the road such as the mufflons. Not to mention individuals or groups who ride a bike or run just behind some corner.
I was driving having all this on my mind and as you can see (and Goran) nothing happened. I have to say I really enjoyed the rides around the island and exploring the local streets or some less visible paths around the main road. There was this sense of freedom of movement and exploring I love and mostly have when moving around on my own on the bike in Zagreb or some other place.
So what can you see on the road between Zaglav and Soline?
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What can one see on the around 36 km route? There are lots of ups and downs into the hills and then to valleys and bays. At some points the road is almost on top of the hills with nothing on each side...and then the landscapes changes to having the high hills to your left and to the right a slope ending with some bays and the spectacular look towards the islands and the land to the east. Another great thing is that at some places the island is so narrow that you can see the landscape and the sea to your left and right. This was also the thing that I loved most.
In the first 10-15 minutes you pass by the town of Žman and Luka. I had no one on the list there so I skipped them. Soon the road started going uphill and I stopped at the top to take some photos. There you have a nice look towards neighbouring islands of Iž, Rava, Ugljan, Pašman and far behind towards NW the island of Sestrunj and mountains of Velebit.
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What I remember next was a road to the west that climbing up the mountain. There was another military base of the Croatian army and the path was forbidden for the rest of us. This also sounds like a good SF plot on Dugi otok. And there are more places, as you will discover. Who knows, maybe soon we come up with "The mystery of the Long Island". ;-)
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Few minutes later you come to the part which is guarded by the high hill to your left and some narrow slopes to your right. It's also part of the road that looks like an ideal place to test your racing car. But don't try it. After the corner I stopped by some large "park your car here" place. There were some tourists climbing the mountain road as the sign informs you that it leads you to the cave "Vela Straža". I leave it for my next visit.
youtube
Now, in the following 6-7 kilometers, until we pass by Savar, the road goes zig-zag between the hills, a bit up and down. I believe it was here at one point that I found this place where you stop and look towards the right (or the east). You see the bay below, numerous smaller and bigger neighbouring islands and Velebit mountain far on the horizon. Now you just rotate by 180 degrees to your right (or the west) and you see the vast open Adriatic sea and maybe if you are lucky you can see the glimpse of the Apenini mountains of Italy. After a short existential moment I drove off.
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Unfortunately, there are still careless people who throw the trash at the random or specific places around the island. So I came across one such and found trash. It's a shame you cannot bring it simply to your home, place and put it in the cans where it should be. I guess one should be more careful here since we are talking about the island. Have a look at Japan - they also had it in nature somewhere but largely the towns and areas were clean - and I can't remember seeing any trash can outside. They would take everything home and sort it out there. Talking of discipline.
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Alright, passed by Savar and soon Brbinj. That's the new place one can take ferry for Zadar or taking your car to the island. Speaking of Brbinj, I had a name there, someone from the family has a family there. But not just that - I heard that Petrov family from Vodice might have actually come from Dugi otok. And where do Petrov members live on Dugi otok? In Brbinj. However, didn't have time and set the priority on other things but I'll try to find out more about it during my next visit.
After Brbinj on our way to Dragove (around 9 kilometers) we are again surrounded with forests. Just before Dragove there is a road that leads downhills towards the beach Veli Žal. Its the place where I took my iconic "Dugi otok" photo on the last day. Oh yes, wait for the "Last day" post.
Passing Dragove, the place I also heard a lot from my US Croatian friend Danny Blasic from NY (if you know him please contact me). He told me to visit Dragove some three-four years ago when we met in person in Zagreb. As he said - one of the places that now have mostly old population and not many of them are in the good condition to speak. I almost missed Dragove but couldn't leave the island without them. And some of you might guess who my local help and interview person was. :)
Soon you reach the Y-crossing where the right road leads to Božava, our second destination, and the left ones goes forth towards Veli Rat, Verunić and Soline. Another crossroads appeared with an extra sign directing you to Sakarun beach. But I turned right following the directions for Soline.
Soline, the beach bar and the grapes
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The road goes down the hill to the bay of Soline. Finally, after an hour of the road trip I found myself right one-two meters away from the sea.
Before we continue let's say a few words about Soline. A small town of the population around 40 people situated in the bay of Solišćica. The name Soline comes after the name "salt-panes" (or in Croatian "solana" or "sol" for "salt") and the place was first mentioned as early as the 12th century. Soline also had one of the first public schools on Dugi otok. 
Speaking of the population which today (2011) has around 40 inhabitants it is one of the indicators of the reality of demographics on Croatian islands. Just during the years before and after the WW2 there were more than 300 inhabitants, up to 360 as the records say. And just like most of the people on the coast and the islands the Solinjani also have a long tradition of agriculture, fishing and just recently tourism. Joining the other locals in religion the Solinjani also have one church - the Church of St Jacob that dates back to 15th century. Unfortunately, I haven't explored much of Soline to see it but there you go...Let's get back to our timeline.
There was only one car moving, some old couple, as I was heading for the other side of Soline where I noticed the beach bar and the little traffic I was told to go.
As I did a circle around the bay I paid attention to what the place looks like. First thing that meets the eye are the houses with gardens next to each other. The second - there were palm trees alongside the promenade but generally I had a feeling like it's impossible to survive the summer heat if staying outside.
I saw some senior fellas sitting near the traffic-bar and drinking. I parked nearby and went to approach them. Tomislav, the friend of the friend, told me his guys would be aware of my arrival. Things somehow again changed as this had no clue on what I was talking about. Also, they disappeared to their homes after few minutes.
Here it was where I first learned the mistake in my approach when looking for the local native speakers. All of them speak the local idioms that I wish to record but when I mention it to them - they automatically assume they are not good enough, they switch subconsciously to the standard Croatian and also complain that no one in the village speaks any more the "old way". They all thought they need to recite me the Croatian of the King Zvonimir or what was written on the panel of Baška (Bašćanska ploča). They didn't understand nor perceive themselves as already speaking super interesting local dialect as it was normal to them.
What now? There were some young girls and guys around the bar. We got to know each other and I told them my "mission". They understood what I wanted but we couldn't find the appropriate candidate. Another problem was I arrived late after everyone's already been gone home after morning church. However, there was one grandpa whom we visited.
I believe his name was Svetko. He was also a tough one and didn't want to speak in Čakavski saying in a phlegmatic tone that nobody speaks it anymore. In his mind he was referring to the archaic version of his grandparents but again couldn't see that his own everyday dialect was a treasure to be explored. I was accompanied by two locals (actually if they are reading this - a girl from Slavonia and the guy from Soline whom you watched on YouTube).
The classic island story about the customs, life on the island and the dialects
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So Svetko simply explained many terms of the vocabulary are simply lost as the technology and the new vocabulary replaced the original ones. Another thing is that many of the traditional customs slowly disappeared and/or are marginalized. The population is also decreasing. There might come the Croats who live abroad  paying a visit in summer. Furthermore, many go to live on the land like Zadar or some other place and they gradually replace their mother tongue with the standard one or the other "prestige" dialect. Same applies to youth who are more under the influence of the standard language being surrounded with media 0-24h. Lastly, what I had found out - there is still present this stereotype that if you speak the local idiom you are not educated but stupid etc. I believe this is much stronger belief among the seniors who grew up in Yugoslavia where the standard language was a language of prestige and the local languages where seen as something of lower value.
This is of course something I have been fighting against with others for the last couple of years and my goal with the videos and creative work is to stop the destructive policy of pushing the local dialects into the oblivion. Many fail to recognize that something authentic and true of our identity, history, customs and beliefs are preserved primarily in our mother tongue and language of the local people. With their disappearance we lose our history and authenticity. Thus those little documentary trips I am doing and stuff with the camera are a small step in preserving the authentic local.
After learning some new things from Svetko we were awarded with his home grown grapes. He gave me a whole bag of them which I am deeply thankful for. I never imagined I'd be taking the grapes from Dugi otok back to Zagreb!
youtube
Marin agreed to help me record the video with the knowledge we had and heard some stuff from Svetko. Thus we stepped by and made our first video of the Youtube series! Thanks again guys for the help. I left them at noon as they were going to get some lunch and I didn't have a whole day. I tried to come back later but that was all of Soline this trip. I hope to visit them again in summer with more time to enjoy there as they deserve.  In the end Soline are another peaceful place on Dugi otok where you can get the natural medicine for your body and brain. Looking forward to our next meeting.
Now off to our next destination - Lucija is waiting.
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Photo by Elena Koycheva on Unsplash
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Updated 2/13/2019
Hey Parents,
Did you ever notice that the concept of time is really tough for kids to understand– all the way from birth up until they are like 7 or 8?
It’s a real problem, because we use time to manage everything in our lives!
When to wake up,
when to go to daycare or the babysitter’s,
when to the store,
when to eat,
when to nap,
when we come home from work,
when to celebrate holidays,
when to go to parties,
when to take a bath,
when to go to bed….
And through all this, our poor children don’t even know what we’re talking about when we say, “We will get to have bath time at 7 o’clock. Please wait til then.”
How can we help kids understand what’s coming next in the day?
It’s no fun to be thrown into things without any warning or understanding. What would that feel like to have NO IDEA what is going to happen next until someone else decided for you? And you HAD to do it?? 
I would throw a fit too!
Subscribe today to receive your FREE Guide! 
Case in point-
I was feeling so sad for my poor daughter the other day. She was getting so frustrated because she couldn’t understand why it wasn’t time to eat dinner.
Having a family dinner is very important to us, so I was hoping she would wait until dad got home from work. We do this every day, but those last 15 minutes are always a battle! 
There’s got to be a way to fix it. I’m done fighting this every single day! 
I did what every mom does- I complained to my friends about our problems. My awesome sister-in-law Monica (an amazing mother of four who I really look up to) gave me the best idea!
She said that she had heard of a tool that you can make at home, DIY, for less than $20 that will help children better understand time and routines.
Ummm…. YES PLEASE!!!
I took her suggestions and added my own twists. I call it our “Routine Clock.”
I’m focusing on two parts of our daily routine- eating times (snacks and meals) and sleeping times (nap and bedtime) by marking those events on the face of an analog clock for my child to see.
Do you have any great ideas on how to improve this “Routine Clock”? Tell us about it! Comment below!
Step 1: Gather materials.
Here’s what you’ll need:
A cheap analog clock
Mainstay Sterling & Noble Wall Clock – Black
Sharpies
Sharpie 30078 Permanent Markers, Fine Point, Classic Colors, 8 Count
Scissors
AmazonBasics Multipurpose Scissors – 3-Pack
A screwdriver
TEKTON 2796 6-in-1 Screwdriver
Stickers, paint, or any other fun decorations your child might like!
RENOOK Stickers for Kids 1500+, 20 Different Sheets, 3D Puffy Stickers, Scrapbooking, Bullet Journals, Stickers for Adult, Including Animals, and More,Christmas Stickers for Kids. Crayola Washable Kids Paint, Classic Colors, 6 Count, Painting Supplies, Gift
Not required… But there were tiny screws that are easy to lose, so my husband’s magnetic tool tray might have come in handy. I wish I had thought of it beforehand.
Titan Tools 11061 Mini Magnetic Parts Tray
Step 2: Remove the minute hand (or at least mark the hour hand).
The overall goal with this clock is for my child to watch the hour hand approach a marked time for a snack or a meal or nap time in order to visualize when those events are getting closer.
The problem is that the minute hand crosses each of the marked time slots every hour of the day, while the hour hand only crosses them once per day (once per day during the hours that my child is awake anyways…).
So I really need my child to watch the hour hand, not the minute hand. By removing the minute hand or at least marking the hour hand, my child knows which one to keep an eye on.
You’ll have to remove the clock face for this step. It was super easy to do- just take out the screws on the back of the clock.
The minute and second hands were easy to cut with scissors. I did leave a small bit of each hand so that I could set the time on the clock.
If you would rather not cut the minute hand, just mark the hour hand with a sticker or by painting it or using a sharpie to change its color. This will help it stand out so that your child knows to watch the hour hand.
Step 3: Use a sharpie to mark the times of various daily activities on the face of the clock.
Replace the face of the clock. Again- so easy, just screw the face back on.
I tried light-colored sharpies so that my child could still see the numbers under my markings.
As my child practices with the clock, I would like to start teaching her how the numbers correspond with the time, which corresponds with our daily activities. I really didn’t want to cover up the numbers with dark colors.
I found that the light green and yellow sharpies were TOO light. You could hardly see the color. But the darker pink and darker green were perfect!
****Idea- One limitation of this clock is that it still only works to help my child understand the daily routine, not to prepare for curve balls that life throws when the routine is thrown off.
If you want the clock to change based on what your plans are for the day, don’t use sharpies. Try using dry erase markers so that you can add different tasks or activities based on what new things are going on for the day!
Then just erase your clock at the end of the day so that you can put the next day’s tasks on the clock!
For my purposes, I color coded the clock using green and pink. Pink marks are for meals and snacks. Green marks are for naps and bedtime.
My child usually goes to sleep at 7pm and wakes up at 7am, so I marked from 7 to 7:15 in green to mark bedtime/wake up time. Her nap is around 1-3, so those times are marked in green.
Breakfast is between 7:15-8, lunch is between 12-12:45, dinner is between 5-6, and snacks are from 10-10:30am and 3-3:30pm. Those times are all blocked out in pink.
Marking a range of time during which we generally eat or sleep rather than marking one specific time allows some flexibility.
For example, we start lunch any time between 12:00 and 12: 45.
Step 4: Decorate it!
I have not been blessed with a talent for drawing, especially on a curved surface like the face of a clock, so it was surprisingly difficult to make my clock look cute!
In the end, I decided I’d better go simple. I outlined each different task in black sharpie to make the time slots nice and defined, added a boarder around the face of the clock, and called it good.
But let’s be real- kids aren’t judgmental. They love you no matter what, and they’re excited about new things with pretty colors. So I had nothing to worry about.
If my little one were a little older, I would probably invite her to decorate it herself.
Oh, and I also added labels on each routine so that my awesome husband knows what’s coming up next. He always wants to help but doesn’t always know how. Win Win!
Step 5: Set the time.
Just follow the directions on the package!
Step 6: Put your new tool to work!
Well, we completed our clock about a week ago.
My daughter is catching on fast. I make sure to show her the clock each time a snack, meal, nap, or bedtime comes up. She is starting to point to it all on her own when we are getting close to one of those times in our day.
I chose not to hang it on the wall. Rather, I keep it on the counter.
Giving My Daughter a Heads Up
When a meal or nap is coming up, I hand it to my daughter (she loves to hold it) point to the color coming up. I ask her, “Do you know what’s going to happen soon?” or “Do you know what’s coming up next?”
Then we talk about it and I give her a 5-minute opportunity to finish up whatever she’s doing before it’s time to transition.
Helping her Understand When She Needs to Wait
It’s so much easier to tell her that she needs to wait to eat! (She doesn’t mind waiting to take a nap….)
If she’s getting hungry just a few minutes before dad gets home from work, I just show her the clock and say, “It’s not time for dinner yet, but look how close it is! Almost time!” 
Then she can hold the clock and check back to watch as dinner time gets closer and closer.
I have noticed frustration levels for both me and my child decreasing every day! It’s so nice to have a simple way to help her look forward to what’s coming up next in her routine.
Did you try out this “Routines Clock”? How did it go?? Comment below!
Do you have any great ideas on how to make these clocks better? Tell us about it! Comment below!
I hope this resource helps some cute kids out there!
And parents, as always, keep up the good work!
(As a total side note, I recently learned about another amazing tool to help children with time! This one is a clock that lights up green when it is “wake up time.” If the child wakes up too early, the light is off so he knows to keep resting or engage in a quiet activity until the light turns green signaling that he can begin his day! AMAZING!)
Click on the image below! Mirari OK to Wake! Alarm Clock & Night-Light
Sincerely,
Mrs. S
Please share this post with a parent who could use some help teaching their kids about time!
Please comment, like, and subscribe to my weekly email list for updates on the world of parenting!!
Does your child struggle to understand time? Time is an abstract and difficult topic for young children. Here's an amazing DIY resource that will help you and your child! And the best part- it's less than $20 to make! Click here! Photo by Elena Koycheva on Unsplash This post may contain advertisements and/or links for products and services that I value.
0 notes
Photo by Elena Koycheva on Unsplash
This post may contain advertisements and/or links for products and services that I value. I offer recommendations to products and/or services that I find helpful in my own life as a mom. I may receive a commission based on viewer purchases or interactions with these ads. You will NOT be charged any extra money. All prices will stay the same for you whether your purchase items/services through links found on this site or not! 
Updated 2/13/2019
Hey Parents,
Did you ever notice that the concept of time is really tough for kids to understand– all the way from birth up until they are like 7 or 8?
It’s a real problem, because we use time to manage everything in our lives!
When to wake up,
when to go to daycare or the babysitter’s,
when to the store,
when to eat,
when to nap,
when we come home from work,
when to celebrate holidays,
when to go to parties,
when to take a bath,
when to go to bed….
And through all this, our poor children don’t even know what we’re talking about when we say, “We will get to have bath time at 7 o’clock. Please wait til then.”
How can we help kids understand what’s coming next in the day?
It’s no fun to be thrown into things without any warning or understanding. What would that feel like to have NO IDEA what is going to happen next until someone else decided for you? And you HAD to do it?? 
I would throw a fit too!
Subscribe today to receive your FREE Guide! 
Case in point-
I was feeling so sad for my poor daughter the other day. She was getting so frustrated because she couldn’t understand why it wasn’t time to eat dinner.
Having a family dinner is very important to us, so I was hoping she would wait until dad got home from work. We do this every day, but those last 15 minutes are always a battle! 
There’s got to be a way to fix it. I’m done fighting this every single day! 
I did what every mom does- I complained to my friends about our problems. My awesome sister-in-law Monica (an amazing mother of four who I really look up to) gave me the best idea!
She said that she had heard of a tool that you can make at home, DIY, for less than $20 that will help children better understand time and routines.
Ummm…. YES PLEASE!!!
I took her suggestions and added my own twists. I call it our “Routine Clock.”
I’m focusing on two parts of our daily routine- eating times (snacks and meals) and sleeping times (nap and bedtime) by marking those events on the face of an analog clock for my child to see.
Do you have any great ideas on how to improve this “Routine Clock”? Tell us about it! Comment below!
Step 1: Gather materials.
Here’s what you’ll need:
A cheap analog clock
Mainstay Sterling & Noble Wall Clock – Black
Sharpies
Sharpie 30078 Permanent Markers, Fine Point, Classic Colors, 8 Count
Scissors
AmazonBasics Multipurpose Scissors – 3-Pack
A screwdriver
TEKTON 2796 6-in-1 Screwdriver
Stickers, paint, or any other fun decorations your child might like!
RENOOK Stickers for Kids 1500+, 20 Different Sheets, 3D Puffy Stickers, Scrapbooking, Bullet Journals, Stickers for Adult, Including Animals, and More,Christmas Stickers for Kids. Crayola Washable Kids Paint, Classic Colors, 6 Count, Painting Supplies, Gift
Not required… But there were tiny screws that are easy to lose, so my husband’s magnetic tool tray might have come in handy. I wish I had thought of it beforehand.
Titan Tools 11061 Mini Magnetic Parts Tray
Step 2: Remove the minute hand (or at least mark the hour hand).
The overall goal with this clock is for my child to watch the hour hand approach a marked time for a snack or a meal or nap time in order to visualize when those events are getting closer.
The problem is that the minute hand crosses each of the marked time slots every hour of the day, while the hour hand only crosses them once per day (once per day during the hours that my child is awake anyways…).
So I really need my child to watch the hour hand, not the minute hand. By removing the minute hand or at least marking the hour hand, my child knows which one to keep an eye on.
You’ll have to remove the clock face for this step. It was super easy to do- just take out the screws on the back of the clock.
The minute and second hands were easy to cut with scissors. I did leave a small bit of each hand so that I could set the time on the clock.
If you would rather not cut the minute hand, just mark the hour hand with a sticker or by painting it or using a sharpie to change its color. This will help it stand out so that your child knows to watch the hour hand.
Step 3: Use a sharpie to mark the times of various daily activities on the face of the clock.
Replace the face of the clock. Again- so easy, just screw the face back on.
I tried light-colored sharpies so that my child could still see the numbers under my markings.
As my child practices with the clock, I would like to start teaching her how the numbers correspond with the time, which corresponds with our daily activities. I really didn’t want to cover up the numbers with dark colors.
I found that the light green and yellow sharpies were TOO light. You could hardly see the color. But the darker pink and darker green were perfect!
****Idea- One limitation of this clock is that it still only works to help my child understand the daily routine, not to prepare for curve balls that life throws when the routine is thrown off.
If you want the clock to change based on what your plans are for the day, don’t use sharpies. Try using dry erase markers so that you can add different tasks or activities based on what new things are going on for the day!
Then just erase your clock at the end of the day so that you can put the next day’s tasks on the clock!
For my purposes, I color coded the clock using green and pink. Pink marks are for meals and snacks. Green marks are for naps and bedtime.
My child usually goes to sleep at 7pm and wakes up at 7am, so I marked from 7 to 7:15 in green to mark bedtime/wake up time. Her nap is around 1-3, so those times are marked in green.
Breakfast is between 7:15-8, lunch is between 12-12:45, dinner is between 5-6, and snacks are from 10-10:30am and 3-3:30pm. Those times are all blocked out in pink.
Marking a range of time during which we generally eat or sleep rather than marking one specific time allows some flexibility.
For example, we start lunch any time between 12:00 and 12: 45.
Step 4: Decorate it!
I have not been blessed with a talent for drawing, especially on a curved surface like the face of a clock, so it was surprisingly difficult to make my clock look cute!
In the end, I decided I’d better go simple. I outlined each different task in black sharpie to make the time slots nice and defined, added a boarder around the face of the clock, and called it good.
But let’s be real- kids aren’t judgmental. They love you no matter what, and they’re excited about new things with pretty colors. So I had nothing to worry about.
If my little one were a little older, I would probably invite her to decorate it herself.
Oh, and I also added labels on each routine so that my awesome husband knows what’s coming up next. He always wants to help but doesn’t always know how. Win Win!
Step 5: Set the time.
Just follow the directions on the package!
Step 6: Put your new tool to work!
Well, we completed our clock about a week ago.
My daughter is catching on fast. I make sure to show her the clock each time a snack, meal, nap, or bedtime comes up. She is starting to point to it all on her own when we are getting close to one of those times in our day.
I chose not to hang it on the wall. Rather, I keep it on the counter.
Giving My Daughter a Heads Up
When a meal or nap is coming up, I hand it to my daughter (she loves to hold it) point to the color coming up. I ask her, “Do you know what’s going to happen soon?” or “Do you know what’s coming up next?”
Then we talk about it and I give her a 5-minute opportunity to finish up whatever she’s doing before it’s time to transition.
Helping her Understand When She Needs to Wait
It’s so much easier to tell her that she needs to wait to eat! (She doesn’t mind waiting to take a nap….)
If she’s getting hungry just a few minutes before dad gets home from work, I just show her the clock and say, “It’s not time for dinner yet, but look how close it is! Almost time!” 
Then she can hold the clock and check back to watch as dinner time gets closer and closer.
I have noticed frustration levels for both me and my child decreasing every day! It’s so nice to have a simple way to help her look forward to what’s coming up next in her routine.
Did you try out this “Routines Clock”? How did it go?? Comment below!
Do you have any great ideas on how to make these clocks better? Tell us about it! Comment below!
I hope this resource helps some cute kids out there!
And parents, as always, keep up the good work!
(As a total side note, I recently learned about another amazing tool to help children with time! This one is a clock that lights up green when it is “wake up time.” If the child wakes up too early, the light is off so he knows to keep resting or engage in a quiet activity until the light turns green signaling that he can begin his day! AMAZING!)
Click on the image below! Mirari OK to Wake! Alarm Clock & Night-Light
Sincerely,
Mrs. S
Please share this post with a parent who could use some help teaching their kids about time!
Please comment, like, and subscribe to my weekly email list for updates on the world of parenting!!
Does your child struggle to understand time? Time is an abstract and difficult topic for young children. Here's an amazing DIY resource that will help you and your child! And the best part- it's less than $20 to make! Click here! Photo by Elena Koycheva on Unsplash This post may contain advertisements and/or links for products and services that I value.
0 notes
Photo by Elena Koycheva on Unsplash
This post may contain advertisements and/or links for products and services that I value. I offer recommendations to products and/or services that I find helpful in my own life as a mom. I may receive a commission based on viewer purchases or interactions with these ads. You will NOT be charged any extra money. All prices will stay the same for you whether your purchase items/services through links found on this site or not! 
Updated 2/13/2019
Hey Parents,
Did you ever notice that the concept of time is really tough for kids to understand– all the way from birth up until they are like 7 or 8?
It’s a real problem, because we use time to manage everything in our lives!
When to wake up,
when to go to daycare or the babysitter’s,
when to the store,
when to eat,
when to nap,
when we come home from work,
when to celebrate holidays,
when to go to parties,
when to take a bath,
when to go to bed….
And through all this, our poor children don’t even know what we’re talking about when we say, “We will get to have bath time at 7 o’clock. Please wait til then.”
How can we help kids understand what’s coming next in the day?
It’s no fun to be thrown into things without any warning or understanding. What would that feel like to have NO IDEA what is going to happen next until someone else decided for you? And you HAD to do it?? 
I would throw a fit too!
Subscribe today to receive your FREE Guide! 
Case in point-
I was feeling so sad for my poor daughter the other day. She was getting so frustrated because she couldn’t understand why it wasn’t time to eat dinner.
Having a family dinner is very important to us, so I was hoping she would wait until dad got home from work. We do this every day, but those last 15 minutes are always a battle! 
There’s got to be a way to fix it. I’m done fighting this every single day! 
I did what every mom does- I complained to my friends about our problems. My awesome sister-in-law Monica (an amazing mother of four who I really look up to) gave me the best idea!
She said that she had heard of a tool that you can make at home, DIY, for less than $20 that will help children better understand time and routines.
Ummm…. YES PLEASE!!!
I took her suggestions and added my own twists. I call it our “Routine Clock.”
I’m focusing on two parts of our daily routine- eating times (snacks and meals) and sleeping times (nap and bedtime) by marking those events on the face of an analog clock for my child to see.
Do you have any great ideas on how to improve this “Routine Clock”? Tell us about it! Comment below!
Step 1: Gather materials.
Here’s what you’ll need:
A cheap analog clock
Mainstay Sterling & Noble Wall Clock – Black
Sharpies
Sharpie 30078 Permanent Markers, Fine Point, Classic Colors, 8 Count
Scissors
AmazonBasics Multipurpose Scissors – 3-Pack
A screwdriver
TEKTON 2796 6-in-1 Screwdriver
Stickers, paint, or any other fun decorations your child might like!
RENOOK Stickers for Kids 1500+, 20 Different Sheets, 3D Puffy Stickers, Scrapbooking, Bullet Journals, Stickers for Adult, Including Animals, and More,Christmas Stickers for Kids. Crayola Washable Kids Paint, Classic Colors, 6 Count, Painting Supplies, Gift
Not required… But there were tiny screws that are easy to lose, so my husband’s magnetic tool tray might have come in handy. I wish I had thought of it beforehand.
Titan Tools 11061 Mini Magnetic Parts Tray
Step 2: Remove the minute hand (or at least mark the hour hand).
The overall goal with this clock is for my child to watch the hour hand approach a marked time for a snack or a meal or nap time in order to visualize when those events are getting closer.
The problem is that the minute hand crosses each of the marked time slots every hour of the day, while the hour hand only crosses them once per day (once per day during the hours that my child is awake anyways…).
So I really need my child to watch the hour hand, not the minute hand. By removing the minute hand or at least marking the hour hand, my child knows which one to keep an eye on.
You’ll have to remove the clock face for this step. It was super easy to do- just take out the screws on the back of the clock.
The minute and second hands were easy to cut with scissors. I did leave a small bit of each hand so that I could set the time on the clock.
If you would rather not cut the minute hand, just mark the hour hand with a sticker or by painting it or using a sharpie to change its color. This will help it stand out so that your child knows to watch the hour hand.
Step 3: Use a sharpie to mark the times of various daily activities on the face of the clock.
Replace the face of the clock. Again- so easy, just screw the face back on.
I tried light-colored sharpies so that my child could still see the numbers under my markings.
As my child practices with the clock, I would like to start teaching her how the numbers correspond with the time, which corresponds with our daily activities. I really didn’t want to cover up the numbers with dark colors.
I found that the light green and yellow sharpies were TOO light. You could hardly see the color. But the darker pink and darker green were perfect!
****Idea- One limitation of this clock is that it still only works to help my child understand the daily routine, not to prepare for curve balls that life throws when the routine is thrown off.
If you want the clock to change based on what your plans are for the day, don’t use sharpies. Try using dry erase markers so that you can add different tasks or activities based on what new things are going on for the day!
Then just erase your clock at the end of the day so that you can put the next day’s tasks on the clock!
For my purposes, I color coded the clock using green and pink. Pink marks are for meals and snacks. Green marks are for naps and bedtime.
My child usually goes to sleep at 7pm and wakes up at 7am, so I marked from 7 to 7:15 in green to mark bedtime/wake up time. Her nap is around 1-3, so those times are marked in green.
Breakfast is between 7:15-8, lunch is between 12-12:45, dinner is between 5-6, and snacks are from 10-10:30am and 3-3:30pm. Those times are all blocked out in pink.
Marking a range of time during which we generally eat or sleep rather than marking one specific time allows some flexibility.
For example, we start lunch any time between 12:00 and 12: 45.
Step 4: Decorate it!
I have not been blessed with a talent for drawing, especially on a curved surface like the face of a clock, so it was surprisingly difficult to make my clock look cute!
In the end, I decided I’d better go simple. I outlined each different task in black sharpie to make the time slots nice and defined, added a boarder around the face of the clock, and called it good.
But let’s be real- kids aren’t judgmental. They love you no matter what, and they’re excited about new things with pretty colors. So I had nothing to worry about.
If my little one were a little older, I would probably invite her to decorate it herself.
Oh, and I also added labels on each routine so that my awesome husband knows what’s coming up next. He always wants to help but doesn’t always know how. Win Win!
Step 5: Set the time.
Just follow the directions on the package!
Step 6: Put your new tool to work!
Well, we completed our clock about a week ago.
My daughter is catching on fast. I make sure to show her the clock each time a snack, meal, nap, or bedtime comes up. She is starting to point to it all on her own when we are getting close to one of those times in our day.
I chose not to hang it on the wall. Rather, I keep it on the counter.
Giving My Daughter a Heads Up
When a meal or nap is coming up, I hand it to my daughter (she loves to hold it) point to the color coming up. I ask her, “Do you know what’s going to happen soon?” or “Do you know what’s coming up next?”
Then we talk about it and I give her a 5-minute opportunity to finish up whatever she’s doing before it’s time to transition.
Helping her Understand When She Needs to Wait
It’s so much easier to tell her that she needs to wait to eat! (She doesn’t mind waiting to take a nap….)
If she’s getting hungry just a few minutes before dad gets home from work, I just show her the clock and say, “It’s not time for dinner yet, but look how close it is! Almost time!” 
Then she can hold the clock and check back to watch as dinner time gets closer and closer.
I have noticed frustration levels for both me and my child decreasing every day! It’s so nice to have a simple way to help her look forward to what’s coming up next in her routine.
Did you try out this “Routines Clock”? How did it go?? Comment below!
Do you have any great ideas on how to make these clocks better? Tell us about it! Comment below!
I hope this resource helps some cute kids out there!
And parents, as always, keep up the good work!
(As a total side note, I recently learned about another amazing tool to help children with time! This one is a clock that lights up green when it is “wake up time.” If the child wakes up too early, the light is off so he knows to keep resting or engage in a quiet activity until the light turns green signaling that he can begin his day! AMAZING!)
Click on the image below! Mirari OK to Wake! Alarm Clock & Night-Light
Sincerely,
Mrs. S
Please share this post with a parent who could use some help teaching their kids about time!
Please comment, like, and subscribe to my weekly email list for updates on the world of parenting!!
Does your child struggle to understand time? Time is an abstract and difficult topic for young children. Here's an amazing DIY resource that will help you and your child! And the best part- it's less than $20 to make! Click here! Photo by Elena Koycheva on Unsplash This post may contain advertisements and/or links for products and services that I value.
0 notes
Photo by Elena Koycheva on Unsplash
This post may contain advertisements and/or links for products and services that I value. I offer recommendations to products and/or services that I find helpful in my own life as a mom. I may receive a commission based on viewer purchases or interactions with these ads. You will NOT be charged any extra money. All prices will stay the same for you whether your purchase items/services through links found on this site or not! 
Updated 2/13/2019
Hey Parents,
Did you ever notice that the concept of time is really tough for kids to understand– all the way from birth up until they are like 7 or 8?
It’s a real problem, because we use time to manage everything in our lives!
When to wake up,
when to go to daycare or the babysitter’s,
when to the store,
when to eat,
when to nap,
when we come home from work,
when to celebrate holidays,
when to go to parties,
when to take a bath,
when to go to bed….
And through all this, our poor children don’t even know what we’re talking about when we say, “We will get to have bath time at 7 o’clock. Please wait til then.”
How can we help kids understand what’s coming next in the day?
It’s no fun to be thrown into things without any warning or understanding. What would that feel like to have NO IDEA what is going to happen next until someone else decided for you? And you HAD to do it?? 
I would throw a fit too!
Subscribe today to receive your FREE Guide! 
Case in point-
I was feeling so sad for my poor daughter the other day. She was getting so frustrated because she couldn’t understand why it wasn’t time to eat dinner.
Having a family dinner is very important to us, so I was hoping she would wait until dad got home from work. We do this every day, but those last 15 minutes are always a battle! 
There’s got to be a way to fix it. I’m done fighting this every single day! 
I did what every mom does- I complained to my friends about our problems. My awesome sister-in-law Monica (an amazing mother of four who I really look up to) gave me the best idea!
She said that she had heard of a tool that you can make at home, DIY, for less than $20 that will help children better understand time and routines.
Ummm…. YES PLEASE!!!
I took her suggestions and added my own twists. I call it our “Routine Clock.”
I’m focusing on two parts of our daily routine- eating times (snacks and meals) and sleeping times (nap and bedtime) by marking those events on the face of an analog clock for my child to see.
Do you have any great ideas on how to improve this “Routine Clock”? Tell us about it! Comment below!
Step 1: Gather materials.
Here’s what you’ll need:
A cheap analog clock
Mainstay Sterling & Noble Wall Clock – Black
Sharpies
Sharpie 30078 Permanent Markers, Fine Point, Classic Colors, 8 Count
Scissors
AmazonBasics Multipurpose Scissors – 3-Pack
A screwdriver
TEKTON 2796 6-in-1 Screwdriver
Stickers, paint, or any other fun decorations your child might like!
RENOOK Stickers for Kids 1500+, 20 Different Sheets, 3D Puffy Stickers, Scrapbooking, Bullet Journals, Stickers for Adult, Including Animals, and More,Christmas Stickers for Kids. Crayola Washable Kids Paint, Classic Colors, 6 Count, Painting Supplies, Gift
Not required… But there were tiny screws that are easy to lose, so my husband’s magnetic tool tray might have come in handy. I wish I had thought of it beforehand.
Titan Tools 11061 Mini Magnetic Parts Tray
Step 2: Remove the minute hand (or at least mark the hour hand).
The overall goal with this clock is for my child to watch the hour hand approach a marked time for a snack or a meal or nap time in order to visualize when those events are getting closer.
The problem is that the minute hand crosses each of the marked time slots every hour of the day, while the hour hand only crosses them once per day (once per day during the hours that my child is awake anyways…).
So I really need my child to watch the hour hand, not the minute hand. By removing the minute hand or at least marking the hour hand, my child knows which one to keep an eye on.
You’ll have to remove the clock face for this step. It was super easy to do- just take out the screws on the back of the clock.
The minute and second hands were easy to cut with scissors. I did leave a small bit of each hand so that I could set the time on the clock.
If you would rather not cut the minute hand, just mark the hour hand with a sticker or by painting it or using a sharpie to change its color. This will help it stand out so that your child knows to watch the hour hand.
Step 3: Use a sharpie to mark the times of various daily activities on the face of the clock.
Replace the face of the clock. Again- so easy, just screw the face back on.
I tried light-colored sharpies so that my child could still see the numbers under my markings.
As my child practices with the clock, I would like to start teaching her how the numbers correspond with the time, which corresponds with our daily activities. I really didn’t want to cover up the numbers with dark colors.
I found that the light green and yellow sharpies were TOO light. You could hardly see the color. But the darker pink and darker green were perfect!
****Idea- One limitation of this clock is that it still only works to help my child understand the daily routine, not to prepare for curve balls that life throws when the routine is thrown off.
If you want the clock to change based on what your plans are for the day, don’t use sharpies. Try using dry erase markers so that you can add different tasks or activities based on what new things are going on for the day!
Then just erase your clock at the end of the day so that you can put the next day’s tasks on the clock!
For my purposes, I color coded the clock using green and pink. Pink marks are for meals and snacks. Green marks are for naps and bedtime.
My child usually goes to sleep at 7pm and wakes up at 7am, so I marked from 7 to 7:15 in green to mark bedtime/wake up time. Her nap is around 1-3, so those times are marked in green.
Breakfast is between 7:15-8, lunch is between 12-12:45, dinner is between 5-6, and snacks are from 10-10:30am and 3-3:30pm. Those times are all blocked out in pink.
Marking a range of time during which we generally eat or sleep rather than marking one specific time allows some flexibility.
For example, we start lunch any time between 12:00 and 12: 45.
Step 4: Decorate it!
I have not been blessed with a talent for drawing, especially on a curved surface like the face of a clock, so it was surprisingly difficult to make my clock look cute!
In the end, I decided I’d better go simple. I outlined each different task in black sharpie to make the time slots nice and defined, added a boarder around the face of the clock, and called it good.
But let’s be real- kids aren’t judgmental. They love you no matter what, and they’re excited about new things with pretty colors. So I had nothing to worry about.
If my little one were a little older, I would probably invite her to decorate it herself.
Oh, and I also added labels on each routine so that my awesome husband knows what’s coming up next. He always wants to help but doesn’t always know how. Win Win!
Step 5: Set the time.
Just follow the directions on the package!
Step 6: Put your new tool to work!
Well, we completed our clock about a week ago.
My daughter is catching on fast. I make sure to show her the clock each time a snack, meal, nap, or bedtime comes up. She is starting to point to it all on her own when we are getting close to one of those times in our day.
I chose not to hang it on the wall. Rather, I keep it on the counter.
Giving My Daughter a Heads Up
When a meal or nap is coming up, I hand it to my daughter (she loves to hold it) point to the color coming up. I ask her, “Do you know what’s going to happen soon?” or “Do you know what’s coming up next?”
Then we talk about it and I give her a 5-minute opportunity to finish up whatever she’s doing before it’s time to transition.
Helping her Understand When She Needs to Wait
It’s so much easier to tell her that she needs to wait to eat! (She doesn’t mind waiting to take a nap….)
If she’s getting hungry just a few minutes before dad gets home from work, I just show her the clock and say, “It’s not time for dinner yet, but look how close it is! Almost time!” 
Then she can hold the clock and check back to watch as dinner time gets closer and closer.
I have noticed frustration levels for both me and my child decreasing every day! It’s so nice to have a simple way to help her look forward to what’s coming up next in her routine.
Did you try out this “Routines Clock”? How did it go?? Comment below!
Do you have any great ideas on how to make these clocks better? Tell us about it! Comment below!
I hope this resource helps some cute kids out there!
And parents, as always, keep up the good work!
(As a total side note, I recently learned about another amazing tool to help children with time! This one is a clock that lights up green when it is “wake up time.” If the child wakes up too early, the light is off so he knows to keep resting or engage in a quiet activity until the light turns green signaling that he can begin his day! AMAZING!)
Click on the image below! Mirari OK to Wake! Alarm Clock & Night-Light
Sincerely,
Mrs. S
Please share this post with a parent who could use some help teaching their kids about time!
Please comment, like, and subscribe to my weekly email list for updates on the world of parenting!!
Does your child struggle to understand time? Time is an abstract and difficult topic for young children. Here's an amazing DIY resource that will help you and your child! And the best part- it's less than $20 to make! Click here! Photo by Elena Koycheva on Unsplash This post may contain advertisements and/or links for products and services that I value.
0 notes
Photo by Elena Koycheva on Unsplash
This post may contain advertisements and/or links for products and services that I value. I offer recommendations to products and/or services that I find helpful in my own life as a mom. I may receive a commission based on viewer purchases or interactions with these ads. You will NOT be charged any extra money. All prices will stay the same for you whether your purchase items/services through links found on this site or not! 
Updated 2/13/2019
Hey Parents,
Did you ever notice that the concept of time is really tough for kids to understand– all the way from birth up until they are like 7 or 8?
It’s a real problem, because we use time to manage everything in our lives!
When to wake up,
when to go to daycare or the babysitter’s,
when to the store,
when to eat,
when to nap,
when we come home from work,
when to celebrate holidays,
when to go to parties,
when to take a bath,
when to go to bed….
And through all this, our poor children don’t even know what we’re talking about when we say, “We will get to have bath time at 7 o’clock. Please wait til then.”
How can we help kids understand what’s coming next in the day?
It’s no fun to be thrown into things without any warning or understanding. What would that feel like to have NO IDEA what is going to happen next until someone else decided for you? And you HAD to do it?? 
I would throw a fit too!
Subscribe today to receive your FREE Guide! 
Case in point-
I was feeling so sad for my poor daughter the other day. She was getting so frustrated because she couldn’t understand why it wasn’t time to eat dinner.
Having a family dinner is very important to us, so I was hoping she would wait until dad got home from work. We do this every day, but those last 15 minutes are always a battle! 
There’s got to be a way to fix it. I’m done fighting this every single day! 
I did what every mom does- I complained to my friends about our problems. My awesome sister-in-law Monica (an amazing mother of four who I really look up to) gave me the best idea!
She said that she had heard of a tool that you can make at home, DIY, for less than $20 that will help children better understand time and routines.
Ummm…. YES PLEASE!!!
I took her suggestions and added my own twists. I call it our “Routine Clock.”
I’m focusing on two parts of our daily routine- eating times (snacks and meals) and sleeping times (nap and bedtime) by marking those events on the face of an analog clock for my child to see.
Do you have any great ideas on how to improve this “Routine Clock”? Tell us about it! Comment below!
Step 1: Gather materials.
Here’s what you’ll need:
A cheap analog clock
Mainstay Sterling & Noble Wall Clock – Black
Sharpies
Sharpie 30078 Permanent Markers, Fine Point, Classic Colors, 8 Count
Scissors
AmazonBasics Multipurpose Scissors – 3-Pack
A screwdriver
TEKTON 2796 6-in-1 Screwdriver
Stickers, paint, or any other fun decorations your child might like!
RENOOK Stickers for Kids 1500+, 20 Different Sheets, 3D Puffy Stickers, Scrapbooking, Bullet Journals, Stickers for Adult, Including Animals, and More,Christmas Stickers for Kids. Crayola Washable Kids Paint, Classic Colors, 6 Count, Painting Supplies, Gift
Not required… But there were tiny screws that are easy to lose, so my husband’s magnetic tool tray might have come in handy. I wish I had thought of it beforehand.
Titan Tools 11061 Mini Magnetic Parts Tray
Step 2: Remove the minute hand (or at least mark the hour hand).
The overall goal with this clock is for my child to watch the hour hand approach a marked time for a snack or a meal or nap time in order to visualize when those events are getting closer.
The problem is that the minute hand crosses each of the marked time slots every hour of the day, while the hour hand only crosses them once per day (once per day during the hours that my child is awake anyways…).
So I really need my child to watch the hour hand, not the minute hand. By removing the minute hand or at least marking the hour hand, my child knows which one to keep an eye on.
You’ll have to remove the clock face for this step. It was super easy to do- just take out the screws on the back of the clock.
The minute and second hands were easy to cut with scissors. I did leave a small bit of each hand so that I could set the time on the clock.
If you would rather not cut the minute hand, just mark the hour hand with a sticker or by painting it or using a sharpie to change its color. This will help it stand out so that your child knows to watch the hour hand.
Step 3: Use a sharpie to mark the times of various daily activities on the face of the clock.
Replace the face of the clock. Again- so easy, just screw the face back on.
I tried light-colored sharpies so that my child could still see the numbers under my markings.
As my child practices with the clock, I would like to start teaching her how the numbers correspond with the time, which corresponds with our daily activities. I really didn’t want to cover up the numbers with dark colors.
I found that the light green and yellow sharpies were TOO light. You could hardly see the color. But the darker pink and darker green were perfect!
****Idea- One limitation of this clock is that it still only works to help my child understand the daily routine, not to prepare for curve balls that life throws when the routine is thrown off.
If you want the clock to change based on what your plans are for the day, don’t use sharpies. Try using dry erase markers so that you can add different tasks or activities based on what new things are going on for the day!
Then just erase your clock at the end of the day so that you can put the next day’s tasks on the clock!
For my purposes, I color coded the clock using green and pink. Pink marks are for meals and snacks. Green marks are for naps and bedtime.
My child usually goes to sleep at 7pm and wakes up at 7am, so I marked from 7 to 7:15 in green to mark bedtime/wake up time. Her nap is around 1-3, so those times are marked in green.
Breakfast is between 7:15-8, lunch is between 12-12:45, dinner is between 5-6, and snacks are from 10-10:30am and 3-3:30pm. Those times are all blocked out in pink.
Marking a range of time during which we generally eat or sleep rather than marking one specific time allows some flexibility.
For example, we start lunch any time between 12:00 and 12: 45.
Step 4: Decorate it!
I have not been blessed with a talent for drawing, especially on a curved surface like the face of a clock, so it was surprisingly difficult to make my clock look cute!
In the end, I decided I’d better go simple. I outlined each different task in black sharpie to make the time slots nice and defined, added a boarder around the face of the clock, and called it good.
But let’s be real- kids aren’t judgmental. They love you no matter what, and they’re excited about new things with pretty colors. So I had nothing to worry about.
If my little one were a little older, I would probably invite her to decorate it herself.
Oh, and I also added labels on each routine so that my awesome husband knows what’s coming up next. He always wants to help but doesn’t always know how. Win Win!
Step 5: Set the time.
Just follow the directions on the package!
Step 6: Put your new tool to work!
Well, we completed our clock about a week ago.
My daughter is catching on fast. I make sure to show her the clock each time a snack, meal, nap, or bedtime comes up. She is starting to point to it all on her own when we are getting close to one of those times in our day.
I chose not to hang it on the wall. Rather, I keep it on the counter.
Giving My Daughter a Heads Up
When a meal or nap is coming up, I hand it to my daughter (she loves to hold it) point to the color coming up. I ask her, “Do you know what’s going to happen soon?” or “Do you know what’s coming up next?”
Then we talk about it and I give her a 5-minute opportunity to finish up whatever she’s doing before it’s time to transition.
Helping her Understand When She Needs to Wait
It’s so much easier to tell her that she needs to wait to eat! (She doesn’t mind waiting to take a nap….)
If she’s getting hungry just a few minutes before dad gets home from work, I just show her the clock and say, “It’s not time for dinner yet, but look how close it is! Almost time!” 
Then she can hold the clock and check back to watch as dinner time gets closer and closer.
I have noticed frustration levels for both me and my child decreasing every day! It’s so nice to have a simple way to help her look forward to what’s coming up next in her routine.
Did you try out this “Routines Clock”? How did it go?? Comment below!
Do you have any great ideas on how to make these clocks better? Tell us about it! Comment below!
I hope this resource helps some cute kids out there!
And parents, as always, keep up the good work!
(As a total side note, I recently learned about another amazing tool to help children with time! This one is a clock that lights up green when it is “wake up time.” If the child wakes up too early, the light is off so he knows to keep resting or engage in a quiet activity until the light turns green signaling that he can begin his day! AMAZING!)
Click on the image below! Mirari OK to Wake! Alarm Clock & Night-Light
Sincerely,
Mrs. S
Please share this post with a parent who could use some help teaching their kids about time!
Please comment, like, and subscribe to my weekly email list for updates on the world of parenting!!
Does your child struggle to understand time? Time is an abstract and difficult topic for young children. Here's an amazing DIY resource that will help you and your child! And the best part- it's less than $20 to make! Click here! Photo by Elena Koycheva on Unsplash This post may contain advertisements and/or links for products and services that I value.
0 notes
Photo by Elena Koycheva on Unsplash
This post may contain advertisements and/or links for products and services that I value. I offer recommendations to products and/or services that I find helpful in my own life as a mom. I may receive a commission based on viewer purchases or interactions with these ads. You will NOT be charged any extra money. All prices will stay the same for you whether your purchase items/services through links found on this site or not! 
Updated 2/13/2019
Hey Parents,
Did you ever notice that the concept of time is really tough for kids to understand– all the way from birth up until they are like 7 or 8?
It’s a real problem, because we use time to manage everything in our lives!
When to wake up,
when to go to daycare or the babysitter’s,
when to the store,
when to eat,
when to nap,
when we come home from work,
when to celebrate holidays,
when to go to parties,
when to take a bath,
when to go to bed….
And through all this, our poor children don’t even know what we’re talking about when we say, “We will get to have bath time at 7 o’clock. Please wait til then.”
How can we help kids understand what’s coming next in the day?
It’s no fun to be thrown into things without any warning or understanding. What would that feel like to have NO IDEA what is going to happen next until someone else decided for you? And you HAD to do it?? 
I would throw a fit too!
Subscribe today to receive your FREE Guide! 
Case in point-
I was feeling so sad for my poor daughter the other day. She was getting so frustrated because she couldn’t understand why it wasn’t time to eat dinner.
Having a family dinner is very important to us, so I was hoping she would wait until dad got home from work. We do this every day, but those last 15 minutes are always a battle! 
There’s got to be a way to fix it. I’m done fighting this every single day! 
I did what every mom does- I complained to my friends about our problems. My awesome sister-in-law Monica (an amazing mother of four who I really look up to) gave me the best idea!
She said that she had heard of a tool that you can make at home, DIY, for less than $20 that will help children better understand time and routines.
Ummm…. YES PLEASE!!!
I took her suggestions and added my own twists. I call it our “Routine Clock.”
I’m focusing on two parts of our daily routine- eating times (snacks and meals) and sleeping times (nap and bedtime) by marking those events on the face of an analog clock for my child to see.
Do you have any great ideas on how to improve this “Routine Clock”? Tell us about it! Comment below!
Step 1: Gather materials.
Here’s what you’ll need:
A cheap analog clock
Mainstay Sterling & Noble Wall Clock – Black
Sharpies
Sharpie 30078 Permanent Markers, Fine Point, Classic Colors, 8 Count
Scissors
AmazonBasics Multipurpose Scissors – 3-Pack
A screwdriver
TEKTON 2796 6-in-1 Screwdriver
Stickers, paint, or any other fun decorations your child might like!
RENOOK Stickers for Kids 1500+, 20 Different Sheets, 3D Puffy Stickers, Scrapbooking, Bullet Journals, Stickers for Adult, Including Animals, and More,Christmas Stickers for Kids. Crayola Washable Kids Paint, Classic Colors, 6 Count, Painting Supplies, Gift
Not required… But there were tiny screws that are easy to lose, so my husband’s magnetic tool tray might have come in handy. I wish I had thought of it beforehand.
Titan Tools 11061 Mini Magnetic Parts Tray
Step 2: Remove the minute hand (or at least mark the hour hand).
The overall goal with this clock is for my child to watch the hour hand approach a marked time for a snack or a meal or nap time in order to visualize when those events are getting closer.
The problem is that the minute hand crosses each of the marked time slots every hour of the day, while the hour hand only crosses them once per day (once per day during the hours that my child is awake anyways…).
So I really need my child to watch the hour hand, not the minute hand. By removing the minute hand or at least marking the hour hand, my child knows which one to keep an eye on.
You’ll have to remove the clock face for this step. It was super easy to do- just take out the screws on the back of the clock.
The minute and second hands were easy to cut with scissors. I did leave a small bit of each hand so that I could set the time on the clock.
If you would rather not cut the minute hand, just mark the hour hand with a sticker or by painting it or using a sharpie to change its color. This will help it stand out so that your child knows to watch the hour hand.
Step 3: Use a sharpie to mark the times of various daily activities on the face of the clock.
Replace the face of the clock. Again- so easy, just screw the face back on.
I tried light-colored sharpies so that my child could still see the numbers under my markings.
As my child practices with the clock, I would like to start teaching her how the numbers correspond with the time, which corresponds with our daily activities. I really didn’t want to cover up the numbers with dark colors.
I found that the light green and yellow sharpies were TOO light. You could hardly see the color. But the darker pink and darker green were perfect!
****Idea- One limitation of this clock is that it still only works to help my child understand the daily routine, not to prepare for curve balls that life throws when the routine is thrown off.
If you want the clock to change based on what your plans are for the day, don’t use sharpies. Try using dry erase markers so that you can add different tasks or activities based on what new things are going on for the day!
Then just erase your clock at the end of the day so that you can put the next day’s tasks on the clock!
For my purposes, I color coded the clock using green and pink. Pink marks are for meals and snacks. Green marks are for naps and bedtime.
My child usually goes to sleep at 7pm and wakes up at 7am, so I marked from 7 to 7:15 in green to mark bedtime/wake up time. Her nap is around 1-3, so those times are marked in green.
Breakfast is between 7:15-8, lunch is between 12-12:45, dinner is between 5-6, and snacks are from 10-10:30am and 3-3:30pm. Those times are all blocked out in pink.
Marking a range of time during which we generally eat or sleep rather than marking one specific time allows some flexibility.
For example, we start lunch any time between 12:00 and 12: 45.
Step 4: Decorate it!
I have not been blessed with a talent for drawing, especially on a curved surface like the face of a clock, so it was surprisingly difficult to make my clock look cute!
In the end, I decided I’d better go simple. I outlined each different task in black sharpie to make the time slots nice and defined, added a boarder around the face of the clock, and called it good.
But let’s be real- kids aren’t judgmental. They love you no matter what, and they’re excited about new things with pretty colors. So I had nothing to worry about.
If my little one were a little older, I would probably invite her to decorate it herself.
Oh, and I also added labels on each routine so that my awesome husband knows what’s coming up next. He always wants to help but doesn’t always know how. Win Win!
Step 5: Set the time.
Just follow the directions on the package!
Step 6: Put your new tool to work!
Well, we completed our clock about a week ago.
My daughter is catching on fast. I make sure to show her the clock each time a snack, meal, nap, or bedtime comes up. She is starting to point to it all on her own when we are getting close to one of those times in our day.
I chose not to hang it on the wall. Rather, I keep it on the counter.
Giving My Daughter a Heads Up
When a meal or nap is coming up, I hand it to my daughter (she loves to hold it) point to the color coming up. I ask her, “Do you know what’s going to happen soon?” or “Do you know what’s coming up next?”
Then we talk about it and I give her a 5-minute opportunity to finish up whatever she’s doing before it’s time to transition.
Helping her Understand When She Needs to Wait
It’s so much easier to tell her that she needs to wait to eat! (She doesn’t mind waiting to take a nap….)
If she’s getting hungry just a few minutes before dad gets home from work, I just show her the clock and say, “It’s not time for dinner yet, but look how close it is! Almost time!” 
Then she can hold the clock and check back to watch as dinner time gets closer and closer.
I have noticed frustration levels for both me and my child decreasing every day! It’s so nice to have a simple way to help her look forward to what’s coming up next in her routine.
Did you try out this “Routines Clock”? How did it go?? Comment below!
Do you have any great ideas on how to make these clocks better? Tell us about it! Comment below!
I hope this resource helps some cute kids out there!
And parents, as always, keep up the good work!
(As a total side note, I recently learned about another amazing tool to help children with time! This one is a clock that lights up green when it is “wake up time.” If the child wakes up too early, the light is off so he knows to keep resting or engage in a quiet activity until the light turns green signaling that he can begin his day! AMAZING!)
Click on the image below! Mirari OK to Wake! Alarm Clock & Night-Light
Sincerely,
Mrs. S
Please share this post with a parent who could use some help teaching their kids about time!
Please comment, like, and subscribe to my weekly email list for updates on the world of parenting!!
Does your child struggle to understand time? Time is an abstract and difficult topic for young children. Here's an amazing DIY resource that will help you and your child! And the best part- it's less than $20 to make! Click here! Photo by Elena Koycheva on Unsplash This post may contain advertisements and/or links for products and services that I value.
0 notes
Photo by Elena Koycheva on Unsplash
This post may contain advertisements and/or links for products and services that I value. I offer recommendations to products and/or services that I find helpful in my own life as a mom. I may receive a commission based on viewer purchases or interactions with these ads. You will NOT be charged any extra money. All prices will stay the same for you whether your purchase items/services through links found on this site or not! 
Updated 2/13/2019
Hey Parents,
Did you ever notice that the concept of time is really tough for kids to understand– all the way from birth up until they are like 7 or 8?
It’s a real problem, because we use time to manage everything in our lives!
When to wake up,
when to go to daycare or the babysitter’s,
when to the store,
when to eat,
when to nap,
when we come home from work,
when to celebrate holidays,
when to go to parties,
when to take a bath,
when to go to bed….
And through all this, our poor children don’t even know what we’re talking about when we say, “We will get to have bath time at 7 o’clock. Please wait til then.”
How can we help kids understand what’s coming next in the day?
It’s no fun to be thrown into things without any warning or understanding. What would that feel like to have NO IDEA what is going to happen next until someone else decided for you? And you HAD to do it?? 
I would throw a fit too!
Subscribe today to receive your FREE Guide! 
Case in point-
I was feeling so sad for my poor daughter the other day. She was getting so frustrated because she couldn’t understand why it wasn’t time to eat dinner.
Having a family dinner is very important to us, so I was hoping she would wait until dad got home from work. We do this every day, but those last 15 minutes are always a battle! 
There’s got to be a way to fix it. I’m done fighting this every single day! 
I did what every mom does- I complained to my friends about our problems. My awesome sister-in-law Monica (an amazing mother of four who I really look up to) gave me the best idea!
She said that she had heard of a tool that you can make at home, DIY, for less than $20 that will help children better understand time and routines.
Ummm…. YES PLEASE!!!
I took her suggestions and added my own twists. I call it our “Routine Clock.”
I’m focusing on two parts of our daily routine- eating times (snacks and meals) and sleeping times (nap and bedtime) by marking those events on the face of an analog clock for my child to see.
Do you have any great ideas on how to improve this “Routine Clock”? Tell us about it! Comment below!
Step 1: Gather materials.
Here’s what you’ll need:
A cheap analog clock
Mainstay Sterling & Noble Wall Clock – Black
Sharpies
Sharpie 30078 Permanent Markers, Fine Point, Classic Colors, 8 Count
Scissors
AmazonBasics Multipurpose Scissors – 3-Pack
A screwdriver
TEKTON 2796 6-in-1 Screwdriver
Stickers, paint, or any other fun decorations your child might like!
RENOOK Stickers for Kids 1500+, 20 Different Sheets, 3D Puffy Stickers, Scrapbooking, Bullet Journals, Stickers for Adult, Including Animals, and More,Christmas Stickers for Kids. Crayola Washable Kids Paint, Classic Colors, 6 Count, Painting Supplies, Gift
Not required… But there were tiny screws that are easy to lose, so my husband’s magnetic tool tray might have come in handy. I wish I had thought of it beforehand.
Titan Tools 11061 Mini Magnetic Parts Tray
Step 2: Remove the minute hand (or at least mark the hour hand).
The overall goal with this clock is for my child to watch the hour hand approach a marked time for a snack or a meal or nap time in order to visualize when those events are getting closer.
The problem is that the minute hand crosses each of the marked time slots every hour of the day, while the hour hand only crosses them once per day (once per day during the hours that my child is awake anyways…).
So I really need my child to watch the hour hand, not the minute hand. By removing the minute hand or at least marking the hour hand, my child knows which one to keep an eye on.
You’ll have to remove the clock face for this step. It was super easy to do- just take out the screws on the back of the clock.
The minute and second hands were easy to cut with scissors. I did leave a small bit of each hand so that I could set the time on the clock.
If you would rather not cut the minute hand, just mark the hour hand with a sticker or by painting it or using a sharpie to change its color. This will help it stand out so that your child knows to watch the hour hand.
Step 3: Use a sharpie to mark the times of various daily activities on the face of the clock.
Replace the face of the clock. Again- so easy, just screw the face back on.
I tried light-colored sharpies so that my child could still see the numbers under my markings.
As my child practices with the clock, I would like to start teaching her how the numbers correspond with the time, which corresponds with our daily activities. I really didn’t want to cover up the numbers with dark colors.
I found that the light green and yellow sharpies were TOO light. You could hardly see the color. But the darker pink and darker green were perfect!
****Idea- One limitation of this clock is that it still only works to help my child understand the daily routine, not to prepare for curve balls that life throws when the routine is thrown off.
If you want the clock to change based on what your plans are for the day, don’t use sharpies. Try using dry erase markers so that you can add different tasks or activities based on what new things are going on for the day!
Then just erase your clock at the end of the day so that you can put the next day’s tasks on the clock!
For my purposes, I color coded the clock using green and pink. Pink marks are for meals and snacks. Green marks are for naps and bedtime.
My child usually goes to sleep at 7pm and wakes up at 7am, so I marked from 7 to 7:15 in green to mark bedtime/wake up time. Her nap is around 1-3, so those times are marked in green.
Breakfast is between 7:15-8, lunch is between 12-12:45, dinner is between 5-6, and snacks are from 10-10:30am and 3-3:30pm. Those times are all blocked out in pink.
Marking a range of time during which we generally eat or sleep rather than marking one specific time allows some flexibility.
For example, we start lunch any time between 12:00 and 12: 45.
Step 4: Decorate it!
I have not been blessed with a talent for drawing, especially on a curved surface like the face of a clock, so it was surprisingly difficult to make my clock look cute!
In the end, I decided I’d better go simple. I outlined each different task in black sharpie to make the time slots nice and defined, added a boarder around the face of the clock, and called it good.
But let’s be real- kids aren’t judgmental. They love you no matter what, and they’re excited about new things with pretty colors. So I had nothing to worry about.
If my little one were a little older, I would probably invite her to decorate it herself.
Oh, and I also added labels on each routine so that my awesome husband knows what’s coming up next. He always wants to help but doesn’t always know how. Win Win!
Step 5: Set the time.
Just follow the directions on the package!
Step 6: Put your new tool to work!
Well, we completed our clock about a week ago.
My daughter is catching on fast. I make sure to show her the clock each time a snack, meal, nap, or bedtime comes up. She is starting to point to it all on her own when we are getting close to one of those times in our day.
I chose not to hang it on the wall. Rather, I keep it on the counter.
Giving My Daughter a Heads Up
When a meal or nap is coming up, I hand it to my daughter (she loves to hold it) point to the color coming up. I ask her, “Do you know what’s going to happen soon?” or “Do you know what’s coming up next?”
Then we talk about it and I give her a 5-minute opportunity to finish up whatever she’s doing before it’s time to transition.
Helping her Understand When She Needs to Wait
It’s so much easier to tell her that she needs to wait to eat! (She doesn’t mind waiting to take a nap….)
If she’s getting hungry just a few minutes before dad gets home from work, I just show her the clock and say, “It’s not time for dinner yet, but look how close it is! Almost time!” 
Then she can hold the clock and check back to watch as dinner time gets closer and closer.
I have noticed frustration levels for both me and my child decreasing every day! It’s so nice to have a simple way to help her look forward to what’s coming up next in her routine.
Did you try out this “Routines Clock”? How did it go?? Comment below!
Do you have any great ideas on how to make these clocks better? Tell us about it! Comment below!
I hope this resource helps some cute kids out there!
And parents, as always, keep up the good work!
(As a total side note, I recently learned about another amazing tool to help children with time! This one is a clock that lights up green when it is “wake up time.” If the child wakes up too early, the light is off so he knows to keep resting or engage in a quiet activity until the light turns green signaling that he can begin his day! AMAZING!)
Click on the image below! Mirari OK to Wake! Alarm Clock & Night-Light
Sincerely,
Mrs. S
Please share this post with a parent who could use some help teaching their kids about time!
Please comment, like, and subscribe to my weekly email list for updates on the world of parenting!!
Does your child struggle to understand time? Time is an abstract and difficult topic for young children. Here's an amazing DIY resource that will help you and your child! And the best part- it's less than $20 to make! Click here! Photo by Elena Koycheva on Unsplash This post may contain advertisements and/or links for products and services that I value.
0 notes
Photo by Elena Koycheva on Unsplash
This post may contain advertisements and/or links for products and services that I value. I offer recommendations to products and/or services that I find helpful in my own life as a mom. I may receive a commission based on viewer purchases or interactions with these ads. You will NOT be charged any extra money. All prices will stay the same for you whether your purchase items/services through links found on this site or not! 
Updated 2/13/2019
Hey Parents,
Did you ever notice that the concept of time is really tough for kids to understand– all the way from birth up until they are like 7 or 8?
It’s a real problem, because we use time to manage everything in our lives!
When to wake up,
when to go to daycare or the babysitter’s,
when to the store,
when to eat,
when to nap,
when we come home from work,
when to celebrate holidays,
when to go to parties,
when to take a bath,
when to go to bed….
And through all this, our poor children don’t even know what we’re talking about when we say, “We will get to have bath time at 7 o’clock. Please wait til then.”
How can we help kids understand what’s coming next in the day?
It’s no fun to be thrown into things without any warning or understanding. What would that feel like to have NO IDEA what is going to happen next until someone else decided for you? And you HAD to do it?? 
I would throw a fit too!
Subscribe today to receive your FREE Guide! 
Case in point-
I was feeling so sad for my poor daughter the other day. She was getting so frustrated because she couldn’t understand why it wasn’t time to eat dinner.
Having a family dinner is very important to us, so I was hoping she would wait until dad got home from work. We do this every day, but those last 15 minutes are always a battle! 
There’s got to be a way to fix it. I’m done fighting this every single day! 
I did what every mom does- I complained to my friends about our problems. My awesome sister-in-law Monica (an amazing mother of four who I really look up to) gave me the best idea!
She said that she had heard of a tool that you can make at home, DIY, for less than $20 that will help children better understand time and routines.
Ummm…. YES PLEASE!!!
I took her suggestions and added my own twists. I call it our “Routine Clock.”
I’m focusing on two parts of our daily routine- eating times (snacks and meals) and sleeping times (nap and bedtime) by marking those events on the face of an analog clock for my child to see.
Do you have any great ideas on how to improve this “Routine Clock”? Tell us about it! Comment below!
Step 1: Gather materials.
Here’s what you’ll need:
A cheap analog clock
Mainstay Sterling & Noble Wall Clock – Black
Sharpies
Sharpie 30078 Permanent Markers, Fine Point, Classic Colors, 8 Count
Scissors
AmazonBasics Multipurpose Scissors – 3-Pack
A screwdriver
TEKTON 2796 6-in-1 Screwdriver
Stickers, paint, or any other fun decorations your child might like!
RENOOK Stickers for Kids 1500+, 20 Different Sheets, 3D Puffy Stickers, Scrapbooking, Bullet Journals, Stickers for Adult, Including Animals, and More,Christmas Stickers for Kids. Crayola Washable Kids Paint, Classic Colors, 6 Count, Painting Supplies, Gift
Not required… But there were tiny screws that are easy to lose, so my husband’s magnetic tool tray might have come in handy. I wish I had thought of it beforehand.
Titan Tools 11061 Mini Magnetic Parts Tray
Step 2: Remove the minute hand (or at least mark the hour hand).
The overall goal with this clock is for my child to watch the hour hand approach a marked time for a snack or a meal or nap time in order to visualize when those events are getting closer.
The problem is that the minute hand crosses each of the marked time slots every hour of the day, while the hour hand only crosses them once per day (once per day during the hours that my child is awake anyways…).
So I really need my child to watch the hour hand, not the minute hand. By removing the minute hand or at least marking the hour hand, my child knows which one to keep an eye on.
You’ll have to remove the clock face for this step. It was super easy to do- just take out the screws on the back of the clock.
The minute and second hands were easy to cut with scissors. I did leave a small bit of each hand so that I could set the time on the clock.
If you would rather not cut the minute hand, just mark the hour hand with a sticker or by painting it or using a sharpie to change its color. This will help it stand out so that your child knows to watch the hour hand.
Step 3: Use a sharpie to mark the times of various daily activities on the face of the clock.
Replace the face of the clock. Again- so easy, just screw the face back on.
I tried light-colored sharpies so that my child could still see the numbers under my markings.
As my child practices with the clock, I would like to start teaching her how the numbers correspond with the time, which corresponds with our daily activities. I really didn’t want to cover up the numbers with dark colors.
I found that the light green and yellow sharpies were TOO light. You could hardly see the color. But the darker pink and darker green were perfect!
****Idea- One limitation of this clock is that it still only works to help my child understand the daily routine, not to prepare for curve balls that life throws when the routine is thrown off.
If you want the clock to change based on what your plans are for the day, don’t use sharpies. Try using dry erase markers so that you can add different tasks or activities based on what new things are going on for the day!
Then just erase your clock at the end of the day so that you can put the next day’s tasks on the clock!
For my purposes, I color coded the clock using green and pink. Pink marks are for meals and snacks. Green marks are for naps and bedtime.
My child usually goes to sleep at 7pm and wakes up at 7am, so I marked from 7 to 7:15 in green to mark bedtime/wake up time. Her nap is around 1-3, so those times are marked in green.
Breakfast is between 7:15-8, lunch is between 12-12:45, dinner is between 5-6, and snacks are from 10-10:30am and 3-3:30pm. Those times are all blocked out in pink.
Marking a range of time during which we generally eat or sleep rather than marking one specific time allows some flexibility.
For example, we start lunch any time between 12:00 and 12: 45.
Step 4: Decorate it!
I have not been blessed with a talent for drawing, especially on a curved surface like the face of a clock, so it was surprisingly difficult to make my clock look cute!
In the end, I decided I’d better go simple. I outlined each different task in black sharpie to make the time slots nice and defined, added a boarder around the face of the clock, and called it good.
But let’s be real- kids aren’t judgmental. They love you no matter what, and they’re excited about new things with pretty colors. So I had nothing to worry about.
If my little one were a little older, I would probably invite her to decorate it herself.
Oh, and I also added labels on each routine so that my awesome husband knows what’s coming up next. He always wants to help but doesn’t always know how. Win Win!
Step 5: Set the time.
Just follow the directions on the package!
Step 6: Put your new tool to work!
Well, we completed our clock about a week ago.
My daughter is catching on fast. I make sure to show her the clock each time a snack, meal, nap, or bedtime comes up. She is starting to point to it all on her own when we are getting close to one of those times in our day.
I chose not to hang it on the wall. Rather, I keep it on the counter.
Giving My Daughter a Heads Up
When a meal or nap is coming up, I hand it to my daughter (she loves to hold it) point to the color coming up. I ask her, “Do you know what’s going to happen soon?” or “Do you know what’s coming up next?”
Then we talk about it and I give her a 5-minute opportunity to finish up whatever she’s doing before it’s time to transition.
Helping her Understand When She Needs to Wait
It’s so much easier to tell her that she needs to wait to eat! (She doesn’t mind waiting to take a nap….)
If she’s getting hungry just a few minutes before dad gets home from work, I just show her the clock and say, “It’s not time for dinner yet, but look how close it is! Almost time!” 
Then she can hold the clock and check back to watch as dinner time gets closer and closer.
I have noticed frustration levels for both me and my child decreasing every day! It’s so nice to have a simple way to help her look forward to what’s coming up next in her routine.
Did you try out this “Routines Clock”? How did it go?? Comment below!
Do you have any great ideas on how to make these clocks better? Tell us about it! Comment below!
I hope this resource helps some cute kids out there!
And parents, as always, keep up the good work!
(As a total side note, I recently learned about another amazing tool to help children with time! This one is a clock that lights up green when it is “wake up time.” If the child wakes up too early, the light is off so he knows to keep resting or engage in a quiet activity until the light turns green signaling that he can begin his day! AMAZING!)
Click on the image below! Mirari OK to Wake! Alarm Clock & Night-Light
Sincerely,
Mrs. S
Please share this post with a parent who could use some help teaching their kids about time!
Please comment, like, and subscribe to my weekly email list for updates on the world of parenting!!
Does your child struggle to understand time? Time is an abstract and difficult topic for young children. Here's an amazing DIY resource that will help you and your child! And the best part- it's less than $20 to make! Click here! Photo by Elena Koycheva on Unsplash This post may contain advertisements and/or links for products and services that I value.
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Photo by Elena Koycheva on Unsplash
This post may contain advertisements and/or links for products and services that I value. I offer recommendations to products and/or services that I find helpful in my own life as a mom. I may receive a commission based on viewer purchases or interactions with these ads. You will NOT be charged any extra money. All prices will stay the same for you whether your purchase items/services through links found on this site or not! 
Updated 2/13/2019
Hey Parents,
Did you ever notice that the concept of time is really tough for kids to understand– all the way from birth up until they are like 7 or 8?
It’s a real problem, because we use time to manage everything in our lives!
When to wake up,
when to go to daycare or the babysitter’s,
when to the store,
when to eat,
when to nap,
when we come home from work,
when to celebrate holidays,
when to go to parties,
when to take a bath,
when to go to bed….
And through all this, our poor children don’t even know what we’re talking about when we say, “We will get to have bath time at 7 o’clock. Please wait til then.”
How can we help kids understand what’s coming next in the day?
It’s no fun to be thrown into things without any warning or understanding. What would that feel like to have NO IDEA what is going to happen next until someone else decided for you? And you HAD to do it?? 
I would throw a fit too!
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Case in point-
I was feeling so sad for my poor daughter the other day. She was getting so frustrated because she couldn’t understand why it wasn’t time to eat dinner.
Having a family dinner is very important to us, so I was hoping she would wait until dad got home from work. We do this every day, but those last 15 minutes are always a battle! 
There’s got to be a way to fix it. I’m done fighting this every single day! 
I did what every mom does- I complained to my friends about our problems. My awesome sister-in-law Monica (an amazing mother of four who I really look up to) gave me the best idea!
She said that she had heard of a tool that you can make at home, DIY, for less than $20 that will help children better understand time and routines.
Ummm…. YES PLEASE!!!
I took her suggestions and added my own twists. I call it our “Routine Clock.”
I’m focusing on two parts of our daily routine- eating times (snacks and meals) and sleeping times (nap and bedtime) by marking those events on the face of an analog clock for my child to see.
Do you have any great ideas on how to improve this “Routine Clock”? Tell us about it! Comment below!
Step 1: Gather materials.
Here’s what you’ll need:
A cheap analog clock
Mainstay Sterling & Noble Wall Clock – Black
Sharpies
Sharpie 30078 Permanent Markers, Fine Point, Classic Colors, 8 Count
Scissors
AmazonBasics Multipurpose Scissors – 3-Pack
A screwdriver
TEKTON 2796 6-in-1 Screwdriver
Stickers, paint, or any other fun decorations your child might like!
RENOOK Stickers for Kids 1500+, 20 Different Sheets, 3D Puffy Stickers, Scrapbooking, Bullet Journals, Stickers for Adult, Including Animals, and More,Christmas Stickers for Kids. Crayola Washable Kids Paint, Classic Colors, 6 Count, Painting Supplies, Gift
Not required… But there were tiny screws that are easy to lose, so my husband’s magnetic tool tray might have come in handy. I wish I had thought of it beforehand.
Titan Tools 11061 Mini Magnetic Parts Tray
Step 2: Remove the minute hand (or at least mark the hour hand).
The overall goal with this clock is for my child to watch the hour hand approach a marked time for a snack or a meal or nap time in order to visualize when those events are getting closer.
The problem is that the minute hand crosses each of the marked time slots every hour of the day, while the hour hand only crosses them once per day (once per day during the hours that my child is awake anyways…).
So I really need my child to watch the hour hand, not the minute hand. By removing the minute hand or at least marking the hour hand, my child knows which one to keep an eye on.
You’ll have to remove the clock face for this step. It was super easy to do- just take out the screws on the back of the clock.
The minute and second hands were easy to cut with scissors. I did leave a small bit of each hand so that I could set the time on the clock.
If you would rather not cut the minute hand, just mark the hour hand with a sticker or by painting it or using a sharpie to change its color. This will help it stand out so that your child knows to watch the hour hand.
Step 3: Use a sharpie to mark the times of various daily activities on the face of the clock.
Replace the face of the clock. Again- so easy, just screw the face back on.
I tried light-colored sharpies so that my child could still see the numbers under my markings.
As my child practices with the clock, I would like to start teaching her how the numbers correspond with the time, which corresponds with our daily activities. I really didn’t want to cover up the numbers with dark colors.
I found that the light green and yellow sharpies were TOO light. You could hardly see the color. But the darker pink and darker green were perfect!
****Idea- One limitation of this clock is that it still only works to help my child understand the daily routine, not to prepare for curve balls that life throws when the routine is thrown off.
If you want the clock to change based on what your plans are for the day, don’t use sharpies. Try using dry erase markers so that you can add different tasks or activities based on what new things are going on for the day!
Then just erase your clock at the end of the day so that you can put the next day’s tasks on the clock!
For my purposes, I color coded the clock using green and pink. Pink marks are for meals and snacks. Green marks are for naps and bedtime.
My child usually goes to sleep at 7pm and wakes up at 7am, so I marked from 7 to 7:15 in green to mark bedtime/wake up time. Her nap is around 1-3, so those times are marked in green.
Breakfast is between 7:15-8, lunch is between 12-12:45, dinner is between 5-6, and snacks are from 10-10:30am and 3-3:30pm. Those times are all blocked out in pink.
Marking a range of time during which we generally eat or sleep rather than marking one specific time allows some flexibility.
For example, we start lunch any time between 12:00 and 12: 45.
Step 4: Decorate it!
I have not been blessed with a talent for drawing, especially on a curved surface like the face of a clock, so it was surprisingly difficult to make my clock look cute!
In the end, I decided I’d better go simple. I outlined each different task in black sharpie to make the time slots nice and defined, added a boarder around the face of the clock, and called it good.
But let’s be real- kids aren’t judgmental. They love you no matter what, and they’re excited about new things with pretty colors. So I had nothing to worry about.
If my little one were a little older, I would probably invite her to decorate it herself.
Oh, and I also added labels on each routine so that my awesome husband knows what’s coming up next. He always wants to help but doesn’t always know how. Win Win!
Step 5: Set the time.
Just follow the directions on the package!
Step 6: Put your new tool to work!
Well, we completed our clock about a week ago.
My daughter is catching on fast. I make sure to show her the clock each time a snack, meal, nap, or bedtime comes up. She is starting to point to it all on her own when we are getting close to one of those times in our day.
I chose not to hang it on the wall. Rather, I keep it on the counter.
Giving My Daughter a Heads Up
When a meal or nap is coming up, I hand it to my daughter (she loves to hold it) point to the color coming up. I ask her, “Do you know what’s going to happen soon?” or “Do you know what’s coming up next?”
Then we talk about it and I give her a 5-minute opportunity to finish up whatever she’s doing before it’s time to transition.
Helping her Understand When She Needs to Wait
It’s so much easier to tell her that she needs to wait to eat! (She doesn’t mind waiting to take a nap….)
If she’s getting hungry just a few minutes before dad gets home from work, I just show her the clock and say, “It’s not time for dinner yet, but look how close it is! Almost time!” 
Then she can hold the clock and check back to watch as dinner time gets closer and closer.
I have noticed frustration levels for both me and my child decreasing every day! It’s so nice to have a simple way to help her look forward to what’s coming up next in her routine.
Did you try out this “Routines Clock”? How did it go?? Comment below!
Do you have any great ideas on how to make these clocks better? Tell us about it! Comment below!
I hope this resource helps some cute kids out there!
And parents, as always, keep up the good work!
(As a total side note, I recently learned about another amazing tool to help children with time! This one is a clock that lights up green when it is “wake up time.” If the child wakes up too early, the light is off so he knows to keep resting or engage in a quiet activity until the light turns green signaling that he can begin his day! AMAZING!)
Click on the image below! Mirari OK to Wake! Alarm Clock & Night-Light
Sincerely,
Mrs. S
Please share this post with a parent who could use some help teaching their kids about time!
Please comment, like, and subscribe to my weekly email list for updates on the world of parenting!!
Does your child struggle to understand time? Time is an abstract and difficult topic for young children. Here's an amazing DIY resource that will help you and your child! And the best part- it's less than $20 to make! Click here! Photo by Elena Koycheva on Unsplash This post may contain advertisements and/or links for products and services that I value.
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