So you've been up since 4 a.m.?

[Shoo]

Why, yes!  Yes, I have.

It seems that Shoo Jr. (6 years old) woke up and discovered that Santa had visited, so decided it was time for everyone else to get up too.

Dh just groaned and said "No way" and rolled over.  If I, however, am awakened after getting 6 hours of sleep, I cannot fall back to sleep no matter how hard I try.  So I am up.

DD has fallen asleep on the couch.  This, after having bounced off the walls for the past hour.  Her eyes were as big as saucers when she saw the presents under the tree.  But I was firm in my resolve that we would be waiting until it was at least daylight to open gifts.

Yawn.

[IndianInlaw]

Enjoy it while it lasts.  It's pushing 9 here and my son is still asleep.

Kitty, however, was up early waiting for breakfast.

[Suze]

I feel for you -- DD gets a nap and you don't -- I see an early bedtime for the Shoo household.

I've been up since 5 myself (does anyone know how to reset a furry "alarm clock"?)  Dumb CAT decided that I HAD to be up (I know, not a human child, but mine just the same) and she will not quit pestering till I am out of the bed.  Ever had a whisker stuck up your nose?  Trust me you wake up QUICK!

Have a great day Shoo "the Wonder Years" don't last long anymore.

Oh and keep a record of them so you can embarrass her with them when she is dating  This is always a "fun" game at our house.  It helps when the boyfriends parents are there too, so they can get in on the game.  

The rules of the game state that the child must start the game with the phrase "I remember when....." after that all bets are off, and any story may be told.  It also helps when relating tales of stuff that "you got away with" if the "statute of Limatations" has run out. (I.E. telling about high school pranks AFTER you are married)

Suze

[ehartsay]

I feel for you -- DD gets a nap and you don't -- I see an early bedtime for the Shoo household.

I've been up since 5 myself (does anyone know how to reset a furry "alarm clock"?)  Dumb CAT decided that I HAD to be up (I know, not a human child, but mine just the same) and she will not quit pestering till I am out of the bed.  Ever had a whisker stuck up your nose?  Trust me you wake up QUICK!

Have a great day Shoo "the Wonder Years" don't last long anymore.

Oh and keep a record of them so you can embarrass her with them when she is dating  This is always a "fun" game at our house.  It helps when the boyfriends parents are there too, so they can get in on the game.  

The rules of the game state that the child must start the game with the phrase "I remember when....." after that all bets are off, and any story may be told.  It also helps when relating tales of stuff that "you got away with" if the "statute of Limatations" has run out. (I.E. telling about high school pranks AFTER you are married)

Suze

reset a furry "alarm clock"?)   I've got one of those too. He likes to go mountain climbing on the desk that I have crossing as a dresser/vanity. That things has milk crates on top for storage, and he likes to climb those, climb up to my vertical jewelry box and try to get on it to kill the marabou trim on my lamp. Every morning my alram clock hits the floor at least two times and he knocks ALL After I toss him off he waits until he thinks tht I am asleep again (about ten minutes) and goes again. It is like the fuzzy ugly snooze button.

[IndianInlaw]

If I don't get up..kitty starts climbing over the houseplants.

They're not poisonous, but he has a thing for my asparagus fern.

[kckgirl]

The kids in my house started waking up at around 8:30 a.m. I had been up since 5:00 because their mother had to be at work at 7:00 (hospitals don't close on Christmas) and I didn't want her to miss out on Christmas morning sticky buns fresh from the oven. She'll be home at around 7:30 this evening, and we'll have our lasagna then. I hope you can get to bed early tonight.

[OogaBooga]

What "Santa" did for myself and younger bro and sis was to include one small wrapped toy in the stocking, such as a mini spirograph or handheld pinball game.  Us kids were allowed to go downstairs by ourselves and dump out our stockings, but had to wait until everyone was up before we opened any big presents.  Those small games, plus guessing what the other presents were would give my parents an extra hour of sleep in the morning. 

I like to think it made up for us using pan lids crashed together as cymbals to wake them up when the time came.   

[fklwmn]

Why, yes!  Yes, I have.

It seems that Shoo Jr. (6 years old) woke up and discovered that Santa had visited, so decided it was time for everyone else to get up too.

Dh just groaned and said "No way" and rolled over.  If I, however, am awakened after getting 6 hours of sleep, I cannot fall back to sleep no matter how hard I try.  So I am up.

DD has fallen asleep on the couch.  This, after having bounced off the walls for the past hour.  Her eyes were as big as saucers when she saw the presents under the tree.  But I was firm in my resolve that we would be waiting until it was at least daylight to open gifts.

Yawn.

Heh... We have a few rules in our house on Christmas morning.

#1... you do NOT go intot he living room to see what Santa brought until Mommy is up to go with you (gotta catch those reactions on tape!)

#2... you do NOT wake mommy up until daylight. It might be JUST BARELY daylight (lol) but there MUST be light in ths sky.

My kids are 10 and 12 now and they were up before 6 this year. I could hear them in the other room as I tried to go back to sleep. FWIW, after what santa brought them this year (can we say naughty list?) I don't think they will be too eager to get up for Santa again next year

[AmethystAnne]

I remember those kind of Christmas mornings!

The "baby" (age almost 19) at my house didn't get up until about 8 am Christmas morning.  It gave me time to straighten the living room, put up the tree, and wrap the gifts for her stocking.

Boy, was she surprised to see weird lights coming from the living room!

Our official family Christmas will be the 30th (DH's be-home date is the day before). We'll have a big country breakfast and exchange gifts. 

[MommaBear]

I feel for you -- DD gets a nap and you don't -- I see an early bedtime for the Shoo household.

I've been up since 5 myself (does anyone know how to reset a furry "alarm clock"?)  Dumb CAT decided that I HAD to be up (I know, not a human child, but mine just the same) and she will not quit pestering till I am out of the bed.  Ever had a whisker stuck up your nose?  Trust me you wake up QUICK!

Have a great day Shoo "the Wonder Years" don't last long anymore.

Oh and keep a record of them so you can embarrass her with them when she is dating  This is always a "fun" game at our house.  It helps when the boyfriends parents are there too, so they can get in on the game.  

The rules of the game state that the child must start the game with the phrase "I remember when....." after that all bets are off, and any story may be told.  It also helps when relating tales of stuff that "you got away with" if the "statute of Limatations" has run out. (I.E. telling about high school pranks AFTER you are married)

Suze

Suze,

My furbaby is like that (except for me it's like around 3:30 am). My question is: How do you lower the volume on one of those models? Mine is LOUD and will find the most acoustic part of the house, sit down, and start 'alarming'.

-Mary

[avonlea29]

This is why our kids aren't allowed to come out til we are up. The boys (7 and 5) have a TV and DVD player in their room and dd (4) goes in there when she wakes up. The boys must stay quietly on their beds til 6:30am, then the TV can come on. This rule applies to Christmas morning just like any other day. DH and I got up at 9:30 am.

[Suze]

Suze,

My furbaby is like that (except for me it's like around 3:30 am). My question is: How do you lower the volume on one of those models? Mine is LOUD and will find the most acoustic part of the house, sit down, and start 'alarming'.

-Mary

I haven't found the volume control yet either.   

If you find it let me know ?

[Minmom3]

The rule we started when our girls were little was that stockings were 'Open Season', but SOME daylight had to be in the sky before you could leave your bedroom to get your stocking and take it back to your room to chortle and gloat over, AND you couldn't, upon pain of death and dismemberment, wake up Mom and/or Dad.  So, for about 8 or so years when they were little, we'd wake up to muffled squeaks and squeals and giggles coming from the other side of the bedroom doorway.  The year that rule started they did get up well before dawn and get loud in the living room.  Mom and Dad had afternoon naps that year...  Boy, were we ticked off with them, but those were the fun years...

Now, eldest is almost 22, and lives an hour away, and didn't show up until 3:30 or so.  Her stocking is wherever she put it, but NOT in our house, so her stocking this year was a small brown bag.  Middle DD was home for the day, but we didn't find her stocking until long after dinner, so her stocking was a brown bag too.  Youngest is 17, but is skiing up in the mountains for two weeks, so isn't home, although her stocking is here and loaded with goodies.  It was a strange Christmas, all told.  One kid home (she's good, but there's supposed to be three here, not just one) my mom was here for a few days and dog slow and hanging over our shoulders at all times.  Food was good but much more casual than customary, so that was weird too.

[CherryB]

Suze,

My furbaby is like that (except for me it's like around 3:30 am). My question is: How do you lower the volume on one of those models? Mine is LOUD and will find the most acoustic part of the house, sit down, and start 'alarming'.

-Mary

I haven't found the volume control yet either.   

If you find it let me know ?

The volume control for the Feline Model Domesticus is cleverly hidden in a tin of cat food. Preferably sardines or something equally stinky and stomach turning as you pry open the lid at 4 AM in the hopes that FMD will eat and let you snag another hour or so of blessed sleep.

[Suze]

Suze,

My furbaby is like that (except for me it's like around 3:30 am). My question is: How do you lower the volume on one of those models? Mine is LOUD and will find the most acoustic part of the house, sit down, and start 'alarming'.

-Mary

I haven't found the volume control yet either.   

If you find it let me know ?

The volume control for the Feline Model Domesticus is cleverly hidden in a tin of cat food. Preferably sardines or something equally stinky and stomach turning as you pry open the lid at 4 AM in the hopes that FMD will eat and let you snag another hour or so of blessed sleep.

But the problem with that volume control is that it gets "stuck" at 4am and you have to repeat the process every day at that time.
Suze