Six Days

I was going to write a post about how wonderfully the kids have been sleeping. About how Charlie and I have gotten seven full, non-interrupted hours of sleep several nights in a row. How I was no longer driving in a haze, trying not to fall asleep in the afternoons as I drove the kids around town to their activities, but instead was awake and refreshed and even a tiny bit more patient.

I was going to write about all of that, but I didn't want to jinx it so I waited. Waited to see if it was just a fad or if it was going to stick. Sure enough, we did not make it to one week. The stars we aligned last week and Amanda did not wake up early screaming and Sarah did not wake up in the middle of the night because of a bad dream or in need of going to the bathroom (Thankfully Andy rarely wakes us up at night, but when he does it's to tell us he can't sleep. Great, now we can't either.). I was hoping it would last, but no.

Once again Amanda woke up at 5:00 this morning, wanting our attention. We ignored her as long as we could take it and then I went into her room and explained to her that it was still night time and we had to sleep a little bit longer. She was not interested in that answer. On my way back to my room I saw a weird light in the older kids' room and found Sarah playing with her flashlight. So Sarah was also up at 5:00a and I had to tell her to go back to sleep, after I took her to the bathroom, of course.

Sidebar: she got a small flashlight in her stocking for Christmas. I thought it would be good if she had to get up at night or do something in her room when it was dark because she is afraid of the dark. All three kids got one. When her friend told her the awesome stuff she got for Christmas, like an American Girl doll, Sarah's response? "Santa brought me a flashlight!". If I had only known our Christmas bills would have been a lot cheaper.

If we really wanted to get back to sleep quickly, we could give into the girls. We could bring them into bed with us and try not to get kicked and punched and squished as they worked their way back to sleep. However Charlie and I swore we would never let the kids sleep with us, that would never become a habit, because we wanted our bed to be just that - ours. I don't have any ill will towards those who enjoy a family bed, it's just not what we ever want. There's no way when we are almost done with babies and toddlers that we are going to give in, we've come way too far.

So instead I'll say good-bye good night's sleep. Good-bye deep, deep sleep. Hello Diet Coke in the afternoon and groggy driving. Hopefully last week's exercise will soon become the norm.