Blissful Sleep

I haven't been sleeping well.  It's a combination of mom-job and career-job that has been messing with my shut-eye.  And I'm also convinced that as we get older, neither my husband nor I sleeps peacefully, and we are constantly disturbing the other one.

We made a shift this school year to a 6:00 alarm.  It's the first time I've consistently set the alarm that early since my health scare in 2012, and I haven't gone to bed any earlier to make up for it.  The start of the school year is always exhausting as we find our fall rhythm, but this year it's been particularly hectic.  No regular babysitter.  High stakes deadlines at work.  Two middle schoolers adjusting to life of a tween...

In short, I'm tired. 

Perhaps that's why I caught a catnap in the 20 minutes before my kids got home the other day.  I arrived home a few minutes earlier than expected.  No one was in the house.  And so I gave myself permission to sit, doing nothing, for just a few minutes.  Next thing I knew, my eyes popped open and I realized the kids would be walking in the door in just a few minutes.

"Thank goodness, I didn't get caught!"  I thought.

But why should I feel guilty?  Why should anyone feel guilty about wanting just a few minutes of blissful sleep?

Ten years ago, I wouldn't have felt guilty at all.  But now, the pressure to handle it all has increased and the need to hide that it all makes me exhausted... well, that's something I'm struggling with in TwinLife right now. 

Perhaps I'll sleep on it...

Blissful Sleep

Date: 10/11/2008

We are celebrating three straight nights of blissfully uninterrupted sleep!  Megan and Ryan have both slept 12-13 hours through the night.  Of course, to accomplish this feat, I had to spend three nights in the guest room, where I could work some sleep training magic.  Thankfully I am back in my own bed, and it seems to have worked.  Now if we could just kick the colds that have been hanging around our house for the last month.

The babies are walking and talking and curious about everything.  I love to watch their internal debates as they approach an off-limit item, like the TV.  Often I hear them say, "No, no, no, no."  They often shake their finger at the object, and 8 times out of 10, they run away from it.  Both have had their share of time outs for those other 2 times, however.

Megan will carry full, nonsensical conversations with anyone who will listen.  She knows the words "ball," "book," "dog," "Pooh," and "Elmo."  However, her favorite word is "please."  She knows to say it when she needs help or wants something.  So she pretty much says "Please" all day long.  She has the cutest walk.  Unlike Ryan, she lifts her feet to walk, so her little knees and hips are always working.  She follows her brother's lead, but she is also superbly sweet.  She will offer you her lambie (who she calls "mbie"), a hug, or a piece of food if you need it.

Ryan absolutely loves the new house with its dual-circuit.  He will wander from kitchen to dining and around to the family room, and then he will take the second circuit from family to living room to the study.  The study is a favorite place for him.  He is tempted by the computer, trash can, phone, and multitude of cords.  I often catch him standing in the middle of the room staring, and I'm sure he is thinking, "What can I get away with?"

Daddy has instituted dance time after dinner, and we love to turn up the tunes and dance around the family room.  Like everything else they do, the fun lasts a few minutes before Megan and Ryan are off to the races.  I don't mind chasing them, however; it just means all of us will be getting some blissful sleep at night!