I Needed That

The last week or so has been pretty challenging around here.  I guess I should more accurately say it's been challenging for me...no one else seemed to have much of a problem with it. 

For some reason, our routine got a little off a few days last week.  On a couple of different occasions, the girls screamed when I put them down for the night, which almost never happens.  They normally curl up quietly on their little pillows and hum or "talk" until they drift off to sleep.  I'm still not quite sure what was going on, but it threw me for a loop.  When they weren't going down right, I just got them back up to hang out a little bit longer, then tried again.  They ended up going down fine eventually, but only once they were really ready, apparently.   (Which was not until 8:15 on Saturday night...when for over a year, they have been in bed by 7:00, nearly without fail!)

In the grand scheme of things, it's not really that big of a deal, I know.  Just push bedtime back a little, right?  It seems so easy, but let me tell you, I have been some kind of stressed dealing with the kink in our schedule.  I do NOT like not knowing what time they may decide to go to bed.  (Why, yes, I do have a little problem with change, thankyouverymuch.)  And I really, really hate the screaming when I try to put them to bed.  Mackenzie is a very loud child when she chooses to be. 

It all came to a head on Sunday night, when Jeremy and I were going to take turns going over to my mom's (which is about 5 minutes away) to eat the delicious supper my family was enjoying...except that the girls were once again refusing to go to bed.  It didn't help that Addison had had a late 2-hour nap that day, and Mackenzie had refused to nap all afternoon, until she literally fell over asleep at 5:00 and slept about 30 minutes.  They were all out of sorts; I was out of sorts from worrying about it; and Jeremy was crazy from dealing with all of us.  When we realized they weren't ready for bed, he suggested we just take them with us to my mom's.  I had been so looking forward to eating a nice, peaceful meal, without having to hold a kid or push little hands away from my plate, drink, fork, knife, etc....and at the thought of not getting that, I lost it a little.  Jeremy made me realize that, as important as schedule and routine are to my sanity, sometimes I have to deal with a little change here and there.  And it will be okay. 

In case you're wondering, he sent me on to my mom's while he dealt with the girls.   I had a full meal all by myself, and it was fantastic.

Going into this week, I felt more refreshed and ready to deal with whatever the new challenges might be.  Eight o'clock bedtime?  I can handle it...more playtime for me and my girls. 

Yesterday, we had the 15-month checkup and shots.  They took great naps yesterday afternoon and were still ready for bed at the normal time, but I attributed it to the tiring day and the tylenol I gave them to wear off the vaccine-induced crankiness. 

I was curious to see how they would do tonight, especially since my mom said they did not get a nap at all this afternoon (thanks to a loud thunderstorm rolling through).  When Mackenzie fell asleep on the five-minute drive home, I thought the evening could turn out to be another challenging one.

To my surprise, everything went just perfectly tonight.  The girls were funny and playful, even though they were sleepy.  They ate well, pointing out mama, sissy, and all the correct body parts during dinner.  They cracked up at me making the "sss" sound (it's the funniest letter of the alphabet, obviously), and chased each other down the hallway.  They had a 30-minute bath, and not because someone pooped in the tub, but because they were playing so well together.  After bath, Mackenzie even bent down to give me kiss on the mouth, which is nearly unheard of these days (one-year-olds are apparently too cool to give kisses to their parents!).  Addison unexpectedly dove in my lap and buried her head in my shoulder to give me "love".  Those two actions right there will likely be the highlight of my week. 

We ended the night in the recliner, as always, drinking milk and singing songs as A & M wind down for bedtime.  We cuddled sang "Wheels on the Bus" (with a few hand motions on their part!), "Jesus Loves Me", and "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star".  After an extra round of cuddling, my sweet girls curled up in their beds, clutching their blankets and lovies, and went right to sleep, as if the past week was all a dream.

Thanks, girls, for reminding me not to get too bent out of shape over silly things like bedtime.  Thanks for your sweet kisses and snuggles, for making me laugh, and for brightening my day with your beautiful little faces.  I needed that tonight.