Tried and True Sleep Deprivation Guide for a Three Year Old

At first I was afraid... I was petrified. Kept thinking I could never live till 2am with Cub by my side. But then I planned a special night that I prayed wouldn't go wrong, and I grew strong, yeah I knew we'd get along... And I Survived, yeah I survived, Yeah Yeah!

Yeah... I may still be a little sleep deprived/delirious myself, but figured inquiring minds wanted to know.... So here it is, should you ever need it, a tried and true method for depriving a tot of sleep with minimal meltdowns.

First things first. Take a nap. Counter-intuitive, one might think... well this is not for the tot, this was for mama of course, I needed my wits about me if I was gonna pull this off! It reminded me of college days, well just the napping to prepare for a night out part... and maybe the IHOP stop at 11pm.

One thing I should have remembered from my day's as a waitress was that service takes a marked decline during the hour prior to closing, as all employees seethe with anger that they have to wait on you.... and remind you every five minutes when they will be closing. As we moved from game to game at Chucky Cheese, they politely reminded me the games would be turning off soon, however, Cub's continued shrill scream of "This one, This one next mom", buffeted their remarks, and we shut the place down at 10.

I got a little concerned with heavy eyes as we drove to Barnes and Noble, but he quickly revived when he saw the train set. We played, read books, performed impromptu skits on their story time stage, and played hide and seek in the stacks of books. They hated me. Well, it was either hate, or extreme judgement at my obvious lack in parenting skills for having the audacity to take my three year old out to play at 11pm. Which was my reason for saying aloud multiple times at all locations throughout the evening, "the Dr. is going to be so proud at how late you were able to stay up". I think next time I'll just make a t-shirt that says, "We'd rather be in bed, this is mandatory"... it'd be easier.

After shutting them down at 11, we headed to IHOP for a quick ice-cream sundae before the movie started. There was a table of police officers there. I then thought about making t-shirt that said "I'm not a wack-job... this is mandatory".

We finally made it to the theater... I was so proud. It was our last stop of the night, the end was in sight! It also just so happened to be the debut for Hangover 2, so there was a good crowd, and I'm pretty sure EVERYONE thought I was taking Cub to see that. This was confirmed when we got to the ticket counter and she automatically said "The Hangover"?

I gave her an incredulous look, however, when I did the slow, emphatic, turn toward Caleb as if to indicate... What are you thinking, of course we're here to see Kung Fu Panda 2, I saw the blood shot eyes of my tired guy, and thought... why wouldn't she think that... we both LOOK like we've got a Hangover... So I politely said no, we'll be seeing Kung Fun Panda, took our tickets and headed in.

Caleb did great for about an hour... with a little whining, which I was able to curtail with some gummies... Again, I felt death glares bore into the back of my head, as there is no volume control on Cub, so even asking for gummies or "what was that?", "Why's he there", "Who's that guy"... were all quite audible :).

I couldn't have been prouder of my little man, true to form he was awesome, and made it all the way till ~1:15 before melt-down stage started to initiate. We left before the movie ended, and I kept him talking in the car. He warmed my heart when he said "I had a really great time on our date mom"... best little dude in the world!

To buy a little more time, we stopped off at CVS to take our blood pressure and play with the canes, and at exactly 2am I tucked him in for the night... He was asleep at 2:01.

Kev struggled through a little more whining this morning, but they headed off for their own date... back to IHOP for some breakfast.

Heading to our appointment at 12:30, where hopefully our efforts will have paid off and he can just fall asleep and take his much deserved nap. I'll keep ya'll posted when we know more from the results. Thanks SO much for all the prayers, I know last night wouldn't have gone NEAR as smoothly without them!

Seasons

"Life's like an hour glass glued to the table, no one can find the rewind button now, sing it if you understand.... And Breathe... Just Breathe"

I love those lyrics, they pretty much nail it dead on... Life that is.

I listened to a great message last night, at D.C. sisterhood, about the different seasons of life we go through as women. It was especially entertaining for me, as Taryn (the pastor's wife, who delivered the message), is the mother of 3 young boys... 4, 3, and a new born... so our seasons are pretty much aligned (other than the obvious fact I'm not in full time ministry or married to a pastor ;).
There was something seriously satisfying when Taryn relayed a story about her trying to have a phone conversation with her sister, yet continued getting interrupted by having to tell her boys to stop eating the yard... As a mom I know everyone has their stories, that mine aren't the only ones running outside in undies, playing in toilet bowl water, or teething on a tampon (it was obviously un-used, but no less shocking or comical to turn around and discover this tid-bit... apologies to the guys), yet to hear even the pastor's wife has to remind her kids not to eat grass and bark was nice.

Today has been, and will continue to be an awesome day. One of the days I wish I could find the rewind button for. From morning snuggles, to a picnic at the park with a girlfriend and her little one... The boys have played, and laughed, and given the best hugs and kisses... Caleb and I had a 'fight' over who loved who more, and now their both down for naps, so we can head out to a BBQ with a different family this evening for more fun with their boys. I love this season, though its not without it's trials...

Caleb is back to having his seizures, after a 4 month hiatus, so I've got him scheduled for an EEG next Thursday. It's a 'sleep deprived' EEG, so I have to keep him up until 2am on Wednesday night, he can sleep till 6am, then I have to get him back up so he's exhausted for his 12:30p appt.

What does one do with a 3 year old until 2am???

My first thought was we'll roam the aisles at Wal-Mart, they're open 24hrs, but then I thought about the patrons at Wal-Mart at 2am and wasn't so sure anymore. Then someone suggested a bowling alley... however, I strongly doubt the atmosphere there would be much of an improvement. I can't imagine staying here, in 700sq ft, and not watching a series of temper-tantrum meltdowns out of sheer boredom and exhaustion. So, I've got about a week to figure this one out... I'm pretty sure I can get him to 10pm... its the 4 hour stretch after that I'm concerned with.

She nailed the message last night... reminding us all that, "To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven" (Ecc 3:1). I will laugh and celebrate the good/fun times, and 'Breathe... Just Breathe" through the struggles.

Three Years in the Blink of an Eye

Some days, yesterday, it feels as though life is passing in the blink of an eye. Other days, today, it goes MUCH slower.

Yesterday, I celebrated my baby's third birthday. Three years of hugs and kisses, smiles and tears, battles and victories. A birth that resulted in the immeasurable growth of not one, but three. The birth of a family, and the growth of everyone in it. I smile at the progress I've made in shirking some of my selfish tendencies, and wince when light shines on those I can't shake. I take pride in the amazing little boy Kevin and I have been blessed enough to help shape over these three years, and am humbled when I think of all the shaping he has done for us.

Three years later, and I am still fascinated by how much more powerful my emotions are. When we're laying down for naps, my eyes already closed, his tiny hand caressing my hair, and I hear him tell me he loves me... There are no words for a love like that. When I hold his tiny body and pray to God for a seizure to pass, there are no words for fear like that. When I'm exhausted from a restless night, and boundaries are pushed to their breaking point, there are no words for the helplessness and frustration I feel. Love. Fear. Frustration. Joy. Pride. Humility. All of them, exponentially more powerful than I could have ever imagined.

Today... Today, I'm running on about 3 hours of sleep, and Logan has been screaming since close to 4am... it is now 4pm, and I'm praying nap time can just bridge all the way through tomorrow morning, however as I hear stirrings, I know that is not possible. Today, every minute has felt like an hour and I find myself questioning all the benefits of motherhood.... but its reflecting on all the good that puts the seemingly endless days into perspective. Because we all know, this will come to an end, and when it does, we'll say it was far too quickly. So I'll go snuggle my men as they wake, hoping we can let go of the bad morning, and embrace a great afternoon.... Let go of the bad, hold on to the good... that's the motto for today :)