Revolt

If they do nothing else, my children keep me humble. Last week I thought I had the sleep situation worked out, but alas it was not to be. Gabby got sick, which may have caused the beginning of the lapse, but now it has spun out of control. We're talking hours to fall asleep and at least an hour before the alarm goes off (for a 3 hour loss on the night--every night).

Last night I lost track of how many trips we made, but it ended with me sitting up there for 45 minutes or so, just praying for wisdom in how to handle this situation. I was visibly upset, evidently, because Kate asked what was wrong, so I told her that this was my time with Daddy and that she and Gabby were keeping me from that. Generally, we believe honesty is the best, but evidently my devious little girl takes this as her point of attack. This morning she tells me that she's going to ruin my evenings and not let me watch any more movies by making me come upstairs.

How do I convince them that this is worth their effort and not negotiable? We've tried rewards. Then we warned if we came up again there would be no Sesame Street today, so there was no Big Bird or Elmo at our house this morning. Is staying consistent with this the best plan, so they know we mean business or do we chuck this plan as a failure and move on to something else?

The quandaries of parenthood! I'm sure there will be a day that fighting in bed will seem small and insignificant, but it is a battle to be waged now--for peace and for rest for my sleepy eyed little darlings.