My husband left for tdy today. The kids and I are now on a 7 day cereal diet. My oven will only be turned on for the occasional cookie baking (done by my oldest-not me) and the freezer will be opened only to pull out a Popsicle!
The alarm went off at 5am and I got up to drive my husband to the metro. I was amazed that our little one did not wake up because although my husband claims to be quiet and I believe he genuinely tries to be quiet... he cannot do it. It is like asking an elephant if he could please tiptoe across thin ice and make it to the other side successfully. I woke our oldest and let her know I would be gone for a few minutes and then left her door open so the little one would go directly into her room upon waking. The temptation of her older sister's door open would be too great to pass up and this way I would not have to worry about her going into my room and freaking out because I was not there. I took the dog with me because she has separation anxiety issues and if I left her in the house she would surely start running from window to window barking and waking the kids... so she was blessed with a ride in the car. Taking the dog with also offers me some early morning humor because when my husband gets out of the van along with all of the other husbands getting out of their wives' vans, ours comes complete with a crying whining dog that cannot bear to watch her owner leave her. She is loud, she is obnoxious, and my husband hates it--or so he says. The kids and I personally love this outward sign of love and devotion from the dog, but I can see where my husband may have looked like the kid in school who's mom comes to bring him his lunch and kisses him leaving a lipstick mark on his face in front of the class. So not cool~
When I returned home I was SURE the little one would be awake and ready for the day... after all, the sun was not up and it was just past 6 a.m. Well, to my surprise she was still sound asleep-not a peep out of her. It was surreal. I giddily climbed back into my bed and rolled over to sleep... when I hear her door open. How does this happen? Then I remembered something-survival training 101! My husband, being the military man that he is, takes every opportunity to teach our children survival skills. He has taught my son to survive in our back woods by building a shelter and bed and pointing out what to eat (just in case he gets lost on the way back from the creek which is within view of the kitchen window). He has taught our youngest how to drop into a ball and cover her face and ears if an angry dog is coming toward her, and our oldest daughter... well let's just say he is teaching her survival skills against boys. Last night I was listening to my husband teach our youngest how to survive if a bear comes near her... since there has been an unusual amount of bear sightings in the Washington DC area this year-not. The only bears we have seen are at the zoo, but that is not the point. He taught her to lay perfectly still and pretend she is sleeping.
When my little one walked into my room, I pretended she was a bear and did not move. She climbed on my bed, got up close to my face, and may have even sniffed me like a bear... and I did not move. To my surprise, it worked! She left (taking the dog with her) and went back into her room to play. She may have fallen asleep again because the next thing I knew was that my clock said 9 a.m. The house was amazingly still standing and everyone was quiet. You have no idea the joy I felt! I had done it! I had slept! It was bliss and I woke up refreshed and happy. This is what it is like to walk upright and return to the land of the living... not the land of the severely sleep deprived. Ahhhhhh
Now, you should know that the dog has been snubbing me all morning so I do not know what she had to endure during my blissful sleep, and to be honest-I do not care. She doesn't get a free ride around here and if I need her to sit pretty and get dressed up by the three-year-old from time to time in order for me to return to sane mommy, well than that is the path she must take. I feel no guilt.
Now, my only concern is this... how will I get my little one to sleep tonight since we all slept in this morning? I am having the ladies from our homeschool group over for a kid-free night of alcohol and sweets, but now I am afraid I will not be getting the little one in bed until half past midnight! Do I start giving her Benedryll now and see how our day goes or do we scrap the schooling today and head straight for the bowling alley, roller rink, and park ASAP? Decisions decisions...
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