Sleep?

Ryan says I should post more often (as if I don't already know how much you all want to know the daily details of my life; however, one of my friends has the funnest blog to read, and she writes about everyday stuff and I always get a kick out of her entries...) So I invited Ryan to be a guest poster. Hmm.... I haven't seen any postings by him around here....

Anyway, here's something that happened this week - 5 nights in a row! (Get your minds out of the gutter - Ryan was out of town.) I hardly got any sleep! Now that it's Friday morning and I've had a restorative nap, I shall tell you about why I had such poor sleep. Two words: Emi, Annie.

Normally, Annie is a pretty good sleeper. She just gets up obscenely early. Saturday night, about 12:30, I heard some crying from Annie's room. I laid really still in bed, hoping it would end, but instead the sound just got louder. "Mummy! Mummy! I scared! Mummy!" So, being the good mom that I am, I padded to her room, opened the door, and asked in my most soothing voice, "What's wrong honey? Mummy's here." Annie, of course, wanted me to lay with her, which goes against a cardinal rule in our household; No kids in bed with parents! (As you can imagine, that rule gets broken frequently.) I looked at Annie and realized she only had 4 or 5 toys in bed with her. "Oh, silly Annie, of course you are scared. You forgot to put all your friends in bed with you!" I gathered a few more floppy dolls and animals - and most importantly, Mr. Cuddlebear - helped Annie tuck them in, and asked if she would be okay now. I started closing her door and then I heard an angry voice, "I want a night light!" So I plugged in her night light and want back to bed.

About 2 hours later, more yelling. This time Annie wanted her night light unplugged. Check. An hour or so later, that same voice, in that same angry yell.

"Mr. Cuddlebear. I want Mr.Cuddlebear"

"Where is he?" I walked over to her bed and found him on the floor. "How did Mr. Cuddlebear end up on the floor?"

"I pushed him off the bed. I didn't want him any more."

Arghhh! And then an hour later, still more yelling. "Mummy! Mummy." My tone was not so soothing this time. More like seething. I poked my head in the door, "What do you need now, Annie."

"I want my night light plugged in."

And soon after, it was morning.

Sunday night. Emi's turn. A lot of "Mummy, can you be with me? I'm scared." A lot of me kneeling by her bed, stroking her cheek, murmuring comfort, and sneaking back to my bed, hoping I wouldn't be called back.

Monday night. Annie's turn again.

Tuesday night, not to be outdone by her sister, Emi again. Emi made lots of nice noises this time. I had just crawled into bed (much too late, of course, because I had been engrossed in a book) and turned out the light when I heard a terrified "Aah!" from Emi's room. I scampered in there. "What's the matter, honey?"

"I'm scared. Can I sleep in your bed with you tonight?"

An emphatic, "No, you cannot, but I'll stay in here with you for a few minutes. I'll make sure both of our bedroom doors are all the way opened and I 'll even leave a light on down the hall." This happened 3 or 4 times until about 2:30 a.m. until I said (very begrudgingly, of course,) "Fine. You can sleep in my room, but not in my bed. You make a bed on the floor and sleep there." Nice mom, huh.

And still, frequent calling out."Ahh!" "Mummy, are you still in here?" "Can I get in your bed with you?" At 4:30, I gave up. I broke the cardinal rule. "Yes, Emi, you may sleep in my bed. But if you make any noise, it's back to your room with both of our doors closed." Hey, I was feeling a bit sleep deprived. You try sounding cheerful after 4 nights of musical bedrooms.

Wednesday night. I fell asleep feeling anxious, afraid that the moment I hit that blissful stage of sleep - pleasant, comforting darkness - I would be dragged out of it by one (or both) of my precious angels. I almost made it, but Annie won. I heard a voice by my bed. "Come on, Mummy. Let's get up!" I peeked over at my clock: 3:56 a.m..

Does it ever end?

Update 7/16/08: Ryan suggested this link: http://www.mldb.org/song-6952-who-needs-sleep.html. It's as if my woes have been put to music.