Fun with Babies and Cats
I'm afraid I've spent my last night at my parents' house with my children.
This has been a tradition since Julia was born. When Chad goes out of town, I'll spend a couple of days at my parents' house. They live an hour away -- on the other side of Houston.
We all came over here yesterday after taking Chad to the airport. We ordered pizza, watched movies and had a good time. Jenna went to bed around 8 and Julia and I stayed up until 11.
At 2:30 a.m., Jenna woke up screaming. At 3, she was still screaming. At 3:30, I woke my mom up to tell her that Jenna and I were leaving and that I'd be back to pick up Julia before she and my dad had to leave for work. We got back to Baytown at 4:30 a.m. Jenna went right to sleep in her bed, which I suspect is where she had wanted to be all along. I was in bed by 4:45. Then the cat woke me up. Twice. After the second time, I literally threw him out of the house. At 7:30 a.m., Jenna and I got up and came back to my parents' house. That's where we are now.
Oh, well. It was a fun seven years of sleepovers at Granny and Papa's. Now I've got to find another survival technique for when Chad's gone.
This has been a tradition since Julia was born. When Chad goes out of town, I'll spend a couple of days at my parents' house. They live an hour away -- on the other side of Houston.
We all came over here yesterday after taking Chad to the airport. We ordered pizza, watched movies and had a good time. Jenna went to bed around 8 and Julia and I stayed up until 11.
At 2:30 a.m., Jenna woke up screaming. At 3, she was still screaming. At 3:30, I woke my mom up to tell her that Jenna and I were leaving and that I'd be back to pick up Julia before she and my dad had to leave for work. We got back to Baytown at 4:30 a.m. Jenna went right to sleep in her bed, which I suspect is where she had wanted to be all along. I was in bed by 4:45. Then the cat woke me up. Twice. After the second time, I literally threw him out of the house. At 7:30 a.m., Jenna and I got up and came back to my parents' house. That's where we are now.
Oh, well. It was a fun seven years of sleepovers at Granny and Papa's. Now I've got to find another survival technique for when Chad's gone.
posted by Deana Nall @ 7:20 AM
6 Comments:
At Tue Jan 03, 08:21:00 AM,
janjanmom said…
This too shall pass...the words that get me by every single day of my crazy life with three daughters(9,8,& 4). It does get easier. I now am sleep deprived by choice because I stay up too late!
At Tue Jan 03, 10:17:00 AM,
Kelley said…
My husband travels alot too. I found that as the kids get older, they want more of a routine. Even if getting out of the routine is fun, they just want stability. So, we don't spend the night away when Daddy is gone. We just hang out at home and do things as "routine" as possible and visit during the daytime hours. It says alot about you as a parent that your daughter just desires to be "at home". That is where she feels safest, even when Grandmother's house is fun....it's not home for her. Yes, it does get a bit easier as they get older, but they still desire home and routine! And that's a good thing.
At Tue Jan 03, 11:33:00 AM,
Anonymous said…
I feel your pain!!! Patrick isn't gone physically, but he is on call. Last night he was at the hospital most of the night. When he was home his beeper went off so I slept on the couch. Aubrey woke up (she has an ear infection) several times and Emma decided to join me on the couch at 6:00. I finally turned on the cartoons and snoozed on the couch w/ two little ones crawling all over me. I hope "this too shall pass"... QUICKLY!!
Carol :-)
At Tue Jan 03, 05:33:00 PM,
MDM said…
That was funny and I can relate. When I only had one child I would sleep at my folks when my husband left town...then came Zoe. We are blessed to have our folks nearby, huh??
At Tue Jan 03, 07:19:00 PM,
Mae said…
Brandon's going to Cancun for a "business meeting" in a couple of weeks. The last time he was gone Hadlee and I stayed at my parents ~ at the time I wasn't working and she wasnt' sleeping... maybe this time we'll just stay for dinner and a little chit chat and sleep in our own beds.
At Tue Jan 03, 07:36:00 PM,
Mary Lou said…
Yes, this too shall pass and you'll be able to go right back to having sleepovers at your parents' house. Jenna may have just been having a hard time sleeping for whatever reason. Don't blame it on your mom's house. Children do need routine most of the time, but if they are never out of their routine, how will they ever learn to be easy-going? Don't paint yourself in a corner and give into the same old routine all the time. Children need a healthy balance of routine and flexiblity. But you have to be the judge of how much and when. My parents lived an hour away too. When my sons were little, we'd go over if their dad was busy or just couldn't go. I loved it because Mom would help bath and daddy would play with them in the yard. Even though my parents have been gone 10 and 13 years, my grown sons who are now 28, 26 & 24, still remember spending nights at their house. Try again, you'll be glad you did.
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