Day 2 without the Yell...

Is done. Almost.  The kids are in bed, finally. Though Ally tried her hardest to stay up as long as she could. I knew I should have waited on the glass of wine and bowl of ice cream until I was confident she was out like a light. But low and behold, the pitter patter of little feet come waltzing down the hallway.  Calm Amanda.  She says she wants me to sleep with her all night until morning. So sweet, but not going to happen. I lay down with her, something I usually don't do. She is cutting into "me" time. But tonight I just let it be. She is clearly not ready to sleep and in the mood for talking. So we talk. About the rain. About Daddy's birthday tomorrow. About how much I love her...She asks me if I love her more than the windows and the blinds. OOH, toughie, but yes, I do!  After a while I tell her it's time to sleep and that she should try counting sheep to help her fall asleep. She thinks for a moment staring at the ceiling then says "there are 19 sheep, what next mommy?"  Count some more, and I sneak out of her room.  I jump in the shower just as I hear her calling for Daddy.  Out of the shower and she is asleep...score!

Today wasn't terrible.  I thought for sure that waking up at 4:45 am to Ally coming in our room telling me I need to check to see if her sheets were wet was a signal of rough waters ahead.  We even got a good chuckle so early when she didn't realize the bathroom door was shut and walked smack into it.  Don't worry, she was fine.  I tried my hardest to get her back to bed, but the little snot has a sense that it is somehow "almost" morning and decided to stay awake.  Fifteen minutes after getting her into her bed and crawling back into mine, she comes trotting in with 2 teddy bears, a blankie, and a bag full of play dough toys.  OK, I'm awake.  We started the morning with a rousing game of Memory. Fun for all. Jackson decides he is missing out on the early morning fun and wakes up by 7am.  Let's do this. Let's get this day started!

I wish I had some funny stories to input here, moments of chaos, moments when I had to scream into a paper bag or lock myself in the bathroom for a minute or two, but I don't.  The day actually went pretty smoothly! That's not to say we didn't have any hiccups. There were a few timeouts, 3 diet Pepsi's and a iced latte consumed, temper tantrums from a one year old who has learned too much from his older sister already, dinner that went uneaten, and dinner that got thrown on the floor! But all in all today wasn't bad. I'm sure this is just beginners luck, but I really think my kids are sensing a change in mommy.  I will refer back to this post should the time come when I doubt their good intentions and think they are evil little monsters. But for now, I am going to bed with nothing but happy thoughts!

Kiddos helping mommy cook dinner!

Disclaimer: The Duke says I need to state that I did "raise my voice" once tonight. After Ally was in bed, while getting Jackson's milk warmed up in the microwave as I was taking the milk out he (Jackson) slammed the microwave door, (I was holding him), and milk went flying. It wasn't so much a yell as a warning shout that milk was about to splatter! My "Jackson NO" yell had no bad intentions with it! I'm trudging onto Day 3.