Awake AGAIN

So last night at about 10 p.m. Denis decided to go to bed, so I moved CootieBoy from the bassinet to the crib so that Denis could turn on the light if need be. When I opened the door, CootieGirl sat up in bed. “Mama,” she croaked (she has a sore throat and has a lovely gravel in her voice), “Potty.”

I took her hand and let her into the bathroom where she promptly sat on her potty for a few minutes. Nothing happened, so I put a fresh Dora training diaper on her and put her back in her bed.

I went back downstairs for an hour or so, and promptly at 11 p.m., just as I was about to head to bed myself, CootieGirl woke up and started banging on her door. She decided it was time to get up and play. Denis was already asleep at that point, so I tried to occupy her attention. I brought her into bed with us hoping that she’d never fully wake up, but the minute she hit the bed she was ALL ABOUT THE PLAYING. Bouncing, giggling, pushing, hitting – you name it, she was doin’ it.

Obviously she woke Denis up. We put up with the constant activity for about 15 minutes and I finally got out of bed and took her downstairs with me. I laid her on the couch with some milk, turned on the TV to the Soundscapes music channel, and prayed the darkness and music would lull her to sleep.

No such thing! Animals are fun to play with! And dollies! And Mama’s high heeled shoes!

For more than an hour, as I lay half-asleep on the sofa, she puttered around the living room doing what toddlers do. At about 1 a.m. I sat up. “You wanna take a ride in the car?” I asked her.

She ran to the front door. “Car! Car!”

I loaded her up, jacked up the heat, turned on classical music and drove 25 minutes an hour around the area. After 20 minutes I was sweaty, tired, and my daughter was more awake than ever, pointing at things she saw in the dark night.

I parked the van in the driveway, took her back in the house and laid her on our bed, commanding her to sleep. I promptly laid down and refused to be lulled into playing again.

Next thing I knew it was 7:08 in the morning, I was still in bed and officially late for work. And she slept on…(yes, that’s my side of the bed she’s on)