One Busy Night!

I'm sure most of you are familiar with Murphy's Law: if something CAN go wrong, it WILL. Well, today I discovered that there is a Murphy's Law for Parenting: if someone can wake up just as mom is drifting off to sleep, they will. Joey woke up to eat at 2:30 this morning. That was a little earlier than he usually gets up in the middle of the night, but I went with it. I always turn the TV on when I nurse him with the hopes of being mildly entertained while I'm up. Since we only have basic cable, my options usually include an infomercial on the latest diet/exercise fad or a TimeLife music collection. Lately I've been watching the one for greatest rock ballads and let me tell you, those hair bands of the 80's really rocked! But I digress. As Iwas nursing him, I dozed a little and woke up to find that I was watching a show on TBN about a group of Christian builders/volunteers remodeling homes. It was really good so I stayed up to finish watching it even though Joey was no longer eating. I got him back in bed about 3:50 or so. At 4:00, he was up again and was very unhappy. I finally got him settled and back in bed about 4:40. At 4:55, he started to cry again at which point, I said to Lon, "I can't do this anymore; you've got to take a turn." He got Joey and laid him in the bed with us. Thinking all was well, I drifted off to sleep. Five minutes later, Abby started to cry. As she usually sleeps until 6:30 or 7:00, this was much too early for her to be up. Looking back, I should have let her cry and I think she would have gone back to sleep. But, sleep deprived as I was, I got up to get her. As I came downstairs with her, I heard Sarah Grace crying downstairs. My thought? SERIOUSLY? IS EVERYONE GOING TO GET UP NOW? I was soon to find out that the answer was yes. It turns out that Sarah Grace had wet the bed (her first accident since she started sleeping in panties all night long so really we were due). So, at 5:15, I had to get Lainey out of the bed, strip the sheets, put them in the washer, and change both girls' pajamas. I put Sarah Grace in the bed with Lon and Joey and attempted to get Abby back to sleep on the couch with me. No dice. So, at 6:00 I called it quits on the attempts to sleep and just got up for the day. Going on only 3 1/2 hours of sleep while trying to homeschool one and maintain order with the other three wasn't an easy task, but we made it through. My only hope was that naptime would be beneficial and it definitely was! There's just never a dull moment around here. Sometimes I find myself wishing for just one or two dull moments just so I can catch my breath!

We are all growing very excited about our trip to NC. The girls are most excited about flying on an airplane again and I'm praying that flying with 4 little ones won't be the end of our time of flying, our ability to parent with sanity, and our marriage! I plan on stocking up on new crayons, a couple of new coloring books, some story books, snacks, and Benadryl, lots of Benadryl. I'm not sure if I'm going to drug the children or myself; only time will tell.

Off to catch up on some sleep. Praying that no one is up before at least 4:30 or 5:00 and then not again until 7:00. I never would have guessed when I was in high school that sleeping until 7:00 would be considered sleeping in!! How times do change!