Family Sleepover

My husband left for California yesterday afternoon. At eight o'clock the kids and I generally all go and read in my room. Angus was reading in Matt's spot and he asked if he could sleep with me. They both end up sleeping with me at some point when Matt's away, but when it's for a week or more I sometimes try to hold them off until later in the stretch so I don't get overtired and bitchy right off the mark (or at least not due to sleep deprivation). But we were all snuggled in reading and, in a moment of weakness, I capitulated. Eve, naturally, declared that she was sleeping in the chair (my giant reading chair and ottoman, over which a fleecy fitted sheet fits as if they were made for that very purpose - she looks insanely cute tucked in there). So, the series of events:

8:30: I come out of the bathroom after getting ready for bed. Eve has switched off her lamp and says "I wanna go to bed", sounding half asleep already. I kiss her goodnight and climb in next to Angus with my book.

8:32: Angus and I look at each other incredulously as the long, even breaths from the chair make it obvious that Eve has fallen asleep before I've managed to read a full page.

9:00: Angus turns off his light. I take a sleeping pill -- trying to even the odds of getting a good night's sleep, husbandless and kidful.

9:10: I give up on the book. It's not any of the things it was promised to be -- witty, funny, scholarly. Maybe it's some kind of parody, but if it is it's missed the mark or I'm not smart enough. This is the first book I've decided not to finish for a long long time. I'm giddy with freedom.

9:30: I am happily reading The Living Dead 2 and worrying that my sleeping pill doesn't seem to be taking effect.

9:45: Eve is snoring like a trucker. Make mental note to take her to the doctor and see if she needs a nasal spray for allergies.

10:00: I am reading this book after a delightful dip into this book. Angus has fallen asleep better than I thought he might, and his face is squished almost into my hip. I keep looking down at it and remembering how small and chubby it used to be. I savour the sensation of being surrounded by my sleeping children, then wonder briefly if my sleeping pill is just making me sappy and sentimental instead of, you know, sleepy.

10:30: I force myself to put down the book and turn off the light. I yank the covers out from under Angus, who likes to burrito himself, and lie down.

11:15: I realize Matt is going to call when he gets to L.A. at one in the morning, and there are two phones on either side of the bed. I turn the ringer off the one on the wall and take the other one off its base and stick it in the hallway bathroom and close the door.

11:40: I get up to pee and check if Eve is suffocating herself with her lambskin. She's not. She's just snoring really really loudly.

12:06: Angus rolls over and comes to rest with his face a half inch from mine. I say "hello". He giggles and says "oh sorry" and rolls back over.

1:15: I hear the phone ringing in the bathroom. It doesn't wake the kids up. Stupid sleeping pill

1:30: Eve is presumably having a highly amusing dream.

1:45 Angus flings the arm closest to me up above his head, which makes me remember when he was sleeping with me after my gum graft surgery and he whacked me right in the graft site. I experience a small post-traumatic episode, reach up and grasp his arm and gently place it back by his side.

3:30: Angus wakes me up saying he's going back to his own bed. It's possible I've joined the snoring chorus -- he's not saying and I'm not asking.

7:00: Angus comes in to get Eve because he doesn't really like going downstairs by himself. She tells him to bugger off for at least ten more minutes.

7:10: Angus comes back exactly ten minutes later. Eve sheds, with difficulty, a weighty mantle of fuzzy blankets and furry animals, and bounds from the chair onto the bed, while Angus attacks from the other side.

The rest of the day: I yawn a lot.

Today, 6:10: Eve tells me she wants to sleep in the chair again.

How many more sleeps til Daddy comes home?

Comments

Ms. G said…
Hopefully the lack of sleep will help you along tonight because I suspect you can't resist having them there. My middle daughter is "a draper" and sometimes I think she's going to crush me but I learned shallow breathing because I wouldn't stop her for anything : )
The Vanishing book sounds like one my girls and I can all enjoy. I need to pay my library fines and see if they have it!
You are a much nicer mama than I am. My husband is also away this week, and while I do amp up the TV time and lower the nutritional content of dinner, I hold firm to the bed thing. I just can't share a bed. In fact, my husband and I have agreed that people centuries past really knew what they were doing when they insisted on separate bedrooms for man and wife.
Bridget said…
Hope you get more sleep tonight! Enjoy the family sleepovers this week.
Nicole said…
Zzzzz...hope you get some sleep tonight.

But I have to tell you, I am jealous of your room. You have room for a giant chair and ottoman! My bedroom is completely filled by bed, dressers, and end tables. It is teensy! Yours sounds lovely!
Gwen said…
LOL! I hate sleeping with my girls. One is a "cuddler", another is a "kicker", and the last one spins around in circles in her sleep.

My big problem is that I wonder around in the middle of the night. Last night (or this morning, rather), I woke up in Bethie's bed at 3:30am. She's the "kicker". I got so confused that I went and slept on the couch! Every morning, I wake up in a panic wondering where they Hell I am!!!

I think you should let the children sleep with you...and then go and sleep in their bed. Win-win situation!
Gwen said…
Another funny tidbit: I don't "wonder" as much as I "wander" late at night, other than wondering why I'm writing wonder instead of wander. Sigh.
Patti Murphy said…
I'm exhausted after reading this. I'm guessing now is the time you harness the power of No. If saying no is too difficult, say that you're feeling quite flatulent and sleeping in your room would be too hard on their lungs.
SuziCate said…
I sure hope you get some sleep soon. You either need better sleeping pills or the hubby to come home soon! Reminded me of the days when my kids were small and hubby was out of town.
Beachmama said…
Not the best way to start off the time with Hubby away, hopefully tonight goes much smoother for you.
Pam said…
Sweet. (Except the not-sleeping part - not so sweet. Stupid faulty sleep meds.) Love how they can be adorable and annoying at the same time. May you drift off to dreamland and stay that way tongiht, regardless of the new roomies.
Anonymous said…
I am all about the family bed, except I can only sleep with my youngest child. And even that ends when they're around 4 years old and develop Sleep Habits that involve kicking and weird positions. I'm so impressed you even tried this.

And I hope that the sleep quotient has gotten better.

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