Sleep

It's 2:24 pm as I sit down to start this blog. Yes, it has been one of those days. I didn't blog over the weekend and for anyone who is following this, I am not going to even try to blog on Saturday or Sunday. We are just too busy and with Gene at home, it throws me all off kilter...in a good way.

Monday is my grocery day, so we leave here at 8:00 and take Reagan to preschool. Gracen and I head to the grocery store and any other store I need to go to while I am out and about. I try to make it home by 10:30 to unload the car, and then Gracen is ready to nurse at 11:00. Nursing STILL takes 40-45 minutes, and I have to get back in the car to pick Reagan up by 12:00. She has Flip Factory on Mondays, so I do not have to pick her up until 12:20, instead of the usual 11:30. As soon as we get back home, Gracen is ready for a nap, and Reagan and I are ready for lunch. After we eat, Reagan is ready for a nap and Gracen is about ready to get up. Anyway, you get the idea. I do not think I'll ever blog on Monday before about 1:00, and it could be later than that, like today. I will try to do better the rest of the week.

I am a creature of habit. I guess we all are to some extent. With children, being a creature of habit is difficult because they are constantly changing. We have all used the expression, "It's just a phase," or "This too shall pass," when referring to our kiddos. Well, Reagan has entered the "I DO NOT NEED ANY SLEEP" phase and I hope this one passes quickly. She really doesn't want to take a nap during the day, but she really needs one. She is a bear by 6:00pm if she doesn't rest at some point. I would just put her down for the night at 6:00, but I am really afraid at what time in the early morning she would wake up....totally refreshed and ready for the day. When she does take a nap, which she needs, she is not tired at bedtime. Her normal bedtime is 8:30 and we put her in her bed, whether she is sleepy or not. But, she will literally talk and sing for 2 or 3 hours. It's ridiculous. Her voice rings out all over the house. I guess Gracen is used to this "noise" because she sleeps right through it. We have even tried spanking her....to no avail. It does not make that child stop talking. She does hit the pause button to cry, which Gracen also sleeps through, and then goes back to talking and singing when she is finished crying. God Bless Her she loves to talk. Anyway, I have checked on her at 10:00 and then 10:30 for the last couple of nights and she is still wide awake. I really hate to go to sleep knowing she is awake, but I just don't have the stamina to stay up with her. This morning I woke up around 4:30am....I know, also ridiculous....but I couldn't sleep. I immediately went to her room to check on her and her lights were on and there were toys scattered everywhere. She was asleep, but I can't help but wonder what time she finally went out. I wish I had a video camera in there so I could see how she entertains herself all night. I would probably be horrified. Despite how late she goes to bed, her body clock goes off about 6:45am every morning. And then the cycle repeats itself....no nap....bad attitude....talking to all hours....up at 6:45. I just keep telling myself that this is just a phase and this too shall pass.

I started thinking about sleep this morning and the passage in Ecclesiastes 3 came to my mind. Ya know, the time for everything passage....."A time to weep and a time to laugh; A time to mourn and a time to dance...." I thought surely "a time to sleep" would be listed and I could use it in our family devotion time tonight. Do you know that it is not listed? Are you kidding me Solomon? Sleep is a pretty important aspect of our lives. There were some other phrases that I could use with her though, like maybe "a time to be silent" in vs. 7, which she really needs to practice...."a time to die" in vs. 2, which is what may happen to her if she doesn't start sleeping more.
If you come across any good verses on sleep, let me know. We will definately use them in our devotion time and we just might memorize them as a family.