And So Are The Nights of Our Lives...

Mommy's Log.

9:00 PM. Attempted to put Laura to bed with the window open, the fan on and the door ajar for air. So far, so good.

9:03 PM Laura screaming "No! No! I don't want the window open!" I go down and close it all but a few inches. I am two feet down the hall when...

9:04 PM Laura screams once again. "No! I don't want the fan on! No, Mom! Turn off the fan! No fan!" I return to totally close up her room from any chance of fresh, moving air. She is happy and settles down to sleep.

9:50 PM The boys are late getting ready for bed but they manage to get their teeth done while listening to Laura sing her version of 'There are seven days, There are seven days, There are seven days of the week'. It sounds like "Der are seben days, Der are seben days, Der are seben days to the weeK" and she sings it to the same melody over and over again. We all gather around the monitor and smile to ourselves. I realize she's not sleeping yet and start to dream of getting another half hour of sleep in the morning as she makes up for it.

10:00 PM I kiss Jonathan and send him off to bed. And I start the conversation once more with Matthew about how a Mommy goodnight kiss is a fact of life and he has no choice in the matter.

10:03 PM Matthew is kissed and headed to bed.

10:05 PM Don begins fiddling with the ceiling fan after having opened all but Laura's window on the second floor in order to get some cooler air flowing in to the house. The boys room is nice already. Ours is steaming.

10:30 PM I turn the lights out and roll over. There is a large puddle where I've just been. I realize it's going to be a long night.

11:20 PM I am still awake despite several melatonin. The heat is beginning to feel oppressive. I begin planning the July 4th menu. It's something to do.

12:12 AM I have moved away from so many puddles of sweat in my bed I'm beginning to think sleeping on the floor might be better. Don is sleeping peacefully. I decide to be thankful for that. I move on to planning clutter removal.

1:25 AM I have lots of ideas for getting rid of clutter and have a mental list of things we need to either find in our plethora of stuff or purchase. Life will be better soon. Meanwhile, moving to the basement where the temperature is always cooler seems a virtual guarantee. The bonus is that the million Lego's we own will all be on one floor. I begin wondering if the boys will go for it and plot my strategy.

2:12 AM I get up to find a cool drink and some Tylenol. I scout possible sleeping spots and realize nowhere is as comfy as my bed but anywhere it is cooler and I have to sit up would be better than laying down in what I'm thinking is my very own 'death valley'. I open a few windows on the first floor and just stand in front of them cooling off. I contemplate sleeping on the deck and realize I'm not fond enough of ants to do that so I close up and head back upstairs.

2:40 AM I am standing in my bedroom, dreading the return to death valley of sweat. I realize there is a spare bed just a few feet away. I sit on the edge of it to discover cool breezes washing over me. Ahhhh! Heaven! I grab a pillow and lay down to watch the stars twinkle.

3:14 AM I have been watching this point of light in the sky. It isn't moving towards me or away from me and it isn't moving across the sky, either. It appears to be bobbing up and down now and then. I begin to think I've discovered an UFO. Then I realize I must be suffering from heat stroke and I close my eyes.

4:51 AM I wake up... slightly cold! How wonderful! I know Don will be waking up momentarily and he'll wonder where I am so I get up and head back to 'the valley'. As I walk in the room he asks where I've been. I guess he doesn't need the alarm this morning. We cuddle for a few minutes before he gets up to get ready for work. I settle in to sleep knowing it will be at least two hours before I need to get up again.

5:13 AM "Mommy! I awake! Mommy! The sun is coming up! Mommy! I awake! I ready to get up, Mommy!" And so my day begins...