She's an Animal!

I have a terror on my hands! She has the energy of a wild rabbit, the toughness of a tiger, and the behavior of a monkey, but she cuddles like a puppy. All 22 months of her, make me crazy! Add to it her lack of sleep, and I have myself wired for the coo-coo house. Each morning she is up by 6 a.m. She tip-toes across the marble-floor apartment (which actually sounds like a penguin waddling on a wet surface), jumps into our king bed, and softly massages my cheeks with the palm of her hand, giving sweet kisses on my forehead and lips. You can hardly be upset by this. So, I get up, we eat breakfast together and start the coffee.

Fast forward through lots of play time, books read on repeat, and a battle of food during the lunch hour, and we have nap time! It's really the same routine each day... I tell her it's rest time. She says, "No!" I say "Yes!" She says, "No!" I lie her down, rub her back, rock her in the chair, pretend I'm sleeping too, leave the room. She comes out. I put her back. She comes out. I put her back. She comes out. I put her back and try the tricks again. I threaten to take away playdates. She outsmarts me. We do it again. By the time she's finally asleep, we get about 45 min to 1 hour of rest before bus duty with the older two. Great.

A Glimpse at Repatriation

Remember back to that college spring break trip. You headed out on the road with a few of your besties, looking to have the week of your life, ready to be who you wanted and do what you wished. You were free in a sense. And you lived it up! You explored, you partied, you rested, and you met so many new friends. You stayed up late and talked about everything you knew at that point. Then the week wrapped up and you said good-bye to those you met, you shared a hug, said good-luck, and piled back into your parents borrowed vehicle to return home.