Escape...

So, the babes have been taking FOREVER to fall asleep these summer nights. Even with a black out shade--it's no use. Their normal sleep hour of 7pm (at the latest) has moved to 8:30 or 9! The bad thing is that they are waking up early. So, this means crazy and tired children until nap time. Boo. Take this morning for example. I decided to stay home from their music class because I could sense the craziness in the air and would rather it happen at home than in a class! I was trying to take a shower (first mistake) and Amelia kept opening the shower door and trying to shove her baby under the water to "wash it." When I told her repeatedly to close the shower door she lost it and went wailing out of the bathroom. In her journey out of the bathroom Sam's thumb got slammed in the bathroom door. Whew. Sam then started going CRAZY and Amelia continued her shouts and wails to "WASH IT!!" I ran Sam upstairs to get him some tylonal for the pain. While I was giving it to him Amelia managed to reach the bottle, grab it off of the cabinet and pour it all over the floor. Sam then started crying harder because of the "MESS!!!" and Amelia started crying because the medicine got inside her flip flop and made it sticky. Hmmm. I was about to lay down on the kitchen floor and start wailing myself, but then a thought popped into my head. Paradise. 'Who wants a muffin?!" I shouted over the roar. Silence. Then cries of "Treat! Muffin! Treat!" I managed to get Sam in the sling where he calmed down immediately and lay his head on my shoulder (awww) and got Amelia and her beloved babies out the door. Ahhh, the outdoors. Birds chirping. Even ducks waddling across the street. We made it to Paradise Bakery with no incidence and had a nice time together eating, looking at all the "letters!", getting caffinated (only me, I promise) and then loaded back up (Amelia in the sling this time like I promised her--happy as clam) and walked home.

I know this was a temporary fix as we obviously can't go to Paradise every morning for treats. Sometimes, though, you just need a little escape. I was oh so thankful for this one:) Jen

P.S. After returning home from Paradise I was watching Sam dig in the sandbox and listening to Amelia playing with her animals in their room. When she was quiet for a bit too long I went to check on her. I didn't see her anywhere in the room and just as my heart started to quicken she burst out of her closet and said, "Hi!" with a very guilty looking smile. She was holding a tube of toothpaste. Hiding in her closet sucking on a toothpaste tube. Oh dear.