The Sleepover

Last night Rob, Olive, and I packed an overnight back and headed up the street to the Khorey's house for an all-nighter. The kids' mom is on her yearly business trip to Israel and their dad had band practice, so my guardian services were requested overnight. Olive was tickled to bits at the idea of getting ready for bed - brushing her teeth, putting on pamamas, and saying goodnight to everyone in the living room playing Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader? (most of us were not, of course, which is the point of the game). I think the kids were, at first, a little sketched out at the idea of Rob staying over, too. They don't know him as well, but I thought it'd be a great opportunity for all of them to get to know one another a little better. After all, they're my other kids and he's my husband; they all hear plenty about the other. It went really well except for Buggy keeping me up until nearly 2:30. I made the mistake of setting up her Pack 'N Play in our room, not wanting to stow her all the way in the basement, where she usually sleeps when she's there. When she began crying in the midnight hour I wasn't so much afraid of her waking the others, who will undoubtedly sleep through the Apocalypse, but of not getting any sleep myself. Uncomfortably warm and thirsty in the liberally-heated house, I'd been tossing around since we went to bed at 10:30. By 1:50 I'd had enough of Olive's knocking her water bottle on the sides of her bed and handed her off to Rob, partially collapsed the PN'P, enough to drag it down two flights of stairs, ran back up for Olive and deposited her in her more familiar sleeping quarters. I grabbed a glass of water, turned the thermostat down ten degrees, and went back to bed, sleeping soundly until 6 when I needed to get up to wrangle the kids out of bed (Noah was particularly difficult to rouse because, he complained, "It was so cold"). Olive was gleeful when I greeted her and has been all day, showing no signs that she'd been burning the midnight oil. I was dubious about my ability to drag the two of us in to Music Together at 9:30 but I pulled it off. I'm sure I'll be feeling the effects tomorrow.

Also, still no sign of my camera battery. Olive will probably be nine by the time it arrives. Get your postal system in check, China!!!!