Tender Mercies

Yesterday I put Pete down for a nap, and he actually slept longer than 20 minutes. Just one nap, but it was momentous. I kept waiting and watching for him to wake up, grumbling and growling at Kylie and Alex to be quiet and stop going in and out. I nearly locked the door so they would stay outside for more than 10 minutes, but they would have started in with a chorus of doorbell ringing and window banging. Then I thought about forcing them to come inside to play so that I could take a shower while the baby slept, but we don't have a tv for them to zombie out in front of, so they would have gotten rowdy and woken the baby up for sure. So, a nap. A good, long nap for the baby. He woke up so happy and cute. It was great.
Then there was last night. I had to run out to the airport, and by the time I got back Alex was asleep in the back seat. I helped him to bed, and returned to the car happy that I only had two kids to tuck properly into their beds. The two left to tuck are the more difficult ones when it comes to the tucking, but one less is still helpful. When I got back to the car to unload the baby, I find Kylie perched on the end of his car seat letting him suck on her toes. Seems I didn't bring a pacifier and he was getting anxious. Yep, that Kylie has taken to being helpful in unorthodox ways. Anyway, this is not about that.
I took the sucker and the suckee inside, changed a diaper, read the big one a chapter of Junie B. Jones (Which I don't recommend, but we bought the whole stinking series and are trudging through!), and got her all tucked. She was asleep by the time I got the baby topped off and in the bed for the night. It was barely past 9:30, and I was sitting in a quiet house. That does not sound like much of a feat, but this is summer, and bedtime has gone the way of the dinosaurs.

Now, fast forward to this morning at 3:15 when I woke up. Only I woke up because I fell asleep last night with the light on (reading in bed always does that to me), and NOT because a baby was crying in his bed. Amazing! I went to check, and sure enough he was sound asleep in his crib. I even looked for the rise and fall of his chest, like any good neurotic Mom does. Back to bed with me, and lights off this time!hello, lovers!

Fast forward again to 7am when I am this time awoken by a child, but it's not a crying baby, and I am shocked. Kylie crawled in bed for a morning snuggle (seems like every morning there is an uninvited guest in the bed!) until 7:30 when Peter finally woke up babbling and smiling from his own bed in his own room. Kylie said, "It must have been the prayer!" She prayed yesterday at lunch "that Peter would let Mom and Dad get some sleep!" Thanks, Kylie. Now, while the toe sucking is just not going to make it on my list of cool things my kids do that I should really learn to do more often, the praying for small and simple things just found its way right to the top.
Seriously.