'Go to sleep'

Been kinda busy lately. Alan returned today from a mass meeting in Denver. All reservist JAGs go biannually.

The girls and I made it through his absence tolerably well. But we all missed him. Meggie especially. She didn't notice too much on Thursday. On Friday she insisted on taking a dish towel to bed with her. "To dry my tears," she said. And darned if she didn't wake up several times during the night and wail "I miss my daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaddy" before falling back to sleep. And then last night, she was just a train wreck. She woke up this morning at 6 a.m. Too, too early for me since I went to bed well after midnight. New year's resolution, pah!

I heard her crying over the monitor, and when I went to investigate, she sputtered, "I, I, I, I was drinking water. But I drank too much. And, and, and, and. Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah! I'm wet!" She asked to be changed and to come into my bed, and I caved in. I wouldn't normally, but I figured the occasional exception makes the rule.

So I brought her up with the caveat that she must sleep. "OK, OK," she promised. But in reality...

m*:
I'm sleeping in your bed!
Right, Mom? I'm sleeping in your bed
with you! Right? Right? I'm in my space,
and you're in your space. And Laurel's in
her space. We're all sleeping in our space.

h:
Meggie. You promised
you would sleep. Close your eyes. Don't
wake little sister. If she wakes up, she'll cry.

(shrilly)
I'm being very, very quiet. Right?
Sister won't wake up. I'm being very,
very quiet so sister won't wake up.
Ri--

l*:
Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!

Ooh! What was that!
I heard something!
What was that, Mom?
Huh, huh? What was that?!?

*sigh* That was your sister.
Waking up.

Oh! Go to sleep! Go
to sleep, sister!

Gurgle, gurgle. Scratch,
scratch, scratch, scratch,
scratch, scratch, scratch...

Ooooooooh! What was that?!
I heard a scary noise.

Meggie, it's just sister
scratching her fingers on
her sheet. Ignore it. Go to sleep.

Stop scratching, baby!
Go to sleep like me!

Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!

I don't think she's
sleeping.

Yeah, I know. But if you
sleep, she'll sleep. So be
very quiet.

Thump, thump, thump
thump, thump, thump.

Gasp! What was that?!?

It's just sister hitting
her mattress with her
fist. Now hush. Go to sleep.

Why's she doing that?

Because she's trying to go
to sleep. Now close your eyes.

But I want them open.

Thump, thump, thump.

Just close them, OK?

But--

Close.

I--

Them.

d--

NOW!

(putting her nose
right on mine and
staring me in the eye)
They already are
closed.

Meggie, if you say one.
More. Word. You're back
to your room.

Mmmmm.

One. Word.

Mmmmmmm.

Scratch ... scratch...

La la la la la!

Meggie, I told you!

I'm singing her a
lullaby! ("yayabye")
Um, can you go back
into your space, please?

Scratch ... scratch ... zzzzzzzzzzzz

Mommy?

Mommy?

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Thank goodness.
zzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

(an hour and a half later)
Yay! Good morning,
everybody! Time
to get up! Time to
get up!

_________________________

I'm a little tired. Bed soon. But first, pictures. By request.

They say a babies have a thousand faces. I think right now Laurel is going through the Paw Paw-lookalike phase.

I'm trying to play.

Do you have to take my picture?

If you must, hurry it up.

What's with her?

And now I shall follow my own advice. Good night.