AP Moment of the day~Sleep with your child

At night, when I put the children to sleep, I mean, when I put them to BED ( Put them to sleep sounds a lot more harsh than I mean it to be!) I have them get under their covers and snuggle down. I read them a story, sing them two lullabies and then.. **BOOM** they go to sleep! :D Sometimes. If Captain Destructo has had the slightest inkling of a nap he is muuuuuuch harder to get to sleep. If he so much as had a long blink, that's it. Up all night! I exaggerate of course, if he were up all night I would be living in a hotel / loony bin. Actually it just takes him "some time" to get to sleep. I say "some time" as I have no idea of how long it really takes because, without fail, I FALL ASLEEP FIRST!!!!!!!!!!!!!! GGGGGRRRRRR. You wouldn't BELIEVE how annoying it is to lay down with your snuggle bug "just for a minute, until you go to sleep..." and wake up two hours later with leg cramps and chilled to the marrow because the fan you had on for white noise has been blowing directly on to your leg which now resembles chicken flesh in the worst way. I do try to lay half on and half off the bed so that I am as uncomfortable as possible to try and prevent my falling asleep.... it doesn't seem to work. Apparently I can sleep just about anywhere in any position. Except in my own bed, on my own pillow and under my own covers apparently. ... anyway.....I lever myself out from his bottom bunk being careful to not crack my head on the top bunk or the ladder, and also being careful not to wake the boy who sleeps as if on pins, ready to awaken at the slightest sound or movement. "Mama... come nap a me...??" he will say.... and again I will be drawn back to his sleepy side and his warm little body will send me into a somnolent state in an instant. Meanwhile the little turkey isn't tired at all and will spend his time trying to keep me awake. He'll pull on my hair, poke my eyes, stick his fingers in my mouth and hold my nose. He'll put his little face right up to mine and say "MAMA.... Mama?.... MAMA!!!!" until I blearily reopen my eyes and ask "WHAT?!?!!?"

Hubby is under strict instruction to make sure if (!!!IF!!!) I fall asleep, to come and wake me at a reasonable time so that a) I can watch CSI (!) and b) I don't "waste" my alooooone time sleeping! Nothing makes me more crazy (ok, that's a sweeping statement, there are LOTS of things that make me crazy, believe me, however...) than to have the whole evening as my oyster only to find I slept through it and it's now bed time!!! Thus the husband alarm. You can imagine my pleasure one night, which happened to be the season finale of CSI, when I had asked to be awakened should I succumb to the warmth that is my son and his bed, only to awaken with a start at 10:20 pm to find I had missed the entire show, it was 10:20 pm AND that noise I could hear emanating from the living room downstairs was my HUSBAND snoring!!! GAH!!!!!!!!! It's no good when the human alarm clock falls asleep too!!!! These days I take my cell phone up with me and have it programmed to wake me instead. The first night was something of a surprise.... I had it on vibrate. I nearly scared us all to death when I leaped up as if having been bitten on the behind!!! It turns out a gentle sounding beep is enough to do it!!..sleep on, little ones....

Goodnight!!