Sucess, Failure and Soup

When I first imagined life with my new Princess, I expected the first several months to be many ups and downs, and plenty of sleepless nights. Now, almost four years later, it's supposed to be mostly balanced. By now, most children are sleeping through the night, perhaps different times for bedtimes, different struggles to get there; but by the time they're out, that's it until morning.

4:00 am is a time where most are usually asleep. The only real activity amongst the family is deep breathing, and perhaps some snoring. Not in my house. Usually, at that hour, there are at least two members of our household up. The Princess and myself. Depending on the night, it could be pleasant, or it could be miserable. There could be many ups and downs, or there could only be a few. The one constant is that there is almost always someone awake in this house at all times. As I'm sure you've assumed by now, our first attempt at night time meds aren't working as effectively as we'd like.

The first week was great, from there we went straight down hill. The other night was probably the first time that the Princess had woken both the King and I. It was a particularly tumultuous night. The day before was a rough one. Paired with little sleep, and two royals who simultaneously felt the need to scream at the mommy all day, I was in tears by the time the King got home. This happens sometimes, but with the extra pair of hands, things went smoother and eventually everything was peaceful. Until 3:00 AM.

That's when it started. It started similarly to every other late night. The Princess is screaming, I try to change her, get her some milk and a movie. This was not enough for her, and that's when some head banging began. My nerves already shot, that was the final straw, and the tears started flowing again. I attempted to feed her, attempted to get her to calm down, but to no avail. The King decided to step in to lend a helping hand.

When usually the Princess sees her daddy, she's immediately all smiles, this night was different. She kept going right back to the wall to commence head banging. When he tried to redirect her, she went to a different wall. It came time to try to protect her from herself, and he fought to keep her in a hug with him. She's strong. Honestly, when she's in these moods, my only hope is to get between her and the wall. There's no way I can get her to stay in one spot.

Finally, we were able to get things settled down once more, and after reflecting with the King, I realized-- Probably for the very first time-- how lost he really felt in all of this. He's always held this stoic attitude, and perhaps so have I. For the first time I saw his vulnerability in not knowing how to deal with our autistic Princess. It was heart breaking, and heart warming all at once.

We both woke up sleep deprived the next morning, but honestly, I rather see him in a new light these days. He, like me, is just doing the best he can. That's all we can do. That and find extra things to channel the frustration that come with the hurdles. To channel my extra frustration lately, I've been cooking. It's funny because at one point, the word "domestic" in any way was akin to a four letter word. Never let it be uttered, lest it summon up something as unholy as, say Beetlejuice. I digress.

What I've realized is that for me, cooking has become an outlet. My "do-over" button. Life to me trying to raise a Princess with autism is like a series of attempts and failures. I attempt to get her to eat something else, I fail. I attempt to get her to sleep at night, I fail. With each new attempt, I hit another brick wall. Cooking though, I can follow the guidelines, I can experiment. Usually if I fail, I can pinpoint an exact step in which I failed, to correct and be successful later.

As selfish as I feel to say it, it helps boost my confidence. I love the fact that after all of my effort, I can taste it and be proud that I created this. The look on the Prince's face as he eats and enjoys each new menu item warms my heart. So much better than baby food. This is the confidence I think I've needed to continue to push forward and attempt and fail. Eventually, though I wont fail. There will always be small successes, and big successes. Small failures and big failures. Each as significant as the other. In the meantime, between the successes and the failures, I will cook.

Nap Time

Good evening, Lovelies. I guess morning. It's about 4:30 am here, and I've been up for an hour. At 11 pm, I just couldn't keep my eyes open. By 3:30 am, I was up with the little royals again. What a wonderful nap. Now I sit here drinking my hot chocolate-- After an agonizing hour of battling with myself whether or not to make coffee. I opted for not yet. That could change.

Sleeping issues are something that have been quite prevalent in my world lately, and frankly, it sucks. The Prince would be easy enough-- In theory-- to wake up after a late night, deprive him of a nap and regulate his schedule. He sleeps. When he does finally go down for bedtime, he is out for eight or nine hours. With anywhere from a two to three hour nap in the middle. This is what the King and many others have recommended. To be completely honest, the only reason I don't do it is because I'm exhausted. Usually on those late nights, I've been up with the Prince AND the Princess. When I do finally buck up and bear it, I'm certain this will most likely be successful. Again, he sleeps. The Princess naps.

That is quite literally the only explanation I can give. When she sleeps, she sleeps anywhere from two to four hours at a time, and that's it. She'll be up for hours afterwards. Then down for two to four hours, rinse and repeat.

A real example of her sleeping schedule the last week or so-- We'll start from going to bed:

10:00 pm-11:00 pm: Falls asleep after a busy day.
1:00 am-2:00 am: Awake, usually in need of a diaper change and to eat two jars of food.
4:30 am-6:00 am: (This one varies) Eat two more jars of food and fall asleep.
9:30 am-11:00 am: Awake for the day.

Gosh, seeing that written out is almost a little depressing to me. Especially when I think of the earlier days of our existence with our Princess. She was an amazing sleeper. I couldn't have asked for an easier baby on that front. From about 2.5 months she started sleeping in her own bed, in her own room. Through the night. OK, I lied. We'd wake once through the night, requiring a bottle; then right back to bed until morning. It wasn't until she was about 2 years old that she started regressing, and I haven't seen those easy days since.
I've tried everything. I've tried night time routine. I've tried Melatonin-- On doctor's orders. I've tried herbal tea that promotes sleep. It's supposed to be amazing stuff. Maybe I'll try it next time I get non-children induced insomnia. With her, I tried to sneak it into her bottle. First I tried the mixture the same ratio as I do water to milk in her cups. That did not go over well. A few hours later-- And a trusted bottle later-- I tried two droplets of the tea-- Lemon ginger, for those wondering-- in her normal drink. Apparently, it's the little things and she still refused. So here I sit with tea and melatonin and a very awake Princess.

The King made a comment to me last night before I crashed. Something about it not being healthy to adapt to this nocturnal schedule like I am. I don't disagree with him. I sense where it's hitting my health. Beyond being exhausted and bags under my eyes, I've noticed some digestion issues. My temper is a little shorter than I'd like. I get random twitches and ticks. I know that if I were to consistently get enough sleep, that will all change. It makes me think though. If lack of sleep is doing all of this to me and my typically functioning body, what is it doing to the Princess'?

I know part of her sleeping issues are her all-fruit-all-the-time-diet. All that sugar, natural or not, can't possibly be good for her. She just wont even LOOK at anything else. Any other option at this moment is public enemy number one in the Princess' eyes. But I wonder if maybe we were able to get her to sleep, maybe we'll be able to get over the dietary issues. And the behavioral issues. Maybe that babbling stringing together that's starting to sound like sentences will become sentences. Maybe, just maybe.

So how do I do this, you may ask? How am I going to possibly get the Princess to sleep? I don't know. I do know that with the school year quickly approaching, I need to do something. Her doctor had mentioned getting her on a sleep aid at one point. First we would try melatonin to reset her internal clock. It didn't work. I haven't gotten her on any other sleep aids yet. I've heavily thought on it, and truthfully I maybe should have already just done it. I just haven't been ready yet. Something about giving my almost four year old a sleep aid almost feels selfish to me. Like I'm drugging her so that I can get some shut eye. If I can just keep wading through these nights, maybe I'll get my amazing sleeper back.

I know it sounds silly. I do. I can't help it. I am facing the reality that in fact I might be helping her.  As the King said, it's not healthy to have this sleep schedule. Maybe this is just one more thing to buck up and bear.

Starting Over

Happy Monday, Lovelies! I hope you all had wonderful weekends! Our weekend wasn't a bad one, but it didn't involve much sleep. Lately, most nights have been consistent of night owl children-- I know I've mentioned it before, and from the looks of things, this wont be the last time-- and then they sleep all day. It's not my favorite process, but I can deal. So on Saturday night, I decided to call it a night at about 11:00 pm. Three hours later I woke up to the hubby crawling into bed. It always amazes me how he can go from zero to snoring in less than 60 seconds, but I digress. No sooner do I hear the snoring does the Prince start crying.

Not just crying, but screaming. At this point, the Princess is sleeping so I attempt to calm the Prince before that slumber is disturbed. No matter what I tried; cuddling, rocking, a new bottle or toy, nothing was working. He would just start crying again the second I tried to set him down. My last ditch effort was to feed him some graham crackers-- a personal favorite of his-- and try to get him down again. Though he is not crying anymore, he does stay up to play for another hour or so. By 4:00 am, I am exhausted. Fifteen minutes later, he is finally asleep. I crawl back into bed and try to close my eyes, but as it turns out, the soothing sound of snoring isn't so soothing after all. After tossing and turning for who knows how long, I start to feel that familiar pull of dream land.

It seems I've only slept seconds when I start to hear crying from the Princess' room. I shut my eyes tighter, hoping that somehow that will make the sound stop. It doesn't, shockingly enough. It's 4:30 am by the time I look at the clock, and my alarm is the sound of the Princess screaming. I go into her room and change her diaper, dodging kicks coming my direction. I try to get her a new movie and tell her that it's still bedtime. As the level of her crying increases, so does my frustration level. I decide quiet time in her room might do her some good, as sometimes this is the only way for her to calm down and relax.

After what seems like hours-- which was mere minutes, really-- the crying hasn't ceased. She kicks the walls and floor as she goes. Her face is beat red from all of her screaming, I know she's hungry, but she's worked herself into such a frenzy that she refuses a bite of her favorite food. All the while the crying, kicking and screaming doesn't stop. I start to yell, I'm so mad. Mostly because I just don't know what to do. I break down in tears myself. 'I just want sleep!' I think to myself. Then it dawns on me.

It isn't her fault that we're going through this cycle. Sure, she was probably woken up by the Prince, and when she found it to be dark and she had a wet diaper, she just wasn't happy. She wasn't the reason I had been up since 2:00 am. We were just feeding off of each other. I'm sure that my face reflected her beat red status. As I looked into my daughter's tear filled eyes, I resolved that I would change this. At this point I was still struggling to feed her. I took a deep breath.

"You and I, baby girl are tired. It's still dark outside. Let's end this cycle we're in and start over. Fresh. A brand new day." I don't know if the words were for her benefit or mine, but I said them anyway. While she had stopped screaming, I could tell that she was apprehensive. So I resolved to lead by my actions.
I wiped my eyes dry, slapped a smile on my face and started singing to her. I have no idea what I sang to her, I'm pretty sure I just put words randomly together to a tune. As we got through the first jar of food, her face wasn't red anymore. By the end of the second jar, she was smiling and giggling with me. The rest of the morning went really well after that, I'm happy to say.

The Princess eventually went down for a nap around 10:00 am. Shortly after, the Prince woke up. It seems that they effectively tag teamed an all nighter. So yeah, if you see a zombified woman on the streets who looks like she can't hold her head up, pay her no mind. That's just me. But pass the coffee, will you?

The Princess Likes to Party

Hola, Lovelies! Today begins a new week, new challenges and successes. Hopefully your weeks are starting off well. The little royals are both still sleeping, so our week hasn't quite started yet. They'll be up soon enough, and it will be back to the grindstone. So now that I have a little bit of time, I thought I'd share how our weekend got started.

Friday night was like any other, both the Prince and the Princess were fighting bedtime. They've both become such night owls lately. We had been up and down a few times that evening, but by 1am all was quiet. It was time for the King and Queen to take leave to our chambers and get a nights rest in. OK really, the King was already snoring by this point, so I decided to join him. I slept pretty well, not a wake up all the way through. Or so I thought.

8 am Saturday morning rolled around and the house was quiet. I do my morning stretch, get up and head out of the bedroom to start the day. Not yet having coffee, or even opening my eyes for more than five minutes, I was not prepared for what I would stumble into. As I step out from my adjoining bathroom into my dining room, one of my cats starts meowing at me fiercely. This is normal for our day, it usually means she wants to be fed. That's when my eyes started processing what I was seeing.

Directly in front of me, our dining room and laundry room area was in shambles. Papers, my reading glasses, diapers and clothes scattered everywhere. To my left is our kitchen. My eyes scan that way. I'm in utter disbelief. Cupboards are open, the garbage is scattered on the floor: eggshells, coffee grounds, dirty diapers. The cat's food and water dishes are flipped upside down. Contents that were previously put away in the cupboards where scattered with the garbage. Complete and total chaos.

My first knee-jerk reaction was that it was cats. I was looking at the cat who was brave enough to show herself to me while I took in the sights. So sure that the only perpetrators to these vicious crimes of cleanliness was my two fur babies having HAD to run amok that night. As I'm starting to yell, "Stupid cats!"-- With a few more expletives thrown in there-- one other sight catches my eye.

The baby gate has been knocked over. As I make my way over to this latest development, I was cautious. When I get to the downed baby gate, I peek into the hallway to the left. There I spot a diaperless Princess sleeping on her bed. Two pieces of paper that were previously in the dining room were scattered around her. I put the baby gate back up and really make a closer inspection of the mess. Then I see it. The details that point to a Princess who had free reign of the house apparently while we slept. There's two of her favorite blocks on the floor, presumably in trade for something that she played with. There's the diaper in the middle of the mess which she decided to take off. Yep, our mastermind wasn't four legged. She was a three year old Princess.

As the mess was cleaned up, some thoughts came to mind. First, was what it must have been like for her when she decided to have a run with it. I imagine it was something like:
'I'm up! I'm bored. Where's Mommy and Daddy? Maybe if I kick at the gate a little. Hm, it fell down. Maybe if I check over here, no there not there. What about over here? Nope. Maybe if I do this, that will get them out. Sweet, I'm gonna play!'

Second, I'm so glad that the Princess doesn't have the instinct to put random things in her mouth. I imagine if it were the Prince, well I don't want to, because I know that he will have tasted most everything that he came into contact with. The thought makes me shudder.

Yet again one step behind the Princess, we installed some pieces to make the baby gate more secure to the wall so that there wont be anymore late night parties while we sleep. At least not until the teenage years. Until next time, Lovelies. Let us pray for no more late night parties.

Lost and Found

Ciao, Lovelies. I think it's fairly common knowledge that when it comes to kids, things get lost. Often. Sometimes never to be seen again. But if anybody is to find it, it's usually Mom.

I swear my children must have a little magpie in their lineage. They are so good at taking things and hiding them. Especially the Princess. I've made references to her "shopping trips" in the past, but I thought it might be fun to explore this just a bit further. Now what she shops for really ranges in item type. A favorite is keys, especially if she can get both Mommy and Daddy's sets. She'll hide them, so when the King needs to get to work, and they're nowhere to be found, our first place to look is in her room. We've found them under her bed, under toys, and a personal favorite; in her dresser drawer.

Another well honored favorite is shoes. Usually mine. Recently, my favorite staple pair of flip flops went missing. I didn't notice until we had plans, of course. The day of said plans, in fact. You see, we had plans to go to see a family friend and we don't have many opportunities to get out. Or rather, I don't. So I make sure to wake up early, so that I can successfully get the Prince and Princess ready, as well as the King and I-- OK, now I feel like I need to burst into song. As I am getting dressed, I flit to and from each child, get this one dressed, feed that one; I realize that the flip flops that are pivotal to my outfit-- and no, I am not changing at this point in the game-- are missing!

So now, I'm trying to search for my shoes, as the King is getting a little impatient to leave. I look in the living room, under the couch-- Nothing. Check the toy box. Success! One flip flop found! Only. One. Crap, now I have to find the other. Search the area around the toy box, and quickly discover that the other one is nowhere near. Check the dining room-- Nope. The Princess' room-- Not there either. All the while, I'm helping with finishing touches on the children. Check once more in the living room-- Hey, there's the King's shoe that he's been looking for! Not my shoe though. Check the my bedroom, in the closet-- I know, the most logical place for shoes-- and look at that, I found the bag of shoes for the Prince. Still not my shoe.

By now, I've given up any hope of finding the missing flip flop. And I definitely don't have time to change my outfit. So, I went with the only choice I had. Yes, I was THAT mother. You know the one. The mom with two different colored flip flops on. One black, one purple. I decided to go with my choice with pride-- Plus, I knew that once we got there, I'd be able to stay barefoot the majority of the time. So it wasn't an entire loss.

That was a couple of weeks ago, now. I just recently found the missing partner to my favorite pair of flip flops. About two days ago. Oddly, I only discovered it's location when the Princess had found it again first. Of course, she couldn't reach it and was throwing a massive fit.

Where was it, you ask? Behind the TV stand in living room, of course. In the living room the whole time. Of course. Well, looks like I've just added a new hiding place to check when things go missing.

"Quit Slamming That Door!"

Benvenuto, my Lovelies. As parents, we've grown accustomed to repeating phrases like they're going out of style. Sometimes phrases that we expect, sometimes ones we never even dreamed would come flying out of our mouths. Today, we're going to discuss one for me that as of lately, has been repeated far too often.

Before we get into the phrase itself and why it's on repeat, let me first share a little information about living with a child with autism.  Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) are beings of routine, obsessions and repetitive behaviors. According to the National Autistic Society; "Repetitive behaviour may include arm- or hand-flapping, finger-flicking, rocking, jumping, spinning or twirling, head-banging and complex body movements. You may also see the repetitive use of an object, such as flicking a rubber band or twirling a piece of string, or repetitive activities involving the senses (such as repeatedly feeling a particular texture)."

Now what this means to me can mean so many things. It means that when the Princess is feeling particularly affectionate, I get lots of kisses. By that, I mean she runs up to me, allows me to give her a kiss and runs away-- rinse and repeat. She is particularly fond of spinning until I am dizzy from just watching her. It also means that the "normal toddler" things are on repeat. Playing with the spring door-stopper. Opening and closing drawers. And a personal favorite: Opening and closing doors.

So the phrase that's on repeat is one that most parents have uttered: "Quit slamming that door!" What's so different about this? Add one word to the phrase, and you'll understand.
"Quit slamming that closet door!"

Yes, you read that right: Closet door. No, our closet door isn't like any normal door, it's the type on a track that slides open and shut. The Princess loves to sit inside the closet, and continuously open and close it, revealing dark and light. She also loves the very loud *Thud* it makes.

The process usually starts simply enough. It's quiet, the Princess is playing by herself, the Prince is either self entertained, or napping. You hear that slight familiar sound of a door rolling on the track. It stops. It seems like a few minutes before you hear it again; only this time it ends with that familiar "Thud!"

I've thought of lots of solutions to the issue, none so far have panned out. I've tried blocking the closet. She found a way around it. I've tried redirecting her. That only works until she's gotten bored with whatever I used. I think my next step will be using her closet for storage. Maybe if it's inaccessible, she wont find it so entertaining.

At any rate, I've got to run. I'm starting to hear that very familiar sound...

To My Handsome Prince Charming:

Aloha, Lovelies. Since last time was a letter to the Princess, I'd like to follow it up with a letter to my Prince. It's a little different in tone, as I have a whole different message for him.

Dear Little Prince Charming,

I never knew how my life could change for the better until you came into my world. I've not had much experience with little boys, so my son, you are my learning curve. In more ways than one.  This could be both a blessing and a curse for you, so how you choose to look at it is entirely up to you.

There are a lot of things that I wish I could articulate. I wish I could articulate the fact that even if sometimes it seems I am dealing with the Princess and may not have time for you, I will always have time for you. Tell me you need it, I will make it available. I wish I could articulate how I much I've wondered if this life that you were born into; that of chaos and meltdowns, was ever fair to you. Along with that chaos is love and memories that we will share together as a family. So, I suppose that's fair enough.

I'm not sure I'll ever be able to articulate to you how much different the world is for your sister, the Princess. I think you notice. I know you love her. I know you see the differences. You enjoy being in the high chair and trying new things, even if you see her having a meltdown in same situation. You're trying to learn new words, while she seems to be stuck on babbling.

You sir, are an inspiration to me. While you see the chaos, you see the beauty. When you fall down, you get right back up. The most inspiring is seeing how you and your big sister have formed a bond. I almost think you may understand a little better than I do. When you get that talking full sentences thing down, will you do me a solid and explain some to me?

Let me leave you with a few pieces of advice:

• Never lose that sense of adventure. Someday, it will lead you to what makes you happiest.

• Look to your father as an example of how a man should behave. Especially in how he treats the people around him. However, ignore the negative habits. Like leaving shoes in the middle of the floor, or considering laundry "done" when it's simply piled fresh out of the dryer.-- Trust me, your wife some day will thank me for that tidbit.

• Ask questions. Seek answers. Never be afraid to ask advice or for help. This is something most adults have trouble with-- Including yours truly-- so figuring this out now will help you in the future. 

Know that I will always love you. You will always be my baby boy, even long after you have grown taller than I am. I am here for you. You'll make mistakes, and so will I, we'll work through it together.
I love you always, my handsome Prince.

Love,

Mommy

A Confessional To My Princess

Bonjur, Lovelies. Today, I thought I'd sit down and jot a few thoughts to the Princess. And since I seem to be in a sharing mood lately-- hence the blog-- I thought I'd share it with you too.


To My Beautiful Princess,

First, I'd like to start this letting you know that I am blessed to know you. I'm so proud to say that I'm your mommy. Your adventurous nature keeps me on my toes, and I wouldn't have it any other way. Since you keep me on my toes, I thought you should know some of the things that I do to work around your lovely stubborn streak.

So you know that sippy of milk you get? How you wont drink anything but milk? I'm afraid to say, that's not the whole truth. You see, you can't live on milk. I know you want to, but it's not enough to keep your little body running properly. To keep you happy and to keep my mommy guilt level to a minimum, your cups of milk are mostly half water. I'm sure you've noticed the massive up-tick in diaper changes. That is the result of my actions. And though you can't tell me yet, I'm sure you've noticed maybe a lack of headaches. You seem to be happier in general.

Also, you know those nights where it's really late, and inexplicably immediately after drinking your milk, you feel sleepier? That's because per your doctors orders, there's a little melatonin in there. To be completely honest, it's not really often that happens, mommy usually resolves to wake up whenever you decide it's morning.

You know, while we're on the topic; since you usually do wake up so early in the morning-- Truth be told, I still consider 3 AM night time, and I really wish you'd see eye to eye with me on that.-- is it really necessary to yell at me BEFORE I've had my coffee? You might get a slightly less grumpy mommy.  I mean, I love you and I will continue to put your needs before mine, and this includes coffee. But at some point we need to compromise on what constitutes a reasonable waking hour. I'll throw out a starting point: to your 4 AM, I'll exchange it with 7 AM on school days and 10 AM all other days of the week? No? Well, you think about it and get back to me, would you?

I love you, my wonderful Princess. Remember these final things:

1) You are beautiful inside and out.

2) You are wise beyond your years.

3) You are absolutely brilliant. I've not seen somebody who can figure out how to melt my heart, and wrap me around their little finger quite as well as you.

4) Above all else, know that I am always on your side, by your side.  We may not always see eye to eye, but believe me, everything I do is out of love for you. I may mess up at times, but the underlying motivation is always there.

Love you always,

Mommy

(PS: Stay tuned next time for the letter to the Prince)

The Bitching Hour

Hola, my Lovelies. Today, I'd like to take you to a special time. One that I know all too well. The time when the world has slowed down to a snails pace. The sky is dark, all is quiet and peaceful. Except in my house. This is a time I like to call "The Bitching Hour."

After a full day of eating, changing diapers, playing endless games of peek-a-boo and many a meltdown had and dealt with. It's 11pm; the house is quiet, the Prince and the Princess are asleep. Finally, you think to yourself, I can get some rest too. So you set to your nightly routine get yourself snuggled up, close your eyes and drift away to the dreamland with the idea of waking up first thing bright and early, birds chirping and the sun is shining.

*Thud, thud, thud* It's a familiar sound, but since it ceases quickly, I'm not quite roused from my sleep. *Thud, thud, thud* My eyes fly open. I heard it that time, I know it! Shift my eyes to my clock. 2 am. Great. My poor downstairs neighbors didn't see us coming when we moved in. The crying starts, which is accompanied by the same *thud, thud, thud*. That sound is the Princess' heels being pounded into the floor like it was her worst enemy. As if to say, "If I am awake, then everyone will be awake too!"

I set about my tasks of figuring out exactly what it is that is bothering the Princess. Diaper-- check. Light on-- check. *Thud, thud, thud* Light off-- check. That didn't work. Is it time to eat? Usually, at this time of night, if she is hungry for a late night snack, it's going to be a fight. The way she thrashes and screams in her high chair-- yes high chair, at 3 years old. She's a creature of habit, after all.-- you'd think I was feeding her something so foul that it might as well be liver and onions-- Or whatever you despise as a food-- even though it's the same baby food she's eaten every day of her life since she started solids.

That seems to settle things a little. Check the time, it's 3 am. We settle on a movie and attempt to get things settled. This, of course works only for a short while, as soon I hear: *Thud, thud, thud*. Crap. 'My poor neighbors' I think. 'I really need to bake them something delicious, or better yet, buy them a vacation away for a while.' If only I could afford that, I'd be taking it! I digress. Now it's time to get the Princess a fresh cup of milk. In the only cup she'll drink from. First, I have to find it.

We settle on a different movie, because suddenly, this one is not keeping her happy. When she starts to cry again, I'm at a loss. What can it possibly be, besides sleep? And how is it possible for the Prince and the King to snore peacefully through all of this? I change the diaper, set up her 'nest' in the middle of the floor-- Sometimes she doesn't want to sleep in her bed, so we get her as comfy with lots of blankets and pillows. It angers her less to have the choice to sleep on her bed or on the floor. Turn off the light, again. Really I feel like we should have a timed strobe light in there so that it can turn on and off at her pace.

Finally, it's quiet again. I've tamed the beast. The Princess is asleep peacefully again. Look at the time, 5 am. Only three hours this time. I've seen her stay up until noon before. This isn't bad. I'm awake, but decide to lay on the couch for maybe a couple of minutes of shut eye. As I close my eyes, and start to drift peacefully to a doze, I hear another familiar sound. The Prince is crying. He's up. Look at the clock: 5:30am. Whelp. I guess my day has just begun.