Kid Time - Ree

The Monday after Christmas included a big event in our house.  It was the Mommy - Ree sleepover.  Ree had been planning this for weeks, if not months.  She has been dying for a pajama party, and I figured Christmas break was the perfect time to do it.  There was plenty of recovery time, and over the course of the week, there was a good chance of us finding a night where no one was sick and needing attention all night.

Ree's requirements for the sleepover were pretty simple.  Eat popcorn, watch a movie, paint our nails.  I like that.  Miraculously, Jeff and I were able to get Leon and Michael to bed on time, so Ree and I had a fair amount of time together while still getting her to sleep by 10:00 (at least that was my plan).  Once the boys were tucked in, Ree and I sprang into action.  We were in the bathroom painting her nails with her insisting that I paint my toenails.  (I am pretty sure I will deliver the bambina with the same polish on my nails.  I may have somehow reached my toes once to put on the polish, but there ain't no way I'm getting down there again to remove it.)

Then we popped some popcorn and were ready to sit down and watch a movie.  I was actually pretty excited.  We were watching Aladdin, which is one of my very favorite Disney movies.  My parents brought us a copy back in November, but for various reasons I had never been able to watch it with Ree.  Unfortunately, it was a little hard to hear since Leon chose to scream for an hour after we tucked him into bed.  He did not want his time with Mommy to end.  Jeff and I both tried resetting him, but he was feeling very angry, and hugs and kisses wouldn't cut it.  I think this was the night that I found him sitting in bed shivering and screaming at one point.  He likes to throw things when he's angry (ugh...boys!), and he had thrown all of his blankets out of his bed.  Apparently he was angry enough that when he ran out of ammunition, he took off his pajama shirt and threw that as well. So there sat my little half-naked, angry dude.

Eventually, he wore himself out, and we were able to actually hear the second half of the movie.  At this point I realized I was getting VERY tired.  Apparently the long day o' fun had caught up to me.  Following the movie, we brushed out teeth and settled in for the night.  I was sleeping on the couch, and Ree was sleeping next to me on the living room floor on a preschool sized pull-out sofa she got for Christmas.  She quickly got very quiet, and I subsequently passed out.  About 15 minutes later, I was awoken from a deep sleep by her asking to go the bathroom.  Apparently she never did fall asleep.  As we trekked to the bathroom with my head in a fog, I told her that it was okay if she decided she wanted to sleep in her own bed.  We went back to the living room, and I lay there a bit annoyed that I couldn't fall back asleep.  Twenty minutes later she told me she wanted to sleep in her own bed.  I was so relieved.

The night hadn't gone quite as planned, and I really didn't know what Ree thought of it.  I guess I got my answer last night.  As I was tucking her in to bed, she happily asked, "Mom, when's our next sleepover?"  I yawned and said I really didn't know, but it was fun to think about.