Night from Hell
So, I don't know how your night went, but mine could have been far better. I suppose it's fair to say that it could have been far worse, as well, but that's neither here nor there and doesn't bring me much comfort at the moment.
I had hoped that last night would be smooth and productive. It was anything but smooth, but I guess I could say it was productive. I had a significant school project due last night, and it was my aim to have it done earlier than usual.
I arrived home from work with plenty of time to work on it. We had dinner at a very reasonable time, thanks to Rebecca cooking, and dinner was both tasty and enjoyable. James and Melissa both ate well and without issue. Michael spent dinner napping in his cradle. Once dinner was done, Rebecca awakened Michael to feed him, then put him back in his cradle.
Rebecca had to go do shopping before stores closed, so she jetted out the door and I watched the kids. This shouldn't have been an issue, but Murphy decided it needed to be. 19:30 is Melissa's bedtime. 20:30 is James' bedtime. So, at 19:30, I took Melissa up to bed leaving James to monitor Michael while he napped in his cradle again. So, Melissa and I had a grand time while I tickled her and we chatted during her getting-ready-for-bed routine. Then, having placed her in her bed, I stood by while she finished her bottle of milk.
Only, she wasn't finishing it. She was playing with it, spinning it in her mouth, letting it dribble everywhere, and generally doing anything she could to prolong things. I finally had enough, took the bottle, and intended to remain in the room for only a few minutes more while Melissa settled in, but that's when she decided it was time to stand up in bed and start asking for milk, food, TV, downstairs, anything to keep from going to bed. She wasn't cooperating, and I informed her that if she didn't cooperate and lay down, I was going to leave. She did not comply, so I left.
This resulted in her wailing and screaming from her room for 30 minutes while I monitored Michael, sent James upstairs to take his shower, and attempted to start my school research. Afterall, it was now 20:15. Unfortunately, the amount of screaming coming from Melissa upstairs (one did not even need the monitor to hear what was going on at this point), I achieved little in the way of study. At 20:30, I went upstairs to attempt to calm Melissa.
Again, she was initially willing to comply, laying down and closing her eyes. But, the moment she relaxed, she stood back up and wouldn't lay down and sleep. So, again I told her if she didn't comply, I'd leave her. She started to lay down, then thought better of it and stood back up. I instructed her to lay down again, and she didn't. So, I left. Screaming ensued. And crying. And wailing. And the throwing of objects from her crib just so she'd have something else to scream about.
I went downstairs to find James waiting for me, showered and dressed and ready for bed. One thing I can say about James: bed time has rarely been an issue with him since he learned to sleep through the night. He and I went upstairs, and he crawled into bed with no issue, and that was that. Melissa, on the other hand, continued screaming.
I went back downstairs to check on Michael, who was sound asleep in his cradle, thankfully. I attempted to eek some work out on my homework, but couldn't concentrate. Two more times I went upstairs to try to calm Melissa. Both times were futile as she resisted any urge to go to sleep. This continued until 21:40, fully two hours after she was supposed to be in bed, and an hour after I was supposed to be able to start my studies and attack my homework. Rebecca returned home and we unloaded the groceries from the car.
Rebecca took over trying to calm Melissa, which took another 30 minutes in which I could still hear the screaming. Rebecca gave up at that point, letting Melissa scream it out. Finally at 22:30, there was silence upstairs. At 23:00, I was finally able to start my homework. At 02:45, Rebecca came downstairs and nudged me as I had nodded off (honestly for only about 15 minutes; it happened while I was waiting for my computer to process a change and start responding again, but who knows how long I would have slept if she didn't come downstairs). I only had 2-3 more minutes of work to do, thankfully, as the assignment was due by 03:00. So, I finished that up, and had the assignment submitted at 02:55. Not when I was wanting to be going to bed . . . again.
So, I dragged myself upstairs, ready for sleep. I undressed, put my phone on its charger, and crawled into bed . . . only to find that Tia, our 19 year old, elderly cat, had pissed in the middle of the bed, soaking it down to the mattress cover. I couldn't sleep in my bed. This was the icing on the cake. It left me with squeezing into the mattress on the floor with Rebecca (who is co-sleeping with Michael, so there's limited room), or going down to the couch (upon which was sleeping a stinky Tia). I opted to sleep next to Rebecca. And although it was tight for everyone involved, at least I got to sleep next to my wife for once in the past few months.
Epilogue: Melissa woke up grumpy this morning, and screamed and threw a fit when offered breakfast because it meant she would have to sit in her chair at the table, rather than walk around with a bowl of food spilling it everywhere. Poor Pam had to sit through a 15 minute screaming tantrum first thing in the morning while I was feeding Michael.
Man this really sets the tone for the day. Comforter and Rebecca's black Disney backpack (another victim of Tia) are in the washer on Sanitize mode. I've pulled out the powered upholstery cleaner and have attacked the mattress cover (it's a waterbed with a pillow-top cover, I can't run it through the washer). And now, I sit down hopeful I will accomplish some work so I can maintain my employment.
I had hoped that last night would be smooth and productive. It was anything but smooth, but I guess I could say it was productive. I had a significant school project due last night, and it was my aim to have it done earlier than usual.
I arrived home from work with plenty of time to work on it. We had dinner at a very reasonable time, thanks to Rebecca cooking, and dinner was both tasty and enjoyable. James and Melissa both ate well and without issue. Michael spent dinner napping in his cradle. Once dinner was done, Rebecca awakened Michael to feed him, then put him back in his cradle.
Rebecca had to go do shopping before stores closed, so she jetted out the door and I watched the kids. This shouldn't have been an issue, but Murphy decided it needed to be. 19:30 is Melissa's bedtime. 20:30 is James' bedtime. So, at 19:30, I took Melissa up to bed leaving James to monitor Michael while he napped in his cradle again. So, Melissa and I had a grand time while I tickled her and we chatted during her getting-ready-for-bed routine. Then, having placed her in her bed, I stood by while she finished her bottle of milk.
Only, she wasn't finishing it. She was playing with it, spinning it in her mouth, letting it dribble everywhere, and generally doing anything she could to prolong things. I finally had enough, took the bottle, and intended to remain in the room for only a few minutes more while Melissa settled in, but that's when she decided it was time to stand up in bed and start asking for milk, food, TV, downstairs, anything to keep from going to bed. She wasn't cooperating, and I informed her that if she didn't cooperate and lay down, I was going to leave. She did not comply, so I left.
This resulted in her wailing and screaming from her room for 30 minutes while I monitored Michael, sent James upstairs to take his shower, and attempted to start my school research. Afterall, it was now 20:15. Unfortunately, the amount of screaming coming from Melissa upstairs (one did not even need the monitor to hear what was going on at this point), I achieved little in the way of study. At 20:30, I went upstairs to attempt to calm Melissa.
Again, she was initially willing to comply, laying down and closing her eyes. But, the moment she relaxed, she stood back up and wouldn't lay down and sleep. So, again I told her if she didn't comply, I'd leave her. She started to lay down, then thought better of it and stood back up. I instructed her to lay down again, and she didn't. So, I left. Screaming ensued. And crying. And wailing. And the throwing of objects from her crib just so she'd have something else to scream about.
I went downstairs to find James waiting for me, showered and dressed and ready for bed. One thing I can say about James: bed time has rarely been an issue with him since he learned to sleep through the night. He and I went upstairs, and he crawled into bed with no issue, and that was that. Melissa, on the other hand, continued screaming.
I went back downstairs to check on Michael, who was sound asleep in his cradle, thankfully. I attempted to eek some work out on my homework, but couldn't concentrate. Two more times I went upstairs to try to calm Melissa. Both times were futile as she resisted any urge to go to sleep. This continued until 21:40, fully two hours after she was supposed to be in bed, and an hour after I was supposed to be able to start my studies and attack my homework. Rebecca returned home and we unloaded the groceries from the car.
Rebecca took over trying to calm Melissa, which took another 30 minutes in which I could still hear the screaming. Rebecca gave up at that point, letting Melissa scream it out. Finally at 22:30, there was silence upstairs. At 23:00, I was finally able to start my homework. At 02:45, Rebecca came downstairs and nudged me as I had nodded off (honestly for only about 15 minutes; it happened while I was waiting for my computer to process a change and start responding again, but who knows how long I would have slept if she didn't come downstairs). I only had 2-3 more minutes of work to do, thankfully, as the assignment was due by 03:00. So, I finished that up, and had the assignment submitted at 02:55. Not when I was wanting to be going to bed . . . again.
So, I dragged myself upstairs, ready for sleep. I undressed, put my phone on its charger, and crawled into bed . . . only to find that Tia, our 19 year old, elderly cat, had pissed in the middle of the bed, soaking it down to the mattress cover. I couldn't sleep in my bed. This was the icing on the cake. It left me with squeezing into the mattress on the floor with Rebecca (who is co-sleeping with Michael, so there's limited room), or going down to the couch (upon which was sleeping a stinky Tia). I opted to sleep next to Rebecca. And although it was tight for everyone involved, at least I got to sleep next to my wife for once in the past few months.
Epilogue: Melissa woke up grumpy this morning, and screamed and threw a fit when offered breakfast because it meant she would have to sit in her chair at the table, rather than walk around with a bowl of food spilling it everywhere. Poor Pam had to sit through a 15 minute screaming tantrum first thing in the morning while I was feeding Michael.
Man this really sets the tone for the day. Comforter and Rebecca's black Disney backpack (another victim of Tia) are in the washer on Sanitize mode. I've pulled out the powered upholstery cleaner and have attacked the mattress cover (it's a waterbed with a pillow-top cover, I can't run it through the washer). And now, I sit down hopeful I will accomplish some work so I can maintain my employment.