Keeping Cool

The Johnsons and Birches are arriving tomorrow for a mini-family reunion tomorrow. We are SO excited. Who knows when the whole Jeffries family will all be in the same place again. :( Today at lunch Ella and I were discussing Auntie Bobby's relationship to us. Mommy's sister, just like Sarah is Mommy's sister. And like Quinn is Ella's sister. Ella said, "And I'm your baby. Quinn's not your baby. She's a hot dog!"

I also wanted to comment on our new family schedule, so two years from now when I get the itch to have a third baby, I'll be brought back to my senses. Ella naps from 1pm-2:30pm or so. Unless she's woken up before 6am, in which case she'll sleep until we wake her up at 3:30-4:00pm (and have an even more difficult time going to bed). Quinn sleeps from 3:00pm until after 7:00pm. We start to put Ella to bed around 7:15pm~Often she's not in bed sleeping until almost 9:00pm. While she's doing the bed-hopping (and potty related story telling), we're giving Quinn a bath and trying to get her settled down again for a night sleep. Both kids usually asleep in their beds by 9:30pm. Quinn gets up during the 1 am hour for her first feed. Quinn gets up again during the 3 am hour for another meal. Then I spend the next 2 hours trying to get her to go back to sleep. A couple times a week Ella will get up in the night looking for one of her friends: panda, ernie, occasionally Bee. 5:00 am, Greg leaves for work. Ella often hears the garage door and tries to get up. If I hear her, AND Quinn is sleeping again, I can put Ella back to bed. If Quinn is still awake, we basically get up. Ella's latest trick is to get up on her own, take off her diaper, sometimes put on shoes, and play quietly...then we have no idea what ungodly hour she woke at, until she starts to yawn and asks to go to bed at 11am. Ugh, that makes for a long day! The craziest part of it all, and the best news, is that I somehow am not as tired as I was with Ella, when I only had one baby to tend to.