Tales from the Bedroom

I only wish this entry was as good as it sounds. Have you ever just gotten to sleep at night only to have a littlehand slap you in the face or a screetch from another room that makes you catapult out of bed. We have ALL been there. In my house we seem to play musical beds nightly. Then those nights where we wake up alone with no kids, I immediately think something is wrong...barge into every room and find perfectly sleeping children. I am ready to TAKE BACK MY BEDROOM!

When my husband Tim and I got married, we bought a cute house in North Carolina that had a huge master bedroom, we decided to use our wedding money for furniture in our new home. A good friend told me to get a king bedroom set. I thought why in the world would we need a king size bed. She said it is something you will never go back and buy and once you have kids, you will want a big bed. I laughed! So naive...that was when I thought it was absurd that people let their kids in bed with them. NOT ME! My kids would listen and stay in their room. I remember my brother sleeping in my moms bed for years. Who is laughing now? Before the kids came, we slept with a german shepard, and lab at our feet. Bad habits to start with. Now many nights consist of bringing little people back their beds, or running down the hallway to a crying toddler who is having a bad dream or my favorite, cannot find their blanket. AWESOME!

Like I said we have a king size bed, so a kid or two shold not make too much of a difference. I tend to sleep on the edge anyway. I have never been a cuddler in bed, Tim sweats and radiates HEAT when he sleeps so cuddlig usually lasts about 2 minutes. So one or two small toddlers should not take up much room, right.....WRONG. I am sure many of you can attest, KIDS have no NORMAL sleeping patterns, they twist and turn, sleep with their legs wide open, or a leg over their heads, flip backwards, or sleep sideways. How do they even stay asleep??? I have been kicked, slapped, and literally pushed out of bed all by a 20 lb child....how is that possible? The best part is, the one reason I sleep on the edge of the bed, is why my kids come in the bed...they LOVE to nestle right up against Tim. More than once I have found him laying across the bottom of the bed with a small child taking up three quarters of his side. Last week on vacation I woke up in a queen size bed at 6 AM with myself, and two oldest laying normally with our heads on pillows, Tim and the youngest were backwards in the bed. Mind you, I am 8 months pregnant, if only someone had taken a picture....these pictures show how my kids sleep through the night and what they do to Tim....haha!

I want to be VERY clear, all of our kids go to bed in their own beds at a normal time and fall asleep on their own! At some point they become possesed and wander in, they could be in hysterics, or quietly slip in and climb over me without any movements, I swear they are still sleeping while doing so. The minute they climb in, they are instantly alseep and snoring! We usually take turns trying to move them back, but they could be in the deepest sleep and subconciously they know you are bringing them back and the demons come out...kicking, screaming, crying. SO we leave them, not worth the hassle. Our oldest has outgrown getting up and comig in, so we just hope it is trickle down the line. Don't get me wrong, we are able to sleep alone and win the battle many nights, but you always remember the foot in the face nights more often than a good nights rest. Regardless maybe it is my hormones, but six years later, I AM TAKING back my BED. Now most of you are laughing because you know Maloney #4 is coming late summer and we will be starting all over again. Can't a mother hope this one will be different??? Then again...maybe they should keep coming in, I DO NOT want to ever announce maloney #5....four is good for me! Please have a good nights rest on me!