Weekend without Daddy

Just a quick summary of our weekend. Andrew flew out on Thursday for a Dad/Son weekend with his brothers & father.

Thursday night, John was up 20+ times just wandering around, crying, whatever...I didn't know what to do with him! Very frustrating and puzzling! So, the only thing I knew to do was to order him a Toddler Bed. For the past month, he's been sleeping on his crib mattress on the floor because he absolutely refused to sleep in his bed. I know that sounds like I gave in too easily. Who's the mother, you might say? And you might be right! But, this boy cried and cried and cried, unlike anything my other children had done.

So, on the floor, he's been rolling off his mattress (despite the "Noodles" under his sheet) and onto the floor. I think this may be the cause for his discomfort and getting up in the night. So, after weeks of searching Craigslist.com, I broke down and ordered JOhn a bed. Let's hope this is the solution to our lingering problem.

Friday, our friend Jami came over to sleep on the trampoline with the kids. We were all out there telling stories, but in the end, only Jami and Grant slept through the night on the tramp. I know it brought back a lot of childhood memories for Jami, and Grant felt like a big kid doing it!
This was the first night in a month that John didn't wake up multiple times! Go figure!

Saturday, I took the kids to the Kennedy Center where the National Symphony Orchestra performs. They were having an Open House Arts Festival which was completely free and included all the genres of the arts. It sounded like the perfect idea. Well, about 90,000 of Wasingtonians thought the same thing! The Kennedy Center was SO packed that I could not move my stroller through without ramming the back of someone's heels.

No Joke - there was a line of about 300 people for...THE ELEVATOR! So, we waited 10 minutes just to get upstairs to find out (with about 1000 other people) that there were no more tickets for the Martial Arts show Grant wanted to see. Overall, it was a bit of a disappointment, but I was sure proud of the kids. We got back in the car, and I asked "What did you guys think about our adventure today?" And Clark cheerfully replied "I thought it was totally fun, Mom!" That was a shocker.

It was hot, and we sat in the baking sun for 30 minutes waiting for the Circus to start. Not 3 minutes into the show, Clark said "Mom, I need to go to the bathroom!" So, I left Grant there to watch the show (the only child who was genuinely interested in watching) and then took the other three to the port-a-potties (Much better than a squatter, I'm sure, Mindy). As we tried to sneak our way back through the crowds to our front-row seats, Johnny just LOST IT! He was thirsty and would not stop crying for a drink (which we had just finished drinking 10 minutes earlier), so we had to leave the Circus early. My words can not describe the chaos we experienced. Next year, I'll plan better and we'll stand in the lines to see the shows we are truly interested in!

This morning (Sunday), John woke up for good at 3am! He came in asking for "Breck-uss" (Breakfast). WHen I refused, he moved to "I want an apple, Mommy!" Remember, this is at 3am! Finally, I convinced him to get in bed with me - where he proceeded to knock on my headboard about every 2 seconds over and over again! Needless to say, we were both tired when the REAL morning came at 6am. So, John was a CHALLENGE in Sacrament Meeting, just literally bouncing off the pews! I didn't even know what to do, and at one point, I burst into laughter and looked up to see the Bishop noticing my trauma and laughing along with me! Thank goodness for single sisters...I headed out the door with Johnny and Nicole Peterson came to my rescue. She is truly a gem! So, you can guess what John did not 5 minutes after we left Sacrament Meeting. He fell asleep on my shoulder! That little stinker! I have to admit...it was fun to cuddle with him during Sunday School!

Crazy weekend overall, but I wouldn't change my job for anything! When Johnny will whisper in my ear "Mommy, I love you SO MUCHHH!" it makes it all worth it!