Last night...aka "a doozy"

Ben started travelling again. 
So even though our kids have been sleeping relatively well...
Kids just now! They know when he's gone. They just KNOW.


So last night.....
6:30 Rushing back from the temple. 
All three kids zonk out in their carseats from a fun afternoon playing at Grandma's.
The knowing feeling of impending doom settles in upon me. 
It's gonna be one of those nights.


Unfortunately, I was right.


7:00 I rush out on some Relief Society stuff while Alli (my sister in law who single handedly kept me sane this whole wedding weekend) stayed with the boys and tried to transfer the boys to their beds. With the hope that one hour before bedtime wouldn't make that big of deal. I, however, knew we were already pooched. 


around 9:00 McKye woke up, refreshed and then stayed up til midnight, when he finally came in and said "Mom, I tired!" Ya think!


12:00, 1:00 , 2, 3, 4...Levi, poor third child, has developed an incredible night time thirst, and I swear he can call out his favorite sentence "Moh Baa baaaa! (more bottle) before he's even actually woken up! But refilling a bottle and changing a soaked diaper were kinda the least of my problems. So Levi enjoyed 5 ( by my hazy count) full bottles before the night was through. (The bottle in the picture is half the size of the ones he downs now)

Ah, but Aaron was the real fun. Just when we thought maybe he was actually down for the night, he wandered downstairs around 10:00, ready for his nocturnal rituals or counter jumping, water spitting, and other randomness. Oh and he added a new one. Van climbing. 


He was drawn to the garage, in the first pace, by the box of popsicle "his father" (the term used for dear husbands when they do things we wouldn't) had purchased and thought safe in the deep freeze. But dear Aaron decided he'd needed something to do whilst he ate the entire box of popsicles, and climbing our van seemed a viable option. So up the windshield he scaled, and found a home on the roof, popsicle in hand, happy as could be.


 The friendly lady on our alarm system, is a vigilant helper and kindly announces what doors are being opened throughout our home, so I soon caught on to his new obsession. Now, please understand, when you have a kid that's regular up all hours, you get to the point that your pretty good at "half-sleeping"--- judging his whereabout by the proximity of Robin Hood blasting on his iPad. 


4 am: He's still awake, tired of running faucets and stacking VHS tapes and apparently a bit peekish, because I was suddenly woke from my "half sleep" with a jumbo jar of peanut butter being chucked at my head. 


Now, I try not to get to irate in our "less than ideal" nights, but serving up snacks at 4 am, just seemed a tad excessive, especially seeing as I'd already opened a couple dozen popsicles for the boy.


But Aaron has a way of getting what he wants, whether you decided to help him or not. 


CRASH!!!! 


Did you know if you hurl a jar of peanut butter to the floor while standing on the counter, that the lid will break, granting you access to it's yummy goodness? Well it does. 


It also gets your mom up so she'll come slather the afore liberated peanut butter onto some bread for you before you decide to eat it by the fistful and smear it up and down her stairwells.


Recharged with some peanut butter, Aaron didn't end up zonking out until just after 6, which was right around when Levi woke up calling for yet another baa-baa. 


Then, as is our custom, 5 minutes after I've called Aaron's school to let them know he won't be attending, Aaron woke up--all fresh and ready for another fun-filled day of 


van-climbing. (so not okay)

Yes, it was an exciting night here at the Bretzke abode.
While Benny slept peacefully in a hotel room miles a way.
Missing all the fun. 


And now my friends, I'm headed to bed after I prayer, really hard for a better night.
A prayer we know doesn't always get answered.