Who Run Bartertown?

This was a weekend of accomplishments, some admirable, some not.

Khubz attended her first real kiddo birthday party. It was a blast! Cupcakes (thoroughly enjoyed by the mommies--though Khubz benefited from some yummy sweet milk) and a wading pool with just enough water for splashing and staying cool on a sunny day. The birthday boy was fabulous (as we knew he would be.) Even when the fountains shut down accidentally there were no meltdowns, no forlorn wailings--only continued laughs and splashing. The post-party nap was swift. Khubz was asleep before Mama was done clicking the belt on the carseat.

We've also learned a new trick to encourage deep sleep and lengthy naps: cut the airconditioning. This coupled with attending a pool party on a bright sunny day just about had Khubz and the mommies all comatose. In our case, this AC shutoff was involuntary. But it resulted in a two hour nap on Saturday (post bday party) and a three hour nap on Sunday. Amazing.

We all slept in the living room Sunday night because the upstairs was unbearable (the heat) and the basement was treacherous (spiders.) And how did Khubz sleep? Like a medicated child. She fell asleep about 7 before we gave her a bath. High stakes gamblers that we are, we decided to wake her up for the bath (we were all sticky with the slow sweat of the day.) She enjoyed the cool bath, loved the lotion rub down (i think this even outranks nursing as her favorite part of the evening ritual) and then came back downstairs to nurse. She stayed up for about an hour before crashing for the evening.

All in all, bedtime has vastly improved with the introduction of the nightly bath. We also adapted a rule from Mad Max & the Thunderdome. Our more gentle interpretation is something like: Two go up, only one comes down.

Last night Scully came home as I was nursing Khubz to sleep. Khubz was babbling excitedly and I was trying hard not to laugh because I think she's hysterical. I know this is one more take on delaying bedtime, entertaining the mommy, but it's hard to resist, really. I was close to declaring "she just won't fall asleep. we're coming down" when I heard Tina Turner's voice in my head "You think I don't know the law? Wasn't it me who wrote it? And I say that this [mommy] has broken the law. Right or wrong, we had a deal. And the law says: bust a deal and face the wheel!" I didn't know what might be on that wheel (dishes? laundry? going to the gym??). . . so we persevered and it turns out this is the right thing to do anyway. Bedtime is not blissful, don't get me wrong, but I don't stomp away from my screaming child as often as I had been. (Hamdillah)

More good news: Our airconditioner was fixed for under $100! Other top hits on the gratitude list: We were approved for the loan at our credit union at a great rate. We weren't sweating whether or not we would get approved. We have the luxury of time in car shopping and that is a great bargaining position.

I realize I didn't get to the less admirable accomplishments of the weekend but why ruin a post that's in a good mood?