When it's really hard...

Sometimes parenting just really hard.  For us it usually has to do with issues surrounding sleep (and behavior associated with sleep problems).  Tonight just was hard.  We just got back from three nights away in Las Vegas, replete with lots of sleeping problems.  Alice had a bad cold, that I am crossing my fingers is almost over.  Violet was so over-excited/over-tired that she could simply not have me put her down to bed.  She would fight every step of the routine and then nonsensically scream at me "Put my blanket on more!" until she was practically hyperventilating.  Every time we ended up leaving and having her grandma Mimi put her down instead.  The matter was of course compounded by Alice and Violet being in the same room (Alice was in a crib in the bathroom!)  Alice wasn't sleeping well at all because of being sick and in a new (ugh, bathroom) environment with a less comfy crib. 

Tonight Alice screamed for roughly 30 minutes, but was clearly trying to go to sleep.  It was horrible to listen to because I know in my heart that it wasn't her fault that her whole schedule has been so wacked out by our vacationing.  (I think George feels okay about her crying herself to sleep because 1.) she loves to sleep and usually is clearly trying to get to sleep when she cries out and 2.) Violet's continued sleep resistance is proof that answering every cry has its real drawbacks. It kills me because Alice is such a love and if you honor her schedule, hardly cries when she's put down at drowsy).

As I type this Violet is in her room, now talking to herself, after several minutes of fitting at the top of her lungs.  I am attempting to utilize the "Green" light function of her Toddler Clock to instill a limit on our book reading, back rubbing portion of the night. 

Of course it seems like she needs a whole different color because she kept looking at it for when to get into bed and then was pissed when we didn't have much back rubbing time.  She actually yelled that "blanket on more" nonsense in the last few minutes I could have been rubbing her back.  I'm hoping this green light stuff catches on. 

Sleep!  Ahhh!  It's hard to remember that this next year or two is the hardest, and it, like all things, too will pass.