We attempted a sleepover with the same friend a few weeks ago, but we did it wrong, and it ended in a full-on screaming temper tantrum from Lily Ruth. Her friend Lola went home disappointed and confused. In case you were wondering, it is totally easy to get it wrong - especially the first time, and especially if the participants are 4 years old. We invited Lola to sleep over, then extended an invitation to Lola's 6 year old brother and wonderful mama to join us for dinner. We ended up keeping the kids up too late, and they were exhausted by the time they crawled up into the loft bed. We thought things were going well until there was crying. Lily Ruth was inconsolable, and kept insisting that she needed to sleep alone and she didn't know how to act at a sleepover. She was unable to articulate what (if anything) had happened to bring this on, and she REFUSED to calm down. Oi. Within minutes, she was shrieking at top volume. Lola's mom came to pick Lola up, and it took an additional 40 minutes for poor Lily Ruth to calm down.
This time, when the girls cooked up their sleepover plan, we decided to do it differently. Lily Ruth and I discussed in advance what we needed to do differently (just Lola, go to bed earlier). Then we went for it.
The girls were both happy when the climbed the ladder last night. We got them situated, and kissed them goodnight. The giggling started almost immediately. We decided not to intervene unless it got loud enough to possibly wake up Baby Brother... which happened twice... all of a sudden, it was 11 o'clock and they actually DID wake up Alec. I stormed in and demanded that they KNOCK IT OFF IMMEDIATELY AND GO TO SLEEP. I didn't hear another peep... until 5:30 am. Lily Ruth maintains that they did not sleep at all. I told her that I did not care, because they didn't wake me up :-P
Oh, and yes, you read that correctly. They woke up at 5:30!! They played fairly quietly in Lily Ruth's room until about 7:30. Then they flung themselves loudly into the living room and started watching movies on Netflix. *sigh*
They both had a marvelous time, and even after breakfast and Sunday School, they still wanted to play together. The mamas put the kibosh on that. They parted as happy, loving friends.
Six and a half hours is not enough sleep for 4 year olds. It might possibly be enough for a 40 year old, but this particular old lady was awakened multiple times by a teething baby :-( so nobody got enough sleep last night. Lily Ruth held it together until just after 2 pm. Now she's snoring on the couch. Alec and I napped in the rocking chair for a bit. Don is playing football on the playstation with glassy eyes. I'm sure we'll recover. Someday.
The only thing I have had the energy to do is stare at Pinterest for a while and come up with a menu plan for the week. Here it is! 3 of the 5 days planned are on my Pinterest board. The shrimp pasta is going to be a totally-winging-it-thing, and the risotto is already on this blog :-)
Sunday: Sauteed Shrimp and Spinach in Creamy Sauce over pasta
Monday: Crockpot Gyros (with salad)
Tuesday: Tortellini and Sausage in a Cheesey Tomato and Cream Sauce (with broccoli and cauliflower)
Wednesday: Gnocchi with Sausage and Kale
Thursday: Risotto with Mushroom and Peas (and grilled chicken)
Friday: Family Steak Night (including Dragon's Breath sauce over something)
Saturday: crapshoot - I'm outta ideas.
Happy eating, blog friends. Remember, Food is Love! I will leave you with this image of Alec D and Dottie Dog wrestling WWE-style:
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