Long Day

I am not one of those peopel that think sleep is overrated. In fact, I tend to start whining when I don't get my full night in. Bobby and I stayed the night at his parents' last night, and a full night sleep was not in store for us.

We didn't finish the movie until well after 1am, so by the time we pulled out the really-quite-uncomfortable sofa bed and shut off the lights, it was maybe 1:30 in the morning. Jäger, their chocolate lab tied up on the patio due to the construction, clearly felt he needed to be investigating something out of his range, and was barking and howling. Then, I hear the baby crying.

Poor Jessica didn't want to wake Caelyn, so she had to bring Chase out into the front of the house where we were trying to sleep. After a short while I gave up trying to sleep through it, and just got up to sit with them awhile. I glanced at the clock: 2:39am. Chase had a fever and had been throwing up, and she was trying to cool and quiet him down, and hopefully get him to fall back asleep. The thermometer was broken so she couldn't tell just how warm he was, and was looking very worried.

When he finally quieted back down and fell asleep, Jäger was again worked up about something. I did my best to ignore him and go back to sleep. A few hours later, Bobby's mom was up getting ready for work, doing her best to be as quiet as possible, but alas, my sleep was already fragile. A short while after that, Jessica was back up with the still fussy/sick baby. I finally gave up my quest for good at 6:30am. We tried to feed the kids breakfast, but the baby just threw it back up again. I said I would watch Caelyn so she could take Chase in to the doctor.

The guys got back to work on their pool project, and Caelyn and I hung out for a bit. Erica had been recruited to watch my nephew, Malachy, so when Jessica came back with Chase, we had three kids to chase around. Chase still wasn't feeling well (he had a viral throat infection), and he was really tired, but that didn't mean he didn't want to play.

I don't know how people do it. It really took all three of us to keep up with those kids. I can't imagine trying to raise them or running a day care. Malachy alone requires a lot of effort. It had been a long time since Erica had babysat him, so I was trying to help her as much as I could. He got mad at me - we were in the front yard and he wanted to play with all of Caelyn's and Chase's toys... I was making him share. So he walked to the very front of the yard near the street. I followed him up there, and when he got around the fence, he bolted. I tried grabbing his shirt but he ducked away and ran into the street, where I then had to chase him down, scold him, and carry him back.

Later, Erica took Malachy to the park while Jessica and I took her kids for a drive to the store, so that she could stay in the car with them while I ran in for the goods, hoping they would fall asleep on the trip. We were mostly successful - they both passed out, but Chase woke back up when we tried to bring him in. My dad came and picked Malachy up - he didn't want to go. Tried to stay in the front yard playing. Dad literally had to drag him to the truck.

Jessica and I tried one last time to get Chase down for a nap - by taking him for a walk in the stroller. We walked down to the nearby park and around it a couple times. I'd check on him periodically, and see him stare back at me with wide but sleepy eyes. After a few rounds we gave up and headed back to the house. As we approached the driveway, his lids finally closed. Instead of threaten this sleep, we just wheeled the whole stroller into the dining room, and left him in there for his nap.

Erica's boyfriend Trevor was over at this point. We sat around the living room together discussing pilates and yoga. I taught the girls Crow Pose. It's one of the more impressive looking poses, and one you'd have to go to a yoga studio and not just a gym to learn. Although it looks like it requires a lot of arm strength, it's more about balance and core strength. These girls have that, so it didn't take them long once they had the principles down. Trevor even gave it a try.

I know the boys were out back engaging in manual labor in the hot July heat, I was feeling pretty beat too.

My parents had invited Bobby and I over for a prime rib dinner, and we were happy to accept. Prime rib, asparagus, and some sweet corn they brought back with them from Colorado. We had to head home after only a couple hours though - no late nights tonight or we wouldn't make it home.