The Disadvantages of Sharing a Bed

........with your twin. But actually, I could name more than a few disadvantages of sharing a bed with Brad. A couple being that he pulls all the covers off of me while rolling up like a burrito and another being that he traps obnoxiously, stinky odors under the covers and then airs them out an hour later on my side thinking it's way too funny.

As far as siblings go though.....apparently the whole children waking to puke at evil hours of the night was not over. So as I walked down the hallway to put Gavin to bed at 1 am (adjusted time since the time changed, which really according to my body was 2 am) Garrison started crying from his room.....which he never does. Already not looking too good. So, I put Gavin down and make my way to Garrison just as I hear him cry, "I think I'm gonna chuke!!!!" That would be the word he and Grant invented for choke and puke. I sheepishly turn the handle wondering if I really want to venture in and, being that it was in the dark, I thought I'd caught it before he actually did it. Being the gentle mother that I am I swiftly swing him over the rail and out of the bed hoping it'd just hit the hard floor and miss the sheets. But I disgustingly figured out the hard way it was too late. I bring him into the kitchen light and confirmed what I already knew was on my hands and clothes from ingeniously sweeping him up in my all too hurried efforts. So, he gets to the kitchen trash and hangs his head over that for awhile...yes, at the age of barely even being 3 my children have been trained well. They may not mind all that well but they know what to do without question when they puke. I go back in to survey the damage. And being the advantaged sibling Grant had graciously been the recipient of Garrison's indigestion. Everyone else in the house had been fed a mild oatmeal dinner for the just-in-case but having run out of oatmeal and Garrison being the willing one he had eaten a hot dog. I was tempted to add to the contents already deposited on the sheets. I checked Grant over and there was no hope of not waking him, seeing as how he was still sleeping through it all. I suppose Garrison had just turned and faced him when the urge hit so it was all over him, both pillows and sheets. For the 2nd night in a row I start running bathwater at an ungodly hour and this time go back to face the bed that awaited me. With Brad gone I was on my own this go around. I began stripping sheets and pillows and little twin boys. In the tub they went and I started my 1st load of wash for the day. I went on a scavenger hunt for something that would suffice as an improvised sheet for their bed. Since we've never owned a full sz bed before we have 1 full sz sheet. It gets washed in the morning and is back on by naptime each week. So, this little predicament posed a problem. I found a big old, king sz comforter and after drenching the mattress protector with a myriad of disinfectants I laid it out for them and made up their bed as best as I could given the situation. I then go to face the 2 disgusting kids that await me in the tub. After giving baths, washing hair and finding new pj's they were sent back to bed. Thankfully Grant saw fit to stay in the bed, probably fearing for his life given his experience the night before. I was able to sleep for hours on end though the whole daylight savings kind of lost it's appeal as I climbed back into bed at 2 am........though I guess it'd have been 3 am otherwise.

They outrageously woke at 6:30 since, to their bodies, it was of course 7:30. Can I cuss the guy that came up with this crap? I couldn't really see making it to church with 2 puking kids so I laid there and tried to decide whether to forge ahead and push through or to be mindful of our fellow church going members and have mercy on them. When Evye awoke saying her stomach hurt I had visions of arriving at church and being stuck in the bathroom with a puking little girl in a pretty church dress. So, sadly I gave up our church going endeavors yet again and we missed yet another week. I long to be back! I love the drive, I LOVE the pastor and his wife and our little tiny congregation.

I couldn't really get motivated to do anything for the 1st 1/2 of the day so I just sat and talked while Mother finished up the wash and hung up clothes. I felt like I could sleep for days. But, finally at some point the 15 caffeinated drinks kicked in for both Gavin and I and I proceeded to set to work. I am at a point in life where my biggest goal is to streamline. God has been taking me through a process of elimination that he started as far back as when we began talks of moving. I thinned out massive amounts of stuff. Just crap that I kept for whatever reason. I then moved on to toys somewhere in there. We paired down our toy inventory to bare basics. They play outside so much here that a need for toys is not paramount and, at some point, just becomes more crap to pick up. So, we greatly narrowed down that area of our lives. One of the most amazing, eye opening things I've ever read was in Above Rubies where Evangeline spoke of how the only toys they had in their house were 5 dresser drawer fulls. Each of her 5 children had 1 drawer each and if it didn't fit it didn't stay or something else had to go. I loved the simplicity of that. Granted, we haven't gotten quite that extreme yet but we're far from having even an average amount of toys for the average American family. So, on I was moved and came to the point of dealing with mine and Brad's clothes and our closet. Clothes have always been an issue for me. It's hard to get rid of them, especially children's clothes, not knowing what we will later need. But, they are also a very overwhelming thing to me. And the more large families I meet the more I am amazed at how many have only 7 play outfits for each child and 2-4 dress outfits. What a blessing that would be in my life!!! I am sometimes buried beyond the ability to be found for days on end dealing with clothes issues. So, all of that to say, I set to work on that today. I prayed before delving in and asked the Lord to just show me what to keep and what to give away. And, surprisingly to me, it came easily as I worked my way through it. And always, the verse would come back "Freely you have received, freely give." So, putting away all thoughts of trying to sort by donation, selling and keeping I began to sort by two piles....give and keep. It felt sooooo good.

In my efforts of tackling the beginning of this huge project I filled boxes. Grayson loaded the back of the Suburban up and we filled it full of clothes we do not need and stuff they will never wear for whatever reason. The more I sorted the more lighthearted I became and the more energy I had. By the end of it I had a pile of coat hangers, whereas before I was groaning over the fact we needed more again next time we went to town, and the thought of what lay ahead of me in dealing with this issue was not nearly as foreboding.....actually, it began to take on excitement.

No one else ever puked. I had allowed them to play outside all day in the event that one did. I figured if somebody else got it at least it would not be the massive cleanup that I had already been forced to deal with twice. So, while I sorted and Mother washed they played fairly contentedly. The day did hold some form of infinity to it since noon felt like 1 and 12:30 felt like they should've been in bed for naps hours ago. 4 rolled around and I thought surely it was time to start feeding animals since the daylight hours said it should be 5. At 7 they were all in bed as we just followed our body clocks. I didn't think to look at the clock until after they were all tucked in and cringed when I saw 7! It felt like 8:30! So, they each drifted off fairly quickly and I am left not really savoring the thought of children waking at 6 am. The time change screws me up so bad every year. Once upon a time very long ago when the clock fell back I just remember setting my clock and thinking........I get a whole extra hour to sleep for a total of probably 13 hours! Now, when I set my clock back I think of the wicked hour children will be wanting food in the morning. But, it does mean the sun will be coming up earlier. With that I can begin my morning walk since I now will have the sunrise to aid in my efforts of keeping a morning routine.

It's now 1:15 am which is really 2:15 am to my body. And I still have emails waiting and some that have been waiting for way too many days now. At this point I have no desire to load any pics so I'll see if I can get to some later tomorrow along with finishing up my Thanks Tank post.