Tonight Josh and I had a night out. Grammy and Pappy offered to come over and watch the kids for the evening. And we did our usual, dinner at a sit-down restaurant, some time at the book store browsing, and even a walk at the neighborhood park. A few hours of peace.
It came at a price.
You see, the grandparents generally like to actually see the kids when they come over. They're not looking to play with them for a few minutes and then put them in bed at their usual time like we do at the end of a typical day. They want to visit and to play, not to sit in our house while the boys sleep.
So, good children that we are, we planned ahead and put the kids down for a late nap about 3:30 p.m. They all fell asleep and were not exactly thrilled to be gotten back up, but they eventually rolled out. And then Grammy and Pappy got to enjoy some quality time with all of the boys. They had frozen pizza for dinner (and the twins weren't falling asleep for a change, having actually slept during their naps). They took the puppies and the kids for a stroller walk through the neighborhood. They played outside on the play set. There were icees and candy bars and Gatorade and even Pepsi's to enjoy. Good times for everyone.
And then we came home. To find all three boys still outside playing and having a big time. Without the slightest trace of being tired or even remotely ready for bed. At 9 p.m. That doesn't happen very often in our house, let me tell you.
The good news is that the boys actually slept during their "nap" time, which is certainly not a safe bet for our three. They gave up naps long ago and have not once looked back. Today it worked out. Josh and I had a few quiet hours before the sitters even arrived. And then we left while two of them were still sleeping and therefore missed the cranky response to being woken up before they were ready. And just so you understand, my children who don't understand the concept of naps, would sleep for about six hours and then be ready to wake up about the time most sane people are going to bed. Trust me on this, we know.
The bad news is we had three perfectly awake little boys who were less than thrilled to be marched upstairs for baths and bed. That only one of the three willingly put his head down and appeared ready to sleep. That one waited the entire thirty minutes it took to calm Sawyer down enough to even think about leaving him so that he could be read to. That I left that last little boy's room at 10 p.m. and could still hear at least two boys awake. That's the bad news.
But that's how it works. Sometimes in order to get what you want, you have to give up something else. No Netflix movie tonight for the adults, who are too tired to stay up that late. Especially since we'll probably have some early risers tomorrow morning. But we had a few hours of peace in the middle of the afternoon (which is usually the cranky time of day) and we had a few hours away from the house while the grandparents got to visit with their grandkids (and not have cranky boys that simply needed to be put in bed). That's the trade off.
