help!!

So... this is how we end up by about 5:00 am most mornings. LJ and I are going nuts. It has got to stop. But how? You see, these girls are sneaky. Very sneaky. They come in one by one. And they are quiet. You don't even know the first one is in bed with you until you get a foot in the face or a knee to stomach. But at that point, you are still mostly asleep. Too asleep to carry the offending child back to bed. So you flip them right side up, schnuggle with them for a minute, and fall back to sleep in a few seconds.
A little while later, the second offender comes in. But like I said, they are sneaky. And two is still somewhat manageable as long as they are lined up right. And you are not even sure how long they have been in bed with you by the time you realize they are there. So a little adjusting, and you can sleep for a couple more hours.
Sometime in between 3:30 and 5:00, the last one sneaks in. At this point, it's really squishy. And cold. Because someone had stolen or kicked the blanket off. But it's almost morning, and on work days you get up at 5:00, so you can endure it another hour or so. Because you're really tired. And when you get up, there will more room for them to spread out, so they will all sleep better. It's more work than it's worth at this point to put them all back in their beds. And then the alarm goes off.

(and just imagine me squished in there under Macie's head and next to Ellie {with her hair in my face} )


Please help!!

P.S. We don't have the heart to lock them in their rooms. Any other suggestions greatly appreciated.

making silver.

ANNA QUINDLEN : Life is made of moments, small pieces of silver amidst long stretches of tedium. It would be wonderful if they came to us unsummoned, but particularly in lives as busy as the ones most of us lead now, that won't happen. We have to teach ourselves now to live, really live...to love the journey, not the destination.

I love that quote. These are some of our attempts to love the journey these past couple weeks.

Backyard camping - One night at the spur of the moment we decided to camp in the backyard. We put up the tents, let the kids play until midnight (our fun neighbors came over too), and read stories with the flashlight. Somehow, spur of the moment things usually are the most fun. :)

North Willow - Our friends from Las Vegas (the Olsen's) were in town for a little while, and we were lucky enough to be able to spend a day with them. We planned on camping, but it was so rainy the day we were going to leave. The next day was perfect, so we headed to the canyon that morning. We ate lunch, went hiking, rode 4-wheelers, and played catch (Julia and I played softball together for 10 years and still play catch whenever we see each other - even when we were both 8 months pregnant with Addie and Jake :)). And to top it all off we cooked some amazing dutch oven chicken and cobbler. In hindsight, it turned out even better that way than camping, especially with a 7 month old. :) Everything was perfect.

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My goal is to make as much silver as I can for us this summer. :)

goodbye, crib.

For Macie's entire life, she has been the best baby to put to sleep. You put her in her crib, she smiles at you, rolls over, and closes her eyes and goes to sleep. Well, things have changed this week. She's been crying when we put her in her crib. Just for 5-10 minutes or so before she falls asleep. Last night after putting her in bed, she came walking into our room. We were astounded. We put her back in her crib. To see how she got out.

If that's not a broken arm waiting to happen. So she slept with us. For the first time in her life (Ellie didn't quit sleeping with us until she was three, so we learned from our mistake and never let the other two sleep with us). So today her crib is being converted to a day bed. And don't worry, she's much happier now.