How to be Up All Night

How does that song go? "Last night...I didn't get to sleep at all. Whoa. Whoa. Whoa. Whoa!!!!!"

Chalk recalling cheesy songs from the 70s up to exhaustion.

After JUST announcing that your kid had yet to enter into the terrible twos and not so shamelessly bragging about his most excellent sleep habits, your fallen angel woke up at 2AM screaming and would not go back to sleep until 5AM. You tried everything. After making sure he wasn't sick, you first tried to put him in your bed. But as always he took that to mean it was PLAYTIME. It was actually pretty cute. He snuggled up right beside your face with his thumb in his mouth. When you opened your eyes he stared right at them and smiled. Cute, but also creepy. Try sleeping with your kid's eyeballs inches from your own. It's like kissing with your eyes open. That lasted until your husband had to go to the bathroom, whereupon your son bounded out of bed after him shouting "DADDDDDDDYYYYYYY!" You will never understand this whole co-sleeping thing. How is the sleeping actually accomplished?

Next, you tried the old "rocking to sleep" gambit in his rocking chair. Still no sleep, but your son obliged by helping you rock. Then he got thirsty and ran downstairs before you could stop him and demanded milk.

You even put the tv on and hoped he'd conk out while watching television. Totally awake at this point, you went to check your e-mail. 30 minutes later you came back and he was still wide eyed and bushytailed. "Go to sleep, Mooomy," he said to you eyes on the screen, pointing at you to go back to bed. How thoughtful of him to care.

Finally, back to the rocking chair, you grabbed a blanket and just rocked him back and forth. You love the nubbly feeling of his cotton pajamas and the weight of his head on your shoulder. You stroked his arms and hands. Yes, you were frustrated. It was almost 5AM by that point and you knew he had school tomorrow and that he would be a mess and you couldn't figure out for the life of you what had brought this on. But you realized that someday this would be the thing that you missed most--your son wanting only you and this little body in your arms totally collapsed against you and those small toddler breaths in your ear. It was wonderful, really. You tried to concentrate on the feeling so you would remember it forever.

Try this at home:
What's something annoying that also makes you happy?