Late to bed and late to rise makes a girl.....no, that's not how it goes

I'd like to complain about the girls not going to sleep at a reasonable hour, but it's really the pot calling the kettle black - I don't go to sleep at a reasonable hour either.  Of course, I'm an adult...or at least I'm old enough to be considered an adult.  And they should be tired....they get up relatively early, they get out in the fresh air and get a good amount of exercise, yet, on a nightly basis they are t-o-u-g-h to get to bed at night. Some nights I catch them early enough and get them to take a melatonin....but once it hits 8:30 it's really too late if we want to be able to get them up in the morning.  Ron is frequently the first one asleep, and about 99% of the time the first one up.  Aubrey is 99% of the time the last one up.  I'd love for her to actually have breakfast in the morning, but she refuses to get out of bed in time to actually eat something before leaving the house.  This is not ideal....not to mention that she is frequently what we lovingly refer to as an Aubrey-monster.  So far, her growl has been worse than her bite, but that's probably because we stay out of reach. If we can get Devon to bed at a somewhat reasonable hour, she wakes up on her own....not necessarily cooperative, but typically more happy than not.

Meanwhile, once the girls are finally down for the night, I get to work on preparing lunches for the next day, unburying our bed from any laundry that got dumped there, probably a bit of mess in the kitchen and some relaxing time, time for me.  If I have to choose, I usually ignore the kitchen mess and leave it for the next day. Not happy about this but otherwise I'd have zero time for me to relax before going to bed.....and then when would I write my blog?

Anyhow, I love when the house is quiet and dark.  I can hear the train when it goes by, even though it's not really that close.  And I love that sound, it reminds me of my parents' house.  I used to lie in bed at night and listen for the train - I believe it went by at midnight.....seems like we have history repeating itself in terms of going to sleep at a reasonable hour, doesn't it?  Oh well.  maybe they'll learn to appreciate the late quiet nights when they're older, too.

So, Ron took Aubrey to the doctor today, and we found out that she has lost 6 pounds.  Yea!  I'm half surprised and half not surprised.  She's very active, riding her bike for miles and hours a day.  On the other hand, if it's not locked away she eats it.  Anyhow, to celebrate the loss of the weight, she and Ron went out to Menchies and got frozen yogurt.  Explain that to me, would you?

My mother-in-law arrives for a visit tomorrow night.  She only ever comes for short visits, 5 days max.  This is working out well timing wise because she'll be here for Friday with both girls and then Monday with just Aubrey before she leaves on Tuesday.  Hopefully, we'll have good weather and get to do something fun over the week-end.  There is no Sunday school, which the girls will be excited about, but Aubrey does have to go to services with me on Saturday since it's been a couple of weeks since she's been.  That'll work out because Grandma can have some alone time with Devon.  Of course, tomorrow night is major cleaning mode - Aubrey says her room is ready but there is no way that is true and I always like to do the bathroom the day she comes to make sure it's actually usable.  The upstairs bathroom has to be the smallest, worst designed bathroom I've ever come across.  Our apartment in Queens had a small master bath, but this one is ridiculous.  And I don't understand why they built it this way.  It is in between the girls' rooms, and Devon's room is a very large room which could have easily lost a foot to make the bathroom a decent size.  You can practically not turn around in it - there's not even a logical place for a toilet paper holder!  They literally put it about 6 inches from the floor behind the toilet.  You couldn't reach the paper when using the toilet if you actually used the holder to hold the roll!  Anyhow, the girls complain about something related to this bathroom almost everyday, but guests don't.  I guess they know they don't have to live with it permanently and just make do.

I got a plaque in the mail today.  Completely unexpected.  It came from the home office, no note or anything, but it is for "Outstanding Volunteer".   Nice, and I'll hang it up somewhere at work (I don't really have a good place near me, but we'll figure something out).  It is rewarding to be recognized for doing something you love, isn't it?  I don't volunteer for accolades, I do it because I enjoy it....it makes me feel good to be doing something to help others.  I would love to work for one of the organizations I volunteer at, or something similar, so that I feel like I am actually helping people, but non-profits are not known for their high salaries.  Not that I actually make a "high salary" but I definitely am not going anywhere where I'd make less!  And I love taking the girls with me, or even just showing them the importance of helping others.  Something I definitely feel strongly about modeling for them.  And I've gotten my office to volunteer as a group,  and am now working with the Orlando Hub to go as a group to volunteer for a charity I recently learned about.  I just love it!  And I take the girls with me when I can - they actually ask to go to Second Harvest Food Bank.  Doing something good and having fun at the same time....I love a win-win scenario.  And we usually take Devon's twin, Isabella and frequently Isabella's brothers, too.

Anyhow, you usually have to be at least 10 years old to volunteer at Second Harvest, but once a month they have a "family night" where you can be as young as 5. The girls have become known there and we're greeted like old friends when we go, which makes us all feel good.  We all look forward to going, so I keep checking their schedule and as soon as I see a Family Night listed I register for it.  And we do other things as well.  Aubrey and I volunteered for Pet Rescue by Judy, a local animal shelter that takes in animals from high kill shelters.  She's too young to volunteer for their normal activities but they allow her to help to when they have special events.  A few weeks ago, Aubrey and I assisted at a pet agility trial they were holding as a fund-raiser.  She seemed to really enjoy it, and we were lucky and had a beautiful day to be outside for several hours.

 The girls' openness to participating in different events with me makes me so proud and I feel like, finally, maybe I'm doing something right with them.

So, maybe my sleep pattern isn't something I'm happy they share with me but there are plenty of other things I'm thrilled to pass on.