Matt’s teaching at a Disciple-Now this weekend, in a town about 2.5 hours away from our house. Ugg. We don’t get to see him as it is with this new job. SOOOoooo, we decided to go with him. Sort of. My adventurous in-laws beat us to the punch and have already bought a home in Vilonia. They’ve been so sweet to set it up with necessities and let us stay when we would like. Guess where we are this weekend? YEP! V-town. An hour closer to where Matt’s speaking means we get to see him in between speaking segments where as if we were at home we wouldn’t see him all weekend. I’m not sure I thought this all the way through though.

Matt rushed home from getting out of work late {40 minute drive} just in time to change out of his uniform and snatch up last minute items as we reloaded both cars and headed out. I drove Jamin in the car during his nap time so he could sleep and I could have some quiet/semi-alone time. Matt drove the bustling girls and their movie in the van the hour and a half up to Vilonia. I was about 10 minutes behind Matt because when leaving at 3pm it is a necessity to swing through the Sonic happy hour for a ½ priced Dr. Pepper after a fun-packed day of packing along with the normal items on a SAHM’s list duties. He went straight to the house and I swung through the McDonald’s to grab the fam a hearty dinner. When I got to the house Matt was finishing unloading the stuff and the girls where ecstatic to be playing with the toys Nanna had already moved in the house. I chunked cheese burgers and sippy cups on the table just in time to see Matt appear from the bedroom dressed and ready to run out the door with his burger.

Yeah, this is what I may not have completely timed out…

He headed out and the kids played happily like all children do with someone else’s toys, for about an hour. That puts us at about 6pm. Bed Time??? Not for another hour and a half. There’s very little here but they found it! I mean for real, hanging off the side of counters? Climbing on coffee tables? Opening and Shutting, Opening and Shutting, did I mention Opening and SHUTTING doors??? My pet-peeves! “LEAVE THE DOORS ALOOOOOONE!” Surprisingly they didn’t get out EVERY toy in the playroom…just all the ones they could reach without a ladder.

Now this list of activities makes my kids sound like terrors. They are NOT! They are sweet, well-behaved, good-mannered kids. Just apparently not in a new fun setting…

Around 7pm they ASK to go to bed. WHAT!?!?! “YES! You may go to bed!!!” Weird, but I wasn’t asking any questions. We made our way through sorting, reorganizing, and putting away toys. Then we slowly moved to putting on PJs. Finding diapers, music, paci, pillows, and sleeping buddies. The J-mister who began rubbing his eyes had no protest to early bed time since his afternoon nap was cut short by and hour. He said his, “nye nye”s and went down without a hitch. The girls rushed to the room with the trundle bed so excited to sleep in “Nanna’s New House”! I helped them choose which bed they were going to sleep in, turned on music, and tucked my sweethearts in. “Haaaaaaalleluiah!”

Yeah right. Moments later I hear the saddest little whimpering turned blubbering saying the words, “Mommy, I want to go HOME!”

The sun went down and my child turned into a monster. This happens quite often in our home. Boooo I sweetly walked her back to her room, tucked her and her sister back into bed and sat with them for a while. We talked about why she was sad. “I want to go back home. I want my own bed!” THEN we talked more about why she wanted to go home, sleep in her own bed, and all the in between. I explained to here that it was okay to be sad and want your own bed. Change and new things can be hard sometimes. It’s much easier to sit and do the same things all the time. But that’s not the way God made us. We’re going to change. She is going to grow up. We are going to move {someday}. We will sell our house and move to a new home. THIS is the town God’s going to move us. We need to learn more about it and the people in it to better love on them. It’s hard, but God’s ask us to make the change. Her panting sniffs and eye-wiping slowed. Izzie made goofy remarks having no idea that Maggie was truly upset and occasionally chiming in with a “I wanna go home, too.” We moved on to talking about how to get used to change. I showed them the different lights in the room and what was making them. I told them what certain sounds were. I even reassured them that these beds where they same ones they slept in a Nanna’s. They were settled. I left.

I wish that was the end. I handled it right! Shouldn’t I be rewarded for not smacking her and telling her how blessed we are to have a place to stay? How cool it is that we get to see Daddy some this weekend instead of not at all? NOPE. Not tonight. When the whimpering started again I told her she had everything she needed. The crying was done and she needed to go to sleep so we could play more tomorrow. Settled? NOPE. She began singing this little ditty {insert loud crying/singing}:

I am very sad. I just want to go home. But I caaaaan’t. It’s not really fair. I just want to go home but I can’t for a couple more days. I can’t have my own way or my own bed. It’s making me feel like I want to go out of this room and go see my mommy. I just want to go home” {continuing with some variation of the above}

I’m not sure if I should laugh, cry, record this, or pack up and go home.

This continued for a while longer with less singing more crying. I marched back into the room and offered a new suggestion. “Do you girls want to sleep in the same bed?” Mags- “Noooooo, I want Yoooou!!!” Iz- “YEAH!” I re-explained to Maggie that there were no other options. Sleep alone or with Iz. But Sleep was go’n down! She finally complied and agreed that sleeping with her sissy would help her “feel better”. I piled their pillows next to one another and tucked them and their sleeping buddies under the covers. Knowing this was going to lead to either fighting/kicking or lots of giggling and chatters I awaited their verdict in the living room.

Its 8:20 now and it’s finally quiet in there. Nope, just kidding. The giggles have begun. Surprisingly, I’m just happy not annoyed by this. At least it’s just sweet chatting between sister and no longer violent utterings of a sorrowful preschooler. I love hearing them get along, too bad it’s usually when they’re not supposed to be awake or their making bad choices…but at least they’re getting along and using team work! {ahem}

They’ll pass out eventually…right?

See ya tomorrow for the Jesus Juke ;o)