Project 52: Week Three

It's week three of Project 52 and this week's theme was a doozy: Sleep.

Um….yeah. If you've read my blog, followed me on Facebook, or just basically had a conversation with me in the last four years you know there isn't as much sleeping in our house as I'd like.

To be fair, my kids aren't the worst sleepers on the planet. In fact, they do some things very well. They go to bed independently (some days more easily and quietly than others), they sleep in their own rooms, and they don't stay up hideously late. Heck, sometimes they even sleep through the night for several days in a row before a cold, teething, a wet diaper, or simply a change in the wind knocks us off kilter again.

All in all, I'm thankful for the hard fought sleep habits we have developed. But it takes a LOT of work to keep it that way. These boys aren't "easy" sleepers and they aren't sleep anywhere, anytime kinda kids. It takes a strict schedule, a strict routine, and basically just a strict mama. One wrong move and it all falls apart and we're up at  3 a.m. for the day. Yes, I'm serious. It's happened - more than once…in the same week.

With sleep being as precious and precarious as it is around here, I don't mess with it. What they need to sleep is what they get. And that means a dark room, a door shut, and no one coming in and out. And since photographs require both light and someone being in the room, it was pretty obvious from the start that my "Sleep" themed photos would not have much to do with actual sleeping.

Instead, I decided to focus on the reasons why we don't sleep, whether it's because we're scared, we're distracted, or simply having too much fun.

Here is my submission, which I titled "Sleepless".

I loved this whole series, taken of MJ during what is supposed to be rest time. While he doesn't rest much, he normally is somewhat quiet and does stay in his room (for the most part). He used to sit on his bed and look at books. But that was before he learned how to open his blinds, and how to climb up to look out the window.

Now, I can typically find him doing this during rest time.

Or this….

Or this...

Or even this….

If he is in bed, he's probably doing this….

Or this….

But he's definitely not sleeping…..

And when he's not in bed or his room, I see this. A silhouette down the hall creeping toward my room. This is my view most often at 3 in the morning – quietly clutching his Night Night Hippo, needing me for a snuggle, a kiss, or to chase some imaginary tigers from his room.

But what my sons lack in sleep, they make up for in adorableness and joy. I try to remind myself that the days of "Mommy, can I sleep with you?" and "Mommy, will you snuggle with me?" and "Mommy, one song more" are tiring, but fleeting. And when I am far better rested, I will miss them. Until then, I'll live off chain-drinking espresso and Saturday afternoon naps.

And just in case you're super disappointed to not see any photos of cute sleeping boys, I did manage to capture one after all….