Savvy for sale! (I think....)

Thanks for indulging me in a little bit different writing for my last post. Ever since my bus ride up to the half marathon starting line, those ruminations would not leave my head! It was a nice release to get them on paper...er, onto the blogosphere. The rest of what I have to offer from the experience is mostly pictures, so it'll be a nice, quick eye-candy-like read. Thanks to each of you for your kind words. It's always nice to hear people like what you write, especially when you weren't expecting it.

I'll leave you in suspense a while longer about the race, because that is not what I am posting about tonight.

I just needed to take a minute to divert my attention from my screaming, sleep-deprived 2 year-old. My blessed, strong-willed, sassy, coal-eyed Savvy is throwing a tantrum over something I can't seem to decipher between her shrieks and wails. There is nothing more I can do for her, so I have left her to work it out on her own.

I've always tried to keep naps and bedtime sacred in my home. After reading Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child back when Cade was 4 months old and I could not handle being sleep deprived any longer, I have maintained the position that sleep=happiness, for me and my children. And it is truth because I now know what it is like to have a non-sleeping child.

It is not happy.

It all started very quietly. A few weeks ago Savannah started waking up around the same time as Cade-- the 7-7:15 range. That was doable. Surely we missed the days when they woke up between 7:30 and 8am but no matter. (I'm almost in tears as I think back on those sweet, well-rested and sadly short-lived days). Then she started pulling the 6:45-6:50 nonsense. I don't know...there is just something purely miserable about the clock reading six-anything when your daughter is ready to start her day and there is nothing on the agenda that starts before 9am. Sadly, she just kept waking up a few minutes earlier each day, and then this week, it really hit. Yesterday was her all-time record of 5:15 am. She was bouncing around the house with energy I did not even know existed before the sun came up. As you can guess, by 11am she was more than ready for her nap. So down she went. And to add more ribbons to her no-sleeping streak, her nap was not even an hour long.

The ultra short cliffs notes version of Dr. Weisbluth's book is this: Sleep begets sleep.

The more consistent the naps, the better sleep at night. The better sleep at night, the better her naps. So you can imagine how quickly the cycle can change to no sleep: The earlier she gets up, the shorter her nap. The shorter her nap the earlier she wakes up.

This vicious cycle Needs. To. Stop.

When Kyle got home last night some time after 11, despite the fact he was exhausted, I announced I was not getting out of bed before 10 am the next day. I was convinced this was the night Savannah would crash and she would sleep until noon and I was going to take full advantage of it. I charged Kyle with the task of getting Cade off to school in the morning and I would soak in the comfort and quiet of my bed because surely a little girl living on 13 hours of sleep for most of her life would hit some sort of wall after averaging maybe 7 or 8 hours and give in to the world of zzz's. Right?

I was so wrong. She was up. I don't know what time, but she was up well before noon. Well before 10.

I am cranky.

And she is screaming. And rather than go door-to-door in my neighborhood and sell her for free, I'm blogging.

This is when photographer's work is truly appreciated. I can look at this picture and almost be convinced I want to keep her:

Almost.

Oh wait.... it's quiet.

HALELUJIAH.