Bedtime

It's funny, the past year or so, Andy has been so sociable and fun that I've been getting away from having a strict bedtime for him. It was just so easy to stay out a little later because it didn't seem to back up on him the way it did when he was little (meaning he didn't melt down). Plus, it was more fun for us to stay out later. Then the terrible threes hit. He started giving up his afternoon nap and he began throwing temper tantrums and really pushing my buttons. I've been reading up on how to deal the temper tantrums, but I also read that an earlier bedtime might help. Both those together has made for a much more agreeable kid, which means we're all having more fun (him included).

Meg has also developed a bedtime this week. If I pick her up from Ayesha's around 5:15-5:30, I take her home, feed her, give her a bath and put her down about 7 p.m., she can actually sleep, sometimes waking up once in the middle of the night and occasionally not waking up until morning. It's such a change to have both kids in bed by 8 p.m. I actually have time after they go to bed to eat dinner, do laundry, or, gasp, even do some work. It's nice having a little predictability and time for myself (knock wood, of course.)

What sucks about this earlier bedtime is we really have to be disciplined about not staying out too late. And by too late, I mean 6 p.m. It's a trade off because being home that early sucks in terms of not getting to enjoy our time out, but on the other hand, getting everyone to home and in bed before they're exhausted means the evening goes much more smoothly for everyone.

Meanwhile, instead of our regular summer party this year, we're having Meg's baptism and having a handful of folks over afterwards for lunch. I was so proud of myself. I made invitations and everything, no Evite. The problem is I forgot to tell everyone the service starts at 11 a.m. Or that the church is on Braddock Road. That's right, I am a communications/publications type person and I can't even get the who, what, where, when and why right. D'oh.

P.S. Chris, we got our FiOS and it rocks. They came on time, cleaned up after themselves and everything works. Apparently Verizon likes Kings Park West better than Kings Park. Go figure.