Sleep Walking, Could it Be?

All of our children are good night time sleepers; they don't typically get out of bed unless it is something big.  However in the past week or so Dean has gotten up several times.  A few nights ago I woke to him standing by my head.  (Always a little freaky even if it is your own child.)  He said nothing when I spoke, just stared at Neal's blinking (charging) phone.  After a few times of questioning he finally spoke.  I asked him why he was up and almost tearfully he said he did not know.  I suggested he go back to bed and he took off.  Before I could get in there he was back in bed face down sleeping.

The whole episode has bothered me a little but I don't really know what to do about it so the next night I told him to wake up Neal if he wanted to get up.  Sounded like a good plan to me!

So last night I'm getting ready for bed around 10:30 and he starts screaming.  I go running in the room; he is screaming crying, standing towards the foot of Caleb's bed.  Thankfully Caleb was sleeping soundly through it.  I picked him up and he stopped.  I held him a minute and talked to him to make sure he was calm.  Neal came in; we asked him if he had a bad dream he shook his head no.  We asked if he wanted to lay back down and he nodded.  As I put him back in bed Neal left the room confident that all was well.  Just before I kissed his cheek I noticed that he had a strange look on his face - peaceful but staring at me, not blinking, not looking a way, eyes glassy - a little eerie.   So I decide to try and talk to him.  Again he shakes his head about a bad dream.  This time he tells me that his name is Dean then says it is Dean Freeman but can't remember the rest.  I ask him if he wants some water and he says yes.  He is coherent enough to sit up and drink without my assistance.  Thinking that now he must really be awake I ask again why he was standing "over there" pointing to where I found him.  He lays back down and looks at me with the same glassy-eyed, weird expression and says, "Because I was listening. [long pauses, while images of Poltergeist run through my head] I was going with Bob.  Larry was about to sing the silly songs."

All fears and questions exited my body.  I kissed him and walked out laughing.  All the screaming was somehow because of VeggieTales!  No night tremors or need for exorcism just a boy wandering in his room asleep longing for more Silly Songs with Larry! 

You Don't Ever Find Things in the Trash Can

Neal has spent our entire marriage telling me that things are never found in the trash can.  And for the most part I agree with him, even though on rare occasion I have found a stray toy in the trash can by the desk.

Last week it came out on the blog/Neal's Facebook that I keep a running inventory around here of things...toys, dishes, anything that I can count.  I can't help it; I am constantly counting things as I put them away.  I am sure there is some sort of drug I can take to make this quality go away or tone down but honestly I like it; it helps keep our home as it should be.

This morning, while unloading the dishwasher I counted 11 juice glasses instead of 12.  On alert I counted again...still 11.  First thing, I called Neal to ask if he for some strange reason took a glass with him to work.  Then I remembered that I heard a "glass clank" when I pulled the trash out of the can in our kitchen before taking it out on Tuesday night.  The first obvious thought is, "Someone accidentally threw away their glass while throwing away their napkin.  I will have to go get the trash bag out of the can and get the glass."  I report all of this to Neal; he said he would do it tonight but I can't wait anymore and the desire to have my glass back took over a few minutes ago.

I go out to the big can; push my sleeves up; pull out the bag and begin to dig.  I think about how gross our trash is as I rummage through.  An overwhelming sense of disgusting over comes my left arm as I dig deeper to get beyond the egg shells and sandwich scraps.  I finally get to the glass, the glass spaghetti sauce jar!  Then it hits me. I agree with Neal once again; you don't ever find things in the trash can so why am I so willing to look?  Why is it almost always my first thought, "guess it got thrown away; lets go look in the trash."?

I come inside, scrub my hands (and arm) and think "WHERE COULD IT BE?!"  Then on some whim I decide to look under the chair.  Not a dining room chair but a club chair in the living room.  Not sure why I did but there under the chair was the glass turned on its side.  If only my first instinct was not the trash and I had looked there first!

I hate it when he is right!

I Go for Two Teams

I realized today that it has been almost a month since my last post.  Neal and I went on an anniversary trip a few weeks back.  That took some planning up front and then we were gone and it has also taken some time to get back into the swing of things around here.  However with the excellent help of some friends and much family everyone had a good time while we were gone.  The running joke that Neal and I had before we left was that there was no telling where things would be when we got back.  The funny thing is the list of what I still have not been able to find...

1 salad plate 

the large container of feta cheese 

(consumed?)

one of Neal's Auburn cups

Anna Grace's hot pink hair band and a few of her ribbons

(currently blaming Hudson for this one)

However I can't complain about any of this too much because we did come home to find...

happy, healthy children still in tact

a couple of bottles of partially drunk wine in our frig

children on fire for more time with their grandparents

a playset in the back yard

When looking at the two lists I say the pros certainly out way the cons.  Therefore making our time away even more worth it.  

Since we have been home though there have been some great quotes by the children; none of which have anything to do with missing us or anything of the sort.

"Hey, Mama, when I think I have silly poop I go upstairs to the hall potty.  But when it is regular poop, like right now, I go in here."  Dean

~

"God said I can pull everything up."  Caleb
(He said this after I asked him if he needed help after coming out of the bathroom.  I chose to nod my head and roll with it;  he had done nothing wrong and who am I to argue with what God says!)

~

"I go for two teams:  Auburn and God.  God has the really good team."  Anna Grace