How $17.99 may just save our sanity...

So they say, "Drastic times call for drastic measures."

Well, this drastic measure may have just saved our sanity...

Certainly, a good night's sleep...

(And quite possibly also our marriage!)

~

So I did it today!

Took our drastic measure...

I've been thinking about it for a week, but couldn't quite bring myself to do it.

But today I finally broke down and bought it.

A nice, plush 42"round... Puppy Pillow.

Why, you ask?

Are we getting a puppy for our puppy-crazed boys?

Oh, no!

(We're not THAT desperate!

They are still just begging for now...)

~

Oh, no.

You see...

The puppy bed is for my son.

My baby.

The boy we all love...

It is for Bronson.

My sweet 2 year old who has decided he is done taking naps.

The very same child who I am convinced sleeps less than any other toddler on the planet.

Now, to be clear, this Puppy Bed is not meant as any sort of statement, for heaven's sake.

It actually represents a very diplomatic compromise.

One that has been months in the making.

Bronson, you see, has been battling with us for quite some time

over what he apparently feels are unacceptable sleeping accommodations.

Namely his C-R-I-B...

Yes, that's right.

It is definitely a four letter word.

And we have outlawed it in our home

to prevent the inevitable melt downs that even its' mere mention induces...

And so, as the kind, loving, accommodating parents that we are,

we naturally offered him the alternative of double-bunking

in his brother Daynen's full-size bed.

This worked for several nights

and these two little peas in a pod were as snug as bugs in a rug...

Until Bronson rolled off in the middle of the night.

He wasn't hurt, thank goodness...

In fact he landed on pillows

that had been carefully placed on the floor

in case of just such an occurrence.

But it bruised his pride

and his confidence just enough

that another alternate site had to be located.

~

This time to big brother Kaden's side he went.

...Until he wore out his welcome.

~

And so the real battle began.

A turf war.

Waged on a king-sized mattress between two sheets, beneath our comforter.

It's not a new battle.

It's as ageless as the family itself.

Mommy and Daddy separated by the toddler,

who insists on sleeping horizontally in the middle.

If you have kids, you know...

No matter how many times you try to turn the little tike upright,

he always makes an "H" of us by morning.

And while Matt gets the warm, steamy breathing, half an inch from his face,

I always get the feet.

And usually to my head.

Or face.

Or both.

All.

Night.

Long.

Now, let me stop here to say how very grateful I am for this arrangement.

It is certainly preferable to many, many other alternatives.

And believe me...

I am NOT complaining...

It's just that, well... it is a bit... tiring...

after many, many,

many...

months.

Let me also invite anyone out there who thinks they have a better idea,

or one that we haven't already tried...

consistently for several weeks...

to come right on over and sleep-train our toddler...

I assure you.

We are very aware that it has become a battle of will.

That we, quite obviously are losing.

I also assure you,

it is decisive, selective and adamantly expressed.

And there IS no other acceptable alternative location.

Trust us.

~

A couple of times we have joked that we should just change bedrooms.

Or go sleep in our spare bedroom after he falls asleep.

Ha!

But no.

~

Instead, we have decided to embrace the opportunity.

Knowing it will eventually run it's course.

And that someday we will miss those wiggly little feet.

And that atrocious morning breath.

And the little boy they belong to.

~

And so we have conceded...

To something we would never have allowed from his brothers.

And been a crowded party of 3 for quite some time.

~

Recently, we have taken to making a little bed of pillows on the floor at the foot of our bed.

We even brought in a Bean-Bag from our Theatre...

But then he'd end up all sticky and sweaty (it's "pleather")

and all slumped over...

It didn't look comfy, at all.

~

But it did give me the idea.

"A giant pillow", I thought.

That could be stored under the end of our bed.

Out of sight, beneath the bedskirt, by day.

And loved, by all, at night.

Just an extension of our bed, really.

An annex.

But safely at floor's level.

And with room enough to spare for all of us...

I smile, yawn and stretch just thinking about it!

.

.

Surely, I am not the first to think of this,

but still, I felt proud of this brilliant solution.

~

And further more, I would make one, the crafty side of me decided.

But alas, the busy-mom-at-Christmas side of me has not quite gotten to it yet.

~

And then...

Then, I saw the Puppy Pillows at Costco.

For the very low price 0f $17.99.

I could not buy the fabric, let alone the stuffing for that!

But it was a DOG BED!

And this was my SON!

I just could not quite wrap my mind around that...

Until,

Today.

And it has been pure Puppy-Pillow LOVE all afternoon!

In fact, I only narrowly escaped Costco , without a matching set!

(Dayne wanted one for himself and I nearly had to buy two!)

.

.

It might also be the new favorite movie spot!

.

.

~

And aaaah!

I can feel a good night's rest coming on, already!