The storms of life

7:00 is Annie's bedtime. Especially if she hasn't had a nap. Sometimes we start the process at about 6:45 so that she is asleep at 7:00. One of the good things about Annie is that she realized that sleep was important very, very young. She slept through the night at about 6 weeks old and has literally never looked back. I don't think this is a record of our amazing parenting. I really think that Annie just knows that sleep is a vital part of feeling good. I realized this when she was about 2 and told me it was time for her nap.

Not only does she go to sleep well, she stays asleep. A couple of months ago when she was at her grandparents house, a pretty big earthquake (5 pointer!) hit with the epicenter being just miles away from where she was. It was during the day, but she was tired and so her grandma told her to go take a nap. Without her being tucked in or sang to or anything, she went into a bedroom and took a nap. Amazingly, she slept through the whole earthquake - even the aftermath of other children screaming in terror. She can sleep through just about anything.

Last night a big monsoon hit around 7:00. The storm was so wild that when we opened our front door to look at it, the door whooshed open so quickly that it slammed John's arm into the wall (he's fine). The rain and the wind made it look like waves on the ocean. To top it all off, it was NOISY! We thought at first that it was hail, but after looking at it, we realized it was just really, really big drops of rain. The house sounded like we were being pelted by very small rocks.

We hear the tired screams of Annie. "Mooooooommmy. Daaaaaady." Daddy goes in to check on her since I am on the phone. He calms her down and tells her to not be afraid. He tells her that it will stop soon and it's just rain so there is nothing to be scared of. What does she tell her? "Daddy, I'm not scared. It just waked me up!"

It must have been a bigger storm than I thought.

3 bathrooms with a 3-year-old in 30 minutes

When we moved into our pretty new house, I became the proud new owner of three full-sized bathrooms. Two upstairs, one downstairs. I love having three bathrooms - it is only annoying when I have to clean them. I don't like cleaning bathrooms - I don't get the great feeling that some people get when they clean things. It's not magical or even transformative . . . it's disgusting. But it's necessary, especially because you go into a bathroom to get clean. I realize the need for clean bathrooms, so I've devised a way to do it quickly - even with a 3-year-old who wants to "help." Yesterday, I cleaned all three bathrooms, with Annie, in under 30 minutes. I was pretty proud of myself.

How did I do it? I put Annie on counter duty with a wet washcloth while I did everything else. I've also realized that (except for the downstairs bathroom) it saves time when you group the jobs together. Instead of doing one bathroom from top to bottom and then moving on to the next bathroom, clear off all the counters, do all the bathtubs, then the toilets, then the countertops (that are already nicely wet because of Annie's excitement). End off with a hearty spray of Windex on all the mirrors and fixtures (it gives them a beautiful sheen). Done.

I never thought I would feel so proud of three clean bathrooms. It's the little things.