I write this not to get sympathy, but just so we can remember this night years down the road and get a good laugh out of it. As you may recall, I wrote this
post four months ago and we are already laughing about it. I hope the same happens with this one! And, I must also say, that I take full responsibility for how this night went; I could have done things differently. So, here's the story...
Yesterday we spent the morning with friends. We were outside for two hours and Marshall was running through sprinklers, swimming, and having a great time. Of course he was exhausted when we got home and took a nap from 1:30-5:00. I very much enjoyed this long nap time and did not mind at all that I had 3.5 hours of quiet. I nursed Bridget, watched the TV show I wanted, cleaned the house, and visited with a friend. It was a great 3.5 hours!
So, Marshall woke up at 5:00. He watched a tractor movie that I promised him, we had dinner, some playtime, and clean up. Bridget was in bed at 7:30 and Marshall was in bed at 8:05. Richard was exhausted from working the night shift a couple of nights ago so we decided to hit the sack early and be in bed at 9:30. Well, at 9:30 Marshall was still awake and began screaming for cereal. I figured that there was no way Richard would be able to fall asleep with this screaming and decided to cave to Marshall's requests. I took him out to the kitchen and poured him the cereal he requested with the promise that he would go straight to bed after. I sat in the kitchen with Marshall while he ate and Richard went to bed. Marshall finished his cereal, we brushed his teeth and I tucked him in again and was in my bed by 10:00.
We all slept soundly until 3:15 when Bridget woke up to eat. I fed her and she and I were both back in bed at 3:45. A few minutes after that just as I was drifting back to sleep, I hear, "Mommy, I need cuddles!" This was said in a very sweet voice, I couldn't pass it up, big mistake. I spent some time laying next to Marshall and then told him it was time to go back to sleep in our own beds. I tucked him in and got back in my bed. A few minutes after that Marshall came and got in bed with us. We have never let him do this before, but I let him anyway in hopes that he could just settle down and fall asleep. By this time it was about 4:30 and I figured we could handle three of us in one bed for the last part of the night. Wrong again! Marshall did not settle down, but began talking the night away. I finally told him enough was enough and I took him back to bed with the warning that if he got out of bed one more time the lock would go on his door.
That threat proved to be enough to keep in his room, but shortly after that I heard him get out of his bed and turn on his light. I opted to stay in my bed and figured that he would eventually fall back asleep. Wrong again! He played the remainder of the night away and when Richard's alarm went off at 5:30 Marshall came and informed me that he was ready for breakfast. Unbelievable!
So, here we are. I have more or less been awake since 3:15. Marshall has been completely awake since 3:45. Richard, thankfully, got more sleep than us, but his sleep from 3:45-5:30 was less than perfect. And Bridget, bless her little heart, continues to sleep.
This morning I told Richard that the worst part about this is that it could have been such a great night because we went to bed so early! I also told Richard that if Marshall ever takes more than a two hour nap again we have to run him in circles until bedtime!
Discouraging.
Oh well. I opted to laugh about it, take a picture, post it on my blog, and worry about it after dinner. 
