The stuff they dream of...

I think that one of the absolute without a doubt most fantabulous things about kiddos is how easy they are to please.  The littlest things make them happy - extra hugs, the tickle game (which basically involves an adult never really leaving the couch - just stretching your arms out and wriggling your fingers a bit while making some sort of "I'm gonna getcha" noises), painted toe nails, a plucked flower, chocolate milk, ice-cream from a store. Today PopPop took all 6 of us to dinner at Shells before going to see Mimi's wonderful Art Show.  After our tour Daddy took the boys home for tubbies and PopPop took all his girls (mommy included - HURRAY FOR COFFEE FLAVORED ICE-CREAM) to dairy swirl for a little post show treat.  The girls were SO excited - twirling, hugging PopPop to say thanks, thanking the cashier, grinning from ear to ear while choosing their flavor and sprinkle combination... The cute HighSchooler behind the counter smiled and said "I don't think I've ever seen two kids this excited about ice-cream!"  What can I say - we don't get out much... but then this sage 17 year old added "The thing is - most people forget that ice-cream is a treat".

Maybe random kind ice-cream scooper girl is onto something there - and wether by plan or by default a lot of those little things in our home are just that - treats.  Something that doesn't happen daily, weekly, or in some cases monthly.  Extra hugs and tickle game excluded, the kiddos seem to know that there are everyday events and then there are those things that happen less frequently - sometimes as a reward - sometimes just for fun.  So I suppose it's no wonder that the event on the girls lips the other week - the thing they just couldn't stop talking about - the one thing they begged for and dreamed of was a sleepover in Mommy and Daddy's room.  It's nice that they have dreams that we can make come true...

This night was much like our other special nights - a movie, some popcorn from daddy, a little pedicure from mommy... but before we went down and picked our movie and selected our colors we unrolled the sleeping bags across the floor.  Their eyes were wide as they carefully placed their pillows at the top of the bags and then their excitement burst forth and they skipped, danced and twirled all around the bags singing a little improv song about sleepovers and popcorn.

I was worried that the reality of sleeping on a hard floor and the realization that really we're just going to sleep may dull the excitement after a bit - like driving to disney world but finding all the rides were gone.  But they were still pretty psyched to cozy up in the same room as their parents - even if they were too tired to perform another dance.

Daddy moved their favorite "Buzz" ladybug that projects stars on the ceiling into our room - we kissed their foreheads, tucked them in, and then everyone went to sleep.  (Actually I played a few rounds of scramble under the blankets for a bit - but THEN I went to sleep.)  They didn't argue, the didn't fuss, they just closed their beautiful eyes and dreamed whatever dream little girls who are psyched about sleepovers in their parents room dream of.

In the morning the sun sent beams of light through the front window rousing the girls from sleep earlier than they are used to.  Two fuzzy heads and four bleary eyes blinked awake and adjusted to their new surroundings... realized where they were and what that must have meant.  "Did we have a sleepover in your room mommy?"  "You sure did baby girls".  "It was fun.  Can we do it again sometime?"  "Sure, baby."

As the morning moved on, our two sleepy girls moved their dreams to the couch and the promise of Sesame Street... In short order their baby brothers padded in.  Without planning or prodding everyone clamored up to the couch, lined up in a sunbeam beneath the much younger pictures of themselves... my dream complete.

 

When the party moves to Mommy and Daddy's bed and everyone is bouncing around, screaming and giggling you know it's time to start the day.  There are diapers to change, clothes to put on, breakfasts to make... But even in the midst of the chaos that took over this and every previously quiet morning the girls paused and glanced at their sleeping bags strewn across the floor and said: "That was a great sleepover".