Life in one bedroom!

I LOVE traveling with my kids. I don't love all the luggage and carry-on's and car seats but I love that they get to experience life in different parts of the world. Our most recent adventure was to Whistler, BC for the Olympic Games. We were there from Feb 7th-Mar 1st. We all shared a room. Or to be more specific, my hubby and I slept on an air mattress out in the front room and our kids shared the one and only bedroom. My daughter slept in the bed and my son slept in his pac-n-play (with the the crib tent attached). We didn't have any other choice and therefore they had to sleep together. They would chit chat a bit in the beginning and then as the days turned into weeks, they began to simply love the fact they were not alone. They did the same thing when we went to NYC back in November. Although, this time, they came home wanting to share a room. They became accustomed to the others' company and felt lonely without it. It was so cute and touching and so I started to think about putting them both in the same room in our house. I spoke to my hubby about it and he felt the same way. If they want to share a room, they absolutely should. We LOVED the idea. Until....they decided to play a little too much. We haven't been home too long and we have tried it a few times but they both seem to chat a little too much for a scheduled life. While we were away, they could sleep in as late as they wanted. But at home, they need to go to bed at a decent hour so they can get up for school and other activities. I am so torn right now cause I love the idea of them being so close and such good pals. I love everything about them sharing a room and telling their little secrets at night but I don't love them giggling until 11pm...that isn't so fun for anyone the next day. Maybe I will pose the question again. If only I could video the discussion...imagine, a 2 year old, 3 year old and a mommy trying to determine if sharing a room is a good idea. Somehow I think the convo will turn to pirate's booty, apple juice and Shrek!

Compromise in the bedroom

This is not the blog you think it is. This is not about sex. This is about sleep. Everyone has a certain optimal sleep environment. You know, either super quiet or with some white noise to soothe you off to your slumber. I am the one who can fall fast asleep in any condition.

When I say anywhere, I mean anywhere. I once fell asleep at the front of a water skiing boat. I have fallen asleep while sitting in the make-up chair and while getting my hair done. Basically, what I am saying is that if I am tired enough, I can fall asleep standing up.

When my hubby and I first started dating, we both didn't seem to mind sleeping with noise or without. That is until I brought my dog to stay with us. I have a Beagle named Smalls and he likes to lick. Actually he LOVES to lick...you know, "because he can." The only problem is that he licks and licks and licks all night long. Oh yeah, and he snores like a drunken sailor! My hubby just couldn't take it.

One day he came home with a humidifier and he immediately fell in love with the white noise. In fact, he became dependent upon it. I didn't mind it until we had kids. Once we had kids, then I became super sound dependent. I needed to be able to hear the kids. The funny thing was that when the humidifier was on, my mind would play tricks on me and I would hear the kids crying when they were not.

We finally had a sit down. After several little battles, we came up with a wonderful compromise. He would turn on the humidifier to medium only and then turn it off if he left the room early. It was almost perfect. And then the humidifier broke. Ut-oh. I was secretly stoked but the hubby was pretty bummed. Smalls was still at it and it was driving him crazy.

We are now all set up with a brand new air purifier that makes a very smooth sound. I can hear the kids and he can't hear the licking! Now if we could only get more than 6 hours of sleep...maybe when we retire.