(Learning To) Love the Nightlife....

As my days of motherhood thrust me further into a pit of disorganization and chaos, and I find myself asking other moms (especially those of toddlers) how they get anything done, I'm learning to finally LISTEN to their answer: "I do it all after I put the baby (or babies) to bed".

After months and months of sleep deprivation, Jeff and I were thrilled to be back to our days of hitting the sack in the 8 o'clock hour and snoozing right on through till dawn. (this was briefly interrupted by the month or two of night-waking, but that, knock on wood, has passed). We are both more morning-people and are not at our best in the late evening. Long before Will came along we were off to bed falling asleep to the 9:00 Frasier episode, and oh, how we were happy to return to this routine.

This was all fine-and-dandy back when I had the hours after work and allll weekend long to do my laundry and scrub the floors without having to stop every 10 minutes to redirect a danger-seeking toddler.

They told me how to do it--how to get it all done. To stay up late after our sweet babies drift to dreamland--but I just couldn't do it. I was exhausted. And I wouldn't trade my after-work playtime for chores. So it just piled up, and up, and up.

After the millionth fight with Jeff about getting ANYthing done around the house, I've finally succumbed to the inevitable--I have to stay up past my bedtime to get a few things accomplished. At first, I didn't know how to handle it. I was like a preschooler who got to stay up late eating candy and went into the realm of "overtired" and I couldn't fall asleep when I was done with my tasks. So I'd jump on the Internet to "relax" and lo and behold, 2 hours later, there I was, wide-eyed glued to Facebook.

But I think I'm starting to get a handle on the nightlife. Since putting Will to bed tonight, I was able to wash, fold & put away 2 loads of laundry, do the dishes, clean the kitchen, get the coffee ready for the morning, write a love-note to the hubby (lucky man-right?), pick up toys, start packing for my weekend away, paint my toenails and fingernails--and tell you lovely people all about it! :) And I think I'm ready to hit the hay at the reasonable-for-grownups hour of 11:15 pm.

Now, how to get that Daddy-o to join me in the magical land of productivity.....