and the winner is. . .

Dan and I laughed at a good friend's summation of parenting.  "Some days leave you feeling exhausted, drained, done.  Those days you are more tired than the kids.  But then, some days, you wear them out and they are the tired ones.  Those are the days you win."

I'd be lying if I said I wasn't thinking of a "W" for the day as I relaxed with my iPad and a cup of coffee to get some work done just yesterday afternoon.  Both kids were napping simultaneously for the second day in a row and to say I was proud of this accomplishment would be a serious understatement.  Yes, it was pretty clear, I was the winner.  

But then, well, then, last night happened.  

It's all a sleepy haze of a blur now the events that unfolded.  I do know there was a lot of crying: nightmares for Hudson, a tummy ache and stuffy nose for Charli, tears from Hudson, then tears from Charli.  (last week she started crying real tears- as if her pouty cry face wasn't heartbreaking enough). Then of course there was the whiny cries of Dan and myself as we strategized who would take care of each child when.  

It seemed Dan and I were passing each other in the hallway. Each of us coming back from or on our way to console one of our babies.  It was a calculated dance in which our bed seemed to have one child all the time.  We'd let Hudson cuddle with me and fall asleep (as he wanted his mommy).  Then, Dan would carefully get him back to his own bed so he wouldn't be awakened when Charli cried out and I could bring her to bed I feed her.  The hours seemed to drag on and unlike most nights when I relish the long hours of nighttime, last night, I prayed for morning to come.  

At one point in the night Dan admitted defeat via twitter.  "We need to take the high ground.  The kids are winning."  (Yes, we have resorted to social media for communication.) 

At around 3 am everyone seemed to settle down and I was optimistic we had won in the end.  

You'd think I'd learn my lesson.  At 6 the chaos ensued with Charli needing to be fed, and falling asleep in my arms only to be promptly awakened by the "up Mommy!" cries of Hudson at 7:15.  

As a sleepy Dan got ready for work we laughed at how badly we had "lost" overnight.  But as I looked over at my snuggly babies in my bed, I saw that for a loss, it still felt like a pretty big win.  

Gosh I love these little monkeys, and Barks, I've said it before and I'll say it again.  There's no one I'd rather be in the trenches with than you.  

Sleepy or not, we are pretty blessed.