The Christoffersen's

Byron was away for a full week with the 16 and 17 year old boys from our church. Wyatt is a different boy when his father is gone, and as much as I would like to say that I am the calming figure in the house, we'd all know that would a lie. Byron is the one that keeps us all grounded and diffuses any stress in the house. So when he's gone, there is a different energy in the house that I have to work around (even though I am the one who creates it). Its important for me, though, to accept the fact that my husband has these opportunities to go places and do important things. I could just whine and moan that he's leaving, or I can accept it, and create my own positive experiences for myself and my child. I try my best to rely on myself. Though I do know I have very kind G-mas nearby, I don't feel the need to go running to them just because my husband is bailing out of town.

So this week, I planned ahead. The goal: Keep Wyatt so extremely busy that he exhausts himself. An exhausted Wyatt is a sleepy Wyatt, and a sleepy Wyatt is a Wyatt that takes long naps and goes to bed early. The problem with this, is that these activities also exhaust me, and I end up wanted to go to bed earlier than Wyatt! Case in point, the first part of the week was spent babysitting a baby friend we adore, going to The Springs Preserve, a playdate with new friends, a lake trip with KB, swimming at KB's pool, all fun fun stuff. By Friday, I was DONE! And we sat on the couch watching a 12 hour marathon of Phineas and Ferb on the Disney channel. I didn't move a muscle until about 7 pm, when I finally did take Wyatt and the dogs for a walk.

So, our last day without Byron was celebrated with good friends, Patricia and Cooper at the Secret Garden at the Mirage to see the dolphins and tigers. It was lots of fun, I could have sat there with a slushy and a snack and watched those dolphins all afternoon. And my final attempt to exhaust Wyatt worked. He slept for 4 hours, enough time for me to nap, watch a TV show, and even scrapbook! Byron came home that night, I fed and tucked both my boys into bed, and ran 3 miles with Duke, just enjoying a brief moment of NOT having a 4 year old stuck to my hip.

Maybe the exhaustion was starting a little early...there was a temper tantrum in the dolphin viewing area and a TIME-OUT was needed...for Wyatt and myself.