Sleeping Arrangements

I have never been an advocate of the whole "family bed" idea and, quite frankly, find the notion a bit odd.  I don't know if I just enjoy sex with my husband too much or desire a good night's rest, but absolutely nothing about sharing my comfy, king-sized Tempurpedic with my preschoolers sounds inviting. I have friends that practice co-sleeping and it works great for their families, but it is definitely not an option that I have ever desired to incorporate into our family.  That being said, I have no problem with the occasional, "Mommy I just had a bad dream. Can I sleep with you?" or "I can't sleep because the storm is so loud. Can I lay with you?" requests from my kiddos.  They understand that these times of sleeping with mom and dad are the exception, and do a good job not to abuse the privilege.  With my husband deployed, I must confess that this has happened more frequently than when he is home, but, in all honestly, I secretly welcome their nocturnal invasions. At some point in the night last night, first Asher, then, about an hour and a half later, Sophia, came into bed with me.  I choreographed Sophia's entrance into the bed so it wouldn't disrupt Asher and had her enter from the other side of the bed, which left me in the starring role of a "Mommy Sandwich." Being 7 months pregnant, suffice it to say that I don't sleep soundly these days.  I usually don't get to bed until around midnight, and then, amongst kicks in utero, having to pee at least once a night, and my brain that can't ever seem to "shut off," sleep is a hot commodity for me. Last night was no exception.  I think somewhere around 5 a.m. I just sat up laughing and then stared at my two, beautiful nighttime visitors.  I was laughing because I, once again, had to go to the bathroom and was trying to figure out how in the world I was going to get out of bed without waking anyone up.  With my extra girth, I am not as agile as usual and feared that I may crush one of my children if I attempted to exit over them.  So, you guessed it, I opted for the foot of the bed exit route.  There I was, scooting my way to the bottom of the bed to emerge out of the covers and land on the floor, where I gracefully collected myself and proceeded with my intended course of action. Upon returning to the bed, I simply had to get my camera and take a picture of my sweet babies that are growing up WAY too fast!  After creeping around the house, down the stairs, and into the office to find the camera, I sneaked as quietly as possible back into my bedroom.  After all of that tip-toeing around, the flash woke them up as I captured one last slumbering moment and now, our day has begun!  Life is good.  God is good.  Sleep or no sleep, I am a lucky mama!