I haven’t slept through the night in seven years. Well occasionally when my parents take the boys overnight, but other than that, nope. Even if all my boys sleep through the night I still find myself getting up in the middle of the night. However, the norm is that at least one of them always gets up by 3am. I make the bad dreams go away, let a whining dog out to relieve himself, and stand in the kitchen waiting to let the dog back in. Then it calls to me…the cupbard of snacks. It’s usually just a cracker or a few Goldfish, but with Halloween it was Peanut Butter Cups and Almond Joys. I always seem to go for a snack. Why, I don’t know. I’m not truly hungry and it’s not like I’m sneaking a pint of ice cream in the dark. I’m just standing there waiting for the dog…what else is there to do?

Now my 2-year old has developed this little habit over the past couple weeks. He keeps waking up around 2:30am, sneaking into my bed and then it’s, “Mommy, I hungee, I want a shnack pweese.” Is he truly hungry with hunger pains and in real need to have something to sustain him till morning? Most likely not, but what if he is going through a growth spurt and is truely in need. How’s a parent to know if they are just testing the waters to see what they can get away with, or if they are really in need? Then he becomes relentless and I can’t get back to sleep until I deliver one measly little Goldfish. Where does he get these little quirks? Do I argue and deal with the tears for over an hour till he passes out just on the principle of the matter? That’s tough because this working mama needs her sleep too. So now I feel shameful for having given in multiple times this past week for my own benefit of z’s. Yeah, I guess this needs to stop.