Beyond Tired

As you can see, we took the kids to Tuscaloosa this weekend. We had a blast! We put on their 'Bama cheerleader uniforms and took them to the Quad Saturday afternoon. But let me tell you - we are paying for it now.

I've heard child experts talk about when kids get "over tired" and how miserable it can be, but I had never experienced it until now.

I'm not a control freak about my kids, but there is one thing that Chris and I are sticklers about - bed time. Ann Catherine goes to bed at 8 p.m. End of story. It's good for her and it's good for us.

I've had family members and friends laugh at us. "You should let her stay up late sometimes," they say.

Now I know why you shouldn't.

In Tuscaloosa this weekend, Ann Catherine didn't get a lot of rest. We didn't take the girls to the game. My best friend lives in T-town and her sitter kept them while we went to the game.

Since it was a night game, I told Heather that Ann Catherine could stay up until we got back. I really didn't think she could go to sleep and I didn't want her to cry and wake up Lily (who did go to bed on time.)

Heather said Ann Catherine almost fell asleep watching Barney, but when she realized she was going to sleep, she popped up.

Of course, once we got back, she wanted to play with my niece and nephew who had also been to the game. Once we finally got her down, it was 3-4 hours past her bedtime.

At this point, she was beyond tired. And that is a pretty miserable feeling for a little one. She cried and cried, but finally fell asleep.

You would think going to bed so late, she would sleep in.

Oh, no.

She was up around 7:45 a.m. (She actually slept about 45 minutes later than usual.)

She was tired all morning. She slept on the way home, but car naps aren't the greatest when your little head keeps bobbing around.

Last night, she was miserable. We put her to bed at the normal time and didn't hear a peep out of her.

Tonight, she was still miserable. We gave her a bath and put her to bed early. And again, not a peep.

Moral of this story - have a strict bedtime, and who cares if people laugh at you. They aren't the ones who have to deal with a cranky two-year-old.