Back to Utah

The girls are enjoying being back in their own space. Besides being tired, I think they are suffering from not having as many big people around to cater to their every want and need. They've (especially Evelyn) been really demanding since we got back. We left Emmett, ID at 7:30 pm Thursday night after spending a few days there with Grandma and Grandpa Cluff. I didn't really think we needed to do the night driving thing, but after the drive from WA to ID, it being one of the whiniest drives yet for us, we thought it wouldn't be a bad idea. And the two of them did fall asleep after only about 30 min on the road, and slept clear until Bountiful. That was nice, no whining, no having to reach into the backseat 8700 times, no having to go through the movie selection for the DVD player again. But, this limited bliss came with a price. We're driving down the brightly lit Wasatch front and the girls think this is great because they don't drive much in the dark these days. Like the last 4 1/2 hours they were asleep was a great nap. Anyway, we get home finally and they're all excited about thier stuff they've been missing, they want to watch a movie, blah, blah, blah. Ben and I say it's time for bed, because it's 2:30 am and you guys need to go to sleep, so we can sleep. I go through Jilly's bedtime routine, and all seems well until I tried to put her in her crib. A definite no-go. So I sing more songs, talk some more, and try to put her in again. She's screaming. I leave her screaming in her crib for the next 35 minutes, during which she tries to climb out of her crib who knows how many times, getting her knee wedged between the wall of crib slats and the top rail (3 times, ouch), and eventually falling headfirst out of her crib. After all this drama, she fell asleep with me on the couch finally at 4:15 am. Meanwhile, Evelyn didn't want to stay in her bed, so she ends up whining a bunch and sleeping as close to Ben as humanly possible in our bed. We made it through yesterday's whining spree with most of our hair, and today was better. Jilly's crib was converted to toddler bed yesterday, because she has gotten quite a bit taller and stronger since we left and could climb out no matter how low the mattress was set. She seems to like it, she's all about being a big girl like Evelyn. So hopefully with a few more days of good sleep, we should have our happy, well-adjusted kids back.
One more story. While in Emmett, Mom Cluff took me to get my hair done, which I love by the way. I got it high-lighted, and that has only happened one other time in my life. It looks great! I took Jilly along with me, and it had been a few hours since we had been out and about when we walked into the salon. (And she didn't get a very good nap either). Can you see where this is headed? She was fine while we waited for the stylist to finish with her previous appt., which ended up being about 30 minutes I think. The stylist came over and started talking to me, and Jilly immediately got grouchy. Then they put the cape on me and she started screaming. I am sort of panicking because I don't have screaming children in public very often, and all the other stylists are still being so nice saying she's so cute and all. I thought otherwise. Jill wouldn't stop, the crying just kept escalating. Mom Cluff gets her foils all put in and with a cape on and shower cap over her hair takes Jilly kicking and screaming outside. I am at somewhat of a loss to explaing this bizarre behavior in my child. I just feel bad for all the other people who have to hear it, and hope they understand. Mom brings her back in, and as soon as Jill sees me, she takes off again with the screaming. Back outside she goes. I wonder if she thought they were going to maim me or something. This happens one more time, until Mom finds an "I Spy" book in the magazine rack and this does the trick of calming her down. After that episode, she is docile, and I just avoided anything that might set her off again. She falls asleep while I'm getting my hair washed out, and is in my lap the whole time I'm getting my hair cut, but the awesomely nice stylist didn't get any hair on her. So there is Jilly's first, and probably last for a long time salon visit.
Oh my gosh, this is really long. Good thing I only do this once every few weeks. It'll be great in a family journal at some point, and when Jilly has her own 18 month old who does semi-crazy stuff, I can show her why.