Every day is different than the one before it. That means every day has new challenges. Some of these we can meet; others are a test of our endurance and dedication.

Like, for instance, our sleeping habits.

Since they were tiny enough to be held in the crook of our elbows, Matt slept with David, I slept with Carmen. David fell asleep relatively easily, but woke up early. This closest matched Matt’s schedule, so David became Matt’s assigned baby. That left me with Carmen who, like me, fought sleep and prefered to sleep later (if you consider 6:30a “later”), so Carmen became my assigned baby.

Two years later, we’re a little tired of the arrangement. So this was the plan: C&D would fall asleep with me. Matt would wash up later. Eventually, C&D would fall asleep together on their own, and Matt and I might have a whole hour of peace in the house to catch up on the day and brush our teeth without telling someone not to jump on the bed. Simple enough? Simple enough. That’s what I thought.

So, last night, I told C&D that Daddy was taking out the trash (which he sort of was) and that we would just fall asleep. David cuddled on my left, Carmen on my right. I lay over the small gap between the Carmen’s bed and the larger bed. They began to whisper, and then Carmen rolled toward the wall and began to kick it with her feet.

“Somebody hammering,” David said, smiling.

“Nobody’s hammering,” I returned. “That’s Carmen making noise.”

“Somebody HAMMERING,” David insisted.

Carmen stopped to listen to our whispers. “Dundering!”

Oh, no. “Dundering!” David cried, assuming I suppose that if Carmen said so, it must be true. He began to wail.

Carmen, assuming that if David cried so, it must be worth crying about, cried louder.

“Matt!” I yelled, hoping Matt was in earshot of the baby monitor. He was, and swooped in to comfort two hysterical toddlers who were certain there was something to be afraid of, even if we weren’t sure what it was that we were so afraid of. Then Matt and David retreated to their own bed, and Carmen went to sleep.

Stinkers, the both of them. But we’ll try again. You’ll see.