The Amazing Power of Sleep

Mommy,  Lizzy (then Ellie)
and Tiger have a nap

Abby at 17 months

I slept until 10:00 AM. I believe that this is the first time in nine years I have done so. I'm a mom; my sleep schedule is not completely under my control. And today Abby kept Lizzy in their room, playing quietly and watching DVDs of The Backyardigans until they got hungry. Abby was apologetic; "I'm sorry, mom, I really wanted to wait until ten 'cause I know you want to sleep in sometimes, but Lizzy started getting too loud and it's only 9:56". I assured her that this was more than fine, and made them breakfast, then had them get dressed while I showered. There was a minor snafu over something getting overturned in the dishwasher and therefore spilling water all over the floor when I opened said dishwasher, and the issue of the girl scout leader not having Abby's medication release form (we switched troops midstream and it never got transferred). 

Lizzy in Spring 2011

But these were minor bumps in the road. If I had had my usual 5-6 hours of sleep they might've caused much angst and frustration and Bad Language, but as it was, all I needed was a towel for the one and a pen for the other. The game last night (which was a ton of fun!) featured sandwiches for Gamer Food, and therefore the dishes were not a huge mess this morning as they oftenare on Saturdays, too... which probably helped my mood. Abby and her fellow Brownie and their leader took off about half an hour later than planned but since they were planning on getting there earlier than check-in time, this was no great calamity. 

Miz Liz and I went out to lunch. I don't think I've ever gone out to lunch before with just Lizzy and me; no Daddy, no Grandma, no other children. She behaved perfectly. She was friendly. She was even polite (insofar as a three-year-old can be; that is to say she stayed in her seat, didn't yell, and didn't throw anything or spit it out). She charmed the heck out of our waitress, who was great herself. Any customer service person who is willing to have a serious discussion with a three-year-old about the relative merits of the various Care Bears, complete with leaving stickers in the bill just to amuse said preschooler, is okay by me.

Does that mean that I'm usually intolerant of perfectly normal preschooler behavior because I lack sleep? Or does it mean that Lizzy got enough sleep too and is therefore a decent human being today? Or just a happy coincidence? I'm going to go with d) all of the above.