This freakin' kid...

decided to wake up at 4 a.m. this morning. I was not happy, but I did everything I could to get him to go back to sleep--I laid next to his crib, I got him milk, I sang Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer to him like 50 times. I did everything (except the one thing he was asking for--"Mama!! (sob) Mimis!!"). Finally, I needed a break. So I told him, "Zeke, I need a break, I'm getting some tea." To my total amazement he stopped crying and said "Uh." (Translation: "Ok.") Nice.

I went to the kitchen to make some tea and while the water was boiling I remembered Katie's Cinnamon Raisin Bread recipe she sent to me earlier this week. "Hmmm," I thought. "Could I potentially bring redemption to this hour of lost sleep by making some delicious bread for us to enjoy in the morning?" As my tea steeped I threw the ingredients in our bread machine and hit start.

I grabbed my tea and tip toed down the hall. Still no crying. I peeked into his room and the crying resumed. I was feeling more patient, though. I sat with him as I drank my tea and imagined the bread awaiting us in the morning. I had about 15 minutes of patience in me, then I closed the door on my screaming child and went back to bed.

He survived the night and so did I and this morning we enjoyed some delicious bread as we listened to the rain. If I don't sleep train this child soon, I am going to weigh about 500 pounds.