More sleep woes

Little Sister will. not. sleep.

At. all.

Last night we put her to bed around 7:45. She FINALLY crashed at about 10. I lost track of how many times one of us went into the room to get her to stop-jumping-in-the-crib-and-lay-down-for-the-love-of-everything-holy!

And what's worse is that Big Sister is so freaked out by bad dreams that she would rather have a fussing Jumpy-McJumperson going strong for hours than be left alone to fend off the monsters.

And the Purple People Eaters. Yes, that was the inspiration for the drawing. She had heard that song in preschool a few times but never knew what they were singing, until her genius Mommy filled her in. Now, it is the stuff of nightmares. And ominous stories involving spiders and heroines who save the day by removing his lungs.

Yes, his lungs. Don't ask me how. I have no idea.

I couldn't make this stuff up.

So both children have been going to sleep at about the same time that I usually go to bed.

But the worst part is that Little Sister is still getting up early. In fact, this morning she decided that 6:30 was too late, and our little Early Bird was grabbing worms jumping in her crib before 6. I had told both girls that they would be staying in bed until after 7, no matter what. I offered Big Sis the option to go into the spare room, and I think she took it at some point. But NO ONE went back to sleep.

I remember something from my favorite sleep book that said that kids often wake too early from actually getting too little sleep, rather than too much. And that makes a lot of sense, because the other piece of the puzzle I haven't shared yet is Little Sister's new found addiction to three hour naps.

So we're sleep training here. Which means we're testing the limits of my sanity, and with all of my anxiety and hormonal woes of late, those limits are a little tenuous.

I put Little Sister in bed tonight right before 7 and right after she tossed a plate of pizza and strawberries on the floor. She actually went down without a fight.

But, heaven forbid I should get off that easily, Big Sis stepped in to fill the void. After special treatment (watching the same Angelina Ballerina movie we've seen ninety-two times this week and playing Pixie Hollow with Mommy) we got ready for bed. She whined the whole time. As soon as she leaned back against her pillow, she said, "I can't sleep." And then she said it again after tiptoeing out of her room & down the stairs.

I almost lost it.

I think every Mommy has a few things that push her buttons more than anything else. One of mine is sleep. I know how much it messes EVERYTHING up when my kids (or I, for pete's sake) don't get it. And I know how much work it is to get either one of my children to go back to sleep after having been abruptly awaken from what amounts to be a short catnap. So I hate when one has the potential to mess up the other's sleep.

It's a super anxious time for me because I feel powerless. I have no control over the situation. I have to try to make one child know that I mean business without upsetting her enough that she wakes up her sister. She holds all the cards.

I don't even like sharing the cards.

As I type this, all is quiet. I told Big Sis to count as high as she could, or name Disney Princesses, until she fell asleep. But I'm still waiting anxiously for Little Sister to wake up from what she has surely understood to be a nap. The sleep book says either don't go, or at least only "check & console."

Could make for a long night...

Any of you mommies out there have any advice?

Or Valium?