Jet lag Joy 2

Coming back to Abu Dhabi and suffering from this thing called jet lag is like having 5 newborn babies at the same time. Now I don't know about you, but the sleep deprivation that comes with ONE newborn baby is almost enough to send me over the edge. Five?! I'm kind of like a raving lunatic who falls asleep mid sentence in the middle of the day. Seriously, I've been going to bed at 5 pm when Ken gets home and skipping dinner entirely. My experience this past week can be summed up in one word: DREADFUL. Not because I don't love it here and not because I'm not oh-so-happy to be home and among our friends who are family. But because scenes like this occur regularly throughout the day (see photo above)

We were cooking together! Specifically to keep her awake! I turn around to get the flour, and BOOM, she's out. And it is 10 a.m.

Of course, while I am busy trying to keep #3 awake, #2 sneaks off and tucks himself into bed. And before you can say "don't sleep now or you'll be up all night," he's out. And nothing wakes him up - even #4 climbing all over him.

Come back downstairs dragging an extremely grumpy #2, only to find #3 underneath that blanket on the couch, you guessed it, fast asleep. And have you ever tried to reason with a 10 month old? It doesn't work, he sleeps when he wants to, let's say from 9 am until midnight. Now repeat this scenario every day….

This means that our nights look something like this: 

• Day 1: Wake up at 2 a.m. to find my very resourceful 8 year old downstairs with 3 of his siblings. [how long have they been awake?!] "Don't worry mom," they tell me, "Tyler gave us breakfast. Fruit snacks and chocolate granola bars!" Ah yes, the breakfast of champions. 
• Day 2: We decide to start a giant lego creation with the boys at 3 a.m. Then get the dishes done and the kitchen mopped, only to want to go back to bed at 5 a.m. 
• Days 3-7: We are all awake and ready to start the day at 2 a.m. Dressed by 7 a.m. Asleep by 9 a.m. Except for Ken, who has to go to work and pretend to be awake all day.

It's a good thing we love this crazy place. And, we are just starting to emerge from the sleepy fog. By next week, I bet we'll feel back to normal, and there will be no more falling asleep at the dinner table, food in mouth :)