The Dude Ranch and the Midnight Turkey

There are few things that I love more than riding horses…but one of the few things I love even more is riding horses with my little girl. We don’t have a “kid horse” that she feels comfortable riding anymore, so this past weekend, we went to a Dude Ranch up in Bandera. We had a really nice time, and even though it’s one of those single-file nose to tail trail rides, she got off that horse with a huge smile. She wouldn’t hardly talk near the other people or the trail boss, but once we walked off, she shrieked “That was soooooo fun!”
They were supposed to have a so-called “heated pool,” but when we dipped our feet in, we found out it wasn’t so heated after all. So being in the mood to swim, like a couple of crazies led by a 9-year-old, on that chilly January day, she convinced me into jumping into the Jacuzzi tub. The only problem with that is it was outdoors and still freezing cold when we got out. Then they rang the dinner bell, and we had some smores by the campfire, and the works. It was 8 o’clock by the time we got home, and grandma was babysitting baby brother, but I wanted to be sure to pick him up and bring him back home since he had finally just gotten back into the wonderful routine of sleeping all night.
Low and behold, that routine got all upset again, and he awoke at 2 am, and 3am, and god-knows-what-AM, practically on the hour again. He wakes up, crawls out of bed, and then he runs into our bedroom every time–swinging the door so hard that it hits the wall and startles the heck out of me. He likes to make a grand entrance. So I usually cuddle him for a few minutes, and then once I get enough strength, I carry him back to his room to put him in his bed. Over and over and over.
It seems like this craziness is a little more fun for him than it is for mommy, because the last three times he came in, he was laughing as he walked in. By the time I could climb out of bed to redirect him back to his room, he was already running that direction….little midnight turkey.
Here’s to hoping he starts sleeping again soon!