Tomorrow is trash day and I needed to empty all the trash cans upstairs. I snuck into our bedroom after Baby E had fallen asleep. (He is, unfortunately, still sleeping on a toddler mattress next to our bed.) He started stirring almost immediately so I froze, hoping he would roll over and settle back in. All of a sudden he started to groan in annoyance and then in a loud voice insisted, “Stop talking to me, Mommy!!!” As I stood there silently he repeated his request with more conviction. “Stop talking to me, Mommy!!!”

Not wanting to risk waking him completely I replied quietly, “Ok, buddy, I’ll stop talking.” He murmured something incoherent and fell silent.