Nighttimes Lately

Nighttimes for Jada have a been a bit of a train wreck the week before
and after our California trip: tantrums galore, forcibly throwing her
back into bed, adding up to two or more hours of ordeal from the time
we start bedtime to the time she finally goes quiet. How to explain
this? Let me count the reasons:

* She's much better at going potty, so any hint of needing to pee
causes her to scurry to us for help, whether right after going to bed
or right before waking up or any time in between.

* We've been a little more stressed (before the trip with packing,
after the trip with catching up), and she's picked up on it.

* And as a result we haven't had as much time or energy to give to
her, which manifests itself in clinginess at bedtime.

* The time shift means she's just not sleep at her usual bedtime hour,
leading to all sorts of tricks to cheat her way to staying up.

* She's 3.

Yesterday was much better. Since it was a weekend, I was home, and
for the first time all week, she was home, too, as we had put her in
day care every day since we got home. So that combination, plus Amy's
parents coming over, put her in much better spirits and helped her get
more oriented back to life here. Also, with Amy's parents' help, we
didn't have to put her down for a nap, so by the normal bedtime she
was tired enough to want to go to sleep and stay asleep. So
hopefully, we're moving back towards having our evenings back.

PS Of course, Aaron's slept like a champ the whole week, culminating
in a Saturday in which his schedule was literally: wake, breakfast,
nap, lunch, nap, snack, nap, dinner, go to bed. Would that we all had
such a schedule!