And He Dwelt In A Tent

Remember that one time I wrote all about how Ander was so "busy" and outsmarting us all of the time and pretty much wearing. me. out. member that? 

Well things reached a fevered pitch when Nathan went out of town for two weeks - ok, technically it was 2 days short of two weeks, but as the Single Parent Survivor of said trip, I reserve the right to round up. Anyway, Ander was playing until 10pm-ish, keeping Kohen awake, then doing his morning rounds waking everyone between 4:45am and 5am. Not even Scarlett was exempt. 

I was sleeping fitfully, waking all night long expecting to find Ander had left his room, the house, or even the premises. When I finally couldn't take it anymore I engaged in some desperate brain storming. I remembered this tent thing I had seen a few months ago at a store. I remembered thinking at the time that I wished I had access to a crib tent so I could make Ander stay in a while longer. But now, in my current sleep/safety crisis, I realized that the tent which is designed to fit a cot and keep the mosquitos of off you, might just be the perfect solution.

:::Cue Hallelujah! chorus::
It's perfect. The tent saves the day and suddenly Ander is back to sleeping 8:00pm - 7:30am. And since I don't have to worry as much about his escaping, I am sleeping soundly again too. If you are inclined to judge me for literally locking my 2 year old up to sleep, be my guest. I feel no guilt. Heck, I even pull the inside zipper pulls to the outside and run the shoe lace through all four pieces before double knotting it. I knew he couldn't have anything to work with or he would make his escape.
He proved me right when a babysitter left the two inside zipper pulls on the inside. He was able to pull enough that some of the teeth on the zipper track opened a hole big enough to squeeze out of.
I'm telling ya, Ander bides his time, sitting there sucking his fingers, looking all innocent. But he's really just at work plotting my next undoing.

 Nathan and I's relationship with this kid reminds me of a line from the Rescuer's Down Under when the bad guy shouts, "My mental facilities are twice the size of yours, ya pea brain!"
It's fitting because whenever Nathan and I think we have bested our crafty toddler, he unravels our carefully laid plans in the blink of an eye. It's a pretty regular exercise in humility. But for the moment, brief as it is likely to be, the tent has given us a small respite.

Best tent feature? It folds up into a small circle and weighs nothing. It was the first thing I packed to take with us to the states this summer.