Secret Fort in the dining room

I was a bit sleep-deprived last night, because someone was snoring very loudly. After nudging 3 times to rollover, it seemed the snoring would continue in any position, so I gave up and headed downstairs to sleep on the couch at 3 in the morning.

I also went walking with a friend after a summer hiatus, and I am really out of shape. I was chanting encouragement to myself halfway up the the first hill, which was not good, since I had another hill to go before we were done.

I returned home physically and mentally tired, and faced a day of watching both boys alone as DH headed out to an all-day poker tournament at a friend's house. I desperately needed a nap, and was trying to snooze on the couch while the boys played in the afternoon. At one point, some bickering started to escalate, so I started to get up, and grumpily informed the boys that if they could not play together nicely and quietly (so I could sleep), we would all go out shoe-shopping since they need new sneakers. They both promised me up and down that they could work out whatever the issue was, and would not bother me again.

They were as good as their word, and I blissfully slept for several hours. When I awoke, I discovered they had turned our dining room into an ultra-cool fort! Teddy had draped blankets off the edge of the dining table, and weighted the edges down with the following objects:

• DH's laptop computer
• DH's briefcase
• new card game boxes
• 2 dictionaries
• full box of Magic cards
• one of DH's law case files

Inside, Barley had furnished and decorated the space with:

• wooden Korean-style table
• footstool
• tape measure
• telescope
• papers with secret codes
• playing cards
• folding chair to block the one entrance
• floor pillow to sit on

It's a pretty cozy space for hiding out and spying from. This reminds me of a green metal table I loved as a kid. My favorite thing to do with it was drape a blanket over the whole thing and hide under it. Private space is a such a rare commodity for kids--I treasured it when I could get it.