For two nights in a row, my 3.5-year-old has woken up at 1:30 a.m. and come into our bed to sleep. This also wakes his brother, who is not quite 2, which means I have the pleasure of spending an hour or more, typically until 3 a.m., getting him back to sleep and then trying to get some sleep myself in a crowded bed before being woken for good at 6 a.m. by the aforementioned 3.5-year-old.

Those two nights were followed by a night where my oldest son (the 3.5-year-old) did not wake up at 1:30 a.m. He slept – until 4:30 a.m., at which time he woke up screaming (probably a bad dream), waking (of course) his younger brother (and Mommy and Daddy).

This time, I placed his younger brother in bed with Daddy. After some fussing, he was back asleep. I naively thought I could comfort big brother and get at least another hour or two of sleep before “morning.”

It was not to be. 4:45 a.m. was it – morning for big brother. So, I am taking a break from my “ABCs of the SCV” this week to bring you the story of The Very Tired Mommy-pillar.

In the light of the moon, a mommy lay in her bed. One (very) early morning, the bright sun came up, and her bright son woke up and popped into her room, making one very tired Mommy-pillar.

The Mommy-pillar set out to look for some caffeine. The first early morning, she drank up one iced coffee, but she was still tired.

The next early morning, she drank up two iced coffees (actually an iced coffee and a latte), but she was still tired.

By the third early morning, she drank up three iced lattes, but she was still tired.

On the fourth morning, she drank up four iced green teas, but she was still tired.

On the fifth morning, she drank up five 5-hour energy drinks, but she was still tired.

On the sixth day, she devoured: one iced coffee, one latte, one green tea, one shot of espresso, one giant Dr. Pepper, one bag of chocolate-covered espresso beans, one Monster energy drink, one Red Bull, one pint of coffee ice cream and one can of Jolt cola that she bought on Ebay – chased by a can of Mountain Dew.* That night she had a stomachache and stayed up cleaning her house, top to bottom, because she could not possibly sleep.

On the seventh day, she drank eight tall glasses of water, did yoga and felt much better. She wasn’t a Very Tired Mommy-pillar anymore, either; she was a Very Calm Mommy-pillar, who knew she still needed a bit more rest. So she wrapped a warm cloth around herself, called a blanket, and stayed wrapped inside it, sleeping, for more than two weeks. Then, she wiggled her way out and was a very beautiful, very rested Butter-Mommy (and a better mommy, too).

*Please note that the caffeine intake in this story is exaggerated and not recommended, and that this particular mommy peaks out at two lattes and an iced tea, but typically limits herself to one iced coffee per day. While I am proud to say the caffeine intake has been exaggerated, I must unfortunately admit that the two weeks of rest and relaxation are also exaggerated.

Still, I hope you enjoyed this re-imagining of the children’s classic, The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle, which recently inspired a fun giving activity for us.

Please pop over to The Good Long Road on Facebook and share your rest and relaxation tips for tired mommies. I’d love to read them, as would my followers, too, I’m sure.

Jennifer Fischer is co-founder of the SCV Film Festival, a mom of two, an independent filmmaker and owner of Think Ten Media Group, whose Generation Arts division offers programs for SCV youth. She writes about her parenting journey on her blog, The Good Long Road. Her commentary is published Saturdays on SCVNews.com.