Weekend mornings

We had taken the kids to the drive-in to see Cats and Dogs on Friday night. It was a perfect evening for a movie - cool, crisp, no mosquitoes. After gorging on buttery popcorn, Aisling fell asleep in my arms while the other two jostled for position in the front seats. Upon our return home, all three went to sleep almost immediately, and we took advantage of this to do the same. Sleep, uninterrupted for nine hours - a rare luxury.
The next morning, as the sun played peek-a-boo with the clouds, I fought the wave of drowsiness to surface to a state of semi-alertness. I squinted at the alarm clock, and started to wage a war with my self. Having prayed for humidity-free weather for weeks, this particular morning was perfect for a long morning run. I tried to rally my inner strength to harness my desire to maintain a healthy lifestyle so that it would propel me out of bed. Nothing was happening. Instead, my inherently lazy alter-ego was arguing about the benefits of a good night's sleep, and giving myself a well-deserved break every once in a while, completely ignoring the vast amount of buttered popcorn that had been consumed the previous evening.
On and on the battle waged while I drifted in and out of a light sleep, while cuddling a sleeping Aisling. Eventually, I called a halt to the great exercise debate, and swung one leg out of bed, only to be stopped by Aisling who reached out in her sleep to grab my arm while mumbling "Mommy, I cold. Blanket please."
So, I curled her into me and waited until she settled back down.
Five, maybe ten minutes later, I tried once again to force myself out of bed. This time, Aisling opened her eyes and smiled. When I tried to cuddle her back to sleep, she decided that sleeping was overrated and that it was playtime. There was much giggling as she poked and prodded various parts of my face and ears. "Mommy - nose! Mommy - eyes! Mommy - mouth!" she announced with glee as she jabbed the corresponding facial feature.
Then she climbed on top, and continued her poking and attempting to pry open my eyes. When I tickled her, there were gales of laughter which roused Daddy from his slumber. Soon, we heard the pitter patter of little feet. Upon hearing the fun, Ceilidh decided to join us and squeezed her way into the bed. It wasn't long before we heard the thud that announced Devlin's exit from his bed. Seeing there wasn't much room, Devlin simply stood up and then jumped on top of everyone. More screams and laughter. More tickling. More attempts to hide under the covers. More giggles.
At one point, my eyes met Daddy's and we knew we were thinking the same thing. There is nothing better than a weekend that starts with giggles and laughter. While I never did get to run that morning, surely all the endorphins that got released from this morning session made up for it, and without the accompanying sore muscles.