The Midnight Marathon

It's 3:00am. And yes, I know where my children are.

One is right here next to me. She's practicing her typing at the moment.

So far this evening, we have been out for sushi, visited friends, watched a video, talked on the phone to one friend across town (and her dog, sort of),

made cupcakes,

talked to another friend in Alaska who had just finished her dinner,

played with some fabric dolls made just for this occasion by another family of friends (and made a few other craft things from the box of fabric and supplies they also passed on),

and taken a midnight walk through the neighborhood.

We have 4 1/2 more hours to go before we have to report at the doctor's office for Jane's EEG. But we're halfway through the night, so all is going well.

Still on the agenda: at the very least we'll play a few games at AmericanGirl.com, take a bubble bath, and make breakfast for the two of us and Dad (who is sound asleep at the moment). If necessary, we will play glow-in-the-dark catch outside as well.

Jane has been so easy--no meltdowns yet, though about an hour ago she did announce that she wanted to go to bed. I was just sure we'd have had some tears by now, but she is managing everything quite well. I couldn't be more proud of her.

A Request for Input

This is Jane. She's 7 years old. She really likes to sleep at night. So do I, usually, when insomnia doesn't prevent it.

We have a challenge ahead. Because of some really bad headache/vomitting episodes lately, Jane is going to have to have an EEG (electroencephalogram) in a week or so.

Because her headaches typically wake her from sleep, she has to have the EEG done while she's sleeping in the neurologist's office.

To be sure she can sleep while we're there, she has to stay up all night the night before.

So I've got to be creative about keeping her up all night without turning it into a wakeful nightmare for the both of us.

Here are my ideas so far. Please contribute more!

--Set up the telescope and look at the moon and stars if the night is clear.
--Bake cupcakes and decorate them.
--Make yeast bread together.
--Take a walk around the neighborhood with flashlights.
--Take a bubble bath.
--Call our friends M & CG in Alaska (finally a chance for the timezones to work FOR us!).
--Someone suggested taking her to Walmart and doing some midnight shopping, and I might do that, but I'm a little afraid of getting reported to child services if no one stops us for an explanation.

Other ideas? It's going to be a long night.

Also, any input on preparing her for the EEG and also an MRI so that nothing catches either of us by surprise or makes the experience scary for her would also be appreciated!