Yesterday afternoon, the mercury climbed into the 80s, I think. I'm not entirely sure, but by bedtime, the house was sweltering and no amount of open windows and blowing fans was helping.

The kids all went to bed in just their underpants, sleeping with only sheets. My husband and I slept with our comforter thrown back, limbs sprawled trying to capture some cool air.

Living where we do, we rarely have hot nights. Maybe a month or so out of the year, and only if we don't manage the house temperature during the early evening hours. Not having air conditioning breeds a certain stoicism towards these occasional uncomfortable nights. You just sweat it out. Literally.

Yesterday, I should have kept the house dark during the day. I should have flung the windows wide open at 5 pm. But I was unprepared. I never thought the house would trap the heat of the day - heat that wasn't remarkable. At 1:30 in the morning, when I flipped my pillow again, resting my face against the cool cotton and kneeing my husband so that he moved out of the direct path of the fan. Small footsteps shuffled to the foot of our bed. I waved my four-year old into the middle of the bed.

An hour passed. My eight-year old appeared, and I sent her back to her bed. Falling back into a fitful sleep, I woke in a pool of sweat to find myself sandwiched between my eight-year old and six-year old. The cat had joined my four-year old in encroaching on my husband's space. The dog lay curled at my feet.

Carefully untangling myself from the scrum, I made my way to the kitchen, and stood at the sink, feeling the sweat evaporating in the cool, early-morning air. Rather than feeling irritated at waking once again to find my bed overrun with sweating, drooling, shedding family members, I was grateful to be awake in the cool house, alone and silent.

I looked at my sleep-softened face in the hall mirror, and chuckled at my wayward hair, blurry eyes and creased face. With everyone in my bed, I had my pick of the kids' beds, but I lingered in the hall for a few moments longer, noticing the sounds of my sleeping family now. I headed towards my son's twin bed.

Laying down, I stared up at the underside of the top bunk and tried to sleep. No dice. I wandered back into my own room, and carefully rearranged my children's limbs before sliding in beside them. Sleep claimed me immediately, surrounded by the sighs and lip-smacking of my family.

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Hey! Go check out Three Kid Circus Auditions today - I've got a new review up, plus a link to a cool contest.