Ever Wonder?

So you know all about my days because I tell you.

Ever wonder about my nights?

Let me start by saying that I've heard that sleep is good. Great even.

I don't get a lot of it. I wish I did. I wish for more. The Mr. even went so far as to say that I covet sleep.

I think he's right.

I haven't gotten much sleep in the last 10 years.

No, it's not insomnia or leg cramps, no restless mind or anything like that. It's kids.

It all started when I was pregnant with my first son. During that time I had no morning sickness. At least none during the day. Every morning, around 2AM I would wake from a dead sleep, walk into the bathroom, vomit and go back to sleep.

At the time, we joked about how it was mommy training.

We were so right.

The Little Mr. was a very poor sleeper. He did not sleep well through the night until he was into grade school, had massive diet changes and lots of supplements. The Littlest Mr. was about the same. He was impossible to get to sleep.

Then came The Little Miss. She did not sleep through the night for the first 9 months she lived with us. In fact, if you didn't rush in when she cried, she would make herself vomit.

So not fun.

And let's not forget our dog. She often enjoys a moon light romp to sniff the air and make a little tinkle. I humor her because she's old and had lots of puppies. I figure either I can let her out or mop the floor in the morning. It seems easier to stagger to the door and let her out for two minutes. I'm not even sure I really wake up to do this.

Now, last night. A glimpse into my world after hours.

I managed to get to bed around 11. That was after our regular school day, complete with music lessons and Tae Kwon Do. Then we had dinner and bath time. The Mr. does the dishes for me and we share the bed time and bath time stuff. If we both go at it, we can get them all done in about an hour. I did all the regular stuff after the kids were asleep. Stuff like emptying the diaper pail. This time of year, it is filled with frozen cannon ball size diapers. It just means they don't squeeze in and you have to empty it out more often. I think they could be leathel those diaper cannon balls.

Around 10 when I'm thinking longingly of my bed and sleep, The Little Miss begins her nightly fussing. The Mr. took a turn rocking her. Tucking her in yet again, I'm back to the fantasy of sleep. This is where The Mr. tells me I covet sleep.

He's right, you know. I do.

Around 1AM, we started the fun. Little Miss is crying. I tuck her back in. 1:15, we do it again. 1:30, again. 1:45, vomit. Change the crib bedding, take the stuffies out, wipe down Missy, put on new pj's, tuck her back into bed. 2:AM, do a load of vomit coated laundry. 2:15 crawl back into bed. 2:20, Missy is crying and The Mr. finally wakes up. He takes her down stairs to rock after I was really adamant about my opinion of his sleeping habits. 2:30, more vomit. Now we move on to floor cleaning and more laundry.

3:AM, Little Miss and I are watching TV. She blinks wide awake every time I try to lay her down so I resolve to spend the time rocking and watching TV.

Did you know, that even with 800,000 channels on cable TV, between 2 and 5 AM most show only paid programming? I was not impressed. I did find a channel that shows Will & Grace somewhere in there though, and that was good. It's even funnier on 2 hours sleep.

Around 4:30 I got her to lay down in her bed. I crawled into my bed, told The Mr. he had to find his own breakfast this morning and if he made a single sound and woke a single child, there would be a death in the family.

At 5:30 our coffee pot beeps. Loudly. To let you know the coffe is ready, done, hot, waiting. It beeps multiple times. Enough to wake Missy.

Back to the rocking chair I go. This time I think I'll just see if I can get her asleep enough.

By 6:05 I had given up. I gave her a single cracker and a little bit of water.

Yup, saw it again.

So, now you know what a pretty average night around here looks like. We don't always have that much vomit, but we do often have at least one kid up and needing to be rebedded.

So, when I look real sleepy in the afternoon or late morning, I am. Or when you're talking to me and I look like I've temporarially left my body, have no earthly idea what you're talking about, you're right on. I have left. I don't have a clue. I asleep, standing before you with my eyes open.

Ah, the life of a mommy...