it's 3 a.m. i must be lonely crazy.

there's nothing like being wide awake at some odd hour of the night. such was the case - for me - on sunday night, well, early monday morning. and, i'm talking earrrrrrrrrly.

3 a.m.

well, technically it was 3:14 a.m. but when you're laying in bed wide awake at that time of night morning does fourteen minutes really matter? i didn't think so. and, as i tried to force myself back to sleep, all i could do was pay attention to the random crap floating through my mind.

seriously, it was random.

• holy shit. adam snores loud.
• one of the dogs has some raunchy smelling gas {yes, our pups sleep with us}.
• i need to go to the bank.
• i really hope the kids stop fighting over the g.d. television.
• oh, i could blog about this.
• i wonder how long my nail polish will last? {i painted my fingernails on saturday for the first time in months.}
• oh. my. gah. now he's breathing through his mouth! i hate mouth noise.
• seriously, does frisco really need to sleep right. against. me?
• crap, i forgot to buy napkins when i went to target.
• if i don't get the laundry done, the pile of dirty clothes will be taller than me. {i'm only 5' tall, but i promise the pile isn't that bad.}
• shoot, there's a gazillion things i need to blog about.
• damn, we went through a lot of champagne today. {i went to a girls brunch...good times!}
• adam really needs to stop snoring. this shit is ridiculous.
• um, was the lightning?
• twitter sucks this early in the morning. {it was just me and the auto-tweets...and a few faithfuls.}
• i wonder if he'll stop snoring if i hold a pillow over his face?

random, right?

it's any wonder how i can sleep soundly at night with so much odd crap running through my head.

The Sheep Don't Even Want to be Counted...

I can't believe it's nearly 3:30 IN THE MORNING and I am sitting here. Wide awake.

I should be in bed with my head buried in pillows and sleeping peacefully like the hubs is right now.

But, no.

I am up. I am here. I am drinking Kool-Aid of all things (I got a craving for some a few weeks ago...man, the Tropical Punch flavor is good). I may feel fine now, but man it's going to suck when 6 o'clock rolls around and it's time for me to REALLY be up -- because you know THAT'S when I'll finally become tired enough to actually WANT to go back to sleep.

Figures, huh?

5 Stars, It's NOT!

I've come to the realization that:

1. We need a bigger house.
2. We need an extra bedroom.
3. We need a bigger house with an extra bedroom.

There is no such thing as a guest bedroom in our house. Not. At. All. Our humble little abode is bursting at the seams and, with only three bedrooms, I know people who live in apartments that are bigger than our house! Of course, given the housing market these days as well as our "work-in-progress" financial situation, any kind of a move or addition is out of the question.

So, if you come visit me, be prepared to sleep on the couch, sleep on an air mattress or sleep on the floor. Very rarely do we shuffle our children around in order to free up an extra bed, so if you do happen to spend the night here and you're actually sleeping on a REAL mattress then please consider yourself lucky.

Don't feel upset that you're sleeping on the couch. It's really quite comfortable and many a friend & family member has fallen asleep among it's soft cushions and fluffy pillows - don't worry, I do vacuum and launder the upholstery on a regular basis (besides, I also use the hell out of some Febreeze spray). If you're allergic to cats, I'm so sorry. We have three cats and you should have taken some Benadryl before you came over. Don't worry, though, they won't suck the breath out of you while you sleep...they'll just sleep ON you. Oh, and if you think you're going to be lucky enough to actually sleep in late at my house - think again. My children are up usually between 7am to 8am (earlier if it's a school day) and they, honestly, have no regard for anyone sleeping on the couch. If they want to watch cartoons and eat cereal while you snore & drool on my throw pillows, trust me, they will, so please be prepared to wear ear plugs and an eye mask.

This ain't no B & B...I mean, I've already told you that you're not getting a BED to sleep on and as for breakfast, well, I hope you like strawberry flavored instant oatmeal because we have a TON of it (thanks, Mom!). Oh, yeah...and as for the luxe blankets and bed linens you would expect to have me toss your way when it's bedtime...well...I hate to disappoint you but you're only going to get a navy blue fleece blanket with Clifford the Big Red Dog appliqued on it.

Sweet dreams!

CAN YOU HEAR THAT?

No, you can't? Well, of course you can't...it's called silence! Sweet, wonderful, amazing silence!

The kids went to bed a couple hours ago. The hubs is, much to my dismay, passed out on the couch, but even he, too, is quiet. Well, I hope I just didn't jinx myself because he snores louder than a hibernating grizzly bear. (Just a side note, he had a "hard" day at work today...playing golf, drinking beer, eating tilapia for dinner...*cough*that's bullshit*cough*) Who knows where the cats are...hopefully they are sleeping, too, and not plotting against me (as usual) and coordinating a group effort to bring an even bigger animal into the house than last time.

I love it when the house is quiet. Aside from the gentle hum of the dishwasher and the tapping of keys on the keyboard, the house is asleep. Peaceful. Quiet. In a deep slumber. I suppose that is what I should be doing, too. You know, enjoying the fact that everyone is already in bed...that my gloriously comfy bed is wide open and will be mine all night (because, yes, I am that wife who will leave her snoring husband on the couch)...that's my cue for some shut-eye, too, right? Nah. Don't get me wrong, I'm not going to use this time to fold laundry or tidy up the living room. No sir. Instead, I think I'll fix me a big ole bowl of Edy's Rocky Road, watch some TV and maybe then I'll call it a night.

GET THEE TO THE POTTY!

I still wake my daughter up to tinkle in the middle of the night...no, not the middle of the night, but a few hours after she goes to bed which is usually right before I go to bed which really IS sometimes in the middle of the night...oh, dear...(I swear my daughter isn't up nearly as late as I am - 8:30pm sharp is bedtime for the kidlets in this household!)...

Anyways, it's not always easy waking up a child from a deep, sweet slumber. When I first try to wake M up, my gaze is usually met by her blank stare. If she does wake up easily, then the whole "get outta bed, go pee, wash hands and give another kiss good night" routine is a breeze. But, easy isn't always the case...

One night she took off her PJ bottoms in bed and sat there.

One night she told me that her room was already clean.

One night she looked at me and rolled over.

One night she got out of bed, but sat at her desk.

One night she went to the bathroom, but didn't put the toilet lid up.

One night she told me she was done. (done doing what?)

Tonight, she walked to the television and tried to turn it on.

She's eight. Bed wetting isn't a nightly occurance, but my desire to never buy GoodNites or Underjams again is making me stay in this routine (and it's been about 2 months since I last purchased either product). We have established some ground rules:

• Last call for milk, juice or water comes at an early time in our household if you're 8 years old.
• Peeing in the potty is a mandatory task after brushing your teeth at night.
• And, being woken up by mom (or dad) just a few hours after going to sleep has become the norm.

Will she grow out of this? I hope so. Do I think it's because she's such a deep sleeper? Yes. Have I become concerned enough to consult our pediatrician? Not yet. We have more dry nights than we do wet nights. With this new routine, we've gone nearly a week so far without any bed wetting...5 days is our record...and we celebrate dry nights.

So, moms out there with children older than mine who have "been there, done that"...give me some advice. Do I really need that bed wetting alarm thing? When does bed wetting become a problem? Are we already too far gone? HELP!

BEDS, BUGS AND A LACK OF FANCY

Our son is "vacationing" with my parents...in other words, he's staying at their house. I guess this means that WE are the ones who are technically on vacation, right?? Well, not exactly, but it's always nice to have a bit of a break from the kid (soon it will be a break from both kids, but that's a different blog post).

Anyways, at my parents house, Aidan always sleeps by himself in the spare bedroom. I should clarify that "sleeps by himself" means that he doesn't get up in the middle of the night or early in the morning and climb into bed with anyone. I don't know if it's because he's sleeping on a bed that's bigger than his puny twin size bed at home. I don't know if it's just because he's at Po Po and Gung Gung's house and not at home (I mean, things are always so much more special when you're at your grandparents house, right?). Or, maybe it's just because the queen size bed he's sleeping on this week (and for the next two weeks...woo hoo!) is so damn comfortable. I mean, even I had trouble getting up last weekend when we visited my parents because I felt as if I could sleep all day in that bed.

Well, he told me the reason why he sleeps in his own bed at Po Po & Gung Gung's house and NOT at our house (because he still climbs into bed with us in the wee morning hours)...

And, I quote...

"Because your house has bugs and isn't fancy enough."

WTF? Really? Thanks, son. I love you, too. My "all houses have bugs and no one in our family lives in a fancy house" talk didn't work. That was his story and he was stickin' to it.

So, I guess this means that when he gets home I should put some (fake) bugs in my bed and make his room as fancy as fancy could be for a 5 year old boy...that way he'll steer clear of my bed and want to sleep in his own bedroom all the time.

THE COLD SIDE OF THE PILLOWS

Sleep hasn't been my friend lately.

I don’t know if it’s because our time had to go and spring forward – yes, I’m still upset that I was robbed of one precious hour of sleep. I’m seriously convinced that the magical hour that was taken away was KEY to me getting an adequate amount of sleep every night. But, whatevs, I won’t get that hour back until the fall so what can I do about it? And, no, I will not try to go to bed an hour earlier.

I don’t know if it’s from stress. I mean, it’s possible. It’s quite ridiculous some of the things I think about while trying to fall asleep. My mind starts to race the very minute I close my eyes – it’s so sad. But, I’ve been trying really hard to clear my mind and my thoughts before bedtime. I really have.

I don’t know if it’s my habits – the good ones and the bad ones. The good – I’ve been really faithful about drinking enough water every day, so maybe it’s my multiple trips to the bathroom that keep me from falling asleep as fast as I should. The bad – I’ve tried very hard to limit my computer time after dark. As silly as it sounds, sitting up and staring at your computer monitor starts to mess with your circadian rhythm and, if that’s the case, mine is already messed up thanks to the time change.

I don’t know if it is unnecessary excessive noise that’s keeping me awake – and the unnecessary excessive noise I’m referring to is my husband’s God awful snoring! I mean he should really try using those Breathe Right strips or just sleep on the freakin’ couch. No one in their right mind – and I don’t care how tired you are – can fall asleep with all the noise he’s making.

All I know is that I toss and turn...turn and toss.

I get up. I lay back down. I try watching television. I try reading. Sometimes, I try to blog. I check on the kids. I go pee. I toss and turn some more. I kick Adam. Sometimes, I get a snack.

When I do finally manage to make myself stay in bed and I find my eyes starting to close, I bury myself in the covers. I need darkness. I need silence. I stuff my head between two pillows. And, as always, I must have the cold side of the pillows up against my skin. Maybe then I will finally fall asleep.

The pillow picture is from Country Living.

I love my husband, but...

When I come through the front door with arm loads of groceries (IN plastic bags, too, because I forgot my "hippy bags" at home), please don't continue to sit on the couch and drink your beer because "the movie is almost over."

And, when I walk back outside to retrieve MORE groceries, don't continue to sit on the couch. I don't care if you were getting ready to get up, just get up and help. And, when you see that I've shut & locked the front door, please don't ask me if there are more groceries in the car.

And, while I'm running around putting groceries away, don't ask me what we're having for dinner when you knew perfectly well that you were asked to start on a couple sides while I was at the store. I mean, I brought home a rotisserie chicken, but I was expecting to come home to the smells of sauteed fingerling potatoes and maybe some kind of a veggie. *sigh*

And, when dinner is finished, and I ask you to either put away the leftovers or load the dishwasher, don't go back to sitting on the couch. I mean, come on, give me a hand! The same goes with the laundry -- if you see me folding clothes, help me out a little and get your fold on!

And, when it's time to get the children in bed, don't just sit on the couch -- you and I both know that we have to light a fire under our son's booty to get him to brush his teeth (apparently the importance of good oral hygeine is not important to our five year old...oh, dear).

And, when you know that I've called the gas company's emergency line at 9pm at night, please don't fall asleep while you & I wait for the gas man to show up. It's already awkward enough having a stranger come into the house at night -- I mean, there was laundry everywhere -- but to have the gas man walk into the house while you're snoring louder than a hibernating grizzly bear? Seriously.

But, if you really are intent on sleeping on the couch, then by all means -- do so. I love ya, but I sure as heck don't mind having the king size bed all to myself. :)

Me so sleepy...

I can't believe I'm already up -- it's just after 7am on a Saturday! I can hear Aidan in my room watching TV already, too.

I was in Elizabeth City, NC last night at ECSU tending bar at a Ducks Unlimited banquet.

http://www.dailyadvance.com/photos-and-video/see-photos-from-the-nc-ducks-unlimited-annual-membership-banquet-420120.html?slidshow=slideshowImage&slidNo=12 (I didn't realize there were pictures already! Ha...I can't tell you who some of these guys are by name, but I can tell who they are by their drink!)

It's my third year and every year it just gets better. Everyone is just so nice. The food is great -- catered by Kelly's from the Outer Banks. It's just a really great time!

Anyway, I usually just stay the night in Elizabeth City -- we have family there. But, this year, I had to drive home afterwards because Adam has to work today -- well, I should say IS working today (he left about a half hour ago). I woke up when he kissed me good-bye and now here I am -- wide awake. I guess there's no better time than now to go ahead and start my day. :)

Nighty night!

8:30pm rolls around and it's time to tuck the kids into bed -- Malia has a loft bed (that Adam built for her a couple years ago) and as she climbed into bed she found one of our cats, Ziggy, already snuggled up in her bed: