The Darkest Hour is Just Before Dawn

Well, I'm here to tell you, nuh-uh.  In my humblest opinion, I'm going to have to go for roughly 2:30 to 3:30 ish.

As an avid insomniac, all sorts of fun and wonderful things can happen in the dead of night....except of course,quiet. 

I think I have been taking my BFF Ambien for granted lately.  You know, Ambi is very consistent, for the most part....but on occasion, like last night, we just don't seem to get along.  So I figure this is my wake-up call (get it, wake-up call?), to be grateful for pharmaceuticals that let me rest more often than not.

After my monthly night out with the girls at the giggle fest, I came home wound up.  I don't get to laugh that hard on a regular basis....so it takes me a while to come down off my giggle high.  Kids in bed, drugs in mom, television off by 11.  No problem.

Side Note: Felix started using a CPAP about 3 weeks ago.  No snoring, but hoses and humming and don't get me started about what happens if he opens his mouth.  Last night Felix decided to go sans CPAP.  He was exhausted, had a stuffy nose, so he couldn't use his 'nose pillows'....that isn't what they look like, but ok.

He was asleep in 2 seconds flat, and snoring with every single breath.  Every............Single...........Breath.  So at 12:45, when I hear grandma turn on the house alarm, I know she is heading to bed and I can go downstairs and figure out what to do. 

I try sleeping on the couch....unfortunately this is what happens:
-Cat gets lonely, climbs on me and is generally annoying
-Grandma starts moving furniture (I don't know if that is what she was doing, but it sure sounded like it)
-Grandma turns TV up to hear over whatever she is doing
-Cats start playing hockey with empty cat food cans
-Automatic litter box goes off, gets jammed, resets and goes off again
-Cat gets lonely, comes back and is generally annoying
-I resettle, start to drift off, and the smoke detector starts doing its' beepy warning "I need a new battery" thing....REALLY.
-Cat gets lonely, comes back and is absolutely annoying

So I decide it's TV time.  It's about 2am at this point, so what do I watch....that would be Storm Chasers...nice, relaxing TV show.  I turn on the computer and annoy myself on Facebook, checking out the news and thinking bad things about politicians.  Sigh....

At this point, the cat comes back....again....and not only annoys me, but takes my blanket.  Jerk kitty.  So I finally give up and decided to go back to bed. 

And Felix is snoring....I love him, but this was just SO NOT THE NIGHT for this.  I try and match my breathing to his rhythm and pretend I am on a beach somewhere watching the crystalline waters lap over warm sand....as I start to drift off, the cat starts snoring.  Super sigh.

I try again, get comfortable in my beach chair and settle in to my beautiful beach view.  Just as I set one foot into the great subconscious of sleep, Caleb starts crying.  Super duper sigh.

He stops....and I try again.  It's getting harder to find my happy place.  That does not make me happy.  In the middle of my attempt, Caleb cries again and comes into my room....thinking he has majorly tossed his cookies, I wake up from my not sleeping stupor to find out what is wrong and he has to go to the bathroom....since when does he wake me up to tell me that?  He does his bidness and heads back to bed.

I lay quietly, pretending that I can sleep.  I glance at the clock....3:48....hmmmmmm, what to do what to do.

The next thing I know, Noah walks in at 7:23 to tell  me I overslept.

Lessons Learned
1. I'm seriously going to have to start meditating before bed.
2. I hate insomnia.
3. I really hate insomnia.
4. I really need some sleep.
5. This is so not funny.....You would think after 10 years of fun with insomnia, I would be way better at this.