I have not been sleeping much at night lately. For the past 2 weeks I have been up late each night, and by late I mean until 2 or 3 in the morning.
My sleep deprivation is not for lack of trying. I lay down in bed usually around 11:00 or 11:30 and turn on a recorded episode of some cupcake show. About 20 minutes into the show I start to fall asleep and I turn the TV off.
Now for the magic. The minute I turn the TV off my brain wakes up. My mind starts racing about anything and everything. I think about what I forgot to do today, what I have to do tomorrow, what I could write my next post about, on and on.
Then, my little monster who is sleeping next to me wakes up crying for her “purple” which is her code name for nail polish. (Yes, my almost 2 year old is addicted to carrying around nail polish, maybe a story for another day). So, I find her “purple”, put it back in her hands and she goes back to sleep.
Next, husband starts the loud snoring and by loud I mean you would think that a bear is in the house, loud.
After about an hour of my brain running nonstop, me tossing and turning, and kicking gently nudging my husband to stop snoring, I give up. I turn the TV back on to finish watching the many, many, many episodes of cupcake/baking shows I have recorded on my DVR.
Finally at some point I drift off into slumber only to be woken up at the butt crack of dawn at 7:30 by my 7 year old alarm clock.
I hope this pattern doesn’t continue much longer because I am exhausted. On the bright side, though I am glad I have DVR and that there are many cupcake shows to record.
My Time as Mom 
Feb 09, 2011 @ 04:37:16
Oh that sucks!! I hate when I go through those periods of time where sleep just eludes me lol. Good thing you have the DVR and your cupcake shows though 😉
I definitely want a post about your little monster and the “purple” 🙂
My tip, right before you go to bed (or when you can’t fall asleep), try brainstorming on paper about upcoming posts, errands, etc…anything you might be thinking about. Get it out of your head and tell yourself you’ll deal with it in the morning. It has helped me on numerous occasions.
Feb 09, 2011 @ 10:37:32
That is a good idea, I need to remember to keep a pad of paper and a pen on my nightstand so I can write ideas down when they pop in my head. I think that will help me get them out of my thoughts so I can relax.
My little monster and purple…soon the post will come.
Feb 09, 2011 @ 06:40:16
I feel ya. My bed time is usually 1-1:30 up at 8. Not to bad, but the dog has taken over the bed. Lately he has been waking me up a few times with him sharing my pillow!
Good Luck, girlfriend.. Try and get that early bed time back!
Feb 09, 2011 @ 10:41:24
That is hilarious that the puppy likes to share your pillow! What a cuddle bug. When my male dog was a puppy he used to sleep with us every night, he would always wake me up in the middle of the night because was hungry and thought it was time to eat. We started feeding him right before bed and that helped. Now he sleeps with my oldest daughter and we have witnessed on several occassions him taking up the majority of the bed and her curled up in a tiny ball on the edge of the bed.
Feb 09, 2011 @ 07:45:26
Oh man! Do I feel you!
I do the exact same thing…if it weren’t for DVR, I would lose my mind somewhere throughout the middle of the night. I’ve tried EVERYTHING known to man..even medication. Nothing seems to help. On the bright side..you’ll be the cupcake queen when it’s all said and done.
And your daughter loving her purple….I LOVE IT! She’s my kinda kid!
Feb 09, 2011 @ 10:43:26
I haven’t tried medication but if this keeps up I might have to. I’m so tired in the mornings that I can barely pull myself out of bed. My goal is to be a cupcake queen but so far not working out.
She loves her purple. It is hilarious.
Feb 09, 2011 @ 08:46:13
I love Jamie’s idea! Sometimes I feel I didn’t complete all the tasks I wanted and they are just swimming in my head right before bed and I can’t sleep. Writing them down releases them, at least til the next day.
Good luck with sleep. You may need to find another location every so often to catch up.
Feb 09, 2011 @ 10:45:24
I’m going to try writing the things down and see if that will help clear my head. Occassionally when I get really frustrated at not being able to sleep I go downstairs and lay on the couch and watch tv. Usually I can fall asleep down there but one of my dogs likes to join me and by join me I mean he likes to lay on top of my legs (all 90 pounds of him). Maybe I should try a hotel room.
Feb 09, 2011 @ 11:34:26
Oh, sleep deprivation sucks! I had no idea there were so many cupcake shows available! I would watch but then I would want to eat them all.
Feb 09, 2011 @ 15:42:26
Yes, sleep deprivation does suck – especially in the morning. I love cupcake shows. My husband always makes fun of me because our DVR is filled with them.
Feb 09, 2011 @ 16:20:21
Aww, Jessica, I can totally relate to you. No, I don’t have kids waking me up at night because they are 15 and 18 years old…the only time they need me at night if they are puking. (like I really wanna watch that…LOL)
However, I’m one of those people who CANNOT turn my brain off at night. It’s so annoying and a waste of time because when I finally do fall asleep I can’t remember what I was thinking about the night before.
Feb 09, 2011 @ 21:40:51
I always seem to have my best ideas at night when I am trying to fall asleep and then I try to remember so that in the morning when I wake up I can write them down but it never works. I always forget in the morning what my good idea was. I’m going to try keeping paper and a pen on the nightstand and see if that helps.
Feb 09, 2011 @ 23:42:21
I saw this post on my friend Jessica’s LinkedIn. I just have to say I’m right there with you! This post made me laugh.
Feb 10, 2011 @ 09:20:26
Thanks for the comment.