Really bad poetry about sleep

A Limerick

There once was a mom in the city,
Whose sleep habits had gone rather shitty.
It's been more than a week.
The outlook is bleak.
So she writes awful poems for some pity.

Haiku

Oh sleep, where are you?
I thought we were such good friends.
Please come back to me.

An Acrostic

Sleep has eluded me once again.
Little did I know how much I would miss it.
Everything is harder to deal with.
Everyone is more cranky than usual.
Please let us get some rest soon!

Cinquain

Sleep
Nighttime bliss
Resting and relaxing
I miss you so
Slumber

Great Excuses for Getting Out of Bed After Bedtime

Don't misread the title.  These are not excuses that I think are wonderful.  My kids thought there were worth a shot and tried them out.  Last night.  All of them. Between 8 and 10.

Night, night, baby tiger

• "I'm scared." This is Henry's go-to excuse.  Ask him what he's afraid of and he'll give you some pretty entertaining answers. None of which make sense.  He was even afraid of the night light at one point in the past!!
• "The CD is scary."  Granted when I went in to fix the music, it was playing a story about goblins.  Henry is always requesting stories at night instead of music, but when he finally gets them, he complains!
• {crickets}  Benjamin comes out of his room all blinky, rubbing his eyes.  He hasn't quite gotten the hang of the "get out of bed after bedtime" game.  He just knows Frances and Henry do it, so he thought he'd try.
• "Did you give me a hug and a kiss?"  Yes, son, I did.  The first time I put you to bed!!
• "Can you turn on the moon and stars light?'  This is Frances requesting me to turn on a light that has timed out already.  They theory is that they would be asleep before that happens, but last night? Not so much!
• "My feet are sticking out."  I am sure that you are as shocked as I was to discover that after getting out of bed repeatedly, Henry's blankets are askew and now his feet are uncovered!
• {bathroom break}  This is Frances just testing the waters. No words were exchanged, but I did give her the look.
• "I stirsty."  Now Benjamin's got the game figured out!  So I got him a drink of water to take to bed with him.

And then, friends. I gave up and went to bed.  With all the house lights off, I think they decided to call it a night and stay in bed.

How about your kids?  Do they go to bed the first time?  Mine are usually pretty good.  I'll admit that they had just gotten back from a vacation and then a few days at Grandma's house. Last night was a record breaker for them though.  And I did keep my temper and didn't yell at them any of these times.  If they try that game again tonight, though, there may be consequences...

Vitally Important Information...

...Benjamin shared with me at 5 am:

1. Mommy!  Dat's my bop bop (pillow).
2. {patting me vigorously on the head}MOMMY!  Dat's yo hair!
3. {whispering, finally}mommy...yo eyes is closed!
4. {climbing across my legs}mommy! Dat's yo socks! Yo socks is on yo feet!
5. Mommy! Dat's Daddy's bop bop!

And to think! I could have been sleeping instead of learning so much!

Isssss Geeeeen!

Last night I was talking to my friend Stacey about kids and Saturday mornings.  Why are they so hard to drag out of bed during the week, but they wake up an hour earlier than normal on the weekends??  Henry used to be really bad about getting out of bed. He would wake up at 5am and climb into my bed saying, "Mommy, the sun is up."  I would roll over to Ken and whisper, "The son is up..." We still joke about it occasionally but Henry has gotten a lot better. Especially because of the night light we got him for his birthday.

You can set the current time and then an alarm.  At night, you turn on the yellow light as a night light.  If you turn on the alarm, the top light turns on red.  You can set the alarm to a buzzer or a silent setting, but either way at the designated time, the red light goes off and the green light goes on.  I have told the kids that they can't get out of bed when the red light is on.  It has worked about 85% so far.  During the week, I turn the buzzer on and the kids get up and start getting dressed on their own.  On the weekends I turn it to silent. That way if they are awake, they are allowed to get out of bed, but if they are still sleeping there is no sound to wake them up.
I knew they would be tired this morning because of school this past week and I was hoping for them to really sleep in.  Right after 7:00 (when the alarm is set for) I woke up on my own, and was planning on laying in bed for a little while until I heard, "Sissy! Isssss geeeeeen!  Bubby! Isssss geeeeeen!!"  Apparently Benjamin understands the lighting system and was trying to wake his brother and sister.  I got him out of bed and he said, "I wan watch teebee."  It's like a whole flashback to exactly how Henry used to wake up!!
But at least Frances and Henry got an extra half hour of sleep.

Tired Thankful Thursday

I made it to work early again today! 4 days in a row!! This time Frances had brushed her teeth and hair and I had my earrings!  So what did I forget? Well I didn't technically forget Henry, but he didn't come with me.  He was up all night coughing. It was a nice, tight, squeaky cough. I had given him a breathing treatment before bed, and then I gave him one around midnight, 2am and 5am. He sounded better this morning, but since Ken had the day off, I figured he could stay home and rest some more. I slept with him on the couch so I didn't have to keep going in his room. He made a pretty good snuggle buddy when he was sleeping and I was able to get up quicker when he started coughing to get the nebulizer started. He is apparently playing legos with Daddy and getting ready to build a pirate ship!
I am thankful that he seems better this morning, rather than worse. It seems when he gets a cold it goes straight to his lungs, but we have learned that if we get the nebulizer out right away we can usually keep things from getting worse.  Last night when I gave him the treatment, Benjamin got jealous because the last time we used the machine it was for him.  I had to get an extra set of parts to give to Benjamin so he could do a "breathing treatment" too!
I am thankful today for a low stress job that I can perform when tired.  It used to be very hard when I was in child care. Being tired and dealing with children is not the ideal. Now, if I am cranky, I don't do permanent psychological damage!
I am thankful for the students I work with. They are great to talk to and just fun people. One of the students is taking Frances on Friday when she is out of school. Sounds like they are going to the Children's Museum, and then Megan has horseback riding lessons that Frances can watch and Megan is going to do some evaluations on Frances. (She a psychology grad student and Frances is her favorite lab rat!)
Hope I can make it through the day without falling asleep at my desk!! And as a side note, I now have spare earrings in my desk!

Matthew 7:7 (Paraphrased)

"Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you."

Request seven hours of sleep and you'll almost get it!  I  went to sleep on the couch last night while trying to watch something on tv with Ken.  He has given up on trying to get me to go to bed, mostly because it never works. So at some point he left me alone and went to bed himself.  I got up later and followed him. It must have been close to 10:00.  Usually Benjamin wakes up around 3 or 4 to eat, but last night he slept until 4:50!  So I got a whopping 6 hours and 50 minutes of sleep. In a row!  
I had a strange dream last night about house hunting.  I was looking at lots of different houses and comparing them for a possible move for our family.  I was alone, but I know the kids existed because I was looking at bedrooms and playrooms for them.  The weird thing is that every house was missing a room.  One didn't have a dining room, one only had one bedroom, one was missing a living room. I guess my dream real estate agent didn't listen very well. One of the houses had a really cool playroom though!  I think that was the one with only one bedroom.
Of course I had an early morning visitor. I tried to ignore him, thinking he might go back to sleep, but then he started playing with my hair.  And by "playing" I mean picking out individual strands and pulling them out of my ponytail.  OUCH! So I had to ask him to stop. Which of course means he had to ask me for "Sumpin to eat and sumpin to drink."  Six times. Or maybe seven. I'm not sure, I was trying to sleep.  Well, since it is Ken's birthday, I got out of bed to fulfill Henry's request, and now here I am.
Ken gave himself yesterday off for his birthday, so he got his whole birthday weekend to spend with us! We went to "Fun Day" at Frances' school yesterday. They had fun games set up in the hallways, a magic show in the library, and fun activities in the gym.  The bigs got to go on the moon bounce, and try out an indoor mini golf game.  Frances tried out the obstacle course, but Henry chickened out at the last minute.  After we wore the kids out, we went to the cafeteria to see the food selection.  We also discovered that if you wait until the very last minute that they will give away the last of the food instead of throwing it away!  We tried some Korean rice balls and some sort of "vegetable medley."  I got the vegetables because it looked like it had carrots in it and I thought I could feed those to Benjamin.  They turned out to be orange peppers, but he did eat the zucchini and barley.  
We headed home and got Henry into bed for a late nap as he was starting to melt down.  Ken took a nap and Frances and I sat on the couch reading.  She read an entire chapter book in about an hour! Just like her mother!!
We had a late dinner and then Ken and I got the kids to bed and sat down to watch some tv together.  I don't remember what we watched.  Probably because I fell asleep.


P.S. Happy birthday Ken!!

Say NO! to crack!

I had company again last night!  Not sure when he showed because he is pretty stealthy, but Henry climbed in our bed again last night.  I guess if he doesn't wake me up I shouldn't complain too much.  It wasn't until I started stirring around 5 AM that I realized he was there.  And completely comfortable in the middle of my pillow.  And Ken was completely comfortable in the middle of his pillow. So where does that leave me???  In the crack between the pillows!  NOT comfortable!  Is it any wonder I am having back issues?  I would much prefer that Henry sleep in the crack. Actually, I take that back. I would prefer that he sleep in his own bed.  But barring that as an option, I would like to have my pillow back.  Pretty please?

Who's afraid of the Big Bad Wolf?

...Not Henry!!  Of course not! That would make sense!  What is Henry afraid of, you ask??  The night light in his room.

I slept upside down, mashed up into a corner of my own bed last night because he is afraid of his night light! Who ever heard of such ridiculousness???  He has gotten out of bed the past three nights to tell us he is scared of his night light. I just figured it was a stalling technique.  That night light has been in his room since before he was born! (Which is why it is a princess light.)  He won't sleep if it is dark. Honestly, if he had his way, he would sleep with all the lights on, but since he shares his room and ours is right across the hall, that is not a possibility.  Something has got to give, though. Tonight I am taking back my own pillow!

In other news, Benjamin and Frances both have ear infections and are on the same antibiotics. How cute!  Benjamin's fever seems to be gone as of 4:30 this morning when I nursed him. The couch was freezing cold and I was kinda hoping he would keep me warm! Oh well, that's what blankets are for.  Henry seems to be healthy other than his aversion to Princess night lights.

Bedtime

I try to use this blog for myself; to remember my children as they grow and to give others a sneak peek into life here at our house.
Right now I am listening to Frances and Henry reading and singing together in bed. They think I don't know that they snuck a flashlight into bed with them.  This has become quite a habit with them, and I am torn on whether to fight it. On the one hand t is so darn precious to hear them in there bonding together; laughing and giggling.  It is actually fine for Henry because he is less likely to wake me up early. On the other hand, Frances tends to get cranky, so I try not to let it go on too long.  Sometimes I wish I could sit outside their door with a tape recorder and record it forever.  I hope they remember these nights as fondly as I do as they get older.

My baby is growing up!

I remember when Frances turned 2. We got her a "big girl bed" and I was so excited for her to sleep in it. I haven't given it much thought for Henry because there just isn't room in their bedroom for another twin bed. As many of my facebook friends have seen, my two kiddos have a good time playing in Frances bed in the evenings, and last night was no exception. We got home a bit late because we had gone out for dinner, but no one was "headed over the edge" yet, so we took our time getting pajamas on and reading stories. Then Henry jumped up and crashed himself down on Frances' pillow and grinned at me. Thinking it was temporary, I tucked both of them into her bed and said good night. I swear, I thought he would cry or fuss when I left the room, but he didn't. I stood outside the door for a minute listening, and I heard Frances tell him, "This is your first night in a big boy bed, Henry!" awwwwww!
Well, since I can't sleep, I have been in to check on them a few times and they are both sleeping peacefully. . .together. . .in a big kid bed.

Friday Fill-Ins

1. Please don't tell me that I am awake at 4:30 again!
2. Can you sleep past 4:30 in the morning? Because I can't!!
3. The color green makes me want to see Spring!
4. I have a craving for sleep.
5. If my life had a pause button, I'd pause it all the time.
6. Eyes are the supposed to be closed right now.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to dinner with Ken for his birthday, tomorrow my plans include Ian's 3rd birthday party and Sunday, I want to get some cleaning done!

A good morning song

I did not feel well this morning and I was trying to sleep in a little bit. Well, as luck would have it, Henry woke up early and started crying. As I was trying to get the motivation to get out of bed, I heard another sound. At about 6 am, Frances was singing to Henry so he would stop crying and feel better. I didn't recognize the song, but she told me later that it was "Golden Afternoon" from "Alice in Wonderland."
When they are getting along, they are just the sweetest kids!

The best way to wake up...

I fell asleep last night snuggled up nicely to my wonderful husband. I woke up the first time at 6am to an increasingly more familiar sight. Frances had a nightmare and wanted to climb in bed with me. So we squished together and added her in. Then at 6:30, Henry woke up so I brought him in bed too. I was thinking he might go back to sleep, and he did lay down for a minute or so. Then he rolled over and got real close to my face. *MWAH!* and he kissed me...once, twice, three times. Then he rolled over and kissed Ken. Then he rolled back and kissed me again. And Frances wanted in on the action, so she sat up and he half-climbed over me to get to her.
Given the choice between sleeping in on a Saturday and be awakened by lovely 19-month old kisses, I would pick....um...OK-the kisses!!

PS Frances' nightmare sounds straight out of Scooby-Doo (which she has only seen once or twice). She and her friends went to visit a haunted house. It was haunted with "scary people who were nice; not scary people who were mean."

Holding my baby

We have been doing some cleaning and purging in the kids' room (and the rest of the house as well). We moved the ottoman out from in front of the glider and I decided to actually use it for a change. I nursed Henry and put him to bed and then Frances came up to me and said in her baby voice, "Rock me, Mama." How could I resist that?? So I pulled her up into my lap and held her and rocked her and sang to her the song that was on the CD player. We rocked and rocked and I gazed lovingly down into her face. Her little eyes were closed and her body was so relaxed. I said a little prayer of thanksgiving to God for my beautiful little girl and what a gift she is to me. Henry started to get a little restless with me still in the room, so I determined that it was time to put her in the bed. I carried her over and laid her gently on the bed. I pulled the covers up over her, brushed the hair off her face and gingerly kissed her forehead. Then I walked slowly out of the room and shut the door. I will admit to having a few tears in my eyes as I walked back out to the living room. And then just as I was about to sit down on the couch, I hear, "I CAN'T SEE!" Ken laughed and said he knew she had been faking, but I refused to believe it.

Thankful Thursday

It has been a very busy, but fulfilling week. I told someone yesterday that if I can get through October 5th (Frances' birthday) then I might be able to rest-but only for a day or two because then the Christmas madness will start. I am trying to really reflect on thankfulness this week and dig deep. I feel like I have used up all the "easy" ones and that is actually good. Thinking hard about thankfulness could never be a bad thing!

This week I am thankful for:

• My co-workers at church. Especially Valerie and Louisa. Louisa has put together a religious education committee and Valerie and I are the only members (as of right now). We get together every few weeks to talk about our work, but also to do a book/bible study. We are reading In the Name of Jesus: Reflections on Christian Leadership . It helps us to reflect on our duty to be servant leaders. It has also prompted some really deep discussion. We talked a lot about personal stuff yesterday and it felt very cleansing-it also helps us to know each other more deeply and work together better as a team.
• 5:30 AM. I know you won't believe me if you know me, but I am thankful for 5:30AM. Henry is still breastfeeding in the morning and before bedtime. This is the indefinite stage for us. Frances nursed this way until 17 months when I had to be out of town for a weekend and didn't think pumping was worth the work. She didn't complain when I put her to bed that week without nursing. It is just part of her nature to be easy going. I was sad that it was so easy to wean her. Well, Henry and I have spent two or three weekends apart. I pump while I am gone, and he either takes a bottle or not-but when I get back, we pick up where we left off. He doesn't ever ask to nurse during the day-he is quite content with a sippy cup (and he LOVES lemonade-just like his mommy!). But at night, once he is in his pajamas, he starts banging on my chest and he is ready to settle in for the night. Lately he has been waking up early (I need to push back his bedtime a little bit). It has been anywhere between 4:30 and 5:30. He doesn't so much as cry, but yell out. At 4:30, he will go back to sleep, but at 5:30, not so much. And neither will I at that point. So I get up and get him out of his crib. I feel his cold little legs against me because he always kicks his blanket off. We go out to the couch where I can snuggle up with him and my green fuzzy blanket, and he nurses. The house is quiet and dark. His legs warm up as they lie across my stomach. I can listen to his snurglley breathing (I just made up that word-I think you know what it means). He nurses until he goes back to sleep and then sometimes I just hold him. I know that all too soon (even now while he's awake) he won't let me hold him anymore. Sure I can pick him up, but I can't just hold him. This is our time and I am thankful for it.
• I am also thankful for me. I am trying to think of how to write this with the correct mix of humility and pride. It has been on my mind a lot lately and I am not sure how to write it. I said part of this in my book study yesterday and mentioned how it makes me feel silly. But here is goes anyway. I am proud of myself lately. Sure I still mess up and do stupid or unkind things, but lately I have stood up for myself in a few important ways. I have taught my preschoolers some things that make me proud. I have made a difference in some people's lives. Is it a "mom" thing or a "woman" thing to always try to hide in the background and pretend that you don't matter? Maybe it's just a "me" thing, but today I am feeling pretty thankful for who I am and what I do. In the youth ministry world, we joke about "9th grade boys" as being the silly, immature, epitome of who we are trying to reach. Last night, Ken and I took the kids out to eat. As I was walking into the restaurant, I saw one of my teens (a 9th grade boy!). Well there is a rule in youth ministry about letting teens acknowledge you first in public, so you don't embarrass them (or something like that), so I was ready for a smile and a nod; but this young man jumped up off the bench and gave me a hug! Then he said to his mom, "Look who's here!" At that moment I felt very proud to be an adult who can get that kind of positive reaction from a teenager in public. Teachers and ministers sometimes complain that they don't feel like they are accomplishing much, but this week I feel like I have made a difference.

A Whole Week!

Well, I actually went a whole week without blogging. I didn't set out to neglect my online journal for quite so long, but it was a busy week and things just got away from me. Here's a quick update on what has been happening around here:

• Last Saturday afternoon, we packed up the car and headed to Culpeper to visit Ken's family. His sister, Christie, and her boyfriend, Brian, had flown in from Florida for a visit and we wanted to see them. Ken's brother, Dan, had also come up with his wife, Nikki, and baby daughter, Abby. It was a crowded house! We had a great time visiting with them and Frances got to hold her baby cousin and just LOVED it. Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures yet because while I did remember my camera; I forgot my memory stick.


• Sunday we spent the day in Culpeper with Ken's family. We tried to go swimming, but Mother Nature had other plans for us. Ken, his dad, his sister, and Brian did get to play golf before the major downpour. We headed back that evening and stopped at Dairy Queen for some ice cream on the way back.


• Monday I was back to work. It was all set to be a crazy day because of all the summer kids being there. I was not disappointed!


• Tuesday I worked at the church. I got quite a bit done in between putting out fires at the Day Care. I managed to get 100 youth registered for religious education classes this year. The bad news, is that is only about half to a third of the ones that were registered last year, so there are a lot more coming.


• Wednesday, I had a fun day planned with Katie. She is going off to college soon *sniff* and we will miss her tremendously. We met for lunch at Burger King. Frances made her a picture frame that says "Frances" and "Henry" on it and we promised to send picture for her to put in it while she is away form home. Then we went to the pool. Frances had fun in the baby pool and Henry "borrowed" an inner tube from another child who wasn't using it and had a great time running around. He did manage to flip himself over in the inner tube, The result was that he floated upside down in the water for a second before I picked him up by the thighs and tried to turn him around. Of course I couldn't get a good grip on him because he was wet and surrounded by an inner tube, so it is quite a good thing that Katie was there to help me out. I aged about 12 years in that instant.


• Thursday I was back at the day care. We took the kids to the Rockingham County Fair. And by "kids" I mean everyone over the age of 2!! We took about 35 kids and various parents on the school bus, church van and Kristen's personal van. We got there and walked through the poultry barn. Then we went to a "Safari Comedy Show" which was rather amusing. After the safari show we ran over to the circus, but we didn't get there in time to get seats, so the kids had to stand. That coupled with the fact that they were hot, tired and hungry means that they mostly grumped during the show. After a pit stop to get some lemonade, we went through the petting zoo and then headed to the park for lunch. It rained while we were there, but no thunder, so we just let the kids play in it. After they were exhausted, we headed back to school. My memory stick wouldn't work, so I borrowed these pictures from Kristen's camera. (Thursday night we went back to the fair as a family.)


• Friday, oh Friday. In retrospect it wasn't actually that bad; but man! did we have some chaos. We had two sick teachers and another with sick kids. We sent a bunch of kids home sick-not fun. And the kids were wild that afternoon! I was ready to pull my hair out-so of course, it rained just enough so we couldn't really go outside. Another one of those days where I can say I earned my weekend!


• Saturday was supposed to be my day off where my wonderful friend Julie was going to kidnap my kids and give me a day to myself!! Apparently Henry got wind of the plan and didn't like i. He threw up three or fours times between 5 and 8 Saturday morning. Never very much, but enough so I couldn't pawn him off on Julie with a clear conscience. But Frances went, so it was just Henry and me home all day. He slept quite a but, ate very little and never threw up again. I slept off and on all day and accomplished nothing of great importance. Oh well, I guess that can be considered a good day.**One exciting thing I forgot...I went to the bathroom and left Henry in the living room with my cell phone. It made a strange beep, but when I came out he had closed it. No big deal, right? Nope, you guessed it-a few minutes later the phone rang, "This is 9-1-1 dispatch. We received a hang up from this number. Do you have an emergency?" Um...no...just a handy 14 month old. OOOPS!!**
  
• Sunday (today) we met Julie at church and retrieved Frances. After Mass I met with some more people who want to get involved with out youth program-AWESOME!! I took care of about 10 more registrations and did a LOT of laundry. Right now there are five baskets that are clean and folded and waiting to be put away. Ken made us dinner and then we went for a walk. No pictures of that because I washed my memory card along with the laundry and apparently that isn't good for them! The new memory card we have is too sophisticated for our camera, so we will have to either upgrade the camera or downgrade the memory card....I'm guessing it will be the card. :(


• Tomorrow starts the last official week of summer for us at the day care. While I will miss my summer class, they and I are all more than ready to move on and get the school year underway.

sleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

Yes...I left off the "p." That's how tired I am. Henry was up in the middle of the night again and he was totally inconsolable. He wanted to sit. He wanted to lie down. He wanted to be on me. He wanted Daddy. He just couldn't make up his poor little mind. He also had a pretty snotty nose, so I am pretty sure that the ear that was a little red on Thursday last week is now infected. His teachers at school said he was flapping his ears also, so I went ahead and filled the prescription my wonderful doctor gave us last week "just in case."
I had a conference in Fincastle today. It was a really nice break and I truly enjoyed it, but I was so tired that I couldn't see straight to read the bible verses we talked about. On the way home I called as many people as I could (with my ear bud, of course) to keep me awake on the way home. Julie was one of them. She said something incredibly funny...or was it witty...or possibly profound? I honestly don't remember. She told me I should write it down. I do remember telling her that I was going to blog it. She laughed and said she would check on it. Well, Julie, when you do check, please post your funny/witty/profound statement in the comments section so everyone else can see it and remember it-because I certainly don't!!

Friday Fill-Ins

1. Birthdays are a special day to thank God that you are here.

2. Summer is my favorite season because of swimming, staying up late, catching fireflies, lots of Vitamin D, and Ken cooking all the time because he loves to use the grill.

3. I feel my best when I sleep well.

4. Anything I don't have to cook is my favorite food!

5. First impressions are often wrong, so keep an open mind.

6. The best piece of advice I ever received was to remember that "This is the day the Lord has made, Let us rejoice and be glad." )Psalm 118:24.

7. And as for the weekend, today I’m looking forward to manicures, tea party, rehearsal and dinner, tomorrow my plans include Julie's wedding!!! and Sunday, I want to sleep!

Calling All Mommies!

I need some help/advice. My one-year old son moves a lot while he is sleeping. I hear him constantly whacking his head on the bars of the crib. Usually it doesn't wake him up, but sometimes it does and he cries. Also, some mornings he has indentations on his head where he slept against the bars. It doesn't seem to bother him, but it looks really uncomfortable. He does not have any bumper pads because he already tries to climb out of the crib as it is, and I don't want to give him a "leg up" so to speak. Any ideas??

Sleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep!

Well, it finally happened again! The whole Lieber family slept through the night. It's amazing how wonderful you can feel after just one night of good sleep. I imagine that a whole week of this could really make a person feel amazing. I feel like an actual human being again! If you have never been sleep deprived, you are one lucky person. I love my kids and I wouldn't trade them for the world, but I am kinda tired of seeing them in the middle of the night. Let's pray that this trend continues; for my sake and for the sake of anyone who has to deal with me on a regular basis.