I really need to call the doctor.  And, unfortunately, I don’t mean a time travelling Gallifreyan with a blue box and a sonic screwdriver.  (Though meeting one of those would be nice.)

For the past few months, I’ve been tired. It seems that no matter how long I sleep, I still feel like I haven’t slept at all. I’ll spend an entire night having dreams that tire me out, and wake up feeling like I haven’t slept at all.  What’s more, B has mentioned that I’ve been making noises in my sleep like I’m gasping for air.  She also mentioned that I’ve been kicking a lot.  We’re fearing sleep apnea.

So, like I said, I should see a doctor.  And yet, I delay.  Part of it is that money is tight so I prioritize everything and everyone else above me.  I rationalize that this can’t be that serious so why spend money on it?  That money can go towards repairs we need to make on the house or on items we need to buy for the kids.

Of course, if I’m being honest, there’s another part of me that’s not addressing this because I’m scared.

I’ve always had trouble breathing through my nose.  Years ago, I had an operation to get my turbinates cut back.  I was supposed to have a deviated septum operation at the same time to help my breathing, but the insurance company denied it.  (They claimed that part was for cosmetic reasons only.)  Still, I went through with some of the surgery.  Going into surgery was fine.  Waking up with my nose plugged up and a tube in my throat wasn’t.

Years later, after a horrid bout of nosebleeds, I had my nose cauterized.  Twice.  The nights I spent awake because my nose was swelled shut and the dripping felt like it was going to close my throat off as well was horrid.

Obviously, neither experience is one I’d like to repeat, but I’m afraid that the doctor will tell me that surgery is needed.  I’m afraid that it will cost money we don’t have.  I’m afraid that I’ll end up spending long nights exhausted but awake thanks to the after effects of the procedures.

I’ll call the doctor eventually.  I know I’ve got to stop rationalizing and avoiding.  When my kids are afraid of something, I challenge them to face it head on because things are rarely as scary as our minds make them out to be.  However, when confronted with a frightening prospect, I avoid the situation just like they do.  So I’ve got to summon my courage and make the call.  Not for me, but to show my kids that they need to see a doctor when something’s wrong and that they need to face their fears.

NOTE: The "Emoticons: Sleeping face" image is by nicubunu and is available from OpenClipArt.org.

Election night was a very long night both for good reasons and bad ones.  First, I got home from work and B, the boys, and I went out to vote.  Unlike some other places where people had to wait in line for hours, we were lucky.  There was only a short wait to vote.

As we were going to the polling place, and all through the voting procedure, though, JSL complained about his head hurting him.  We figured he might be hungry, but as we arrived home, he proved us wrong by puking all over the floor and his coat.

I cleaned up the mess while B tossed his coat in the wash.  Then, after dinner and some time working on Lego Shelob, we got the kids ready for bed.  Just as they were settling down, though, JSL complained that his stomach hurt.  A quick run to the bathroom spared us a second big mess.  It was obvious that he was going to miss school the next day.

While JSL settled on the couch, we turned on the election day coverage.  I kept following along and interacting with people on Twitter as polls began to close and projections were made.  Slowly, the electoral votes were assigned until, at around 11:20pm, Barack Obama was declared the winner.  In hindsight, that’s when I should have called it a night.  Instead, I followed along awhile longer.  And by "awhile", I mean 2 hours.

At 1am, I climbed into bed (made crowded by JSL’s presence between B and me).  I didn’t sleep long, though.  At around 2am, NHL woke up coughing and congested.  He was obviously having trouble settling and couldn’t come into our packed bed, so I climbed into his top bunk to lay down with him.  Thus began 4 hours attempting to soothe him so he could rest and sporadic sleep.

Needless to say, I’ve been feeling a bit tired today.

What do you do when you’ve had a long night with little sleep?

Disclaimer: The "Sleeping face" icon is by nicubunu and is available from OpenClipArt.org.

As I’m writing this, I’m tired.  Very, very tired.  The previous couple of nights is a bit of a blur, but I do know that JSL was up… a lot.  He would complain about his toes itching, complain about having bad dreams, complain about being afraid of the dark, etc.  Every time we thought he was asleep for good, every time we would get back to sleep, he’d wake up once more.  We tried putting him in our bed, putting him back in his own bed, everything.  He just wouldn’t stay asleep.

Part of it might be his breathing.  We’re not sure if he’s starting to come down with a cold or if he’s just been having a bout of bad dreams.  Either way, his nighttime antics have left the two of us frustrated and exhausted.  Here’s hoping that he (and his brother) will sleep through the night for a few nights so we can get some actual sleep.

NOTE: The "Emoticons: Sleeping face" clipart above is by nicubunu and is available from OpenClipArt.org.

The past few nights, I’ve been working some rather late hours.  Between some freelance work, blog posting, and other tasks, I’ve been getting to bed at midnight or later.  Wednesday night, I decided to take a night off and go to sleep early.  To have some fun, I played Lego Star Wars on the Nintendo DS.  Unfortunately, I got so wrapped up in the game that I didn’t get to bed until 12:30am.  So much for getting to bed early.  Add in JSL waking up at 3am and NHL’s usual 6am wake-up call and you can understand why I’m feeling exhausted.  I’ve really got to start getting to bed earlier, even if I don’t feel tired at the time.

My Aloha Friday question for today is: What time do you usually go to sleep?

P.S. If you haven’t already, try out my Twitter applications: FollowerHQ and Rout.

Thanks to Kailani at An Island Life for starting this fun for Friday. Please be sure to head over to her blog to say hello and sign the linky there if you are participating.

Aloha #149

For the past few nights, bedtime has been a stressful time.  NHL is not to blame.  He gets into his top bunk and quickly goes to sleep.  JSL, on the other hand, has turned into the Kid Of A Million Excuses Why He Can’t Sleep.  The air conditioning is on so he’s too cold.  When I turn it off, he becomes too hot.  Then, he needs to use the bathroom (something he did before getting in bed, mind you).  Then, he needs a drink (again, something he did before going to sleep).  Then, his legs are bothering him or his toes itch or he’s not comfortable for some reason.  This will go on for over an hour until JSL is completely overtired and mom and dad are frazzled.

My Aloha Friday question for today is: Do your kids ever give bedtime excuses?  If so, how do you handle them?

P.S. If you haven’t already, try out my Twitter applications: FollowerHQ and Rout.

Thanks to Kailani at An Island Life for starting this fun for Friday. Please be sure to head over to her blog to say hello and sign the linky there if you are participating.

Aloha #147