The sleeps. I need them.

And for once, it's not Miles' fault that I'm not getting them.

I have been exhausted lately.  Probably because I have slept through the night only a handful of times since the New Year.  There's always something waking me up.  Occasionally, it is the toddler, waking around 2:00 am, and crying for a moment before finding Glow Worm and going back to sleep.  More often, though, it's the dog.

I love Dominic, and honestly, I think getting him was one of the better decisions we made for our family.  Miles adores him.  He and the dog are a pair, chasing each other back and forth all day.  Miles throws things for the dog, which Dominic promptly chases with great gusto, making Miles giggle.  Many a time, I have found the two of them snuggling on the couch, or staring out the window together, or simply sitting close together while Miles plays.  Yes, Miles and Dominic are buddies, and I am happy he is here.

Until 2:00 am, that is.  Dominic has an innate ability to wake me up in the middle of the night, without even trying.  He loves to run up and down the stairs for some reason, in a crazy rush to get nowhere, the tags on his collar jangling me awake like a bad alarm clock.  So, we started taking his collar off at night.

That apparently does not stop the Sleep Stealer.  Last night, even without the collar, he woke me three times. I went to bed at 9:30 to try to battle this exhaustion (plus the sickies I feel coming on).  At 10:30, Dominic decided to try to find all of the squeaky parts of the floor in our bedroom.  I sent him out, and went back to sleep, only to be awakened at 2:20 to the sound of him peeing on something.  I don't know why.  He's housetrained, and had been out not long before, according to Patrick.  By the time the mess had been cleaned and the dog disciplined, it was 2:45, and I was wide awake.  I think I finally fell asleep around 3:15.

At 3:30, Dominic jumped on my feet and woke me again.

I'm tempted to rent a hotel room, just so I can get a full night's sleep. :)