Sleeping through the night

Luckily, I have kids who are great sleepers. They have all slept through the night since they were 12 weeks old. Some have called me the Sleep Nazi. I consider that a term of endearment. These kiddos are on a great schedule....a stay at home mom schedule, if you will. If I don't need to get them up and dressed and off to a sitter/school/daycare....there is no reason for anyone's door to open before 8 am. (Sam and I have adjusted with school this year, but we've just had to barely tweak it as his school day does not begin until 9). It's the law here. So far (and I am knocking serious wood here) everyone has complied.

Here's who is not sleeping through the night. Me. I have a cough that has been keeping me up for what feels like 40 minutes of every hour every night for as long as I can remember (or at least a week)...and it is slowly causing me to go mildly insane. The cough hasn't limited itself to nighttime though. Just yesterday... I had the littlest boys out for a quick errand and could feel the fit coming on.... I was right by a McDonald's, so I quick pulled in to get a drink hoping that would help ward it off. It started before I could order... I couldn't even speak when they asked if they could take my order.... I sputtered a "sorry" and kept driving.... I was about to hyperventilate. I pulled into a parking lot and started coughing like the Marlboro man... uncontrollably.... I started to panic. I ripped off my coat (who knows... maybe that would work??!) and started digging through my purse for anything I could stick in my mouth to help stifle the coughing....which was more like gasping...and eventually dry heaving (sorry...are you eating breakfast? whoops!) and found a dum dum lollipop.  It didn't cut it. I looked around the mini van frantically.... I was sweating, tears streaming down my face....and out of desperation grabbed the nearest sippy cup PRAYING it didn't have old milk in it. Old apple juice. SCORE! I chugged it down like a camel who had just found a puddle in a dessert. Disgusting......... but it worked. Relief.

I dried my eyes, took some deep breaths and slowly turned around thinking the twins must be freaked out by what they just witnessed in the front seat. On the contrary, they asked if I could change the dvd they were watching. Good to know they have my back in a crisis.

So, I finally called my doctor and pleaded for something to knock me out at night... I was dying for a decent night's sleep (and so was the hub's...although he has been a sport not complaining about being wakened by his hacking, sputtering wife for what seems like an eternity now!). Cough syrup with codeine.... yes, please!!! Finally...a decent night's sleep was in my future... and then... as Murphy's Law would have it..... God sent a Thunderstorm in February. Oh God....you kidder!!!!

I guess there's always tonight.