Just Another Manic Monday

Let's begin at midnight this morning, since that's when I crawled into bed-

12:00am- Diego's cries stop and he finally falls asleep after literally hours of rocking, singing, and massage. He's allergic to cow's milk and evidently I unknowingly consumed dairy products at the church potluck earlier. Poor baby!

1:00am- My dear sweetheart arrives home from a 5-day business trip- YAY! I've missed him so much! I sleepily welcome him home.

1:30am- Diego wakes for a meal.

1:35am- Diego's diaper leaks on a colossal scale. Now I'm in a puddle.

1:36am- A quick diaper change occurs and we're both back in bed.

1:45 am- My sweetheart's snores are getting louder and louder....I can't sleep. I try to jostle him awake; no good. I contemplate sleeping on the couch.

2:30 am- Somewhere around this time I welcome uncounsciousness- finally!

3:06 am- The chickens start squawking frantically. Drat. Something is trying to eat them. They aren't safely sleeping in their coop because they insisted on roosting on the chicken coop roof out of my reach earlier in the evening.

3: 07am- Bella comes to my room, whining to be let out so she can chase the chicken predator. I drag myself out of bed,  turn on the outdoor flood lights and we go outside together.

3:08 am- Bella chases a black shape through the dark pasture. I am satisfied that the creature is gone, so I catch the wandering chickens (all sixteen of them...yeah, that was fun) and lock them safely away for the night. The roosters think it's morning and begin crowing at me. Have you ever had a rooster crow right in your face inside an echoing metal chicken coop? That sure erased any lingering webs of sleepiness in my groggy mind.

3:10am- The chickens are safely secured, but Bella won't come back. I call louder and louder. 

3:10 and 30 seconds am- I sweep my flashlight beam across the pasture, looking for her. Her eyes glow in the night, giving me quite a fright. Now I'm too scared to stay outside with the dark emptiness looming around me.

3:11am- I call for Bella from the safety of my back door. No answer. Drat.

3:15 am- After several minutes of calling, I venture back outside to find her. She's trapped the animal in a tree and won't leave it.

3:17am- I manage to drag her back inside the house, turn off lights and fall into bed.

3:30am- Diego wakes for more food. Drat.

3:40am- I fall asleep- thank goodness!

4:00am- Evidently I didn't find all the wandering chickens- they start squawking again. A couple of hens can't get into the locked coop and join the rest of the flock. They are frantically pacing in front of the coop door and calling the flock on the top of their lungs. Sigh.

4:05am- I venture outside with the flashlight to let in the chickens. The predator gives me the scare of my life before running off to his tree again. Bella is now growling and chasing him.

4:07am- It's not worth the battle to drag Bella out of the pasture again. I leave her outside to protect the chickens (and wishfully I hope she'll catch and kill that darn predator- whatever it is). I return to bed.

4:15am- Bella is barking nonstop, trying to get the animal out of the tree. It's so LOUD. She's getting more frantic-sounding. Blast. I can't leave her barking all night, keeping the neighbors awake.

4:17am- I convince Bella to come inside, I lock up the house, then run to bed eagerly.

4:25am- Diego is cranky and fussing. Maybe he's uncomfortable? I soothe him back to sleep.

4:30am- I finally fall asleep...hopefully it will last longer this time.

5:00am- My alarm sounds off. Groan. I refuse to budge. Who cares if the kids are late for school today? Not me.

6:30am- Diego wakes me with cries of hunger. He is fed. I resign myself to my fate of fatigue. I rouse the family and we get ready for the day. Amazingly, the boys were not late for school.

Welcome to another beautiful day! As I drove into town, I admired the sunrise peeking through the trees. I said a silent prayer thanking the Lord for blessing me with another day to live. Isn't it wonderful just to be alive?