Drink up ye hearties, yo ho!

Sleep is very precious to me and these days, as it's extremely difficult to come by. So, when I finally have all of the kids to sleep and when my head FINALLY hits the pillow, it is truly a joyous moment. I co-sleep with the babies, which makes night feedings way more convenient, but, I have to be careful about not waking them. Last night, as usual, I got into bed and slowly, quietly, got into a comfortable position, as not to disturb the little darlings in their sweet slumber. Just as I got settled in, I heard the wood floors creak in the hallway, and I knew what was coming. Damn it. Our cat Pirate is like a dog... well, actually, all of our cats are like dogs in their own irritating little way, but Pirate is an especially (annoyingly) friendly cat. Is it too much to ask for a cat that acts like a cat?? I want an indifferent, aloof, a**hole of a creature that will notice you every now and then for the occasional head scratching, but is otherwise completely uninterested in the human race... but, I digress...

So, last night, Pirate decided that he wanted to cuddle and nudge not only me, but the sleeping babies in my bed. He kept trying to walk ON them and was nudging their heads with his cold wet nose and he couldn't have been any more determined! I would pull him by the scruff and he'd happily collapse into my arm and start back on nudging me while purring and kneading my face with his needle claws. I was trying so desperately to keep him quiet, it was like a silent wrestling match with a fluffy orange monkey-cat! I kept pushing him off the bed, but, like flubber, he was right back on! Over, and over, and over again!! I couldn't close the door because I had to listen for the girls. I was having fantasies about furry orange hats and winter moccasins for the kids... but I settled on scooping him up and locking him outside. I'm feeling a little guilt about it now... but last night, I felt completely justified.

After getting stalker-cat out of the house, I got settled into bed, once again, and fell asleep at about midnight . For 20 minutes. Then, Atticus woke up to eat and I fell asleep at about 1. For about an hour, because Beatrix woke up at 2. I fell back asleep at about 3, but, Atticus woke up again to eat at 4, conveniently when Ariel decided that she was going to scream in terror because she had a bad dream about "Bad trees, and a superhero that came down to take the bad trees to the 'Bad Tree World' ". Nice. So, Atticus was (of course) now wide awake, and spent the next 90 minutes smiling and staring at me in the semi-darkness. After pacing the house with him in my arms for what seemed an eternity, he fell asleep at about 5:30 am, and I crawled into bed, completely knackered... only to have Aurora come in at 6am, ready to start the day!

I really should buy stock in coffee.