Mom of the dead

So. freakin. tired.  I was talking to my friend Stacey, who has a 5 day old baby, and I think she's getting better sleep than me.  How is that fair?  Okay, granted, the fact that I'm still nursing a 2 year old at night IS my fault.  But why can't she just nurse and crash like a good little girl?  Why the "Uhhh!  Mommy!" several times a night?  Why the talon-like toe nails digging into my flesh?  I am too ooooold to be awakened several times a night.  Forget beauty sleep, I could just use my "not  a haggard crone" sleep.  I keep saying "Not Sleep Mommy is not very patient and kind," but they don't care.

Wednesday is Cold Stone day!  Every Wed. after getting Julianna from school, we scoot across the highway to Cold Stone Creamery.  Dude.  So good.  I'm working my way through the flavors.  Sure, I could try the samples and find out that way, but where's the challenge in that?  Today I had coffee with toasted almonds.  Damn fine.  The big winner is still mint with Oreos.   I daren't try any of the 3 mix-in concoctions they have listed on the board.  Julianna got cheesecake and I tried it, it was a bit much, like the cake batter.  Lily gets strawberry with gummi bears and then picks out the gummis with her fingers.  They need to install a shower outside the door, as if we were leaving a nuclear reactor.  Ben gets sweet cream with marshmallows.  The strict adherence to a favorite baffles me.  Today we went swimming before going to Cold Stone, so we were eating ice cream at 4:30...Dinner will be meager.  Steve won't be home so it's a mac-n-cheese night anyway.

Lily is back to stripping again.  Not for money, of course, though the extra income would be nice.  But she doesn't take off her shoes first, so she winds up waddling around w/her feet bound together by a turtleneck, screaming for help.  All of her clothes, puddled at her ankles.  "Sweety, if you're going to be nekky, you need to take off the shoes first."  "NO!  I not do that fuhst!  EEEEEEEEE!"  How I loathe the ear-piercing shriek..  And Not Sleep Mommy likes it even less.  Please go to sleep early tonight, children.  And please, stupid brain, let ME go to sleep early instead of suddenly pepping up with that "Wheeee!  Everyone's in bed!" burst of energy that keeps me up until midnight.  Please.