Where's My Espresso IV Stat?!!?

Well, I should start by explaining that I had all intentions on hitting the hay last night by 10pm.  My goal every night is to get to bed by 9pm, but that rarely happens.  I was up doing homework across the couch from the hubs, while he was also pumping out the homework.  I finally drug my exhausted self upstairs (Mt. Everest), and could not for the life of me fall asleep.  I kept hearing things downstairs that turned out to be my imagination.  I laid in bed until 1:30am, and finally I gave into the idea that I would never sleep.  I grabbed my pillow, and my huge zip up fleece I stole from my husband (I wear it every night, even though I look like the bag lady) and I walked back down the stairs, absolutely defeated by the fact that I had lost the sleep battle.  I threw myself across the chase lounge and contemplated making a pot of coffee, but decided that that would not help things at all, and I would wait until morning.  Just when I thought I was alone in my inability to sleep, down walked the hubs with a pillow under one arm, and a blanket under the other.  Since I couldn't sleep, he had come down to sleep on the couch and at least be down here with me.  It's the small things right!

With every minute that passed I could just feel how exhausted I was going to be when the wee ones where up making their demands for food and entertainment the next morning.  I am happy to announce that I did FINALLY fall asleep at 2:30am.  Unfortunately, my exhaustion led us to oversleep.  I woke up in a panic at 6:50am, shaking Matt to wake him up.  Matt usually leaves for work around 7:15am, so waking up at 6:50 is a no no.  Matt ran upstairs to get ready, and I laid there seriously considering staying on the chase lounge and sleeping all day.  I had a quick flash of what a wreck the house would be within even one hour of the girls being down here while I was sleeping, and on that note I shot up and literally ran into the kitchen to get the much needed coffee a brewin'.

The morning definitely started off on a bad foot, and by the time I put the girls down for a nap at noon, I had absolutely run out of gas.  I realized that I hadn't eaten and that must have been why I felt like my stomach was eating itself.  I mixed up a tbsp. of trusty peanut butter and 1 tbsp. of grape jelly, and stirred it up.  No, I didn't put it on bread, that's my version of a pb&j sandwich.  I like to eat it right out of the bowl, with a side of Propel water.  I do this every day, sometimes late at night.
After I ate my sandwich in a bowl, I shockingly allowed myself to lay down on the couch (I don't usually let myself take a nap, because I'm always too afraid of getting behind on things) and fell asleep for 45 minutes.  When I woke up, my mind instantly went to coffee!  I needed it, I was desperate for the stuff, and I made a b line for the freezer where I keep my Espresso Roast.  It was a little warm outside today, so I wasn't really in the mood for hot coffee.  I decided I'd make an iced coffee.  I used to think that iced coffees where better when made at a coffee shop, but that is just so not true.  Not only do they taste better when made in your own kitchen, but they are WAY better for you.

I like to use Starbucks Espresso Roast for my iced coffee (and my coffee iv, which I hook up to and carry around all day long, lol...I wish).  I make 6 cups, and use 2 tbsp. of coffee plus a little extra dash for that extra punch.  

The mug on the left is my fav.  It says "Go away, Beat it, Leave me alone, Get lost, Scram", which is how I feel before I've had my morning coffee.  Notice I call it my "morning coffee", because I have morning, afternoon, and evening coffee.  My confession is that I drink WAY too much coffee for just one person.  You're probably wondering what the mason jar is for.  Once I mix the hot coffee in my mug, I pour it into the mason jar over ice.

I LOVE coffee so much, I even find beauty in pouring it, lol!

Ahhh, the rich, carmel, and bold beauty of Espresso Roast.  Now it's time for me to stir in 2 tbsp. of creamer, and 2 tbsp. of Sugar in the Raw (I like sugar).  With the holidays approaching, you could also put Coffee Mates Pumpkin Spice creamer in, giving it the taste of Fall.

I've got my ice in my jar, and I'm about to pour my mug of love over the cold ice.  By the way, I've come to the conclusion that my ice maker is not friends with the coffee that lives on the shelf next to it.  The ice maker doesn't seem to want to keep up with my ice needs.  I often find that I've run out of ice and have to wait a full 24 hours before it has replenished itself.  Do you think the ice is jealous of the coffee?

A yummy treat to pair with an iced coffee is a dark chocolate Pirouline.  I will not be enjoying this light chocolate wafer, because I've already eaten all of them =(

That's okay though, this jar of glorious goodness is all I need for now....until tonight when I am in need of yet another caffeinated rendezvous.

Feel free to leave your tired mommy or daddy confessions in the comments box below...I would love to hear them, and maybe not feel so ridiculous over my affair with Espresso Roast.

Confessions of a Tired Mommy

Okay, so for the first time in 749,783,283000000 years, I'm alone downstairs.  Both girls are asleep in their beds, and Matt's at school.  He's actually driving home from school right now, so my alone time is diminishing with every second that passes.  I'm cuddled up in my blanket on the couch, and I have the faux fire playing on my tv.  I'm gonna be real honest right now...I clicked the music option when the dvd asked me if I want to play the music along with the fire.  What you should be aware of is that the music is Christmas music.  Yes, I am ridiculous!  I know it's still like 3 months and 2 weeks away, but when the cold front moved in last week, so did the holidays.  They live in my heart all year round, and now my mind is whirling with images of glorious holiday feasts, pumpkins, hot cocoa, and kids bundled up in their winter coats, while their mothers wipe their snotty noses, lol!  Okay, not so much the last image, but you get what I'm saying.

This evening as I was finishing up our evening feast of chicken fried steak, mashed potatoes, gravy, and green beans; my husband walked through the door spilling all his news of the day.  Emma was sitting at the kitchen table playing with a mini sand castle kit that one of Matt's customers had given him.  With sand sprawled all over the kitchen table, flour and grease in the kitchen, a pile of dirty dishes to wash in the sink, and princess Abby playing joyfully on the floor, yet needing to eat...I became a bit overwhelmed.  Additionally, Matt was home to scarf down his dinner, spill about a million words out per minute about all the funny things that Chad (his friend and boss at work) had said today, and then head off to school.  Within a 15 minute time frame, I was left standing in the kitchen starring at a 4 year old girl that had rubbed mashed potatoes all the way up her arms, and all over her hair, an even BIGGER pile of dishes, and Abby still needed to eat.  I was so tired, that just walking the girls up the stairs to bed at 7pm felt like I was climbing Everest.  I persevered up that mountain and tucked the girls into their beds.  Of course, that wasn't the last time I was up there.  No, someone had a dirty diaper, needed to do a dirty deed on the potty, and I got scolded for forgetting to kiss their teddy bear goodnight.

Once I finally sat down, I contemplated falling asleep, but didn't want to waste my ounce of free time.  I knew that soon there would be someone needing me for something, and tomorrow would bring a whole new load of homework, pre-school homeschooling, and the messes.  Yes we have started homeschooling Emma and Abby.  Emma cried @ pre-school, so we brought that little lady home, and have been pre-schooling it up her @ the homestead ever since.  I decided that I would stay awake and enjoy this alone time on the couch with a little faux fireplace to set the mood.  There's nothing like a 55 inch fire in the corner of your living room to set the mood for relaxation, lol!  However, my alone time is now over.  Mr. Robinson just walked through the door, and began to serenade =/  "Silver bells, Summer smells"  I knew I would regret pressing "Play music" on the dvd option.  He gave me a hug, and said "Oh, you're warm", to which I replied, "It must be the fire I have burning."  =)  Since my free time is now gone with the wind, I will now conclude this tired mommy post by saying goodnight.  Hope all you mommies and daddies have a wonderfully rested night, for tomorrow will bring yet more shenanigans.  We desperately need our sleep to face the wee ones, dirty pile of dishes, sand castles, and the like.