Internal alarm clock

I have been getting up at 5:30. I wish I could say that I've been getting up at 5:30 because I've been going to bed early and thus have been getting plenty of sleep, waking up refreshed and ready to go at 5:30 in the morning. Alas, it is not so.

Genevieve, however, seems downright perky each morning as she knocks on my bedroom door to say that she is hungry/bored/not tired/lonely/afraid of the dark/etc. Children are surprisingly less adorable when the sun goes down.

I used to be sympathetic. I mean, poor kid, afraid of the dark. But now I don't care. Sleep deprivation does that to you. I've explained many times that nothing will get her. I bought her a night light and even took off the little plastic shade so that it shines directly into her eyes. I allow her to get up and turn on additional lights in the house without comment. But she's rather disrespectful of other people's sleep. I can ignore the hallway light being turned on. I cannot ignore it flashing like a strobe light while she flicks it on and off and on and off. I commented rather loudly on that one (we were all awake anyway).

The girls have been ordered to stay in bed till Jeremy and I get up. Our alarm goes off at 6:30 and I think that's unpleasantly early enough. And honestly, neither of us care at all if they wake up and get up and do something extremely quiet. But nooo, they are out of bed with all the subtlety of a marching band, playing with toys, getting into loud arguments, or banging on my door and claiming they are starving. I yank open the door looking like death itself and scream something to the effect of, "THEN GET A PIECE OF FRUIT OR SOMETHING I DON'T WANT TO HEAR ABOUT IT GO AWAY I'M TRYING TO SLEEP ARE YOU INSANE!!!!!"

Then Genevieve cries because I yelled. And I can't go back to sleep because she's crying. I have to say, it's been a great way to start my mornings. Every morning. Except Saturday but only because they are at Jeremy parents' house behaving like perfect angels and sleeping till noon or something.