I am stubborn and a little crazy

Well, the CPAP has arrived. I have had it about two weeks, and after a week of complete denial about the ever having the ability to be able to fall asleep with a full face mask blowing air into my mouth, I bit the bullet, took a Benadryl, and stubbornly swore I was going to at least fall asleep with the mask on for one night, to see if it made a difference. Good thing I am stubborn and don't like to lose, otherwise, this might never have worked. The first night it took me only about an hour to fall asleep, but I was exhausted to begin with, and normally would have just passed out. So, an hour wasn't great, but I did finally fall asleep with the damn mask on my face. I woke up a few times, once from a dry mouth, and a couple of times because I am pretty sure I was holding my breath. With the air blowing at such a high level, it makes it feel hard to exhale, and then I think I just hold my breath instead. Sort of counter intuitive, since the idea behind the mask is to keep your airway open and keep you from actually stopping to breath. Anyway, so the first night I kept the mask on about 4 hours, and then about 1:30am I woke up and took it off. I was pretty aware it was coming off, but I was just happy I had fallen asleep at all with it in. Night two was about the same, I kept the mask on about 4 hours and then it came off at some point in the night. Night 3 I thought I was good to go, and was going to sleep with the mask on all night. Well, I didn't wake up and take it off consciously. However, I did wake up on Friday morning with the entire mask dismantled and removed from the hose and humidified. And each piece was laid out nicely in a row next to the machine. No recollection of doing this at all. I guess I'm not surprised. I am not a huge sleep walker, but only because I usually wake myself up standing in the middle of my room. Yea, makes you want to have me over for a slumber party, eh?

Anyway, after 3 nights of half masking it, I cannot even tell you how much more rested I was feeling. I can't say whether it was really the mask, or the fact that I was in bed by 9 every night just to give myself the extra time to fall asleep. I am hoping it is the mask though, because I feel so much better after sleeping and feeling rested. I even, gasp, had real thoughts about getting back to a gym routine. Friday night was a little bit of a set back, but nothing to do with the mask, and more to do with some less than stellar BBQ I had and its lasting effects on my stomach LATE into the night. No mask or sleep for me that night. I paid heavily today, but got to take some naps and be generally lazy in front of the Saturday college football TV schedule (which, alas, never seems to include any Cal football...might have been good today since the end of the game was apparently not the best ever). Tonight though, I have big plans for this sleep mask and me. We are going to be friends. And hopefully this is the solution I have been waiting for. It better be, cuz, frankly, I'm tired of all the doctor's appointments...although it is about time for the Henry recheck, with the horrendous camera down the throat business. At least this time Becky knows where I will be during my 6 hour being held captive ordeal. Plus, the line of people to mess with me in my drugged up state seems to be growing. I have the greatest friends here in Houston ;-)

I feel I should give a short Aunt Debs update on the local babies. The minis are giggling and talking (ie, making noises) now. Aunt Debs especially likes to makes them talk while Mommy is feeding them. This prolongs feeding time, but is so damn cute. They are also trying solids. Some of these solids Mommy knows about, others Aunt Debs just tries on her own (ice cream and cream cheese are both popular with Brooklyn). Baby Liam is about the same size as the twins, despite being 4 months younger. He eats like a champ and likes to take naps on me. He is definitely a cuddler. Bear is like a day away from crawling, and is about to be into EVERYTHING. I am kinda like the paparazzi with all these babies, and everyone gets random pictures texted to them whenever I have a baby in my arms. See my FB albums for more proof of this.

So this week I am making the first of a few work trips for this fall. It is the annual trek down to Harlingen for HESTEC. Somehow, every year, I get sucked into HESTEC. Every year I say "next year I am so not doing this." And yet, here I go again. Don't get me wrong, the conference is great. We usually have a good time after hours all going out together. There is usually some margarita drinking, and as a special bonus, I know where the Mimi's is down there (are you ready Jessica?). BUT, this conference is infamous for a couple of major issues. First, there are always way too many educators down there, and half of them end up standing around "helping" and not doing much while the other half of us deal with psycho teachers and kids. And, additionally, there are some crazy long days...and some weird short days. But, noon to ten on a Saturday with 30,000 people is a little bit overwhelming. It's gonna take some serious coffee/Diet Coke to get me through this week! And next year, I am so not going.

Oh, also, it's fall now. The highs in Houston have dropped to 98 this weekend, and 96 on Monday. Yup, fall sure is here. Now, where the hell is winter?