Late Nights

I am an idiot.

Its late and I should be in bed, sleeping. Alex gets up late, around 10:30 or so (please don't hate me; he also goes to bed late), but I should still get to bed at a reasonable hour. Instead, I sit on my computer reading blogs, poking around Facebook and endlessly checking my e-mail. This is not the type of responsible behavior you expect from a 32 year old woman with a small child.

My husband doesn't help. He too sits on the computer until the wee hours. When we are computing together, side-by-side (okay, actually in separate rooms, but its the feel of thing, you understand) it feels as though we are doing something, as opposed to staring mindlessly at the TV. I have mentioned my television addiction, right? So we sit, and we stare at separate screens. Occasionally, I send Jym an IM on Facebook. He thinks this is strange behavior, since I'm only about 15 feet away, but hey, I get my fun where I can.

I've got to get out of this rut, staying up late for no reason. The real problem though is that I have trouble falling asleep. I'll lie in bed for what seems like hours, Jym snoring merrily beside me, until my body finally gives it up in exhaustion. I just can't seem to turn off my mind. My thoughts spiral endlessly:

• Alex will probably wake us up in about 6 hours. I should go to sleep now
• I have to work tomorrow. I should go to sleep now.
• I should go put a load of laundry in so I can throw it in the dryer before I go to work.
• I forgot to clean the litter box. Jym will be unhappy. Maybe I'll go do it now. No, I should go to sleep now.
• I wonder if Swistle posted anything tonight? I'll just check on my phone. No, put the phone down. Go to sleep now.
• I need to pee. I think I'll go do that and then I'll go to sleep.
• Fuck... the toilet flushing woke up Alex. Maybe if I lie very still and breathe quietly he won't know I'm awake and we can all go to sleep.

And that's usually the point where I fall asleep. Once Alex has quieted down, of course. Occasionally he doesn't, and his sleepy cries turn into frantic howls. On those nights he comes to bed with us and I am forced to sleep so he can too. Maybe he should just sleep with us every night? Okay, that's probably a bad idea, but I'm getting desperate! Anyone have any ideas on how to turn off my brain so I can get a decent night's rest?