Well, At Least The Alarm Clocks Still Work

For those who have been wondering if we have found out how a full night's sleep feels, well...

On the left is Scooby, on the right is Wishbone. For the past three years, they have learned:

A) Mom and Dad usually get up twice a night to test the smaller child's blood glucose, which means...

2) They will probably let us out in the backyard to do our business and bark at neighbor's houses until summoned back inside with a treat to return to bed.

This is usually a good thing - if we don't get up by around 1 a.m. and 4 a.m., Scooby will typically try to get my attention and wake me up by whining. Loudly.

However, as hard as it is to train a dog, we've discovered it's even harder to explain to them that the smaller child is away for the week, and please don't bother Mom and Dad until at least noon.

Needless to say, it hasn't worked yet. And no, we can't put them in another room (barking) or lock them outside (more barking). My wife can usually sleep through it. I can't. And if it's after 3 a.m., I usually can't get back to sleep.

So the routine continues, as I try to unsuccessfully convince myself I'm building character by getting up at 3:30 a.m. Scooby and Wishbone do not seem impressed...as they are asleep again.