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So, once upon a time, there was a mommy who held a full-time job, trained for an Ironman triathlon, worked full-time in software development, and only needed six hours of sleep a night.

Then one day, autumn in Seattle arrived, and that mommy disappeared!!!

Okay, seriously, last night: 13 hours of sleep. The night before: 14. Now, I admit to staying up all night on New Year's Eve, but still...for weeks, I've been in this pattern of being able to sleep longer than I ever have - even as a teenager! - and even wanting naps during the day.

I am not sure if I am just worn out from all the training or what, but even if that's my problem, that can't be why the rest of my household is sleeping pretty much the same hours as I am.

Yup, that's right - my children and my husband are all joining me in dreamland. In fact, this morning, we woke up just 20 minutes before my son had to be at school. That's 20 minutes to find his backpack, get his school things together, get him and my preschool daughter ready, get myself ready, make the boy's lunch, give them  some semblance of breakfast (um, okay, not really: he ate potato chips, she ate cookies), and drive the two miles to their school.

Needless to say, we were late.

My husband and I were in Los Angeles for New Year's Eve (without the kids). And I noticed something: it stays lighter longer there, and gets lighter earlier in the morning. Seattle, where we live, is just so dark. And I think that's why we're all so tired.

I don't really understand my reaction to the darkness - I have lived here for nine winters now, so I know what it's like. But this year, for some reason, I desperately miss the sun. In Los Angeles, I loved being outside and being warm - closing my eyes and feeling the sun and brightness on my face. How long has it been since I saw a sunny day here - two months, at least?

And then I just don't know what to do about the kids. Their natural sleep patterns would have them staying up until 10 or 11 p.m. and sleeping until 9 a.m. or later. Even on Christmas morning, they didn't get out of bed until around 8 a.m. - probably hours after most families with four and seven year olds had already opened all the presents! Sometimes I wonder about homeschooling them just so they can sleep a more natural pattern. Dragging them out of bed just stinks.

So tonight, we put them to bed early, at 8 p.m. I can hear my daughter wailing as I type this, and I guarantee she's going to pop out of bed six or seven times before finally falling asleep. And tomorrow, we're going to have the same troubles trying to motivate them - and ourselves - to get up.

I'd love to hear ideas on how to manage this time of year - I'm not sure Spring will arrive fast enough for any of us.