Anger Management

Luke seems to have made me into an angry person.  I don't remember being this angry when Meike was a baby.  My anger is very specific...it's targeted at NOISE, because it routinely wakes the baby up.  Seriously, any noise.  It's become so ingrained that I even get mad at sounds when Luke is in a separate building.  Obviously, this is some sort of sleep-deprivation-induced new-mom-hormone madness (that's basically my excuse for everything weird that I do).

Here are some of the more recent sounds that have made me instantly irate:

• The dog walking on the hardwood floor.  I cannot cut those nails short enough (Luke's either, come to think of it).
• Cat food pouring into their dishes.  It's like an avalanche.
• Car doors being closed when the baby is asleep inside.  I have taken to closing the door as quietly as possible and then leaning on it with my butt until it catches.
• Jonathan emptying the dishwasher downstairs on the opposite side of the house, while I'm upstairs in the bedroom, with the door on and the humidifier acting as a white noise machine.
• Children playing and laughing while Luke is sleeping in public.  Their happiness is so inconsiderate.
• The sound that Jonathan's slippers make on the floor because he shuffles when he walks in them.
• Flushing the toilet in the master bath when Luke is asleep in the bed.  "If it's yellow, let it mellow..." has become my mantra.
• My cat has some sort of upper respiratory issue that causes him to have reverse-sneezing fits.  I've actually tossed his noisy ass into the hallway while he's coughing to spare the baby.  I have no remorse.

I could probably go on forever with these.  I'm surprised Meike is not afraid to talk near the baby at this point.