Hodgepodge & an Obsession with Sleep

It is a rainy, rainy spring day today. I like days like this although it gets a little damp running errands. :-)

N1 has woken up in the middle of the night EVERY NIGHT this week. She goes through spurts like this every once in a while. Saturday night she fell out of bed ... hasn't done that in MONTHS so she ended up in bed with us. This morning she was up a little before 5 a.m. I think I'm a little excited that she is spending the night at her Aunt & Uncle's tonight ... she can wake them up at 5 a.m. tomorrow. :-)

While we are on the subject of sleep, N2 is doing great sleeping at night. She's averaging about 6 1/2 hours when I get her to bed between 8:30 and 9 p.m. And then, every few nights she'll want to eat about every 4 hours, or like last night, do an 8 hour stretch. One thing I have never minded with both my girls are the nighttime feedings. It's weird, it doesn't seem to phase me too much to get up with them because both girls (after the first couple weeks) have been good about getting down to the business of eating and going right back to sleep.

And while still on the subject of sleep, we are transitioning N2 to her big-girl crib in the "girls' room" slowly. She has been in a Moses basket in our bedroom since we brought her home and she loves it. She can burrow her way to the head of the basket and feel and surrounded by squishy-ness and snuggled in. I think the crib and all is "vastness" is a little overwhelming to her. :-) I'm starting to put her in there for her nap times, but she's still in our room at night until she's just a little more consistent on how long she sleeps.

Check out the utter coolness of this:





Made by Blestwithsons and I love it.

I had the wonderful privilege of meeting Meredith from Like Merchant Ships today. We met at the library and were able to chat for a little while ... until N2 started being a little stinker and wouldn't take a nap like she was supposed to. :-) And look what she brought me ... made with her own flowers!





Because I have no green thumb abilities whatsoever, this kind of beauty that people can put together really does amaze me. :-) It is going to be such a treat to have these on my desk where I can enjoy them.

Tomorrow night is the annual youth's Valentine's day dinner/fundraiser for our church body. I'm sure some have picked up on the fact that we're holding our Valentine's dinner on April Fool's Day ... not a joke, really. :-) Since N2 was only about 2 weeks at Valentine's, and Travis heads up the youth and thus the dinner, we postponed it several weeks until it was a little more manageable. It's going to be a crazy busy day tomorrow so N1 is going to my sister for the evening tonight to spend the night, and the my Mom is going to take N2 for several hours tomorrow afternoon so I can help Travis and the kids set up. It's going to be strange to be kidless for a few hours ... that hasn't happened in several months.

And the pictures keep coming...

She is two months old today. :-)

What every family needs for home entertainment

Your run-of-the-mill black afro wig. :-)

Photo Day

The neice and nephew were over today ... their parents have really let their hair grow out.*

We did some outside playing ... and caught N1 in the middle of a jump. Her most favorite physical activity is jumping and she will jump like specific things - frogs, kangaroos, etc.

And N2 wore her first real girlie dress. Can you see the rolls on her little legs?

Did I mention I saw Dana & Bedky on Sunday?

There was much laughing and visiting and passing of baby.

Very. Fun.

*That's really a wig, but way too funny!

For Safekeeping

Meals for March 27 - March 31

Monday:

grilled chicken

mashed potatoes

gr. beans

Tuesday:

meatloaf

salad

Wednesday:

Mexican cornbread (crockpot)

chips & cheese dip

Thursday:

potatoes w/ gr. beans and sausage/keilbasa

Friday:

pizza

Friday Felicities and Other Stuff

N1 was up before 5 a.m. this morning ... not sure WHAT was up with that. So, not surprisingly, she had crawled back into bed by herself by 9 a.m. and went right to sleep. She's woken up really early almost every day this week. Most I've gotten up with her, but this morning I just sat her on her bed with some books and told her to stay there and read, thinking she would relax and go back to sleep. It didn't and she was up for good by about 6:30. Wishing I was drinking caffiene right about now, I can tell you. :-) When she gets up, I may load up the girls and go to McDonalds and let her play in the playyard there. It's too cold to go outside for long and she needs to play.

I'm trying to be diligent about finding activities for her that don't involve the TV and ordered two books last night to read for inspiration: The Toddler's Busy Book and Small Beginnings: First Steps to Prepare Your Toddler for Lifelong Learning. I came to a realization last night ... this may be rambly, but it struck me as true. My husband read computer books. He buys computer books - new, used, doesn't matter - and reads them to glean information to help him perform his job better, to make him a better employee, and maybe one day even make him more marketable if he wants to switch jobs. And, he just likes learning about computers and computer programs! Well, what do I do for a living? I am a wife and mama. It makes perfect sense that I could look for resources to help me with my job and I wouldn't have to stumble blindly here and "ruin" N1. :-) Granted the Bible is the first and foremost authority, but there are other fabulous resources out there written by Godly women and men that I can be learning from. Duh! This has been brewing in my head just after finishing a wonderful book by Carolyn Maheney called Feminine Appeal: 7 Virtues of a Godly Wife and Mother. I could not put it down. (For me to say that about non-fiction is huge). Anyway, I'm pumped to read other books and have a stack of homemaking ones here on my shelf as well. Now to decide what to dive into!

Friday Felicities
Things that make you happy. From the mind of Nattie Rose.

Naps.

Healthy children.

Sugar free pudding.

Good books.

Wild onions that are cropping up in my front yard.

Cold, sunny days.

Baby Einstein toys.

Gummy, toothless baby grins.

Husbands with gotees.

W@H

Pray for...

Dawn's little one, Marie. She has contracted the rotavirus and is not doing well in the hospital. She's about the same age as our N2 so she's on my mind right now...

Shh, Don't Tell

Administrative Note: I'm switching my site so that you have to register to comment ... unless you are a total freak or something :-), I can't imagine bumping anyone's comments. Just wanting to know who's coming by and seeing my girls. :-)

It's almost 1 p.m. and I'm still in my PJs. :-) I'll clarify that by saying, it's not because I've been laying around ... I've been cleaning and doing laundry and just haven't stopped yet to get dressed. (It doesn't help that most of our clothes are in the dirty clothes basket at the moment ... hence the laundry!) We are having a steady spring rain today and I'm loving it. Staying in, checking things off my cleaning list, and attempting to organize for the week. I'm feeling pretty fired up today, but I think it's because we had a really relaxing weekend around here. We had our usual Friday family night of hanging around and watching a video. On Saturday, Travis took the dogs to the vet for their yearly appointment and the dog run. Clean bills of health for both dogs, although they do need to shed a few pounds. They are both weighing around 90 lbs! (We thought they looked like they had been bulking up ... hmmm.) Then it was such a pretty day - cool and sunny - that we loaded the girls up and went to the zoo. N1 wore herself out running around and N2 did great in the stroller on her first BIG outing. And Sunday we were actually home for most of the day. Our typical Sunday is to go over to my parents for lunch with them and my sister's family. And not that we don't enjoy it, but yesterday Travis and I laid on the couches and rested ourselves, both girls got good naps and it was good. I need weekends like this every once in a while.

This afternoon, I'm going to make a batch of cookies for N1 ... I haven't made her any since before N2 was born and it's about time. :-) We're having a breakfast dinner tonight, too, and I want to make some biscuits ahead of time. Then, when I'm making sausage patties, I'll have an excuse to make some sausage gravy. :-) I've been reading a new magazine called Making it Home and it has been inspiring me to keep my home (meaning family and household duties) as a priority instead of just fitting them in as I am prone to do. That's not being faithful to the calling that God has given me here at home and I'm seeing some work that needs to be done around here. I've been slacking with my little 2 year old and some attitude issues - blame it on late night feedings or trying to keep caught up on just stuff - but it still boils down to Mama-slacking, and we're only going to pay for it later if it doesn't get checked now.

Free Prints

30 free Shutterfly prints

Log on and enter AM1K-4TTC-6DYA-FRAPCF where it says "enter special offer code" to get 30 free prints. Must use by March 21.

Bits and Pieces

So today was Bible study day.

We didn't end up going.

N1 was complaining of a tummy ache about 9:00 a.m.

By 9:15 she was asleep on the couch.

By 9:30 she had thrown up.

The first of four times.

Then she asked to take a bath, which I didn't blame her one bit!

So we've been in all day today.

She finally quit throwing up about noon and went straight down for a nap.

She woke up starving and she's kept it all down.

But now she's running a fever. :(

I've gotten lots done at home today.

Laundry, picking up, music picked to go with a sermon a few weeks down the road.

And time cuddling N2.

She is smiling. All. The. Time.

And she is now mostly in 3-6 month clothing.

At 6 weeks.

I just bought her size 3 diapers.

Safe to say she is NOT built the same as N1. :)

I need to get started on dinner.

Chicken pot pie and leftover squash cassarole from last night.

The squash cassrole is from my Mitford Cookbook. Sooooo yummy.

He's a little bit cute...

Documented Proof

That our baby girl can smile. :) She smiled for the first time right on her 4-week birthday, but it's taken me almost two weeks to capture it on film. She is just such a cuddly, snuggly baby. Last night, N1 went to Grandma & Grandpa's for the evening and it was just us and the baby. It was kinda fun getting to snuggle with her on the couch while we watched a DVD without N1 wanting attention or juice or something. And I know she (N1) lapped up the Grandparent time over with my folks so it all worked all well for everyone. :)

I don't think I've mentioned our "big-screen TV" that we have now. (insert laugh here) A couple weeks ago, I took N2 and went out to dinner with some girlfriends. Travis & N1 had a special video night - we store the church's powerpoint projector at our house so they unpacked it and set it up with my laptop, tacked a giant white bedsheet to our wall, and watched a video together. It's not one of those new-fangled flat screen monitors by any stretch, but it is very fun. :) Last night, with N1 gone, we made some fajitas and had a mexican picnic at our large coffee table in the family room which watching Alias (season 2 episodes) on our big screen. Totally fun, inexpensive, date night for us.

A N1 update ... thankfully she has not tried to change anymore of her diapers lately. However, this afternoon, I went back to check on her while she was taking a nap. I found her buck n@ked in her bed! No shirt, pants or DIAPER! And she was completely asleep. Of the things that passed through my head:

(1) Yeah! She's asleep.
(2) Where are her CLOTHES!?
(3) Has she wet the bed? (Checking frantically without waking child).
(4) Whew, all dry.
(5) Get a diaper on her PRONTO, yet again without waking said child.
(6) Get self caffiene free diet coke and slump into chair.
(7) Ponder picking up pull-ups this week at Target and giving potty-training a go.

Note to Maria and Cheryl ... Yes, I did take a picture of her napping in her n@kedness. Oh yes, it will be scrapped. :)

Admiration

One woman who is high on my list of people I admire is my dear friend Patti Williams. Patti is a wife and mother with a special calling . . . her sever-year-old daughter Emily is autistic and suffers from epilepsy. I remember when Patti found out that she was having a little girl - she was so excited! She and David had been parents to Zack and were excited to have both a boy AND a girl. When Emily was almost a year old she had her major large seizure and her life has been a medical roller coaster ride since then. Ive watched Patti as she has been on this ride with her girl. It has been hard watching your child go through pain and illness that you cant do anything to stop or take away. But Patti continues to go on and she continues to trust in a Sovereign God day after day. I dont know that I could do that. Shes remained committed to God in spite of doubts, depression and struggles; to her marriage to David; and to raising an amazing boy in Zack (who himself as Asperger's). Oh, to have her faith and honesty through struggles such as this and the tenacity to hang on to the Lord for the wild, wild ride.

This was my project for my scrapbooking class this week. Excuse the crooked picture on the page ... that's just a temporary one from my printer until I can get a real photo printed. :-)

Things you miss out on...

by not spending the day with Noelle.

My friend Gina came by to loan us her big double stroller for the girls (yeah!) as I was just getting ready to change a dirty diaper on Noelle. Well, I visited too long for Noelle's limited patience and she decided to change the diaper herself.

In the family room.

She met me at the back door with p0op on her tummy, back, down her legs and on her feet. I guess she had trouble getting her diaper off by herself, bless her heart. Then I found the diaper on the floor in the family room. THANK GOODNESS she did not sit on any furniture.

However, she did sit on the floor in our bedroom evidenced by the p0opy bum-print on the hardwood floor. That and the fact she tried to clean herself up with socks from our dirty clothes pile. Luckily she picked one of Travis brown ones to use. My white one was not so lucky. But, she got a mid-day bath so it all worked out really well for her.

Just want you to know what my day is like over here. :-)

Update

Apparently I sounded (and looked) bad enough on Thursday and Friday that my husband decided he needed to take some action. :-) I was so surprised! You have to understand, this is only 2nd time in our 4 (or 5?) years together that he has bought me flowers. (The first was our first Valentine's day together when we were dating). I have them sitting on my desk now. :-)

We had a busy Saturday yesterday .... ran a few errands. Most of the time I stayed in the car with the girls and Travis ran in to pick something up. (He had to do some shopping at the guitar store and was in there long enough that we all took about an hour nap). Now we're spending Sunday home with a sick N1. She apparently picked up something from one of her little friends from church. My sister was in the nursery with her this morning and needed me to come get her - she was sick and felt really warm. Her temp was 102 at church so I went ahead and left and brought her home, and left N2 with my Mom (I had thankfully just nursed her). My folks brought N2 & Travis home as soon as church was over, but it had given me time to get home with Noelle and put her down for a nap. You can tell she doesn't feel good, but her fever is coming down a bit.

And since I haven't posted a photo in a while, this is the dress N2 wore to church this morning. Below is N1 in the same dress. You think they are related? :-) A little resemblance there I think!

What's going on here...

The last few days have gone really rough. A good week over all, and nothing I should be complaining about, but it would be nice if yesterday and today could be "do-overs" if you know what I mean. N2 had her one month (!) check-up at the Dr. yesterday morning, and it was like pulling teeth to get us all out the door and there on time. I had written the appointment down for 9:45 a.m. ... thank goodness the dr.'s office called me late Wednesday evening to confirm or I would have been way late. It was at 9:15! And N1 at the dr.'s is NOT FUN right now. She is being so very TWO lately. I spend most of my time at the dr. going and pulling her back into the waiting area instead of wandering the halls as she would prefer to do. (Strangely the frown on this). Anyway, N2 had a GREAT check-up. She's up to 11 lbs. 14 oz. and 22 inches long. No surprise that she's topping the chart in her weight, but a little on the short side. :-) She's already maxed out a few of her 0-3 month outfits (the ones that ran a little tiny). I also had my 5 week post-delivery check up yesterday. Everything checked out okay for me, too, although my incision has a little healing still to do. *avert your eyes here if squeamish* It's still oozing some in one spot (ick) and there is a knot over one of the stitches that we just have to wait for it to go away. The dr. is not concerned so I'm not really either, but it's just kinda gross. Bottomline - with two kids, doing two dr. appointments in one day was a little too ambitious for me. Especially on a Thursday which is our day without Travis. By 9:30 last night I could barely keep my eyes open.

Today was another big day - my first monthly grocery run with the two girls. I had N1 buckled in the cart and N2 strapped in the snugli and we worked out way through Aldi's at a snail's pace. The grocery trip went pretty good, it was when we got out to the car that I almost had a meltdown. If you don't know, you have to bag your own groceries at Aldi's (one of the ways that they cut costs). Not a problem normally. I let N1 walk around in the van while I bag stuff in the back and then load her in her seat when I'm done. However, today, she decided that she wanted to see how many CD's she could stuff into the cars CD player before caught. I managed to get one out, but the rest have been left for Travis who will probably have to do some fancy toolwork to get to them. As I'm pulling her from the CD player she informs me that she's got a stinky diaper and so I get ready to change it before our drive home to unload. It was bad and it was everywhere. Suffice it to say, she rode home in just a new clean diaper and when we got to the house, her outfit went directly to the washing machine. Did I mention that she's been acting so very TWO lately?

I'm going to stop griping at this point. I have so much to be thankful for. I have two healthy girls, a husband who works his rear off and then some to provide for us, a soveriegn God that is in charge, a house that I love, and shelves full of groceries. I'm just really in a mood to whine.

But one more thing. I'm getting ready to hunker down and work on N1 and some behavior issues. Not bad ones in my opinion, but ones that come with her pushing her limits and mine and she sure does know how to push my buttons. When I was pregnant (and especially near the end), I let her watch so many little videos because I felt so bad and was not up to getting down on the floor with her and playing a lot ... this next week, I am resolving to work on cutting back her TV time significantly. This will be hard on her, and hard on me - it's a lot easier to get what I want to get done with her engrossed in a video. And I need to get back into a simpler routine for our days ... it's one of the reasons I know I've been so frustrated lately. For reasons outside my control we've had to be out running errands a bunch this week and we need more days here at home in a normal routine. I need to work, even though they will be baby steps, towards getting up before both girls and have some quiet time by myself with God. I've let that slide to just working on my Bible study in the evenings in those last few minutes before bed. I just finished a book by Elizabeth George on prayer and that is something I need to work on muchly. I can feel and see the lack of it and it's not pretty.