praise where praise is due

can I just say (quickly now) that my child who refuses to sleep at night is rocking the nap time sleeping!?!  I think he’s phasing out the morning nap - it’s getting shorter and shorter with a most pleasant and unexpected side-effect - the afternoon nap?  LONGER.

LONGER!

The baby that wakes up from that nap?

HAPPY!

Thank you for sharing with me in my joy

WHAT!?!

I’m not really one to feel compelled to write posts to convince people of one thing or another.  I don’t get my feathers too ruffled over what’s in the news and all that.  But a story I saw on the news yesterday has bothered me ever since.

A toddler died yesterday after being found in a parked day-care van.  They speculate she’d been in there 6 hours :(.  This happens all to often down here in the summer.  After the sad story aired, the news-caster (?) left the audience with “tips” on how to avoid this happening to you.  On the list?  Put “something of value” or something you need, like a WALLET or a WATER BOTTLE in the back seat so YOU WON’T FORGET TO CHECK BACK THERE!!!  And then think, oh yeah?  I have a kid??  Thank goodness I noticed my wallet wasn’t in my purse or I MIGHT HAVE FORGOTTEN MY KID?!?  Sad that a wallet or even a bottle of water is more valuable than a child these days.

WHAT?!

okay, that is all.

Another Shhhhh…

Another “good” night here. I think I only had to get up twice. That means I was sleeping hard and wasn’t up long. For the past week or so I’ve also been getting up after his last feed - usually between 5 and 6 - and this has allowed me time to get on the computer, watch some news, drink coffee and read my Bible and generally feel like an actual human before the boys are up. A friend of mine with 2 boys who are much older than mine has been doing that for years. I always wondered why she didn’t just sleep! Now I know. Some things are just more valuable than sleep - believe it or not.

I get it now

shhhh…

don’t tell Luke:

This is for my dad, who won’t believe me when I gripe and moan about how Luke isn’t sleeping AT ALL when we’re at his house next week.

The past 3 nights haven’t been that bad.

For the record.

Only up 3 times.

Going right to sleep.

shhhhh!

Oh so random.

It’s 6:30 and both kids are still asleep. I got up with Luke at what I thought was 6:30. Turns out it was 5:30.  It’s all good, he went back to sleep and I see it as a gift of quiet and hot coffee.  And seeing my sweet husband before he left for work (rarely happens these days.)

TONS of people updated blogs last night so I am perusing my reader, drinking HOT FRESH coffee AND Jason turned on the sprinkler before he left for work (at six!!!) and it’s hitting the window.

It sounds like rain.

I like rain. And hot coffee. And knowing that this time helps me wake up and greet my early risers with a hug and a smile instead of a groan and a “why can’t you guys just sleep…” (Sad, but true. Don’t think you wouldn’t do it too )

Have a happy Tuesday!

I’ll try to have something interesting before too long

46 Months

[I feel like Ben doesn't get his fair share of the blog, being that he's not a baby and all. So in the spirit of fairness and giving me something to boo hoo over when he turns 5 10, I'm going to do a monthly Ben post too. This one will be long because I've not really written one since he turned, oh - THREE! So I'm a little behind.]

Oh Ben.

Three is fun.

Not always in the conventional sense of the word either. But I can’t complain a bit. You see, I’ve never had a three year old before. So I don’t always know the right things to say or approach to take with you, but I am slowly figuring it out. We’ll keep learning together, you and me, and everything will work out fine, Lord willing.

Right now you love everything! When you are in the right mood anyway. Or you hate everything. But when things are going your way, you LOVE EVERYTHING! You love mama, you love Luke, you love Daddy and you LOVE being a big boy Now, if being a big boy means giving your brother a turn or going to the potty when you are busy doing something else - you just don’t like being a big boy anymore. But I have to give it to you, you’ve never been a big brother before and you are doing your best!

You are such a sweet boy Ben. You love to be hugged, you love to snuggle, you are generous and frequent with your “I love yous” and that makes all of us feel so special. You love spending time with your grandparents and were especially excited to visit “Gramma’s Katy House” this past month. You weren’t ready to leave after our short visit and I remember feeling the same way about my grandparents house too.

You’ve become quite the picky eater in your old age. That’s partly my fault because I’ve gotten lazy about trying new things. I think if you had a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for every meal that would be just fine with you! Or waffles. Or pancakes. Well, any sort of bread with some form of sugar on it would do the trick for you! But you will occasionally eat “soft” carrots and love to eat apples so it isn’t all bad. I keep offering you different foods and sometimes daddy and I just have to feed you your dinner but you do alright.

Your drawing skills have really taken off in the last month. You constantly amaze us! I didn’t get a picture of it, but the other day daddy saw a picture you drew of an airplane and he though I’d drawn it! Your other favorite subjects are trucks, people, bugs and flowers. You never have trouble thinking of something to draw. I hope that you always have opportunities to do the things you enjoy doing - like drawing. As soon as I figure out how to keep Luke from eating the markers and crayons, you will have free reign again.

You still love your “shows” (mommy does too…). Favorites right now are your Truck DVDs, Curious George, Word World, Milo and Otis (on sick days like that day ) and you are having a little Baby Einstein resurgence. Those have been collecting dust for about a year and a half now and suddenly they are interesting again. Cool with me - less guilt about the 2 1/2 minutes your brother watches with you!

You like to build with your toys - tinker toys and blocks - and play with your cars too. “Sticky Toes” is still around, although I haven’t seen him lately. You have figured out how to build your wooden train track but still prefer that mommy or daddy do it. (It is a bit challenging to get all those pieces to match up!) You like your schleich dogs too and carry them around with us frequently.

Reading is still a favorite past-time. I am trying hard to read you a passage from the Bible every day. I am doing it about 2 or 3 times a week in actuality. We have been reading about Jacob and Esau and you want me to keep going every night Like I said, you and I will keep learning together and hopefully the both of us will be in the habit of studying God’s word every day soon enough! You also are going through a Dr. Seuss phase. You don’t refer to them as “Dr. Seuss books” though. To you they are “Cat in the Hat” books I think you like those because you are able to recognize some of the words in them.

I recently bought you some maps and hung them on your bedroom wall. The one by your bed is the United States and you can already point out at least 5 states: Texas, New Mexico, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and California. Oh wait - 6 - you know where Florida is too and can find Orlando on the map (of course you can ). You are a smarty Mr. Ben.

You are almost completely able to dress yourself. (Thanks to crocs. What would we do without them). Shirts are a little tricky and we’ve not had to put on socks so that’ll be something fun to learn, but otherwise you are a pro!

You say the best prayers when you are in the mood. We kind of make you do it every night but sometimes you will do it at dinner without us asking. Your prayers are always so thought out and innocent. I know they are precious to God’s ‘ears’ as they are to mine and daddy’s too.

Your violin is going well. It’s a little slow going and you are ready to have a real violin, not the foam thing. But you are already seeing that practice makes perfect. I am so proud of you and all you have learned so far!

You are liking having a little brother, most of the time. You are lucky he’s so - er - sturdy. You like to wrestle with him and sometimes it is a bit rough. Soon enough he’ll be big enough to beat you up too and he’ll be old enough to be accountable to all the same rules as you. You will appreciate him more and more

I think I could just go on and on forever about you Ben. You are one of a kind, my sweet boy! Your daddy and I love you so much - we have been so blessed by you and your brother

Give me the Mother of the Year Award

RIGHT THIS MINUTE!!! (Thanks for that Emily. I will use that, and use it often.)

Why, you ask?

Because I did this with Ben this morning:

Yes, that is a giant ball of HOME MADE PLAY DOUGH!!! Guess who poured?! Guess who stirred?! It was great for an hour of quality Ben time. (MUCH NEEDED)

Sibling rivalry? Here? In this house?? Nah…

not my best week ever…

no offense to the Wisner’s because that was definitely a bright spot.

In the interest of time, I will only dwell (as usual) on my Luke’s plot to kill me or drive me slowly insane through sleep deprivation.

His inability to sleep has reached new proportions.

Seriously.  It *might* just do me in.

Here’s our new bedtime routine.  (I can’t believe I’m even writing this, but I’ve always been much better at writing my thoughts than verbally communicating them so this is therapeutic.)

Every night after dinner Luke gets a bath.  The second he decides he is done he climbs out of the tub, screams while I haphazardly towel off his writhing wet body, then jets off to run about the house naked and free to pee on whatever he fancies before I or my husband get our hands on him.  I know what you’re thinking, ‘he’s only 13 months old.  man up!  you’re the grown up!”

Seriously.

This kid is a work out.  An all day long kind of work out and come bed time I am spent.  Spent I tell ya.

Back to the “routine”.  I finally catch him, pin him down and get the diaper on him.  This is tricky, because if the diaper is the least little bitty bit crooked, he’ll wet all over himself thus necessitating a full on bed and baby changing in the middle of the night.

Stupid diapers.

Usually by this point I get Jason to hold him while I put his jammie pants on and somehow we get the shirt on too.  I tell him to tell daddy “Night Night” - he does - and usually waves too, really cute - and the same for Ben.

The second we enter his room the screaming ensues.  He throws his *little* (or not so) body to the floor, becomes limp and heavy and pitches an all out fit.  And the screaming.  He repeatedly walks to his door and bangs on it then lays on the floor, clearly exhausted.

I try to nurse him and sing to him.

He screams.

I finally give up, give him a kiss and a “cuddle” (much like you might cuddle an angry crocodile) and put him in his crib.

The screams take on new life.

I leave him for a bit.

The screams only escalate.

I go back in to my pitiful baby who has hurled all the contents of his crib across the room in a fit of rage.  He’s covered in snot.  He’s bit his hands.  His eyes are swollen.  He’s making that horrible gasping sound.  He’s clearly exhausted.

Take 2:

I pick him up and take him to the rocker.  I spray saline in his nose because it’s running profusely.  This must help because the past 2 nights he’s actually pointed to the saline when I’ve sat down.

Seriously.  What kind of kid LIKES to have saline in their nose.

We rock and sing for a while until his eyes are sleepy.  Back into the crib.

And the screaming begins.  Kiss, hug, paci and I leave.

You get the picture.

This goes on for about 2 hours until the poor thing is just plumb worn out.  I’m completely frazzled, I’ve done nothing to the house so I go to bed exhausted and with a dirty kitchen only to be woken by my SCREAMING baby 2 - 3 hours later.  And every hour thereafter.

He’s up at 6:30.  Without fail.  And I’m at a loss.  Jason says I’m “missing his window”.  Honestly, I don’t think he has a window.

What do you think?!  Separation anxiety of the worst proportion??  Teeth??  (there are about 7 coming in - but he’s medicated for crying out loud!!)  Motrin-induced insanity??  Don’t even recommend Benadryl.  I’d like to say I haven’t tried that but after 13 1/2 months of broken “sleep” I did.  It made it worse.  And don’t think I’ve  not tried to ignore it.  I have.  I see if he’ll settle.  No, he just escalates.  Becomes more awake.

Please let it be teeth….or something.   Something temporary because I. am. going. insane.

Thanks for listening.

And you don’t even want to be Ben right now.  I’ll spare you that rant.

My other “artist”

Can’t believe I haven’t posted this yet!

I got to meet someone fun!

I got to meet this chick and her adorable kiddos yesterday. And I’m totally not exaggerating. They are completely adorable and polite and fun kids. So refreshing….

Anyway, Janet commented on one of my random randomy posts back in March and we’ve been emailing ever since.  Because I am somewhat of a stalker like that

This is a lame recap because my computer time is extremely limited at the moment, but I had to post the pictures because A) I am a terrible photographer, famous for taking unflattering pictures of beautiful people and B) they are too funny:

This is evidently a picture of Ben telling big H a really bad joke. Big H is not amused. (Totally not what happened but how else can you explain that picture??)

Here we have Goo telling Luke a really bad joke. Eye-rollingly bad. (again, how do I capture this kind of stuff. Sheer talent I tell you)

Here I am with sweet Janet and my eyes are only a little bit shut and I apparently have pot-roast grease on my shirt. Nice.

This one? Totally cute. Totally.

The kids had a blast - acted like they’d always known each other. And the mommies started about 50 conversations and maybe finished 2 of them. Isn’t that always the way? Well, at least we have email

Thanks for visiting guys! Let’s do it again soon