Well, we’re finally here!

Welcome to our home:

We still have a ton of pictures and curtains to hang, but we’re here and we’ve gotten a lot done in just 5 days.  The rooms not shown are no where near as done. Our kitchen chairs are still not finished being painted white, we have a stroller in the kitchen (why?), I just was able to clear out the boxes in the play room/office a few hours ago, and Savannah’s room is a mess with a million stuffed animals, and every room is in desperate need of things on the walls.  But, it’s looking so good and we’re loving having our own space! After 5 days it’s starting to feel less like a hotel I designed and more like our home.

And, I have to brag on Savannah for a moment: She has done amazing with so many changes this week. Not just moving from the only house she’s ever known, but also moving out of her crib into a big bed AND saying goodbye to passy. All in one night!  I truly thought that giving up the passy would be the hardest, but she easily has forgotten about it without a single tear and has not asked for it since we told her the passy doesn’t come with her to the big girl room.  The only issues we’ve had is getting her to sleep the first few nights, understandably since it’s a whole new place AND bed. And then, she would wake up around 3am and be wide awake for 2 hours before finally giving into to sleep again (oh, the sleep deprived frustrations!).  I still think that’s minor to what it could have been, and thankfully each night has improved as she is getting even more comfortable. I can’t believe how grown up she seems in just the last few days, her third birthday is just 11 days away. Crazy!

And now, back to hanging and unboxing things…

Life is busy as usual, hense the lack of writing lately.

Here’s the run down of the past 10 days:

1. Remember this post when Savannah was 18 months old?  Well, the girl has suddenly decided that it’s time for the big girl bed and she’s been it for the past week!  It only took…over a year…I think she’s one of those kids she has to decide to do something for herself (so stubborn, not sure where she got that?). I imagine potty training will be the same way.

2.Naps are completely gone. And I don’t want them back.  She was sick this week and took naps for the first time in over a week and it totally screwed up her night time sleeping. She would go to bed at 10 or 11!  Not cool. So no, I don’t want nap time back if it’s going to be like this. I’ll take “rest time” where she reads herself books if that means she’ll actually go to bed at night.

3. Like I said, she was sick and sleeping horribly. So was Mark. It’s been a rough week taking care of two “babies” plus another midterm. I nearly lost my frustrated-exhausted-mommy-mind one night and I felt like a failure of a Mom. But, things are better now all around.  I guess we all have those breaking points, huh? Thank God for new days!

4. Oh yes, and more sleep issues (how many times have I written about this topic?): She won’t go to sleep unless some one is sitting at her door. Then she wakes up between 2-3am and insists that we sit at her door again until she is asleep. And if we don’t? She will keep getting up realizing that we aren’t there. And then I’m so annoyed and tired that I end up just going to sleep in her room. In short? She won’t sleep unless I’m in there. She’s always “scared” even if she has a million lights on and we are in the same room. And yes, she did this same thing when in the crib, it was just easier to fool her then. What to do?

5. We’ve looking at our housing options for when we move in the spring. Which, is pretty darn exciting to think about, especially since it may be a realistic option to buy instead of renting or even build because of the economy right now. We’re in the beginning stages of all this, so if you’ve got advice, lets here it!

So, that’s life right now. Busy. 

I always have blog posts written out in my head, but they never make it to my keyboard. But, soon I hope to get up a blog post about mommy frustrations, modpodge shoes, feminism, adoption awareness month, more O Momma Recommendations, and whatever else life throws at me that’s worthy of writing about.

Enjoy your weekend!

Senior year started last week, which is why I’ve been a little more quiet lately.  School semesters mean busy.  I’ve spent this past week reading not one but two novels (thankfully for two children’s literature classes, so they’re easy and enjoyable!), writing responses, and reading articles.  Most of my classes are very interesting and right up my ally so I’m enjoying it so far.

Oh, and the fact that I think Savannah’s nap time is over. Like, she’s done with regular naps forever. So that means I have little alone time to actually get things done. Perfect timing, huh?  I will probably at least make her have “quiet time” to rest where she can look at books and play quietly in her bed, but still an hour of quiet time versus the three hours she was napping is a lot less time to get things done! We did try to shorten her nap but that still didn’t always help her night time sleep. She was staying up until 10 or 11pm because she just wasn’t tired anymore after naps.  The past two days she has gone without naps and though we had a few whiny moments, she was relatively good and now? It’s 8:40 and she’s still sleeping! Over 12 hours!  Amazing. I suppose no naps has it’s pros and cons.

Cloth diapers are still going well. Mark even changed a diaper (it was even number two!) all by himself!  I was proud.  The micro insert stink issue I had, I solved by soaking just the inserts in bleach. That got everything out and has worked well to battle the smell so I’ll probably do that one a month to maintain it. I also think I wasn’t using enough Charlie’s Soap, I read that with Charlie’s you need the full scoop with each wash to really get things clean. Cloth diapering (and motherhood in general…) is a game of experiments. Each person has to find what’s right for them.

And just a reminder, tomorrow is the last day to enter for the Music Giveaway!

Ok yall, this past month has proven to be a trying one for us regarding Savannah.  Maybe it has something to do with “knowing” something is different with a new baby coming, maybe it’s just the fact that she’s 2 and fighting for any control she can get.  But, whatever it is, please help!

1)  She won’t eat. While this isn’t exactly a “new” thing, it’s normal for her to go through phases of not eating much and then suddenly being a pig again. The doctor has never been worried because it’s normal for kids to be like that and we figure she’ll eat when she’ hungry (heck, I’m the same way!). But for the past month she seriously refuses to eat, resulting in weight loss. Now, Savannah is already REALLY small for her age (like me) so she can’t afford to lose more weight than she already doesn’t have.  She asks for one thing and then asks for another, I used to oblige in hopes she would eat, but then I just end up with 2 plates of not touched wasted food.

She also suddenly is REALLY picky about what she will eat. The foods she used to love, she now won’t touch or will only eat a bite or two. She used to love meats as long as it had ketchup on it. Now all she will eat is fruit and veggies, which while it is healthy for her, it is NOT filling. Which leads me to my next issue…

2) She won’t sleep. I know I’ve said a million times that we’ve always had some kind of sleep issue or another with her. But usually those sleep phases are short lived and has reasons to them like sickness or teething.  This time? She is not sick, and all her teeth are in so the only conclusion I can find is that she is just scared and REALLY dependent on Mark or I being in the room with her while she sleeps, and I think she keeps waking up at night because she didn’t eat dinner, so she’s hungry (she always asks for a “sanwich” in the middle of the night). Also, I’ve found that the rare times she DOES eat a good dinner, her night wake up calls happens later (11pm versus 3 or 4am).  So I’m sure hunger has to do with part of it.

And then, back to the issue of her being scared or just dependent on us. I don’t know what to do about this. We’ve battled this a million times in her 2 years of life, usually crying it out or giving in is our only options. But, this time crying it out leads to me being awake for 2 hours in the middle of the night because SHE won’t give in.  Or even if I sit in there with her until she falls asleep, it takes her atleast an hour or two for her to fall back asleep. But, if one of us goes in there to sleep (and lays down on the bed versus sitting on the floor) she’ll go right out.  So basically, my husband and I haven’t slept in the same bed in weeks and I hate it.  I also can’t remember the last night we slept the whole night through, which is sad. I’m not used to this lifestyle anymore (guess she’s preparing me early for our December arrival?).

In the past we kind of “weaned” her from how long we would stay in there while she was falling asleep but she will NOT have that now.  If she cannot see us, even with the door wide open and she can hear us say “We’re right here” she freaks out. She has to know that we are physially right by her to go to sleep. She has to absolutely be asleep for us to be able to leave the room (or we just fall asleep there…) I can’t do this forever.

What to do? Help us!

Confession: I’m addicted to baby sites. I hit refresh on the Babycenter.com groups constantly throughout to day to see what other pregnant mommies are up to and if we’re feeling the same. I also read about the baby’s size (a blueberry as of now), how it is developing this week, how I should be feeling, etc. over and over. Seriously, babies and all the information surrounded them are infectious.

I’ve avoided looking at baby products though, like clothes, cloth diapers, slings, etc. because we have zero extra money for me to be tempted if I did by chance find a super good deal or super cute item.  If I don’t look, I won’t know what I’m missing, right?  But come June when Mark has a full time job, you bet I’ll be on the hunt!

On another note, I’m confused as to how tired I can be or how early I get into bed,  and yet I can’t fall asleep until at least 11pm. And then I wake up a million times. It stinks. And on top of that late falling asleep, Savannah has been waking up during the night for some unknown reason (I tell you, we always have sleep issues! ) or waking up super early like 5 am. Not cool. Thankfully the hubby has taken awesome responsibility with that and has let me rest. That’s love, yall.

It’s now 11pm, so hopefully my mind will let me sleep. But maybe I should get a snack first…

P.S. Did you see the Evenflo Comfort Select Performance Dual Auto-Cycling Breast Pump giveaway is up?

Today has truly been one of those days. You know the kind. The lack of sleep, screaming baby kind of day. Oy.

It started yesterday (though, yesterday wasn’t a bad day) at 6am I get up for school, had classes all day, get home at 10pm. And, finally get to sleep at 11pm after a long 16 hour day.

Then the fun begins: 12:30am Savannah is crying for me. I can tell it’s going to be a rough night so I take my pillows with me hoping I can get away with just being in the same room as her while sleeping.  That’s a no go.  Savannah is clearly wide awake, full of snot and cannot breathe so she decides to talk. And talk and talk.  So I decide to put on Peter Pan in hopes that will keep her entertained while she couldn’t sleep, so that I could sleep.  Again, the girl wouldn’t stop talking and called me to get up every 5 minutes for one reason or another.

2 Disney movies and 5 hours later, I finally convince her to snuggle with me and she falls asleep. But then, her stopped up nose is making her snore and I still can’t sleep!  I move her back to her crib and we both (finally) rest until 7am.  So let’s tally up mommy’s sleep total, shall we?  3.5 hours. Folks, I do not do well with lack of sleep. At all (Just ask my husband). But, some how God is carrying me through with an unnatural strength and patience that I do not own (again, just ask my husband). I am certain of it.

So, we wake up and she realizes Daddy isn’t home and the scream fest begins.  Calling Daddy on the phone wasn’t good enough, nothing was.  She normally doesn’t act like this (plus she’d been complaining of her head hurting, wasn’t eating much, stuffy nose, etc.), so I locked myself away from her screaming noise and called the Dr. to make an appointment.  Here is where the skies turn sunny again: she was actually good at the doctor’s office (unlike past experiences).  Hurrah!  We discovered she not only is teething her last set of molars, but has a cold and ear infection.  My poor girl.

Anyways, it’s an amazing thing to start out a day so crappy and exhausted, but see handprints of God throughout your day to lift your spirits. And carry you through when your eyes are half shut. I think I’ll take a nap when she does though. Yes, I think I deserve it.

I realize I’ve been missing for… oh…about 2 weeks.  Perhaps my brain needed a break after this tough college semester? I had intended to do more blogging over my Christmas break but it obviously did not happen!  I was too busy enjoying family, or just being lazy. Which, I think is pretty well deserved after a challenging college semester.  We are now finally home from all our visits, settling back into a routine (though school doesn’t start for us for another week) and enjoying being back on our own turf.  I slept like a baby last night, not waking up at all (which is quite rare for me). It’s good to be home!

So since it has been so long since I’ve made a real update. Let’s start with Christmas shall we?

As you can see, it was a jolly good time for all.  We matched a lot, both in our PJ’s and outfits.  There were more present than we could bring home (seriously, we had to leave some behind!). Savannah became a chef who enjoys tasting her own cooking way too much.  She also loves her new baby dolls so much, that she wants to be one of them. She is often found sitting in the baby doll crib, in the stroller (which is now nearly broken…), or attempting to climb into the baby high chair. But some times she does do good things like feed the baby doll or take her for a walk. Savannah received the tiniest little tricycle I’ve ever seen that will grow with her as she does. And she loved it, of course (see top left picture). She also was super thrilled about her bus book (thank you dollar aisle in Target). Mark got underwear for Christmas, ha!  Though, appropriately, it was xbox underwear. And I?  I got a new printer, a sea foam green tea pot (Tea is my new coffee), and drum roll please….

A new computer!  Technically, we bought it after Christmas but as Mark told me…it’s my Christmas, birthday and next Christmas present all in one.  I’m fine with that, we needed a new one desperately. My lap top is getting fixed but a brand new one will be more relaiable. Now if only the UPS man would get here with my package….

Also? While we were away we suffered horrible sleep issues.  One night (or morning?) she woke up at 1 am and stayed awake until 7. ONE AM! What nearly 2 year old can handle that much missing sleep? I know I can’t. Thankfully I have a wonderful husband who stayed with her while I caught up on sleep.  She did this stunt again a few days ago, but got up at midnight instead. The trend seems to be this when she doesn’t nap. Yes, we will be inforcing the naps from now on. Period.  Here she is finally, finally asleep after a long night. Does she look huge to you, as she does to me? 

That’s pretty much the latest news for now, I’m off to play blocks with the girl!

I confess, I didn’t get up at 6am for quiet time.  See, just as I was settling down to sleep last night, Savannah decided it was play time.  So, I didn’t get to sleep until 2am when I finally just left out of frustration and let her cry.  Oh, I do not miss these days. HOW did I ever survive the first year of her life when it was constantly like this?  I’m running off of 5 hours sleep today, can barely keep my eyes open, dealing with a whiny sick girl and I have so much to do. I just want to cry.

But, ya know, some how I’ll get through this day and just pray I don’t completely loose it.  Tomorrow, I will get up early again and thank God that this day is over.

Hope your Wednesday is better than mine!

Two things:

1) The Bed Issue.  We finally got the crib out of the attic and the tent put on it.  She loves it! and it has solved our problem safely. She even likes to just go in her crib to play.  Now we’re dealing with her not wanting to go to sleep without someone in the room with her (scared?) and she keeps waking up at 2am talking and playing, which then wakes me up through the monitor and I can’t fall back asleep. Still, these are minor issues compared to what we were dealing with and it will be go back to “normal” soon. She tends to have these phases.

2) The Silverware Issue.  The cabin rental company did email me back and say the owners are willing to sell the set to me! I’m still waiting to hear what price they are asking.  Hopefully it’ll be a great price since they are well used.  But, if it’s close to the price of just buying a brand new set that is similar looking, I won’t do it. I haven’t told Mark yet I emailed the owners, ha! So, we’ll see what happens soon :-)

Off to class!

Thank you guys for the wonderful comments on the whole sleep issue. We’ve decided just not to push it anymore, since clearly she is not ready for the transition yet.  In deciding that, however, we were still left with the dilemma with what to do about her crib and climbing out.  And then, I got a glorious comment from Angel that mentioned the crib tent. (Thank you! You really are an Angel!)

This is totally the solution for us right now. It’s a win-win situation.  Savannah gets her beloved crib back, and we adults feel safe again with leaving her in there.   We bought one yesterday, but have yet to drag the crib back out of the attic and try everything out. I just can’t let her sleep in that hard port-a-crib for the next 6 months to a year until she’s ready for her bed. A girl deserves a proper bed, yes? And, added bonus, she can’t throw out her pacies when she gets mad at us for putting her to bed! Muahaha!

Oh, I hope this in the win-win solution I hope it will be! I’ll let you know. And again, thank you for all the suggestions! It helps just to simply know that we’re not alone.