You're Invited to a Pity-Party

My day:

--8:00am-- Wake up. Tired. Nathalie woke up 3 times because she has a cold.
--8:30-- Emily up. Find her naked. Her diaper is soggy-side-down on the sheets. Have to strip crib.
--9:30--Finished cleaning up house, folding laundry, getting breakfast. House was clean before bed. Fairies must have come in the night. Nathalie poops through her clothes.
--10:15-- put Nathalie down for a nap.
--10:30-- Come out of putting Nathalie down; Emily has taken out most of her toys.
--10:45--Start cleaning up toys, laundry load, making Matt's lunch and sweeping kitchen floor.
--11:20--Wake Nathalie up to put her in the car.
--12:20--Get home from dropping off Matt's lunch, dropping off rent check. Emily wants to play outside and throws a tantrum when we bring her in.
--12:45-- Emily's nap time. I clean house again and sweep kitchen floor.
--1:20-- Start rocking Nathalie to sleep. Just as I'm falling asleep, someone starts banging on the door.
--2:00--Emily wakes up from nap. Go in and tell her to lie down.
--2:45--Matt leaves for work.
--3:00-- Emily wakes up from nap. Kind of grouchy, won't let me kiss her. Wants me to read her stories as she sits on my bladder.
--3:45--I go to the bathroom. Emily wakes up Nathalie while I'm in the bathroom. Nathalie cranky. Nathalie poops through her clothes.
--4:00--Clean house again.
--4:15-- Go to store. Forget cheese, but already in line.
--5:15--Home from store.
--5:30--Nathalie cranky. While nursing her to sleep, Emily poops, takes off her diaper and tries to clean herself. This happens everyday. I tell her to sit in the bathtub while I put Nathalie in her crib.
--5:40-- Nathalie down. Go to the bathroom--Emily has gotten poop on the rug, little stool, sink, her toothbrush, her toothpaste, my toothbrush, her shirt, her hands, her face, her hair. Not one bit of poop in the bathtub.
--6:10--Bathroom clean, Emily clean, toothbrushes thrown away. I go to the bathroom.
--6:11-- Emily wakes Nathalie up.
--6:30-- Dinner. Eat pancakes. I feed Nathalie a bottle while trying to eat my pancakes.
--6:40-- Come out in the living room to find my glasses broken.
--7:00-- Kitchen clean, leave for a walk. Put on another set of glasses brand new, still not adjusted quite right.
--7:15-- Starts raining on our walk.
--7:16-- Get a headache from the glasses.
--8:00--Home. Have to reassemble Emily's bed.
--8:15--Read Emily stories. Put her to bed. Head to my room to put Nathalie down. Cries when I put her in her crib. I go to the bathroom to soak some of her clothes.
--8:30-- Pick Nathalie up from crib. Rock her to sleep.
--9:15-- Nathalie starts crying again. Rock her to sleep.

Wait....what? I'm confused

Conversation with Emily this morning:

Me: Emily, what do you want for breakfast?
Emily: Cereal.
Me: Okay, we only have one cereal. It has little balls (Kix). Do you want that?
Emily: Yes, I want the little balls.
Me: Okay, climb in your chair and let me get it for you.

I proceed to get the Kix box, take a little pink bowl from Emily's drawer and get a spoon.

Emily: NO! Mommy, don't do that!

Emily starts crying and whining.

Me: Emily, stop. What do you want?
Emily: I don't want cereal!
Me: Okay, what do you want to eat for breakfast then?

Emily thinks.....

Emily: Cereal.
Me: Okay, we only have one kind of cereal. Do you want it?
Emily: Yes.
Me: Emily, why don't you grab a bowl?

Emily climbs down from her chair, grabs the little pink bowl from her drawer and hands it to me.

Emily: I want little balls cereal, Mommy.

I love you...

Just pictures today. Emily reading about Clifford with Daddy. I think she likes that the main character is Emily Elizabeth.

Isn't she beautiful?

We're raising her to be a sumo wrestler.

Love the eyes.

My Not-So-Good Sleeper

Why, oh why, did the Lord bless me with children who want to be awake?

I'm struggling with Nathalie. She does not nap well. I know that she should probably be taking 2 naps by now, but we're still at three because she only sleeps for 30 min-1 hr per nap. I keep her on a routine, but if I don't put her to sleep at exactly the right time, it's a battle. She has trouble falling asleep and staying asleep.

So I need a little advice. I've read Dr. Sears, Health Sleep Habits, Happy Child, and Baby Whisperer. I'm not into letting them cry it out--especially because Nathalie goes from whimpering to full-blown scream in under 2 minutes. She also has acid reflux, so if I let her cry too long, she'll throw up. (I was in the car and couldn't stop, and it was a miserable day for us when this happened!)

She's a wonderful, happy baby and nights are okay right now. I just can't seem to get her on a good nap or day-time schedule. Here's our usual day:

8:00am-- Awake
10:00--First nap
10:45 -- Awake from first nap
12:30-- Second nap
1:15--Awake from second nap, I nurse her back to sleep
3:15--Awake from second nap
5:15-- Third nap
5:40--Awake from third nap

From here on she is cranky the rest of the evening (exhaustion!) until her bedtime around 8-8:30. If it's been a really bad day, she'll wake up around 9:30pm and I have to nurse her back to sleep again.

Back in the Loop....

So for the last couple of days, our adapter has been broken for our laptop. We haven't been on the computer, since we couldn't charge the battery. But we're back! Here's a quick rundown.

We moved Emily back to a crib. After 4 days of fighting, crying and both of us dreading anytime she had to go to sleep, we turned her bed around. That night, she went to sleep, no complaints. She loves it. I guess we'll just have two cribs for awhile.

Here are two cute pictures of Nathalie. I have started putting rice cereal in her bottle because she SO hungry all the time! I'm a little worried about her getting even chubbier with the rice cereal, but it's that or be up 2-3 times again in the night, and I'm just not willing to do that.

The Honey-Do List

On Matt's day off, he finished my honey-do list. This included fixing the shower rod (needed new anchors), putting a door stop in Emily's room, moving toys out to our alcove-now-toy room, putting up a cute coat rack in Emily's room and.....putting together Emily's new bed!!!

The first day, Emily cried herself to sleep. She got upset when we kept walking her back to her bed, so eventually she just stayed in it and cried. The second day, she cried for naptime but not for bedtime. However, she did climb out of bed 10 times at bedtime, until finally she closed the door all the way to her room when I told her to get back in bed. And today? She fell asleep on our bed while I was putting Nathalie down for a nap...so we moved her to her bed while she slept. She only climbed out once this evening and then shut herself in her room. I've been hearing some noises though........she's probably not asleep yet.
The cute coat rack. Putting away her jacket is one of her "chores" now.
Cute picture.

The new toy area. Yes, she's naked.

Emily's bed.

Riding on Daddy's shoulders.

In other news, Nathalie and Emily adore each other. Emily wants to hold Nathalie all the time, loves to play with her (but not share) and tries to give her food. Whenever Emily is around, Nathalie laughs and giggles. She smiles and tries to grab Emily's toys. I hope this continues as she grows up! I'll put up pictures of Nathalie soon.

Also, Emily is a conversationalist. Recent conversation:

Daddy, "Emily, would you like some cereal?"
Emily: "Uh-huh"
Daddy: "What do you think?"

Emily: "I think it needs some salt.

That's what's happening!

Would you trade it?

I just finished reading A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini. Earlier this year, I read The Kite Runner by him as well.

Both books are fictional stories about people in the Middle East during the Taliban regime. I have read several other books with wartime themes as well, and after finishing them I have an overwhelming feeling of gratitude.

Gratitude for my country.
Gratitude for food on the table.
Gratitude for the health of my children.
Gratitude for health insurance.
Gratitude for freedom to worship, live, love in the manner I choose.
Gratitude for the right to vote.
Gratitude for a loving husband who respects me.
Gratitude for a job at which he works hard, even though he doesn't like it.
Gratitude for money in the bank (albeit, not a lot, but there is a little).
Gratitude for my Heavenly Father.
Gratitude for the people who have died for the blessings I enjoy.
Gratitude for the people who serve now to ensure those blessings.

I don't think we realize the depravity people face around the world. Being a "poor college student" is endless wealth to some. I don't have to worry about worshipping in the dead of night, or stealing just to live. I don't have to worry about going out alone during the day or what happens if one of us gets sick. I don't have to worry about being raped to death, or about watching my husband get shot or blown apart. I don't have to worry about watching my children starve to death right before my eyes.

Do we really, truly realize how incredibly lucky we are?