Ok, we screwed up with Allison and her sleeping arrangements. We did finally get her to sleep in her own bed. Now the issue is getting her to go to sleep without me laying down and sleeping with her. Nathan and Zoey never really had a problem going to bed at bed time. We had routines that we followed. Brush teeth, picking out animals/babies to sleep with, picking out a story to read, then lights out. Every once in a while one of them would get out of bed for some reason or another, but it was straight back into bed. I’m not sure why we didn’t stick to this with Allison. My only theories are that Nathan and Zoey do their own bedtime routines now and Allison is the baby.
For the past few nights, we have been trying to get her into a routine. Greg has been sitting in her floor while she yells and cries, “I want my MOMMMY!!”, “Not you Dad!”, “Mom, Where are you???” This is heart-wrenching for me. We need to establish a routine that doesn’t involve her crying for me for an hour before she finally so exhausted that she just passes out. I know eventually (a few more days or a week), Allison will be more used to the new nightime routine. We just have to make it through this tough spot. Man, does it suck right now though.
I was having a pretty hard time thinking of something I hate. It’s such a strong word. When I started trying to find something, I realized that most things were just annoyances. I thought about slow-driving people in the fast lane, cruel people, disgusting smells.
For the past few nights we have been trying to get Allison on a good bedtime schedule*.
That’s when I realized, this is what I hate. Stupid ass** feelings of inadequecy, guilt, and second-guessing as a parent. Sure you can never be positive that you are doing things the right way. You can only do what you think is best. That doesn’t stop your brain from thinking, “This is why in 5 years, we are going to look back and say, I wish I had done X instead of Y.”
* Will be covered in the next post.
**I know I actually typed a curse word, but when you hate something you are allowed to swear, right?
In July of 2003 we went to California to visit Greg’s family. While we were there, Greg’s mom took us to Disneyland. We decided to watch one of the shows before heading off in our own different directions (girls to see princesses and boys to ride the rides).
The Sword in the Stone was about to start so we all took our places. Merlin appeared and told us all how they were looking for the person with the strength of character to pull the sword from the stone and become the true king. He walked through the crowd and his eyes fell upon Greg. “You look like you’ve got what it takes! This way! This way and give the sword a try!”
“That’s not quite right. Put some muscle into it!”
“Maybe you haven’t got what it takes to be the king. But every King needs a trusty Knight. Show us one of those muscular knight poses”. Followed by some good spirited jokes at Greg’s expense.
“You would make a strong knight – stand!”
Eventually the rightful king (a young boy) was found. Greg was a great sport.
So, I’m not sure this really counts since I didn’t take the picture myself. It’s also not really my story*. Some very good friends of ours had been trying to have a baby for quite a while. They had a very hard time of it. Then one day there was this….
*A side note: I feel a little akward putting this up here since it isn’t my story. Only a little though Because of this, you get a shortened version. It does however make me feel joyous everytime I think about it. So, there you go.
Greg just got some new software that will make videos web friendly. We took this video on our camera on September 7th, 2005. Zoey’s tooth was so loose it looked like a gentle tug would pull it out. She pulled it out herself a few days later.
You will need the latest version of Flash to watch the video.
Nathan said, “I think this is an Elvis Song*.”
Me, “How do you know who Elvis is?”
Nathan starts saying, “Thank you, Thank you very much. No autographs please” (which totally cracks us up).
Me, “Yeah, but how do you know?”
To which he responds, “Everyone knows THE KING OF ROCK!”
*Yes, it’s a Queen song, but that’s not the point of this entry.
A few years ago (early 2003), while the kids were picking up their rooms I asked Nathan to stack his books “neatly on your shelf”. I pictured typical library style stacking. This is what we got.
There are moments of complete stillness. No children wanting your attention. No dinners to be made, laundry to be done, toys picked up, or dishes washed. Just you and the sound of the rain.
So, I have decided to do this contest. There are already some really good entries which make me feel like I am not up for the challenge. Mostly because there is a good chance my entries will revolve around pictures of family/friends and so far the other entries are breathtaking photos of beautiful places (not that family and friends aren’t breathtakingly beautiful, but you know what I mean). Doing this has me going through lots of old pictures which will slowly be making there way up here. Yes, my blog is upwards in direction, isn’t yours?
Here is the first of the random photos and later today I will post one for the actual contest.
From Dec 2003 – This picture cracks me up for so many reasons.
1) The slight leaning away from eachother.
2) Nathan’s popped up shirt collar.
3) Zoey is sitting oh so lady-like.
4) The eyerolls on both of them are great.
Because of this, you get a shortened version. It does however make me feel joyous everytime I think about it. So, there you go.
