ooooo.. spoooooky

It was another wonderfully chilly Halloween here in our neighborhood. They scheduled trick or treating for the Saturday night before Hallpween, which sort of threw me, but for the kids and Mark, it only meant more fun. It freed up our actual Halloween night to just attend our ward's trunk or treat in town. Here are my three spooks all dressed up. I had a costume ready to go, but the wig didn't work out, and without the hair, it wouldn't have been obvious... Defeating the whole purpose. I won dud award, and Mark won studliest award! Mont loved having his little fairy sidekick to trick or treat with this year, since last year she was passed out on our floor in her little cow get up; much more fun this year! And just to remember the fun, here is a picture with all our beautiful maple leaves scattered about. Happy Hallowen!

painting party

One neighbor has a birthday, another neighbor throws the little party, a third neighbor makes my favorite recipe which has become hers as well, and I am asked to put together a painting lesson of sorts. Done! 

To tell the whole story, I was a little nervous about teaching my neighbors, or anyone for that matter, the basics of painting.. When I paint, the mood is set with music of my choice, and the world is centered for those moments around the paint on my brush, and touching it delicately to the paper, letting it meld with the other colors around it. It's tranquility in its most productive form. 

What I forgot to realize about teaching friends/neighbors is that .. they're not children! They were able to focus and sit down and enjoy the relaxation while we talked softly and laughed at each other. It was far more enjoyable than I thought it ever could be. Taking a name from the recipe link above, we called ourselves "the coconut club" and we want to paint together weekly now. We probably won't be that lucky, but doing it many more times will be more than wonderful. 

And while on the subject of paintings.. last night I got the sweetest, most exciting package in the mail from a dear friend who I'm lucky enough to call family. A while back, she posted a painting she did when she was just, she said, messing around with her son's water colors! What she painted, I fell in love with. It reminds me of Julia Childs' love for food and silly phrases for some reason. The blending technique is beautiful and she really did a phenomenal job. I didn't know how to print it nicely or recreate it with her permission.. so I was a procrastinating, but I had a spot on my wall for whatever copy of it I could draft. What I was not expecting was to receive the original in a perfect white frame in the mail. The original! I love it so much. Thank you, Rachel!

sending in the reinforcements

Thank you for the comments and texts! Mont and I have been making progress little by little, night by night. Every night is a little better than the last, and last night when he came into my room all I had to do was tell him to go back to sleep on his pillow, quietly, and he did. Or at least I think he did. He may have ended up in the rocking chair that allows him to see down to our room, but I didn't check.. I was too tired!

So to check without moving, I've ordered a video (with two-way audio option) monitor to see if he's actually on his pillow, on the rocking chair or trying to talk Emmy awake. ha!

To reinforce the need to stay in bed until a reasonable time, I've also ordered the nightlight that stays a moon through the night and turns into a happy sun at a time I will set. I have high high hopes for these two purchases and hope that they will be worth it! Friends of mine have sworn by both, and I'm hopeful Mont will do even better with these.

Every night I've been sending Mark email after email of updates with every wake up and scenario that went down so that when he gets home tomorrow he'll have an idea of what has been going on and what's changed at night. I love his encouragement. If we can start getting proper sleep every night, I can't imagine how much energy we'll have during the day to do anything we have on our to-do lists! Last night was close to a good night's sleep for me, and I woke up so happy (even though it was at 5:00 am still - the nightlight is coming!) and full of energy. Glorious!

I feel bad during the night when I'm 'not nice,' but when I cheer him on in the morning and he gives me that tired crooked grin with hugs and kisses, it feels like it was all worth it. Can't stop now! I'm too close to getting a good night's rest!

(first sleep post here)

working on it

There are lots of things I'm working on these days. Remember my post of motherhood where I advised myself to enjoy everything good and bad because moments are fleeting? I could use a dose of that right now, but I can't wrap my head around anything other than my pajamas are still on, Mont's in his big boy underwear, and Emmy keeps pulling my fingers to guide me around any time I sit down to accomplish anything, and it's thundering outside, making it all a little better for me. Buckwheat still has to go out for his mid day jaunt, and it's already 2:47 in the afternoon. He doesn't want to go out in the rain, and neither to I.. my pjs would get cold.

I've avoided posting to facebook, because I enjoyed the feeling of being a little more private while we were in our own little family world the last few weeks, but now that we're home, the routines are going again and so are the old bits of fun.

Emmy is balancing on a cubby box turned sideways, playing dolls while Mont is resting his cup of vegetable-fruit juice on his rounded exposed juice-belly. (I don't typically give them juice, but it's even got Emergen-C in it, and half water - I'm such a scrooge)

This is a bunch of rambled thoughts, but it feels good to get them out here. Follow along if you will.

Mont has always been a terrible, terrible sleeper, waking up no less than 5 times a night, and sometimes upwards of 15 times a night. Emmy is a very sound sleeper in comparison, gently lulling back to sleep if ever she wakes up. Mark has been gone a few nights, and last night I thought I should take advantage of the remaining few nights so maybe we can get some quiet when he comes home. Maybe.

Last night when Mont woke up 10 minutes after I got to bed (I accidentally fell asleep on the couch after the debate for an hour) at 12:00 midnight. What commenced after that was something I'd happily forget if ever given the opportunity. I told him that I would tuck him in, but that I needed to go back to my bed. He would plead with me to stay with him and cry and scream when I started walking out. Every time he got out of bed, there was commotion, noise, and punishments of some kind. Emmy woke up from 12:30 to 2:30, wanting to be comforted herself, but she was still doing better than her big brother. Mont continued on this sleepless rampage until 4:10 when I think he cried himself to sleep on his bed.. I'm not sure, because I fell asleep at about 4:20, not getting to check on his location one last time.

I've read a few different 'reports' on toddlers being sleep trained today and what I've decided is that because I've started I have to follow through this now until he's done; hopefully it won't take more than a few nights, but knowing our luck it will take months. This morning I was even thinking about locking him in the upstairs bedroom where he can hash it out and climb into bed if he wanted to, without disturbing Emmy or us too much. However, with his screaming he could wake up our neighbor's dead cousin.

Another thing I've picked up from my 'studies' today have been to stay really, really boring, and go back to their room with them over and over and over and over again. And again. It will be another night of no sleep for me, but I'm hoping he will be a little more quiet. Did I mention I got less than 3 hours of sleep in my bed last night? I'm not counting the nap I got on the couch (but thank goodness I did get that!).

Another thing I'm working on are my pictures.. I have too many on my computer, that it is so full, and can barely upload any more from my camera card. I am working on putting my pictures together in iphoto books, but then I still have to move the photos to the external hard drive, then it will be on to uploading the SD card!

I'm lucky my 'problems' are so minuscule.. but today, when I'm tired they seem monstrous! So here I sit, writing these thoughts down wondering if anyone with tips will stumble across this and bestow all their child know-how upon me through comments! :)

** for the Autumn in Washington - white won for me **

personal space

This giraffe knows of no such thing; though, we didn't mind.

But then all the sudden, the hay was gone - then we cared. It had only lasted one dang tongue-swipe! Poor kid.

(at the Montgomery, AL zoo a couple weeks back)