sleep training my (almost) two year old

As I've mentioned before, I've been rocking/gliding/singing/holding Patrick to sleep since he's been born.

He's also been waking up in the middle of the night since he's been born.

Yes, the two are related.  Yes, it's my fault.  And no, I don't regret it.

However...

Around the 21-month mark I decided to give it a shot, this "sleep training" stuff.  Ya know, put him in his crib and let him fall asleep on his own.  We did everything the same:  story time, prayers, iloveyou's and kisses - except instead of rolling him onto my chest I set him in his crib.  The first time I put him in he screamed.  Like, WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO ME?  HOW COULD YOU?  THERE ARE MONSTERS IN HERE.  HUGE, ONE-EYED MONSTERS.  I pulled him out and we went back to our nightly routine in the glider.  The next night we did it again.  He screamed, but only for a few seconds.  He then laid down, flopped around for a half hour and finally fell asleep.

It's been like that now for a few months.  Surprisingly easy.

Okay fine, we've rocked to sleep a few times because it's so much faster and so much easier.  Bad Mommy.

Now that Patrick literally cannot fit in the chair with me comfortably, we are obliged to the crib right away.  But it's getting easier because he understands. 

Now for sleep training step #2 - stop singing.  And step #3 - walk out of the room after we say our goodnights.  You guys, I just don't think I can hear myself sing this same lullaby anymore.  And I can't sit on the nursery floor for another half hour and listen to him flop around.  OH YEAH, AND I'LL HAVE A NEWBORN TO TEND TO.

That's really the only reason I decided to make a change in our routine; nothing bothered me about occasionally being up during the night with him.  And nothing bothered me about rocking him to sleep.  In fact, I cherished it.  Although it was becoming a tad selfish since I knew he'd feel better if he could stretch out in his crib.  So anyways, that's where we are with the whole toddler sleep thing.  It's in a pretty decent spot, but wow, if we could just set him in that crib, say goodnight and peace outta there, we'd be in a great spot.  Especially so we can start this shit all over again in two months.


++


A cute story from the other night:

Me:  In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

Me:  Who would you like to pray for tonight?

Patrick:  Pat-pick

Me:  Anyone else?

Patrick:  Mommy, Daddy

Me:  How about your baby brother in my belly?

Patrick:  Okay.  Baby in there?

Me:  Yep.  Anyone else?

Patrick:  Jesus.




I cried. 

 

30 weeks

• Where to start?  How about the complaints, just to get them out there in the open.  My butt cheeks have outgrown my size medium underwear from Victoria's Secret.  I've had three nosebleeds in a week, one of them being in the car (where I was left to grab the only thing remotely close to a towel - a white cardigan).  I've had so many Braxton-Hicks contractions it feels as though my uterus is permanently contracted.  I get nauseous as soon as I sit in the driver's seat of my car.  I sleep with the air conditioning on full blast - in a t-shirt - with no covers, and I still sweat all night long.  Aaaaannnd I am so tired my eyes start closing at any given moment of the day.

• Okay, the good!  Now that I've hit the 30-week mark I feel so much closer to meeting this baby boy and I couldn't be happier.  Like I've said a million times, I know it's going to be freakin insane difficult but I'm just looking forward to meeting him!  It just feels real right now.  Like, thanks to the stores putting out their Halloween costumes and RIP signs, it's officially okay for me to start counting down. 

• You know how people wait to say something to a pregnant person until they're positive they're pregnant?  Well I had two people publically acknowledge my pregnancy, which I think was a pretty big deal.  One was at Cedar Point and one was at Kroger.

Cedar Point worker:  He needs an adult to ride with him on this ride.

Me:  Oh okay, no problem!

Cedar Point Worker:  But you can't be pregnant.

Me:  Oh...well I am.

Patrick:  WAAAAAA


++


As I'm scanning the celery...

Lady:  You know, you don't have to stay in the produce aisle just because you're pregnant.  I used that as my excuse to go over to the donut aisle.

Me:  Good idea. 

• I'm not much of a rule-follower so it's not shocking that I still haven't made it in to the lab for my sugar test.  I see the doc next week so I'd better get on that.  I should have a bit more luck with it now that school has started because I've been eating like a champ:  my new favorite are these yogurt combos.  To die for.  Although, yogurt has a lot of sugar.  Oops.

• Ladies, have you bought anything of Gilligan & O'malley brand??  They've got some super soft nightgowns and loungewear, but they also have a variety nursing necessities like bras and tanks.  And they're cute.  I tried really hard not to wear any of the new stuff I got - I wanted to save it until the baby came but I couldn't do it.  I busted open a couple of those bras for sleeping and they're wonderful! 

• So the name debate.  What a struggle this has been.  Our original choice was Lane, which I do still love - on it's own.  As time went on it just didn't seem to fit with Patrick and I want to make sure all my kids' names flow well together.  As of late I just scour Yahoo! Answers for random names.  There are a few I love but Jeff won't give in, and vice versa.  I'll probably end up bending and using one of Jeff's names because he does.  not.  budge (those hard-headed guys).  As long as I can pick the middle name! :)

what i wore & what we did

 

The first week of school has come and gone!  Despite the temperature in my room surpassing 90°, it was a fantastic week.  When I look back, the Biology students looked terrified on the first day (goal #1), I had a couple kids drop out of the Honors and go to regular (goal #2), I gave out meaningful homework (goal #3) and I gave an assessment (goal #4).  And of course we had a lot of laughs - which makes going into work so much fun.

Around the middle of the week I decided the heat was too much to bear and the only way I would survive was to have a couple new maxi dresses.  This one I'm wearing is so fabulous - I even got compliments from the girls in my classes.  I'm actually planning on wearing it to a wedding reception this evening (woo hoo!  date night!) or possibly this other plum one.

My seventh graders scored the coolest activity last week - the Raft Rally. 

I had never done it before but it seems to be a pretty common Scientific Method experiment.  Groups are given certain materials and 20 minutes to build a raft, they then test it in water and see how many pennies (we used quarters because we're cool...and rich) the raft can hold before sinking.  It was awesome.  Maybe it was that I put them in amazing lab groups this semester?  Or maybe it was the cool lab tables I now have?  Whatever it was, the kids really learned a lot about how to cooperate with their team members and they also learned a lot about the Scientific Method. 

By the way, this is the first year I've gotten the whole groupwork thing down to a T.  It makes it easy that I know most of my students and can therefore place them in the teams that will suit them best, but I put them on teams of 4.  They had to create a team name and logo, etc.  I keep these teams up on the Smartboard most of class and they can earn team points that can add up over the semester (that can eventually lead to some extra credit).  And yes, the points can be deducted.  So the winning team (whose raft held 49 quarters - unbelievable) got points, as well as any team that got within two quarters of their pre-testing estimate.  Team points - it's the way to go, people.


And how could I not share with you the quotes of the week?


Mrs. Rowland:  What other kinds of cells can you think of?  Come on, how did you get here on Earth?  SEX CELLS.  Sex is the answer to everything!

Male student:  I thought Jesus was the answer to everything?

Mrs. Rowland:  Well this is Biology.


++

Mrs. Rowland:  The "Trampoline Booties" for your team name?  What kind of booties? (::envisioning a butt in a neon thong::)

Girl:  Baby booties, see?  (::shows me a picture of a baby sock::)


++


Mrs. Rowland:  Alright boys, what team name did you come up with?

Boy:  Can we be "Fifty Shades of Biology?"

gearing up for school: part II

School started Monday, so that meant I spent every minute of Sunday making sure my classroom was just the way I wanted it:  simple & meaningful.

Each year I try to get my point across:  this is school and we're here to learn, but while we're at it, we're going to have some fun.  I want my classroom to reflect that.  This year I finally feel like I've got it down.  I have a new lab with particularly placed lamps, vanilla scents and personal touches around the room to make it feel homey.

My absolute favorite thing I did for this school year is:

• Made a customized discbound binder for lesson plans

Have you heard of these things?  They're amazing.  You can make it exactly how you want it for exactly what you need.  I needed a lesson plan book that made me smile (not from the OneSpot at Targ) and this is it.  I spent a fortune but I like to think it was worth it.  My husband on the other hand, doesn't. 

Staples was where I purchased mine - they have their own brand (Arc) and they also carry Martha Stewart, who happens to be my new favorite office supplies designer. 

I made my own template for lesson plans in Word, printed them off on heavier paper, then used the custom puncher to put the holes in my pages.  The puncher costs a mint but one of my co-workers let me use hers.  Don't be jealous.

At least I get a little excited about doing lesson plans now.  Mission accomplished!

And after a summer with my nugget that I'll never forget, here we are saying goodbye on the first day.

No, I didn't cry right then.  Yes, I cried in the car.  And of course, I ate my bowl of bran flakes & bananas on the way to school.  As Jeff so eloquently pointed out, I'll now "have bowls and spoons in my passenger seat for a month."  Some things never change!

Here's to another long productive school year!

july & august book club

4:54 am.  That's what time the baby kicked me awake I naturally woke up this morning.  I'm showered, blow-dried and make-upped by 6!  Woo hooo!  Then I thought, "let's go blogging!"

This was a our view for book club this month.  Wow, it's like summer has returned - the weather has been gorgeous!  (Too hot for a prego teacher cooped up in a classroom, but gorgeous nonetheless).

We discussed Defending Jacob by William Landy.  I was really surprised by the mixed reviews (not all of them loved it) by our girls because I absolutely loved this book.  I was always confused about the U.S. court system and defense attorneys and prosecutors, etc. but now I feel much more comfortable with the terms.

Besides learning, this book was intense.  It's the most realistic fiction book I've ever read.  Nothing was too dramatized - I feel as though it's exactly what it would be like if there was a murder in a small town.

A lot of book clubs have been reading this, according to Instagram anyway.  And I can see why - there's a lot to discuss.  We always move on to more important topics though, like wedding verses, Pinterest-inspired receptions, politicians that we think are celebrities when we see them in person, people who upload post-baby belly pictures, August babies, retail managers that put our salaries to shame, and couples who look like strangers on their wedding day.  

                                               

Our July book was on the complete opposite spectrum - Beautiful Disaster is a crazy-love love story, complete with arson, alcohol, daddy issues, gambling and cardigans.  It was a good, fast read.  Nothing intense or show-stopping, but kind of cute.  A little unrealistic?  Yes.  A little annoying?  Yes.  I mean, it's written from the perspective of a 19-year old girl smack dab in the middle of her college partying years.

One good thing about this book was that it lead to a super raunchy discussion.  We love us some raunchy.



 

fresh veggies: roma tomatoes

Roma tomatoes are a staple for me and Jeff in the month of August.  I use them on everything and in everything that would call for regular tomatoes:  salsa, salads, taco dips, and I've even pureed them for spaghetti sauce.  They are less seedy and easier to work with.

Sugar has been my enemy this summer and I knew I needed a healthy and accessible snack in the fridge, and pico de gallo did the trick.  The only semi-challenging and time-consuming part of this recipe is the chopping.  However, I have one of these bad boys that my MIL got me for my birthday one year and I love it.  The tomatoes and onions were perfectly chopped within minutes.

 

12 roma tomatoes, diced

1 sweet onion, chopped

1 jalapeno pepper (optional - I use half of one)

1 clove garlic, minced

2 T. chopped fresh cilantro

lime juice (just squeeze one half)

salt & pepper to taste

 

 

Stir together and refrigerate.  Serve with tortilla chips (we love the blue corn!)

 



currently obsessing

Sometimes you just have to splurge, right?  There's something about owning an item that is completely unnecessary - it's like, for once can I buy something I don't need?  If I could, these are the things I am loving right now.  As well as a few things that aren't for sale...


[personalized ipad case]
I am so lucky to have received an iPad through my school, because let's face it, I wouldn't be able to afford one on my own.  They came with basic blue cases on them which has never bothered me in the least, but come on Shutterfly, your personalized cases are to die for.

 

[stella & dot charm & necklace]
Jewelry isn't really my thing - I downright love my wedding ring, but other than that I don't wear much.  Until I noticed the circle charm.  I would wear this every single day.  I've been searching for the perfect one all over Etsy but just didn't turn up any results.

While visiting in Cincinnati, my friend's neighbor had it.  Like, she had the one I want.  It was Stella & Dot, and I just had to have it.  My idea is that Jeff could get it for me as a gift after the birth of baby #2.  Just an idea.

I would like a "p" for Patrick and a "?" for his little brother.  It's really a question mark, I am kind of backing out of our choice.  Please, I need ideas.

[prinstagram]
I love me some Instagram, and this is an awesome site to have your photos printed (they're some of my faves!).  You don't even have to upload your choices, the site will load all your photos by simply using your Insta login. 

[birthday invites]
Why is paper so expensive?  I mean, I can go to Staples and get a 1-subject notebook for one cent.  How come a birthday invitation is $4.00 a card?  The card on Etsy that I really wanted for Patrick's birthday turned out to be too pricey, so I headed over to Tiny Prints and Minted to do a search.  I found some amazing cards, got them all personalized and set up only to find that it would cost almost eighty bucks for not even 20 cards.  That's completely ridiculous.

But they're still adorable.

 

 

 

 

 

[yellow + gray + suspenders]
A girl I graduated with just got married, and she posted this photo on Facebook of her hubby and his groomsmen.  I wouldn't do this look for my own wedding, but I think it's so fresh, cheerful and ultra quirky.  Bowties are kind of a weakness of mine. 

That's it.  Tell me your obsessions right now!

family photo sesh 2013

You may not be able to tell from the pictures, but this was one of the worst behaving hours of Patrick's life.  And one of the worst, most embarassing hours of my life as a mother.

We decided to hire our wedding photographer to do our photos this time, even though she was quite a bit more expensive than our usual one.  So seeing that I had to hand over a fat check at the end, I was praying that it would go well.

It started by Patrick not getting a long enough nap - total shocker.  Then Jeff came in from work in a pissy mood.  Now if you know my husband, you know he is the very even-tempered person; he gets moody like once a year.  As opposed to my mood swings striking once an hour.  So wouldn't it be typical that on the evening of our family photos that my son is tired and my husband is moody?  Picture this:  I'm getting ready in front of the mirror, Patrick and Jeff are in the shower (Patrick screaming and Jeff mumbling things under his breath like that's why you do these sort of things in the winter) and me screaming SHUT UP ABOUT WINTER.  IT'S ALWAYS WINTER, WINTER, WINTER. 

This was the mood before the photographer even showed up at our house.  You can pretty much decipher what the shoot was like, but in a nutshell, Patrick screamed/cried/whined and ran away from us every six seconds.  In fact, he was so worked up that by the end he was practically sobbing in my arms and could hardly get to sleep soon after.

Whatever, it was one for the books. 

I was also 5 months pregnant at the time so my belly was impossible to cover, yet kind of weird to show off.  Awkward!  Here are my favorites (there are quite a few, actually!)

 

 

 

 

Now I have to choose which ones will go in our large family room frames, and I'm now finally inspired to make some kind of collage on our master bedroom wall. 

I'm honestly just glad they're over with!  Next year should be even more fun with an infant and a toddler.  (I'm actually serious - it's going to be so exciting to see our family grow!)


// family photo sesh 2012

28 weeks

• Hello third trimester!  My mom says I have officially "popped."  I don't know, but I feel pretty huge - At my pre-natal appointment last week I had gained 15 pounds.  At this point with Patrick I had only gained 7 pounds, so things are a little different this time!

• My glucose test to screen for gestational diabetes is scheduled for this week, so I have to fast after midnight, drink the infamous orange drink in the morning, then go immediately to have blood drawn at the lab.  Yay!

• Now I know nesting doesn't usually begin until you're close to delivering, but I have felt almost in a panic about getting our house ready for another baby.  I bought paint for the dining room, painted a corner and decided it was waaaaay too much work.  After having an emotional breakdown, (literally, Patrick was scared - "Mommy?  Mommy?") I got Jeff to work on the painting, woo hoo!  Along with painting, I called a cleaning business to schedule a couch, rug and upholstered chair cleansing.  Aaaannnd I called to schedule a deep cleaning for the beginning of October.  Like, behind the fridge and under the TV stand, baseboards, etc.  Things that I just don't have the energy for.  This house is going to be spick and span.

• Speaking of getting ready for baby, I've been picking up odds and ends whenever possible - swaddles, washcloths, and sleep n' plays.  All we really need is white onesies and we'll be set.  Oh and my friend Sara so graciously offered her co-sleeper for us to borrow, which I am beyond thrilled about.  I also bought a couple of nursing tanks from Target, which is something I didn't have the first time around.  They look so comfortable, and I'm looking forward to being nursing bra-less all the time.

• Our baby is the size of a large eggplant right now, which is ca-razy.  It's so hard to imagine such a large being inside of me, but I can sure feel him pushing around in there.  (By the way, the decrease in sugar has really made me feel better, as well as slowed down movement quite a bit.)

• I have yet another ultrasound (4th one!) scheduled for the end of the month to check on the baby's kidney - it was a little dilated last time, so they want to make sure it isn't getting worse.  I'm kind of excited to see my peanut on-screen again!  His face is just so beautiful.  And obviously I am praying that it's nothing major with his kidney. 

• Getting ready to be prego & working again:  remember all those working maternity outfits I posted about a few weeks ago?  Well I bit the bullet and ordered about four of them.  I knew I'd regret it if I didn't when the first day of school came around.  I've also been craving salads like a nut and I found these amazing Rubbermaid containers called Lunch Blox for packing my lunches.  They are sold as:  a salad kit, a sandwich kit, or an entree kit.  They also sell them for kids! 

the perfect birthday cake.

After laying Patrick down for bed about 45 minutes ago, I got ultra motivated to research and plan the menu for his 2nd birthday party next month.  Good food is essential, so I'm putting a lot of thought into it.  Last year's menu was amazing and will be hard to top, but I will try.  Now that his "buddies" are a getting older I have to have stupid kid food so their parents don't beat me - things like crackers & cheese, fruit skewers, and processed pigs-in-a-blanket.  But I'll do it, just for the kids.

For the adults on the other hand, I can go all out.  I found an amazing sandwich idea, but I'll have to separate all the ingredients so my picky sister-in-law doesn't cringe.  Picky eaters annoy the crap out of me.  (I still love you Jackie.)  I'm also thinking something like bruschetta and a really colorful pasta salad.

Despite my love for a good main dish menu, the cake is downright the most important item at a birthday party - it makes or breaks it.  Last year I did a yellow cake with chocolate frosting (I forgot the vanilla, remember?  I suck.)  This year I'm thinking something more autumn.  Spice?  Apples?  Something like that.  Here are a few choices that are to die for.

chocolate cake with whipped fudge filling & chocolate buttercream

Out of the 40 impressive birthday cakes I found on CHOW, this was my first instinct.  It screams party.  My only hesitation is the chocolate-drizzle cage - I could jack up the whole thing in a matter of seconds.

cinnamon-walnut bundt cake

I love this idea because it's different.  You don't see bundt cakes at birthday parties, but I think we could pull it off.  Once again, a hesitation:  walnuts.  Frikking nut allergies ruin everything.

easy carrot cake with cream cheese frosting

My grandma is a carrot cake beast, so I could have her give me a few tips if I went with this one.  Most people love carrot cake, right? 

apple spice layer cake with caramel swirl icing

This sounds like it would taste amazing, but I'm not so sure I can get away with the look of it.  Knowing me, it would end up lopsided.  Or a big pile of mush.

chocolate rum tres leches cake

Can I put rum in a cake that kids will be eating?  Maybe I should just make the kids cake pops??  Come on, this looks incredible.  Chocolate shavings?  Yes please.  By the way, "tres leches" is spanish meaning "three milks."  Interesting.

pumpkin swirl cheesecake

Is the first week in September too early for pumpkin?  If not, I may end up doing this one along with another.  I just don't think I can say no (and I'm not a huge cheesecake fan!)


So what do you think?  I'm leaning towards the chocolate on chocolate up top.  Or the three milks.  Actually, what I really want it someone to whip one up for me right at this very moment.  Please and thank you.  Sincerely, your pregnant friend.