Where has the month gone?

I can't believe it's been 3 weeks since I last posted. We've been crazy-busy this month. Josh's grandpa died a couple of weeks ago, so we headed down to SA for the funeral. Since I had been planning to take Kate down there the following week, we just moved our trip up a week and stayed. Josh came back home since he had to work. Our week in SA was fun...my mom took a couple of days off and we went to the zoo and Sea World. The kids had a blast, and it was a nice break for me too. The days that mom had to work, we got to hang out with my (not so) little brother Jon. Mom came back to Fort Worth with us on Friday, and just left yesterday. Now I'm on my own again and trying to get back in the swing of things.

Oh, and while I was gone, my house was invaded by fruit flies, YUCK! I don't know why they showed up, there was no rotten fruit, but they are tough little buggers to get rid of! I'm trying about 5 different ways to kill them right now, hopefully one of them will work!

Pics from Sea World:

I thought it would never happen....

But it's true:

KATE IS POTTY TRAINED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I can't even begin to tell you how much we have struggled with this over the past few months. She knew when she needed to go, knew what to do, but just flat out refused. She has serious control issues. It finally got to the point where she didn't want to go in her diaper OR in the potty. Uh, honey, you have to go somewhere! After an unfortunate incident in the McDonald's parking lot, which ended in a pair of soggy pants and a very frustrated mommy, it's like something just clicked in that little head of hers. "Oh, mommy was right, I DO have to go somewhere. Gee, it sucks having wet pants and a mad mommy...hmmm, guess I'll go on the potty now!" And that was that. Okay, maybe not quite that simple, there was still a little bribery to get her to go, but it was basically easy. This was not even a week ago, and now she's a champ. Hasn't had an accident since then.
I honestly thought this day would never come. I was convinced that my child would be the only one in her preschool class who was still wearing diapers. I promised her a few weeks ago that as soon as she started using the potty all the time that I would take her to San Antonio to go see Shamu. When I made the promise, I thought I wouldn't have to follow through with it until much later this summer. Boy did she prove me wrong. We're packing up and heading to SA in a couple of weeks....good thing we already have season passes and a free place to stay!

A picture of my big girl:

Sleep is a Beautiful Thing

Sorry I've been MIA this week--it's just that too much sleep has left me unable to sit at the computer. I've actually had the energy to get off my duff and play with Kate, clean the house, and all kinds of other things! Yep, that's right: Sleep Boot Camp was a success! After three nights, my sweet little thing started sleeping from 7 pm until 6 am. AMAZING. I now remember what it feels like to be human. It was so hard listening to her cry those first few nights, but the payoff has been totally worth it.

Much more to write about, but it will have to wait until tomorrow...I'm going to bed now, and plan to sleep all night long!

Sleep Boot Camp, Day 1

Yesterday was tough. Avery woke up every.single.time I tried to put her down for a nap. Frustrated doesn't even come close to describing how I felt. We had a birthday party at noon, and by that time, she had only slept for about 30 minutes all day. I had to leave her in the crib crying while I showered and got dressed. Never did go to sleep. At the party, K had a complete meltdown, and I had to practically drag her to the car, kicking and screaming. It wasn't pretty. She proceeded to scream the entire way home, which made Avery think that she should scream too. I put on my headphones and tried to drown them out with Dave Ramsey. Josh must've known I was thisclose to a breakdown because he got home at 5 and ordered me to go out for a while. Have I mentioned that I love him? I headed to the gym and felt much better by the time I got home. That didn't last long...K threw a huge fit 10 minutes after I got back. Spent about an hour in time out because she refused to apologize to Josh for hitting him. Crazy girl. While she was in time out, sleep bootcamp began in Avery's room:

I put Avery in the crib at 7:50. The minute I laid her down, she started to scream. I kissed her goodnight and left. She proceeded to scream for 25 minutes, and then stopped....that was it. I went in and checked on her, and she was zonked out. Awesome. The first time we let Kate cry it out, she went on and on for almost 2 hours. Avery woke up at 11:30. I fed her and then put her down awake. She cried for 10 minutes. Up again at 2:30. Cried for almost 30 minutes. Up for good at 6:30. I fed her and tried to get her to go back down, but she just wanted to play. That was really too early for her to get up b/c she was ready to go back to bed by 7:30. Overall, it wasn't a bad night. Believe it or not, that's better than most of our nights are. Naps have been much better today too--I haven't had to hold her at all! Let's hope night 2 goes even better.

Dear Avery....

Dear Avery,
I would love it if I had no responsibilities in this world other than to hold you while you sleep. This is not the case. Your sister needs my attention. I would like to get dressed sometime today. We have errands to run. I have no problems rocking you to sleep, but please....PLEASE do not wake up the second I lay you down. A 5-minute snooze in my arms does not constitute a nap! Thank you for considering my point of view.

Love,
Mommy

There's a monster in my house...

There's a monster that lives here. Not under the bed. No, this monster has some serious nerves. She camps out on top of the bed. My bed. She's not the monster of little kids' nightmares either. No fur, no sharp teeth...no teeth at all, now that I think about it. Most people wouldn't even know she's a monster....she's incognito....a monster disguised as a baby!

Okay, you got me, I'm speaking of my sweet baby Avery. When I say sweet, I mean during the day. The nights are a whole different story. Apparently, she doesn't need sleep like the rest of us do. She's had her share by about 2 a.m. After that, it's play time. Unless, of course, she gets to go to mommy and daddy's bed. Then, she'll conk out until morning. Now this hasn't always been the case. Avery was a stellar sleeper until about 4 months old. Then all of a sudden, she decided that sleeping is for the birds. I'm fairly certain that her older sister had a talk with her and let her know that she didn't sleep through the night until 13 months, and that she expects no less out of Avery.

Well, I expect different from Avery. And unfortunately for her, I'm not as sensitive to her crying as I was to Kate's when she was a baby. I know that a night or two of crying will equal much more sleep for everyone. So, starting Monday....SLEEP BOOT CAMP at our house! I'm at the end of my rope, sleep-wise, and it's not fair to any one that mommy is always grumpy. I look forward to the day when I can lay down in bed, and KNOW that I won't be getting up again until the sun is up. Then maybe we can discuss the idea of another baby.....who will be a GREAT sleeper, I'm sure!

My monster:

The nothing box

It's a real thing, the "nothing box". I don't have one, but Josh does. It's that place that men go when they get that blank stare on their faces. The one that they escape to when you start to tell them things that they need to do around the house. Or anytime there's sporting event on TV. Or there's a toddler running around saying, "I have poop!". I despise the nothing box. At the same time, I'm insanely jealous of it. I wish I had one. What would it feel like to sit on the couch and watch tv without thinking about the messy kitchen, the crying baby, the dinner that needs to be cooked, the bills that need to be paid.....

We went to a marriage conference in January called "Laugh your way to a better marriage". The presenter was a man named Mark Gungor, and he is hilarious. He's the one who brought the nothing box to my attention. All this time, I thought that Josh was ignoring me on purpose, but really he was lost inside his nothing box. Hmmm....interesting. It doesn't make it any less irritating when I have to tell him things 4 times before he hears me, but it is nice to know that most men have this irritating habit. Now, before I tell him something important, I make it a point to ask him to kindly exit his nothing box before I start talking. It has helped our communication immensely.

On a couple of occasions, I've tried to pretend that I have a nothing box. The problem is that my box doesn't work right. It doesn't block out sounds, sights, or guilt. My box has transparent sides, no sound barrier, and the guilt comes in with me. Maybe one day, when the kids are in school and I have enough money for a maid and a cook, THEN I will have a working nothing box. Until then I guess I'll concentrate on inventing a lock to keep Josh out of his!