Night Time Mommy Woes

Well look at that, the elusive Mrs. P blogging twice in one day! Who'da thunk in the days of my random and very spotty blogging?! Maybe I'm slowly coming back!

Anyway, my post now is not about my blogging habits, as bad as they've been lately, it's about my little diva and her recent night time... difficulties, we'll call them.

Little Miss AP will be 20 months old this month. Can you believe she is almost 2?! Four months and my baby girl will be 2. Holy cow! With this age, comes many new triumphs and challenges. She has grown such the little personality and is such a joy to be around, when she wants to be. It seems the "terrible twos" may be hitting her earlier than the inferred "TWO," (hence, terrible twos). She's become quite the fit thrower and loves testing her limits. Honestly, it's not so bad. There are some moments during the day she makes me want to pull my hair out, but most the time, I find myself trying to suppress a giggle rather than be upset. It's tough, let me tell you - It's so funny, seeing so much personality, determination, independence and sheer will in a person so small.

Her vocabulary is certainly growing and I just love hearing her say new words. She knows mom, momma, and mommy and uses them with different emphasis throughout the day. She knows grandma (and how to yell it) as well as grandpa and papa (she uses them interchangeably for my dad). She can say Bad Dog with a pointed finger when the dogs are not listening (we're at my mom's, there are 3 here right now). She can say bubble and balloon, stick and deck, and she'll bring you a book saying book when she wants to read. She will point to her diaper and say "Poopoo" and grandma taught her the very descriptive UGH (it's usually a "poopoo UGH" greeting me after nap time). These are just a few examples. She understands even more than what she can currently express. She'll pick up her trash and throw it away, she'll do "nice nice" on the dog, she'll hand you things (if she wants), she'll come, she'll go, she'll dance. She does what she's told very well... when she wants to.

Using a fallen tree branch piece to "sweep" the walk way - she came up with this all on her own!

At this age, she's very adamant about what she wants. Even if it's something that makes no sense. For instance, yesterday she wanted the loaf of bread. We thought she wanted a slice of bread, so grandpa gave her one. She put it back in the bag then took the bag and carried it around. She wasn't so happy when it was taken away from her. She also wants things even more when she has been told no already. That's when the fits are the strongest, I'm telling you, the girl is determined.

All these new qualities are quite exhilirating for a mommy. Sure, they can wear me out sometimes, but usually it's just amazing seeing all the new things she can do and understand. She really is becoming a little... person (not that she wasn't before but now she can do things... moms... you know what I mean).

The thing I'm having the biggest 'woe' about right now, we can call it, is her sleep patterns. My daughter just doesn't seem to feel like sleeping lately. I'm not talking about just naps either, I'm talking about sleeping period. Every night around 2 or 3 am, I hear her chattering away. Sometimes she'll make soft cries but usually just makes sounds or sings. I try to leave her because I know my daughter - you go in and fuss with her and it's all down hill from there. She's much better at putting herself to sleep, as soon as another person enters the equation it's wide awake and play time. I keep wondering why she is waking up at the wee hours of the morning. We have a solid bed time routine that really hasn't changed... well... ever. Even as much as we travel/visit grandma, I try my very hardest to stick to the same bedtime routines, including the time she goes down (between 730 and 830, it can vary slightly depending on when the sleepies hit her and when her nap was, etc). She often has a poopy diaper in the morning, so I began wondering if it was around 2 or 3am she was waking up because she had to poop. I thought maybe it could be her last cup of milk before bed, so for the last few days I've tried without it. She hasn't been poopy but I still hear her talking in the wee hours of the morning if at least just a few minutes every night.

Then last night, we had the epitome of wee hours wake up. I had heard her talking a little around 230 and just let her be. Around 3 I heard her make a weird sound, kind of like a choke or gag then it was real quiet. Of course I had to go in and check on her. When I opened the door, I heard her move and peaked and saw she was fine. I shut the door after just sticking my head in and after that it was DONE. She was up and she was YELLING. I tried everything. I tried rocking her back to sleep, I changed her, I spoke softly to her, rubbed her head, rubbed her back, patted her, snuggled in bed with her, putting her back in her own bed and leaving, putting her back in her own bed and laying down in the other bed... Nothing worked. She doesn't sleep well with me, she wants to move around and try to play so even though I tried that didn't work either. At 520, my mom took over. She gave her some milk in case she was hungry and some itchy medicine for her misquito bites that she was digging at. But see, she was good and quiet as long as I or grandma were there with her, she just wouldn't sleep. As soon as she was put back into bed, she was standing, arms up, screaming again. Mom snuggled with her so I could try to sleep and around 7 she finally went back to sleep, waking up again at 820.

She went down for a nap around 1230 and actually took a decent nap today, getting quiet around 1 and waking up around 3 - unlike the last few days. My daughter used to nap like me (or like I would like to, lol) - for 2-3 hours a day, usually around 1230. Lately, we're lucky if we can get her to stay upstairs for an hour, let alone sleep. I don't want to push naps too hard but the problem is if she doesn't nap, around 5 o'clock she gets outright mean because she's tired.

Tonight, putting her down, she cried much louder than usual. Nothing has been changed about the room she's in and these sleep issues have just been the last week or so we've been here, not the entire time we've been here. She gets put in bed and instead of laying right down, whimpering a little and drifting off, she's standing up with her arms out screaming. She got a few extra cuddles tonight to try to calm her down but the same thing kept happening. It took her about 15 minutes to finally stop crying and then probably another 15-20 of talking before it was quiet up there.

I'm guessing this change in sleep is probably part of all the other changes coming along with this stage of life, but if anyone made it through to the end of the post (I know it's been a long one, I can talk about my kid all day long!) I could use some possible insight or tips. Or even just an "I've been there, it passes" would be nice. I feel like I'm at my wit's end. At least she is sleeping now and I'm praying - very hard - that we don't have an episode like last night's. Those nights are tough for me as a mommy too because 1. I hate hearing my baby girl cry like that, it was sooo heart breaking and 2. I'm a raging insomniac so I was just laying down to attempt sleep when this all started.

Here's hoping she gets a nice sound sleep tonight, and mommy and grandma (and grandpa, can't forget him!) can, too!

To Simba Leigh - Big/Lil Shirts

*Well hello there! I wanted to comment back to you or email you but you have no blog and a no-reply email address so this was the only way to get a hold of ya!*

Simba Leigh left me a comment when my big/lil shirts back in the good ol' sorority days came up in her google search when she was looking for ideas, asking how I did it. I will share with you all, it's simple really. I used to be really into crafting, and now with my recent addiction to Pinterest, will probably (hopefully) get back into the crafting habit.

Anyway, after rooting through really old facebook pictures, here are the shirts in question

Shirts I made for my first little Theresa, from the back

Theresa and I, from the front

The shirts I made for my second little, Katy. Couldn't find a pic of the back.

So, I used the same basic idea for both, with little tweaks to make them each different. I learned the way to do it from my own big, who made ours yellow using the same kind of idea. Couldn't find pics of that either.

It's really simple. Your materials include:

• A cotton t-shirt
• Fabric of your choosing (can be any number of different patters, I stayed with 2 different patters with colors that went well together)
• Puffy paint
• Heat-n-bond iron-on fabric adhesive (here it is on Overstock, so you know what it looks like, I got mine at either JoAnne Fabrics or Michael's back in the day)
• Stencils if you want your letters to be really neat
• Pencil
• Iron/ironing board or iron-safe surface
  

I wish I had photos to show the process but I guess I never took any, so I'll describe as best as I can.

First, you're going to want to attach your adhesive to your fabric, so you can cut out all your letters/shapes as one instead of cutting and then adding adhesive and cutting again. Follow the directions with the adhesive, it's really easy to use. You just iron on one side onto the "wrong" side of the fabric. Leave the peel part on, that's how you're going to attach it to your shirt.

Next, you're going to draw out your letters - all of them, sorority letters, names, dates, whatever you want on the shirt. (As sorority girls know, you're not supposed to wear double-stitch letters until you've been initiated which is kind of the purpose of these shirts, so your littles can have "letters" but not LETTERS, ya know? At least, that's why I liked them.)

Use your stencils, or your free hand, to write your letters on the paper of the adhesive. On the shirts from Theresa, you can tell on the back that I wrote "Lil Sis/Big Sis" and "Fall 2006" in my own not-as-neat-as-a-stencil handwriting, however for Katy's shirt, I used a stencil, which you can tell by the "Lil Sis/Big Sis" on the front which made it much neater - learn by doing - it was much neater and easier with the stencils. Since you're writing on the backside, remember which direction it's going to have to go... backwards to transfer onto the shirt correctly. You can write forward on the fabric if you must, but you'll have to be really careful to not mess up when cutting and use something that you can see the writing on the fabric. Another reason I prefer the stencils, then you can just use pencil and do it backwards - easy peasy.

Once you've got your adhesive attached and your letters drawn, cut them out!

Lay your shirt out and line up your letters/shapes where you want them to go. Then peel off the backing, place down the letter or shape, and iron it onto the shirt. Remember to lay everything out ONE side at a time (work with the front or back at a time - don't try to rush!) because if you iron with something on the other side it could get stuck in a place you don't want it/ruin the adhesive.

Once everything is ironed on and pretty, it's time to make it a little more long-lasting. Iron-on adhesive isn't known for lasting through any wear and tear, so what we did was outline our letters in puffy paint. This added some reinforcement, sealing the fabric onto the shirt, as well as giving the letters a little more pop.

With my first big/lil shirts, I used just stick-on letters for the stuff on the front, as well as a stick-on fabric lion, I learned later that doing each letter by hand instead of buying the premade stick-ons, although tedious, looked better, and lasted longer (my little's lion fell off about a week after having it and I think mine lasted maybe two. I think some letters fell off mine, too) so the hand made fabric with the iron-on adhesive letters are much better than the store bought. I don't think I ever even puffy-paint outlined the front of the hand made letters on the shirts with Katy, just the big ones on the back.

So, that's my little tutorial. Of course, this doesn't have to be just for big/lil shirts, you can use this for any kind of shirt and make any design - maybe even good for homecoming shirts for my milspouses or walk/run shirts/remembrance shirts for my widstas (and other 5k-ers) out there!

How to Treat People

While I was stumbling this evening (If you don't stumble, you should), I came across this. I thought it was very insightful and worth sharing. Whether or not the stories are true, I couldn't tell you, but I think there's something in each one of them we can all learn from.

Five Lessons About How To Treat People
-- Author Unknown

1. First Important Lesson - "Know The Cleaning Lady"

During my second month of college, our professor gave us a pop quiz. I was a conscientious student and had breezed through the questions, until I read the last one: "What is the first name of the woman who cleans the school?"

Surely this was some kind of joke. I had seen the cleaning woman several times. She was tall, dark-haired and in her 50s, but how would I know her name? I handed in my paper, leaving the last question blank. Just before class ended, one student asked if the last question would count toward our quiz grade.

"Absolutely," said the professor. "In your careers, you will meet many people. All are significant. They deserve your attention and care, even if all you do is smile and say "hello."

I've never forgotten that lesson. I also learned her name was Dorothy.


2. Second Important Lesson - "Pickup In The Rain"

One night, at 11:30 p.m., an older African American woman was standing on the side of an Alabama highway trying to endure a lashing rainstorm. Her car had broken down and she desperately needed a ride. Soaking wet, she decided to flag down the next car.

A young white man stopped to help her, generally unheard of in those conflict-filled 1960s. The man took her to safety, helped her get assistance and put her into a taxicab.

She seemed to be in a big hurry, but wrote down his address and thanked him. Seven days went by and a knock came on the man's door. To his surprise, a giant console color TV was delivered to his home.

A special note was attached. It read: "Thank you so much for assisting me on the highway the other night. The rain drenched not only my clothes, but also my spirits. Then you came along. Because of you, I was able to make it to my dying husband's bedside just before he passed away. God bless you for helping me and unselfishly serving others."

Sincerely, Mrs. Nat King Cole.


3. Third Important Lesson - "Remember Those Who Serve"

In the days when an ice cream sundae cost much less, a 10 year-old boy entered a hotel coffee shop and sat at a table. A waitress put a glass of water in front of him. "How much is an ice cream sundae?" he asked. "50¢," replied the waitress.

The little boy pulled his hand out of his pocket and studied the coins in it.

"Well, how much is a plain dish of ice cream?" he inquired. By now more people were waiting for a table and the waitress was growing impatient. "35¢!" she brusquely replied.

The little boy again counted his coins. "I'll have the plain ice cream," he said. The waitress brought the ice cream, put the bill on the table and walked away. The boy finished the ice cream, paid the cashier and left.

When the waitress came back, she began to cry as she wiped down the table. There, placed neatly beside the empty dish, were two nickels and five pennies. You see, he couldn't have the sundae, because he had to have enough left to leave her a tip.


4. Fourth Important Lesson - "The Obstacles In Our Path"

In ancient times, a King had a boulder placed on a roadway. Then he hid himself and watched to see if anyone would remove the huge rock. Some of the king's wealthiest merchants and courtiers came by and simply walked around it. Many loudly blamed the King for not keeping the roads clear, but none did anything about getting the stone out of the way.

Then a peasant came along carrying a load of vegetables. Upon approaching the boulder, the peasant laid down his burden and tried to move the stone to the side of the road. After much pushing and straining, he finally succeeded. After the peasant picked up his load of vegetables, he noticed a purse lying in the road where the boulder had been. The purse contained many gold coins and a note from the King indicating that the gold was for the person who removed the boulder from the roadway. The peasant learned what many of us never understand - "Every obstacle presents an opportunity to improve our condition."


5. Fifth Important Lesson - "Giving When It Counts"

Many years ago, when I worked as a volunteer at a hospital, I got to know a little girl named Liz who was suffering from a rare and serious disease. Her only chance of recovery appeared to be a blood transfusion from her 5-year-old brother, who had miraculously survived the same disease and had developed the antibodies needed to combat the illness. The doctor explained the situation to her little brother, and asked the little boy if he would be willing to give his blood to his sister. I saw him hesitate for only a moment before taking a deep breath and saying, "Yes, I'll do it if it will save her."

As the transfusion progressed, he lay in bed next to his sister and smiled, as we all did, seeing the color returning to her cheeks. Then his face grew pale and his smile faded. He looked up at the doctor and asked with a trembling voice, "Will I start to die right away?".

Being young, the little boy had misunderstood the doctor; he thought he was going to have to give his sister all of his blood in order to save her.

I want to work to be a better person. I think this was definitely a point in the right direction.

Also, a lot of people asked where I got the app on facebook to see my past statuses, I hate to tell you but I honestly have no idea. One day, my old statuses just started showing up on the right hand side. They don't show up all the time, usually when looking at my own profile or typing in a new status. I've just recently noticed they are now showing up on other people's profiles as well, showing their old statuses. I know that's not any help to any of you who asked but it's all I've got :-\

Hope everyone fared well through Irene and isn't experiencing too much damage!

We Met, It's a Girl, Year to Year

Facebook has this new thing where it shows you your statuses from the previous years. So far, I've only seen 2010 and 2009, so I'm assuming it only goes back 2 years. It always catches my attention, because so much has changed for me from year to year.

This weekend, in 2008, I met Jonathan. I think the story is relatively familiar now, as I've told it several times. It was at the bowling alley on Aberdeen Proving Ground. He was silly, I was sarcastic. He was wearing a brown tun tavern t-shirt and ugly sandals. I was wearing a maroon and white flowered tank top and my reefs, a staple in my wardrobe since well before 2008. We hit it off right away. I beat him at pool. I gave him and his friends a ride over to the rec center. When he had to go, he asked if he could kiss me and I consented. It was the most magical kiss of my life. My entire body tingled, head to toe. I swear I saw sparks, as cliche as it sounds. My legs literally felt like jelly, and I might have fallen over had I not been in his strong embrace. I was hooked.


Facebook didn't show any statuses from 2008, but I know this weekend was the one I met him and the one where my life changed for the better. My soul mate, who would become my husband. My better half, the man who made me smile bigger than any person had ever done in my life. My heart glowed when I was with him and it all started the very last weekend of August, 2008.

My facebook status from 2009 reads, "Husband is on his way home from the field and will be here for the WHOLE day! THE WHOLE DAY! YAYAYAYAYAYYYY" and later that day, ""Just bought our first little pink outfit in honor of the end of the not knowing days :)."

I remember this day clearly. Jonathan had been in the field, the battalion was doing a lot of work ups getting ready for deployment at any time. We had found out he was going to be gone during the anatomy scan the doctor does, so when I found out when he was getting out of the field, I called Womb's Window in Wilmington and booked a 3D scan for us, so we'd find out what kind of baby was baking away in my womb together. It was one thing I definitely didn't want him to miss. He was so tired from the field but as soon as we got home we got ready and took the 45 minute trip to Wilmy to find the place. I remember being so excited watching him sign the father's spot on the consent form. I took pictures of everything, ate a lot of sugar so baby would be moving around a lot, and the sense of excitement to find out who was in my belly. We had gone back and forth for the months since we'd found out I was pregnant, I would say things like "Oh SHE'S kicking" and Jonathan would go with "HE sure is active today." I knew she was a girl the whole time ;) I remember when we found out officially she was a girl, it was more reality that we were going to have a child together, a little girl. Jonathan's jaw-dropped a little in a "Crap what will I Do with a GIRL?!" way but he was sooo excited to have a princess. He said there'd be no boys left in 10-12 years because he'd take care of them all before they could get to her haha. We called our families and closest friends on the drive home to share the good news. When we got back, we headed to WalMart to pick out the first pink outfit (she already had tons of green and yellow, it was time to get something PINK now that we knew), a little gray and pink striped hooded shirt and pink pants. I took a picture of her tiny clothes on top of Jonathan's cammies to show how small she would be compared to her daddy. It was magical and I was beyond happy that he was there to share that; that we could find out together.



My status from this day in 2010 reads, ""In a very weird mood after waking up from even weirder dreams. I miss you so much babe, so very very much..." A year after meeting, we found out we were having a girl. A year after finding out we were having a girl, he was dead and all I had left were dreams. So much changed each August. Every year, it's almost like a completely new life, with only memories and photographs to prove the other life even existed at all. And the most important proof, my little smiling diva girl. At least I know for sure the lives in the years passed have all been real, and all been mine.

This year, my status has talked about people's milk buying habits in preparation for a hurricane and registering for the BlogHer Writer's Conference. I'm at my mom's in Maryland (just like 2008), watching my little girl run around like a crazy person. We spent time outside and took silly photos with Photo Booth. I have a countdown on my phone for when my boyfriend will get home and am looking at different trips I want me and Ari to take in the mean time, and for all of us to take once he's home. There isn't much direction anymore, just trying to figure things out. It's all changed year-to-year and some days I don't know how to handle it. I suppose you just take each year, each day really, in stride.


Well, I'm off here to go write more 2011 statuses (lol) and see if my diva girl will go take a nap yet. Here's to hoping 2012's statuses on this day are good ones!