Weekend Update.

Once again, we kept very busy! I love the weather, and I can't wait until school is out. On the home front, the main issue is still our sleeping arrangement.

The toddler bed was a big waste of time. It was too small for her to turn and thrash around. I have always said I didn't want a toddler bed, and I am really glad we didn't spend any money on one!

Adam helped me play musical beds today...we moved the double bed from the guest room into Caroline's room (with a bed rail.) And, we are moving the queen bed from the basement up to the guest room. I am having "guests" on Tuesday, so I've got to get that room put back together!

My "Garden."

I don't have any actual produce growing like my friends, but I do enjoy pretty flowers. Here's how my backyard looks after a lot of work this weekend (and last!)

The vine is a blacked-eyed susan vine that *should* go crazy climbing the obelisk. Around the base, there are pink portulaca. They love the sun and will trail down the sides of the pot. There are two of these planters on the deck.
Also on the deck, this hanging basket is near the grill. I can't claim credit for this one...I just bought it Uptown. I don't really enjoy digging holes in the ground to plant, but my designated digger was unavailable, and I was tired of looking at this empty space under the kitchen window. I planted daisies (perennials) that should bloom from spring until fall. They are the three plants in the back. I also planted two sunflowers for some annual color. Aren't these bright pots fun and cute? I found them at Home Depot, and I couldn't pick just one, so I thought they would look great grouped on the steps leading from the deck to the patio. I didn't plant my "window boxes" last year, and I regretted it every time we sat outside. So, I filled them this year. So far, I'm pleased with how they turned out, but I can't wait until they fill in!I have always loved Gerber daisies, so I put a pot between the two chairs on the patio. There are blooms on the red and orange flowers right now, but there is also a yellow plant in there.Petunias seem kind of boring to me sometimes, but they always end up looking so nice. And, they attract butterflies and hummingbirds, so I mixed three different colors of pink in matching pots. They are sitting on the patio right where it leads to the yard.And, here is a view of the patio from the yard.My mom and I found these cool plants last year, and then I found a very cool pot, so I had to have them. This is sitting on a small table between our new Adirondack chairs out in the grass.

Pappy's Golf Cart.

Caroline learned to drive on Friday! Pappy took her out on his super-cool blue golf cart. Caroline loved it!

Skinned Knees & Daddy's Digger.

Caroline has her first skinned knees. She literally skidded across the sidewalk at my mom's house, and then fell again when we were out at Grammy's & Pappy's the same day. However, we were able to find one of Dada's old diggers in the basement! We cleaned it up, and it's as good as new.

Things You Don't Want to Hear.

If I made a list of things that I never want to hear again, this would probably top it. Aaron's been "out" for a little over a week now, and our we've only talked a couple times. So, today he calls and says, "we made the New York Times." Naively, I say, "what should I search?" As soon as I had computer access, I searched. Here is the first sentence:

"American and Afghan forces backed by airstrikes engaged in a “fierce firefight” with Taliban insurgents in a remote and mountainous region of eastern Afghanistan on Thursday, killing at least 29 militants in an effort to capture one of their leaders, according to a joint military statement."

And, that's where I stopped reading. Seriously. I'm pretty sure it was the words "fierce firefight" that pushed me over the edge. I don't need/want to know these things. If you want to read the rest, here is the article:

29 Taliban Insurgents Killed, Coalition Says

Flashback Friday...on Saturday.

Go Tribe! She can say it by herself now...unprompted.

First Circleville Pumpkin Show

October 2007

Toddler Bed, Night 2.

Caroline was extremely tired tonight, and she asked me to rock her upstairs. Normally, we sit downstairs, and then I take her up. She fell asleep on my lap again, and I put her in bed. Learning from my mistakes last night and taking a suggestion from my brother, I put one of Molly's fluffy dog beds next to the bed in case she rolls off. (There was no time to go to Babies R Us today to look for a rail.) Also, not to worry, I covered the dog bed with a fitted sheet. She's been asleep for about 30 minutes now...

Guess Where I am Going?

Saltimbanco from Cirque du Soleil!

With any luck, Aaron will get to go, too!

Thanks to my MIL and FIL.

Update on Night 1.

Total time crying: 20 minutes. I don't love doing this, and it goes against every thing in me, but in my head, I know that she's stubborn and intelligent and will use that to her advantage, and that the bedtime battles will continue.

Location at 9:30pm: Asleep in her rocking chair; Mama was too scared to take a picture, but it was really cute. I did feel a little bit sorry for her, though. I called my mom who said just to leave her there!

Location at 5:30am: Asleep on the floor as evidenced below.

Summary: So, I wouldn't say that she slept in her bed, but she did sleep through the night! I count that as a small victory. On the other hand, I did not sleep through the night because I kept waking up worrying about her and making sure that she wasn't crying.

Toddler Bed; Night 1.

Caroline has been having some, um, what's a nice say to say this?, "issues" when it comes to bed time. She has been tossing and turning, thrashing and wailing, and staying up much too late.

Keep in mind, this child used to lay down when she was still fairly awake and alert, and she would put herself to sleep by talking to herself or by playing the music in her crib. This bed time problem has just developed over the past 3 weeks or so. I have taken a couple steps to try to correct some of the issues:

Attempt 1: I rocked her until she fell asleep, then put her in her crib. This didn't work because she was waking up just before I would put her in her crib, and then be up for another hour-and-a-half or two hours.

Attempt 2: We turned the crib around so the highest part of the crib was facing out into the room, and Barry modified an addition to the side rail to make it much higher. This didn't work because the first night she was in there, she got out within 2 minutes!

Last night was the proverbial straw that broke the camel's back. About 4:45 this morning, I woke up to Caroline shrieking. This is unusual, so I jumped up and ran into her room to check on her. She wasn't in her bed. I ran downstairs, and I couldn't find her. Thinking she must have been hiding in her room, I ran back upstairs, and I still couldn't find her. Thankfully, she started calling, "Mama" at this point, and I found her sitting in our leather recliner downstairs. I have no idea how long she had been down there.

I finally gave in and converted her crib into a toddler bed. I "babyproofed" her room and took everything out except her bed, her rocker, and her dresser. I put a door knob cover on the inside of her door, so that she can't get out.

I talked to her about her new "big girl" bed and she was excited. Going down tonight was no problem. She fell asleep on my lap, and she stayed asleep when I put her in her bed. Just as I was sitting down to check my e-mail, etc., I heard a funny noise. I thought she was pulling on the door, so I ran upstairs to check on her. I opened her door and discovered that she had fallen out of bed. So, I picked her up, and put her back in her bed, patted her back briefly, and told her it was time to go back to sleep.

It's not working out so well; she's up there screaming now. So, send up a little prayer for me that this transition only takes a few nights, and that things will start to get easier...at least a little!

Memorial Day.

Flashback Friday!

Caroline & Butterscotch

Christmas 2007

Dancing Queen

Ooooh. The title of my post gave me a good idea! I will try to work on it this weekend!

Anyway, here's a short video of Caroline dancing to one of her favorite artists, Raffi. You will see some of her finest skills...head bobbing and toe tapping. You will also notice that Bailey is dancing, too.

I was originally trying to get a video of her jumping, but she had other plans.

By the way, at the end of the video when she runs up to the camera, she is saying "cheese" which is what she says when she wants to take a picture.

Flashback Friday!

August 2, 2007

1 week old

My bracelet.

I got four new beads for my Pandora bracelet! Admittedly, one was purchased by me, but the other three were gifts for Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's (& Father's) Day!

Look what Caroline got Mama and Dada for Mother's and Father's Days!

As an added bonus, she (the baby who is normally a dream to put to sleep) screamed for almost 45 minutes before she decided that she was actually exhausted. I was holding, rocking, bouncing, singing, hushing...nothing was working! She kept saying she wanted to go to my bed. I tried that; she promptly jumped up and thought it was time to play. Although, all's well that ends well, right? The girl is now peacefully sleeping as if nothing ever happened!

Flashback Friday!

January 2008

Laundry Day (front)

Laundry Day & Playing XBox (back)

Our New Toy!

Thanks to my mom's neighbors who were cleaning out their garage, we are the proud owners of a bike trailer. We searched for one on craigslist all last summer, but we were always too late. We are sharing custody of the trailer with my mom until the summer, and then we will take it to our house. I guess this means I *must* buy a bike. Any recommendations?She really does love it...this was at the end of her first ride. What evidence do you have that Caroline contributed to dressing herself on this day?

Flashback Friday!

August 2008

Ohio State Fair