Good Week

1. This week went by fast!

2. I ate at a Lebanese restaurant and it was amazing. I will be going back.

3. Mandie is ready to go pro.

4. Our family is having super fun with the arrival of spring. We have planted some things and cleaned some things and now Mandie is big enough to help. It also means lots of playtime outside and walks with Sam.

5. We aren't going to go to the kite festival because of the stupid rain :(

6. When I am at home I feel like Mandie has WAY too many toys, but when I go out I feel like there are so many things I want to buy for her.

7. At the Lebanese restaurant they had an awesome water pitcher that they poured water all fancy with....I think it made the water taste better. It also reminds me of my Ecce Romani Latin book I had in school.

8. The world doesn't want me to exercise ..I tried to go for a walk with Mandie and Sam today and it started raining so we had to run home. I decided to cut through the common area and hit a tuft of grass with the stroller and almost launched Mandie home.

9. You know you are fat and lazy if you have to look up how to spell the work exercise. It just never looks right to me.

10. I am excited that I'm going to go visit my sister tomorrow.

TEN TEN TEN TEN

1. I don't feel like posting today.

2. I have lots of crazy socks and some I haven't even worn so I'm looking for sock crafts.

3. I sometimes get frustrated because people (and my husband) assume that because I work from home I don't really work.

4. I think that I am going to ignore my diet tonight and drink a Kahlua Mudslide after the baby goes to bed.

5. I love when Mandie plays with silly hats on her own...even better is when she cracks herself up doing it.

6. We are super excited about the kite festival next week.

7. PARENT FAIL...We got Mandie a little bike and she was doing really well on it so I let go and she bonked her head.

8. Now she is scared of the bike but she is enjoying the helmet that I did not have on her when she fell.

9. I flashed the Easter Bunny.

10. I had some crazy dreams the other day that involved all kinds of people from my past...and needing to go on a helicopter to go fishing.

40 is the new 200

1. I found out through playing Drawsome that I didn't know how to spell the word omelet.

2. I almost got pooped on by a dog at the Super Pet Expo. Sam had a great time though.

3. I already knew this, but my Nugget is a beautiful princess!

4. I didn't have enough Nike Fuel points the other day, so I ran in place for 20 mins after I put Mandie to bed. I also established that a treadmill would fit perfectly in our bedroom.

5. I love sewing! I bought my sewing machine a new foot....I wish they were called shoes because it would sound cuter to say I bought my sewing machine a new shoe.

6. I made Mandie a dress, and it is the first thing I have made that I would actually let her wear in public.

7. Paul and I have not smoked in over two years now.

8. Mandie has been much more fussy when we go out because she doesn't want to be in the stroller/cart, so I bring enough snacks for her to eat the entire time we are out.

9. I asked for 40 crickets at Petsmart and the lady gave me over 200. I didn't correct her because she wrote 40 on the bag and even said 40 as she handed them to me. I just hurried home and tried to figure out how I was going to house that many crickets.

10. I really like it on Pinterest when strangers repin something that I made.

I've got lots to do this weekend...

1. I have made two different toddler bed rails this week...it was much more difficult than I expected.

2. I lost 7.6lbs this week and I am really enjoying eating healthy. I also got a Nike Fuel Band and it motivates me to move more.

3. I am posting this now because I am excited about going downstairs and pimping out my sewing machine. I didn't want to get to involved and forget to post.
(Pictures will be posted!)

4. Now I'm wondering if I should have pimped my sewing machine out first so that I could post the pictures.

5. I need to call and check on my Dad.

6. I have major spring fever today. I went out and cleaned up all of our planting bins and was super excited to see baby leaf lettuce.

7. I'm in Mandie's room and I can hear Paul snoring from here. (Both bedroom doors are open.)

8. I made a peppermint lotion mix. Not only did it get repinned a ton, but my hands are soft and supple and smell minty fresh.

9. My Nugget did so well sleeping in her big girl bed last night.

10. Paul is making Quinoa salad and Tilapia for dinner...YUM.

Hardest thing to do as a parent is let them grow up...

So for the last 14 months I have spent my nights cuddled up with my sweet sleeping little Nugget. Her precious face usually just inches from my own. My arm her pillow as we snuggle close.

I never intended for her to sleep in our bed. I was adamantly against it before she was born. Several weeks of very little sleep will adjust your priorities.

It was supposed to be temporary. We kept saying that we were going to get her into her own bed, but quite honestly it was convenient to have her in our bed and we enjoyed being so close to her.

We made some half assed attempts but our heart wasn't really in it.

So what changed now? You might ask. If you don't, then I'm not sure why you are still reading this.

What has changed is that she has gotten bigger and more independent. Sometimes she snuggles and is sweet. Other times you get kicked in the face while you are sleeping and she is rolling around like an alligator.

So since she isn't sleeping well and we aren't sleeping well, it is time for her to sleep on her own.

In many ways we regret that we didn't do this sooner when it would have been probably easier on all of us...but we didn't. So now as she has just discovered how to throw a tantrum we are trying.

For real this time.

It is 4 in the morning and I am in a chair in her room writing this. She is in her bed sleeping. She went down just fine at her bed time, then at 1am she woke up. I tried to comfort her and even rock her to sleep, but each time when I got her to her bed she woke up and screamed. If she were just crying I would probably have given in, but she was throwing a fit and we are trying hard right now to stop her screaming fits.

Finally I went all SuperNanny on her. I did just like I had seen on the show. I laid her down and told her "night night" then turned my back to her. She got up and screamed and only when she would try to climb out of bed would I get up and lay her back down without speaking to her. Very quickly she figured out that she was not going to get her way....and she laid down and went to sleep.

I feel terrible as I do this, but I know in my heart that I am doing the right thing. I am teaching her to be independent, giving her structure, and also giving her a better nights sleep. I will miss her sweet little face when I wake up in the morning, but it was time to let go.

Friday

1. I joined Weight Watchers and I do not like their new plan...but that is a whole blog in itself. (I did find a resolution.)

2. Mandie has been all kinds of fussy this week...she seems to do this every few months when she is going through a big developmental change.

3. Between Mandie being fussy and me being hungry before I got my Weight Watchers fixed, I'm surprised that everyone in my house survived this week.

4. Seeing as I am on Weight Watchers I am obviously not a small person, and yet I somehow manage to sleep on 3 inches of bed each night after Mandie takes over.

5. The other day Mandie decided she wanted to get creative with her outfit and brought to Paul what she wanted to put on.... and this is how that turned out <3

6. We might be hiring one of my former co-workers to work with me on data entry and I am excited.

7. I am going to take Mandie to hang out with 2 little girls who belong to a girl I grew up living next to. It's exciting and neat because now you don't really get to know your neighbors, and I've known this girl since before she was born.

8. I'm in Mandie's room as I'm writing this, because Paul is trying to put her to sleep in our room. She is going through a phase where she only wants me...which is very sweet but not very practical.

9. I was going to type something interesting here but wasn't sure who my audience was going to be.

10. I'm enjoying this little bit of quiet time to myself. :)