A rude awakening. Seeking advice.

So, we have an almost 3 year old girl.

Exhibit A.

I can hear her saying, "Who? Me?"

My point in this post is not to embarrass the wee lass, it is to seek advice.

She is darling.  She is fun.  She is smart.  She is sweet.  She is a crazy kook.  I adore her.

However, I don't love that she has been waking up in the middle of the night for the last few weeks.  Usually it's because she's just wet the bed.  Now, here's the kicker... she's been potty trained for over 7 months.  She hardly ever had accidents, and in the day time, she's a machine.  It's great.  But, lately, she's been waking up cold and wet (well, warm... you get my drift).

First question:  What do you do?  ---Besides purchase a "liquid" resistant mattress pad.  I decided last night to put her in pull ups ---which she didn't want to to, but I can't tell you how tired I am of washing sheets, mattress pads, pillow cases, actual PILLOWS (she's a crazy sleeper like her mom), and bed spread.

Next related story.  One of the first nights, after she had an accident, I came in and she told me that she had spilled her water bottle.  That's why she was wet.  So, I quickly reach for her little water bottle thinking to myself, "Wow, I thought she peed her pants, but crazy that she decided to unscrew her water bottle..." Nope.  It was a lie.  Water bottle intact.  Tightly closed.  Full of water.  Nope, this was definitely not from the water bottle.

So, I picked up Tillie and said calmly, "Hmmm... I don't think it was your water bottle.  I think you had an accident.  Right?  You accidentally went pee pee in your pants?"  And, she was adamant that it was her water bottle.  Crying and saying, "No, mom.  It was my drink.  My drink spilled."

My mind was racing.  Really?  Is this my sweet little two year old blatantly lying to me?  This has never happened?  What is going on?

Keeping my cool, I said to her, "Tillie I think you had wet your pants.  Did you have a little accident?  It's okay if you did.  When mom was a little girl, like Tillie, she sometimes had accidents too."

Finally, she admitted the truth.  She did have an accident.  And, in her words, "Didn't make it to the potty."  I told her it was okay, talked about how it's okay to have accidents sometimes b/c I know that she knows where to go potty, and honestly, I was quite caring and sweet during the whole event.  We had a little teaching moment.  We got everyone cleaned up, she felt better, and we were off to bed.

But, I couldn't sleep.  It was a sad reality.  Yes, it stinks to wake up in the middle of the night knowing you are going to get to wash EVERYTHING again.  And, it was a sad reality that my little girl was growing up---she had totally lied to my face.  But, what was even MORE sad was me remembering how often I'd flipped when Tillie had accidents.  I kept anaylzing why she had thought to lie to me, but soon realized, she was probably freaked out I'd lose my cool.  I'd lie too if I were her!

Then, that spiraled into me feeling bad bad about my parenting---like, Why does she know more about those darn Disney Princesses than she does about the great scripture stories?  Why do I expect so much out of her (her smarts are partly to blame, that girl is so mature), but sometimes I forget that she's only two!?!  I need to spend more time doing fun things with her... etc.

So, I was up for a few hours figuring out ways to be better.  Eventually, I was able to go back to sleep.

Anyway, that was two weeks ago.  In the meantime, I've been trying harder to reform myself.  I went out and bought the Standard Works in illustrated form to read to Matilda at night.  I've been trying harder to do fun things with her in the day.  And, I've been trying to be really patient.

But, Tillie has been having more accidents at night.  So, back to my first question: WHAT DO I DO?  Just buy the big pack of Pull Ups at Costco and have her wear them at night?  Stick it out and eventually it will change (and keep washing everything night after night).

Next question, how do you go back to sleep?  She's been consistently waking up around the 2-3 o'clock hour (sometimes bed wetting, and sometimes crying for random reasons (lips chapped, leg hurts, you name it, etc.), and after a little comfort she can go back to sleep.  But, I have NOT been able to go back to sleep.  It's like my mind won't stay quiet.  So, I sit in bed for a few hours having revolving thoughts about ANYTHING and EVERYTHING and finally decide to do something---either work on wedding invites, respond back to emails, blog surf---whatever.


I'm not jiving on this new lifestyle.  Nights are for sleeping.  What gives?  Please tell me some of you have gone through insomnia.  Any advice?

Anyway, there's the 411.  If you'd like to give your two cents, SPILL IT!  asap.  Let's work for a better and brighter tomorrow---oh wait, I guess it IS tomorrow.

the kitchen update, feb. 2011

We did a lot in February of this past year (I act like it was so long ago because today IS the first day of March...).  I've never been a HUGE fan of our kitchen cabinets.  They have been fine, but the pinkish/milky/stained/hue hasn't been topping out on my FAVORITE THINGS list.  Kapeesh?  Kapeesh. 

Well, one day back in October, while I was in Boston with my sisters and mom, Tillie thought she'd be a great help and get out the big thing of orange juice and pour herself a glass.  Big help at 2.5, no?  Alas, you can guess what happened.  Orange juice everywhere... including UNDER the fridge.  So, Aaron, being a manly man that he is, decided to clean up the mess and move the HUGE REFRIGERATOR by himself.  Well, it came out of the space fine, he got the mess cleaned up, but then as he was putting the fridge back----riiiiiiiiiip goes the linoleum.  Sad boy.  So, we've had this nice tear for a few months that we tried patching, but we have a curious little 1 year old who likes to mess with it and try pulling it back up.  And, there were knicks and stains and all other sorts of flaws.  Let's just say, Tillie isn't the only clumsy one in this house.  Maybe she got her talent from me?

Honestly, the thing is, the floor wasn't so bad.  The cupboards weren't too bad, but I wanted a fairly inexpensive option to help me with my antsy-ness.  You follow?  I think a good project here is a good thing for your psyche. 

Annnnyway, we've decided to stay here in Texas for the next little while.  So, I took the liberty of making some of my little plans for this house come to fruition---with the help of my boyfriend, life partner, AND husband (lucky for me, Aaron is ALL the above).

Here are some BEFORE pictures (I love a good before and after action):

just say it, you love the cereal selection. now, quit giving us guff!  :)

 

The process:  

Aaron had a long weekend off from work, so instead of heading up to Austin to celebrate his birthday (more on the festivities later), we decided to take advantage of the time off and start our project.  We started with the cabinets.  We cleaned, sanded, primed two coats and then did a few coats of the actual paint (semi gloss).  It was interesting doing the painting in a day and a half, b/c both Tillie AND Calvin were sick.  Cal had mega diarrhea and diaper rashes + yeast infection galore (poor baby), and Tillie had a cold that just knocked her flat.  Seriously, she was NOT our little happy bouncing kiddo.  She'd just lay on the ground to rest.  And, when I put her in the tub she just stared at the water coming down.  Normally she's asking to get her hair wet, messing with all the toys---it was heartbreaking that she was SO miserable.  

So, between a bare-bummed baby Cal (yes, there were a few accidents of the #2 variety. and no, they were NOT fun to clean up.) and sicko Tillie, it made for quite the adventure.  Luckily, Aaron and I tag teamed that entire day and a half and got the cabinets ready to rock.  

One cool thing to note, since we knew we were going to be covering up the linoleum with faux wood, we didn't stress when we dripped the paint or primer on the floor.  It was rather exhilarating, really.  

Next up was the flooring.  We'd seen some at Costco weeks earlier and noticed they had a rebate that would make them significantly cheaper if we bought them before Feb. ended.  So, we took it as our sign.   :)  And, knowing they came from Costco made me happy.  

We chose a great color and Aaron got to work.  He was THE MAN.  Muscles he didn't know he had were very sore in the days following.  But, man, oh man!  He did a GREAT job!

Aaron spent the better half of the time in this position.  We call it the Asian Squat.  I think he's crazy for doing so much of life like this... but whatever it takes!  And, yes, Tillie is sporting a little petticoat that used to be mine.  She loves it. 

All's you do is snap and click...   :)  Then saw to fit.  Sounds easy comparatively speaking (you know, to normal wood), but it took him a good while to make sure the cuts were perfect.  Aaron?  He's a good one.

he's the bomb.

poor, sick Tillie.  I caught her mid-wipe.

Yes, the house was a DISASTER!  But, it was all worth it.

So, after 3 whole days of blood (not really), sweat (yes, really), and tears (from the kids)---we have our finished product. 

Well, almost finished.  

The curtain?  Yes, I hesitate to even tell you this, but I wanted to wash it up, so I set the colors with vinegar and salt (thanks, Denise) and washed it in COLD and did hardly ANY heat while drying... it SHRUNK!  Like 5 inches shrunk.  

Boo.  Hiss.  

So, alas, I'm going to figure out how to remedy that SOME day... but in the meantime, enjoy the PRETTY MUCH FINISHED NEW KITCHEN.  I smile EVERY time I walk into it---even to do dishes. Now, that's saying something!

TAAAH-DAAAHHHH!

After:

I followed one of my favorite friend's lead (Patrice, the great).  She just HAPPENS to have the same chicken in RED, and this is where she puts it.  Don't they say copying is the easiest form of flattery?  something like that...

love this floor.

see the curtain sadness?

This was like the CLEANEST my house has ever been.  So, I took full advantage of the kids sleeping and went around snap happy with the camera.  You want a close up to the fridge?  Sure.  That's fine.

More?  Twist my arm.

Let's walk to the front of the house and check out the Valentine's corner.  I wanted to make a painting similar to the amazingly talented Ana Bond's version (Rifle Paper Co.).  Hers is obviously better, but Tillie and I had fun with this one too.

Here is the birthday card we made for Aaron.  He actually drew that dragon when we first got my new pen tool and were messing around.  I loved it, so I secretly pulled that file out and added a balloon and text.  Tillie was PLEASED as PUNCH to give it to her dad.

Okay, let's go into the middle chunk of the house and take a gander at how CLEAN my kitchen table is (aka my dumping ground).  Denise (to those of you who don't know, Denise is my mom), be so proud. 
And, take a look at the flowers Aaron brought home from the grocery store for me (he was out getting supplies for the flooring and diaper rash cream for Cal's bum.  I would have been happy with just the diaper cream, but flowers too?  Ahhh, I'm a sucker for that romantic gesture.). 

I'd say, giving me a NEW KITCHEN is the best Valentine's Day gift EVER!!!  Wouldn't you?

close up on the cute flowers.

Next, let's address the ARMOIRE that we were gifted from our friends in Utah.  They were kind enough to donate their lovely armoire to us when we moved to Texas with almost no furniture.  A year or so ago, I had the GENIUS idea to put my computer in there and create a lovely home office for myself.  Little did I know that it's been done MANY times before?!  Oh well. It's STILL a good idea.  And, I love that I can just slide in my keyboard and lock the doors to keep little hands away.  Nice.

We painted it white along with the entertainment center back in August when my sister was here.  I'd never posted photos, so here 'tis.

and, yes, that is my yarn wreath project in the corner.  Sorry, I didn't feel like moving it.  :)  One day you'll see the finished product.  Until then, by the armoire it sits...

since I don't have a ton of DESK space, we got this tricky little file-esque drawer thing.  I love it.  I keep pens, papers, note pads, chap stick, cords... you name it.  And, I love the color.  It's been the best little addition to my desk!  oh, and there's the Tifany's planner.  Have I used it?  hmm... once.  I might be doing a "give-away" soon!  hAA!

Here's a little shot of the inside of the doors.  I put some of my favorite pictures and quotes up.  My dear friend, Lou Ann, sent me this card in the mail a while back.  Don't you love that she is carrying a load of laundry down the stairs and says, "oh yeah.. I can't wait to BLOG about today."  hAAA!  I chuckle every time I read it.  

The photo of Aaron and me was on one of our first dates.  Good times.  We were so happy then... (and are so happy now, duh!  I just got a new kitchen, for heaven's sake!).  :)

And, then my favorite children are up here. 

And, then some quotes I like, "To love what you do and feel that it matters, how could anything be more fun? -Katharine Graham 

and the other one says "Let the Beauty you love be what you do." 

This is Tillie's princess chart I made for her a few months ago.  She was (and is) having troubles with the lesson "Quickly I'll obey."  

So, I created something I KNEW would work---ENTER Disney princesses.  

I know.  I know.  What have I turned into?  But, I was DESPERATE!  

Anyway, it's been a great help.  She LOVES filling in the little spaces (so funny) but HATES it when I take them off for naughty behavior (most the time I just threaten and that's enough to do the trick).  I love her little scribbles.  They are so sweet to look at through the day.

Anyway, that's pretty much it.  

Oh, well, here are a FEW more in the late afternoon sunlight.  In case you care (which, you probably don't, but you're gonna see the photos whether you like it or not).

there you have it.  I've finally posted the photos!

Questions you might be wondering:

-  yes, I installed most of the new hardware---BY MYSELF.  :)  Team effort, my friend.

-  yes, it is FAUX wood (linoleum), but it doesn't look as cheapy and as fake as many of the other ones I've seen.  I think it's lovely.  And, that's all that matters.

-  yes, it IS easier to spot crumbs and spills than before.  and, that makes me sad.  It's not as dark as others, but it's still a pretty dark finish.  BUT, I'm still in the honeymoon phase.  I really don't mind mopping up the floor now that I love this room so much.

-  yes, the cereal is back up on top of the cabinets.  honestly, where would YOU put all that cereal?  we're running low on space in this little house.  sorry, charlie.  don't be such a hater.

okay, that's a wrap!

january 2011 randoms

I wanted to take some photos of the kids in their Sunday outfits before church (it starts at later this year, so we have TONS of time before church these days---you'd think we could get there on time, but alas...).  Anyway, humor me.  Enjoy a few pics.

Tillie is singing her new favorite song, "A Whole New World" from Aladdin.  She knows every single word and when she gets to the chorus---well, hold on to your hats, because she belts it.  Amazing, this one.

wow.  The song is finished.  Could you feel her passion?  I know.  Me too.

Now, for a little more calming experience... her Nana and Papa gave her a thousand little card games, and they all live happily in this pencil box.

oh, she's singing again.  she must take after her mother...

man alive, I sure do love this crazy KOOK!

Now Cal was ready to join back in the fun.  I love seeing them side by side.  Especially when they are DEEP in concentration.

::: Next up, we decided to go Mini Golfing one afternoon.  Tillie loved the experience but hasn't figured out the "proper" way to putt.  Aaron really wanted her to get the concept down.  It was funny.  She liked her method better.  Her method was MUCH more entertaining, that's for sure.  You be the judge.

Cal started getting bored in his stroller.  So, we decided to let him in on the action...

he really enjoyed his introduction to the high intensity sport that is Mini Golf.

::: I bought Tillie a new jacket from Target.  She really wanted the PINK one (her new favorite color, apparently).  Aaron and I opted for the navy blue one.  Besides, it's much more practical with all the crazy colors she has going on in her little dresser drawers.  Anyway, I asked her to put it on when we got home, and it was like PULLING TEETH.  Anyway, I felt like capturing the little Mopey Mope.  I can't wait to buy school clothes for her when she's in high school.  :)

feeling a little better.  I have NO idea why.  Maybe I bribed her with candy??  I wouldn't put it past me.

::: Aaron spent almost every weekend in January and the first part of February OUT OF TOWN.  It stunk.  He had lots of different work things going on, so we decided to keep ourselves entertained.  And, because we live in San Antonio, the temperature was around 70 PERFECT degrees outside.  So, I took the kids outside to play on our STICK-LIKE grass (oh, how we love thee, Utah grass) while I painted a new Valentine's day painting.  The kids loved hanging being outside.  It was lovely.

Is Calvin happy or what?!

 

I told Tillie to take Jasmine on a "magic carpet ride" (a leaf we found in the grass)---here she is singing, of course, "A Whole New World" yet again.

Since Tillie has sung the song SOOOOO many times, Calvin also knows it by heart (well, kind of).  Here he is joining in the chorus. 

I smell talent.  Broadway, here we come.  Oh yes, I'm gonna be a stage mom.  I can't wait...

The end.