The Quiet Time Quest Continues

I've been trying desperately to make Quiet Time live up to the name around here. I pretty much gave up on getting Kellan to nap over the holidays -- our schedules were just too crazy and out of whack. So I figured the return to normal life would be marked by more naptime battles.

Well, things aren't perfect, but I'm happy to report that he has slept two of the three days so far this week! 

As for why things are going so well...I realized that much of the problem lies in how I'm putting him down at naptime. I used to read a short story, rock him, and put him down drowsy but awake. That's what all the parenting books say to do, right? Well, that left him sleepy, but the second I put him in bed he would be alert and be ready to goof around.

My new approach is rocking, and lots of it. He babbles at me, I keep rocking. He grabs at the back of the rocking chair, I keep rocking. He fidgets with his lips, I keep rocking. It's all in the rocking. Eventually, he can't resist and he finally quiets down.

A little voice in the back of my head is saying, "Don't do this! You'll have to rock him endlessly every time he needs to sleep!" I'm ignoring this little voice. I think that advice held true in the baby days, but toddlerhood requires some serious relaxation assistance. He loves to point everything out in his naptime books, so those aren't helping if they only prompt conversations. And when I sing him lullabies, he sings along with me -- and applauds at the end! I think rocking is where it's at. It's working anyway, and that's what matters.

Now if I can just get him to stop waking up to "check in" at all hours of the night...it happened three times last night! I think I need a nap too.

A Snowy Day

We love snow. I think the only thing Kellan loves more than snow is skiing in it. 

After pointing out to me during breakfast that it was a snowy day, Kellan asked, "Bapa? House?" I asked him if he was talking about Grandpa's house in McCall, and he said yes. (Well, he said "huh" which for him, means yes.) Then he said, "Bapa? House? Peas?" So I'm pretty sure he was asking to go there.

After trying to explain that we can't go to Grandpa's house for a while, I realized that all the poor kid probably wants to do is play in the snow. That, I can do.

With the forecast calling for rain this afternoon, I realized I had the perfect chance to give Kellan a little fun in the snow before it all melts off. So we spent about 10 minutes or so suiting up (usually it takes 15-20 -- I realized that Sesame Street keeps him still enough for me to get everything on him) and headed out. 

We made a cute little snowman, and it's a good thing we took his picture because about an hour later it started raining and the roof started dripping. The poor guy lost both his eyes and his nose.

He's still smiling though...and so is my boy.

Baby steps in decluttering

My quest for a more clutter-free life is proceeding quite nicely, if I do say so myself. I think I'm on a roll here.

In addition to yesterday's refrigerator gutting -- which is a massive weight off my shoulders -- I tackled two important mini-projects tonight. One -- I decluttered the computer desk in the kitchen. Phew. 

And two -- I made use of the address book on the computer. After addressing this year's stack of Christmas cards based on a pile of paper with addresses written down on them, I realized what I was doing was insanity. That "address book" had to disappear and be committed to my hard drive.

Next up: manage the piles of outgrown baby clothes. I have a big Rubbermaid storage tub all ready and waiting.

Snip, snip....WAAAAA!!!!!!!

It was a momentous day in Raygunland...another trip to Monkey Doos for Kellan's second haircut!

Once again, his hair was starting to look a little Trump-like. And since our first trip to Monkey Doos was so quick and painless, we opted for a second visit. (Kellan's very FIRST haircut -- in the Mommy Salon -- was not easy, nor did it look very flattering. I learned my lesson. Best leave a toddler "do" to the professionals.)

So with high hopes, we sat Kellan in the pink Dream Dazzler SUV. Yes, the Dream Dazzler again. We showed him the little Hummer chair, but he would not be deterred. 

What ensued from there? Scroll down for the blow-by-blow, in photo essay style.

The consultation seems to be going well...

Snipping begins....apprehension sets in

Uh oh...MELTDOWN!

A stroke on the cheek from Mommy proves to be no comfort

Oh!!!  A sucker?

Well, NOW we're talking -- and it's PINK

So this is what sugar tastes like -- YUM!

Ah...better get back to driving

All gelled up and ready to break some hearts

Say cheese!!!

(Once the snipping was over, he tried out the Hummer and realized it's a pretty sweet ride!)

Now. For those who may wonder why the heck I allow my son to sit in a pink Dream Dazzler AND eat a pink sucker...what can I say. The boy likes wheels that turn heads. As for the sucker, it was one of those mystery flavors. I didn't know what color it was until I pulled off the wrapper, I swear. We needed a crying antidote and it just so happened to be...PINK.

Pondering a new year

I've never been a fan of New Year's resolutions. But this year -- for some reason -- I feel somewhat compelled to at least entertain the notion.

I did a little brainstorming -- following some guidelines from Simple Mom -- and discovered a couple of recurring themes. One: home clutter is making me crazy. Two: incorporating gratitude in daily life is important to me.

Luckily, these are two actionable items. As for clutter -- it's not easy, but it's a matter of taking time to GET IT OUT. In fact, one of the phrases I jotted down during my brainstorming session was "give things a home or get them out." I think that's a good place to start. If I'm saving something because maybe I'll need it, or I haven't looked at it in a year, or I didn't even know I had it, why am I keeping it??? I am a person who becomes mentally and emotionally cluttered when I'm overwhelmed by stuff. It's time to give myself the clarity I need by clearing out my closets, drawers and cabinets.

As for gratitude -- I realized I have the perfect outlet for bringing more into my life, and you're looking at it. My goal is to make a weekly blog posting about the things in my life I'm grateful for. Especially since I've become a mom, I often have "grateful moments" at the most random of times. It may be a simple, unprompted "thank you" sign from Kellan when I give him a snack or pull a toy out from under the sofa. It may be a little squeeze on the shoulder from Michael that reminds me we're in this life together. Whatever it is, it's time to document those little things that make my life worth living.  

So, how am I doing on both fronts? Well, this weekend I found a couple of cheap organizing items at Target that helped me control some of the clutter in Kellan's room in 10 minutes. I also spent about 30 minutes gutting the refrigerator and cleaning shelves. I wish I had photos to share, but trust me. It was in that state where container upon container is precariously balanced and you're kind of scared something will fall out on you when you open it. It was bad. 

On the gratitude front -- I had a moment during storytime tonight. We got to the part in Time for Bed where the mommy in the book tucks her little one in. Kellan always points to her and says, "Mommy!" I always reply "Yeah, that's right." At that point, he usually puts his hand on my arm and says, "Mommy." That alone melts my heart. But tonight, he gave my arm a firm squeeze, looked up into my eyes, and smiled. I can assure you at that moment I was not thinking about his lengthy crying jag after waking up from today's nap, or about the rice throwing incident (yeah, the sticky kind) at dinner. It just hit me what a sweet boy he is and how lucky I am to have him.

So I may not have traditional New Year's resolutions this year, but I think I have something that makes sense for me. A couple of important, doable areas to work on that will bring more clarity and joy into my life. And isn't that what resolutions are supposed to be about?

Our little rock star

"Too too! Mommy, too too! Peas?"

That's what Kellan says to me whenever he wants to rock out. It's his way of saying, "Please turn on the U2 Elevation Tour DVD?" He says it almost every day. And almost every day, I pop in the DVD and let the rocking begin.

Like any good rock star, Kellan has to have his guitar, piano and microphone (that can be a wooden spoon or whatever) close at hand.

His favorite U2 songs? Beautiful Day is number one, closely followed by Elevation. He sings his version of both choruses around the house, even when the concert isn't on.

I think we have a rock star in the making...

Am I in a Holidaze?

This is it....time to take down the Christmas decorations. This is the weekend to do it, before we become consumed with work and life in general. But I'm a little reluctant.

Usually I'm quite ready to get it all out of the house by about January 2. Not this year. I guess I'm sad because it means our holiday break is officially over. I knew it would go too fast, and it did. 

Sigh. Maybe it can wait until Sunday night...

Sick yet again

I was really looking forward to the few days I have off following the turn of the new year. I planned to do some good cooking (especially with the new slow cooking cookbooks!), take down all the Christmas decorations and do a little New Year's spring cleaning. Now, I think I'll be lucky if I get even 10% of that accomplished.

I'm sick. Again.

I thought that after 3 straight weeks of illness around the Thanksgiving holiday, I'd be home free for a while. Guess not. I mean, I can handle some sniffles. But this isn't just a cold, it's a COLD. It is really doing a number on my sinuses and my energy level. 

I'm positive I caught it from my dad while we were in McCall. He's had a whopper of a cold for a while now, so I guess the germs were just looking for a new home.

Snowballs on the bum

During a particularly raucous afternoon in the snow this week, Enzo ended up with many, many snowballs on his bum. Poor dog. They eventually melted, of course, but left behind some pretty big dreadlocks on his backside, which we had to cut off. 

I felt bad for him, but you have to admit -- it makes for a pretty amusing picture.

Our crafty Christmas

Finally. Now I can show off the crafty Christmas project Kellan and I worked on before the holidays.

I found an excellent recipe for making salt dough ornaments in the slow cooker, and hauled out my Christmas cookie cutters. I whipped up some dough in the KitchenAid stand mixer, and Kellan and I got to work rolling out the dough and cutting it into shapes. It was a great project for both of us, and we ended up giving a bunch of the silver stars as gifts. 

By the way, the cute fabric bowl you see in the photograph above is handmade by Heather, and here's the link to her Etsy shop, sewhappyjane.

Crappy wrap job

I got a couple of fantastic vegetarian slow cooking recipe books for Christmas (thanks Dad, Linda and Ashley!) and I love them. I've already tried out one recipe and it came out beautifully. 

I do not love, however, the way one of them looked when it arrived. It looks like it was wrapped by a two year old, then partially unwrapped, and shipped off to my house. Not worth the five extra bucks for gift wrap -- wouldn't you agree?

Blast from the past

Wow. Check this out. This photo was taken a few days before I turned two -- just about the same age Kellan is now. (Thanks to Uncle Craig for passing it along from his computer archives.)

The Sylvester I'm holding was one of my favorite childhood belongings. I dragged him everywhere, and I'm told that I renamed him "Boobie," which caused my parents some mild embarrassment whenever we were out in public with him.

So, this photo was taken 31 years ago. Sheesh! Yes, I am now 33. It was a low key birthday this year, which was fine by me. If it were a perfect day, I would have hit the slopes, but skiing wasn't really in the cards this year as we had to get back home. 

I did get one birthday wish fulfilled though -- I got to see my boy ski for the first time. And he was AMAZING!

Ripping up the slopes

We have a budding skier on our hands!

I admit I'm a total sap (I'm one of those who cries during certain TV commercials), but even I am a little mystified as to why this brings tears to my eyes. I guess if you boil it down to basics, the fact that Kellan snaps into skis and cruises down a hill on his own means he's growing up. It's at once thrilling and bittersweet. My baby is certainly not a baby any more.

Okay -- I've dabbed the tears away now. This post is meant to brag about how awesome he is on skis! I mean, just look at his face. He LOVES it. He kept saying "More? More?" after every "run" and giggled and said "Funny!" the few times he fell. What more could you ask for in a not-even-two-year-old skier?