All Gone... They Are in the Trash!

Grace made a big decision this weekend. She threw her pacifiers in the trash. She's a big girl now.

She's a big girl now who has had a hard time sleeping the last few nights.

Mr. D has been telling me for the last few weeks that we should take the pacifiers away. She was only using them at naptime and bedtime, so I wasn't as worried. But then again, you're talking to a girl who sucked her thumb until she was 10! So Grace with her pacci addiction had my sympathies.

But I agreed - the longer we waited, the harder it would be, especially with the new baby coming. But I kept putting it off. I told him I wasn't ready for this decision.

So he made it for me. The sneaky Mr. D. Saturday afternoon he and Grace come bounding upstairs with big news. Grace threw away her pacifiers.

Say what?

They had been watching Nanny 911 and it was an episode where the nanny had the kids throw their pacifiers away. Mr. D asserts that Grace was intently watching this happen, so he asked her if she wanted to throw hers away. Supposedly she went up to her bed herself, got them out, came down and threw them away. So that's the story.

Really?

I believe him. I don't think Grace would go along with the story if it wasn't the case. She was quite proud of herself too. For a while. As bedtime came closer, I think she began to rethink her actions. By the time we put her in bed, she realized she had been influenced by the evils of television.

She went to bed relatively easy, but the middle of the night lasted forever. I was up with her for about two hours trying to get her to go back to sleep. Then Mr. D took over for an hour or so and finally got her to sleep.

Surprisingly though, Sunday night went much better. Last night she woke up once, calling for me. I went in to comfort her, and her water cup was almost empty. I told her I would go fill it up... took my time, and by the time I went back, she was asleep again. Yay!

I had a friend tell me that it is usually harder on the parent to take them away then it actually is on the child. I proved her right.

Quick Update

I figured I should check in and prove I'm still around and full of baby! This past week was a doozy. Grace had a cold which she passed on to me as if I haven't had enough difficulty breathing lately. So between feeling worn down with the cold and suffering a few mini-meltdowns of feeling unprepared for baby, I didn't get to play online.

However we are getting are ducks in a row now, or rather our diapers and onsies in a row. After scouring Craigslist for days, we have picked up a changing table, a glider with ottoman, and a Moby wrap (always wanted to try one with Grace) all for under $100. Love it.

We also bought the bedding for the nursery. Take a peak - I know you want to. Of course, I didn't buy ALL the accessories to make it look like little animals have overrun the room. But, Mr. D did insist we order the little rocking chair so Grace has a place to sit while I'm with the baby. It was our splurge purchase for the room. It all arrives Friday. I can't wait.

Today we are going to do some major reshifting in the nursery. I have a truckload of books that I need to move. Currently, there is a bookshelf in the room, as well as a bookshelf in the closet - both full of books. The plan is to move the larger bookshelf into the closet, and move the smaller one out of the closet into Grace's closet. I'm going to fill the larger one as full as I can get it with books, but the one in Grace's room I need to use at least one of the shelves for her stuff. And I see the time coming all too quickly when both little ones will need their closets for themselves... I'll just worry about that when the time comes. So I'm off to shuffle around books - the goal is also to thin out... but I don't know how successful I will be at that.

Cookies and Cards

Baby demanded cookies today. Demanded. Stuck his little foot out against my tummy and said "give me cookies."

Specifically pumpkin chocolate chip cookies.




So you know, I had to listen.

And I had to indulge. To satisfy the baby that is.

But they are whole wheat pumpkin chocolate chip cookies. You see, the whole wheat makes them okay - nevermind the sugar and chocolate.

In other happenings I finished my baby thank-you cards. The lovely women of my bible study threw me a little shower and blessed me with some adorable outfits.



I've been on a card making kick lately - not that I know what I'm doing. I wing it as I go.

The problem with being crafty is that I find myself working at night after Grace goes to bed and I stay up too late. I need to be more disciplined and get myself to bed on time. Its tough though because after spending all day with Grace, I relish my "me" time. I really know that I should be seizing any sleep I can get these last few (six!) weeks before I'm on newborn schedule again. So, now that it is 10:45pm - I guess I should heed my advice and head to bed.

Pooltime Moment

I had a "Sara" moment yesterday. One of my moments when it feels like my world is just falling apart and I forget how to cope. I felt tired down to my bones, the house needed to be cleaned, and I had promised Grace that we would play in her inflatable pool after nap and lunch - and she wasn't going to let me forget it. I sat outside with her trying to be patient as she asked me to wind up one of her pool toys for the hundredth time and fighting back yawns and tears.

Thank God for my husband. I called him at the office.

"Do you have a minute?"

"Are you having a moment?"

Pause.

Sob. "Yes."

He talked me through it. The world isn't falling apart. The house isn't that dirty. It all doesn't need to be done right.this.minute.

Again, God knew what He was doing when he gave me Mr. D.

I was also able to enjoy my favorite part of pooltime with Grace.

When she's all finished, I hold up a big beach towel and she steps to me. I wrap the towel all around her and pull her to my lap. She lets me cuddle and love on her without a squirm. We sit and watch the trees, airplanes, and birds. I tell her she's going to be my little girl forever and how much I love her. She grins at me and laughs when I kiss her. We sit there and I realize how precious these times are and file them back into my memory. This is what should make up my "Sara" moments.

Hi-Ho Hi-Ho A Painting We Did Go

WHEW!

We definitely labored this Labor Day weekend. We spent all three days painting and painting... and painting. My poor husband who hates painting was a trooper and helped me out tremendously and little Grace was very well behaved as well which helped. It just took one incident of sticking her hand on the wet wall to learn that when Mama says, "wet, no touch" she means it. We didn't even have to discipline her for not listening - her distaste of all things dirty did the job for us - she then stayed clear of all the walls.

So we tackled the family room. I liked the color, but felt that just that room wasn't enough.



Mr. D sighed... but knew deep down I was right. Really - he knew.

We continued to the front of the attached wetbar.



But I felt that I still needed to continue the color somewhere else. The front door entry was a good spot - nevermind the challenge of painting the vaulted ceilings. Mr D pretended he could no longer hear me at this point.

Actually, to my credit, I told Mr. D that we didn't have to do it in this round of painting, but he was on a painting mission and wanted his preggie wife (and her preggie emotions) satisfied. I really would have been happy even if we didn't paint the entry.... but we he did.

So its done.... in a way. I think bringing the color to one of the walls in our dining room would really tie the downstairs together. Mr. D says I can think all I want cause he's not painting again for a good few months.

I count the weekend as a success. The computer is downstairs (which I love) - the nursery-to-be is still a mess, but I can tackle that next weekend.