NaBloPoMo' No Mo'

There you have it -- the official end of National Blog Posting Month. I managed to get in my post a day (plus photos!), even if the entries weren't quite jam packed with exciting tales. So, from here on out, you might be spared the daily tales from the baby trenches: how Max and I rocked out to Guitar Hero ("Guitar 'Ro"), while Molly shook her groove thang; or how Max pointed out the Blue Fairy in his Pinocchio book and stated, "It's the Mama!" (gotta love that boy); or how Molly and Max had crazy amounts of fun playing with a paper grocery bag. Or you might not.

P.S. You get brownie points if you can tell me the name of the book from which the excerpt above is taken.

Excuse Me

When Max was little we always said "excuse me" to him whenever he burped (or farted) and whenever we needed to squeeze by him. As a result, he always says excuse me when he wants to get by or when he burps or lets loose a volley of "buttcrackers" (as we call them ;). The latest little boy entertainment at our house is to pretend to burp and then laugh uproariously as he excuses himself. Of course, little miss "monkey see, monkey do" has to get in on the action and will also make burping noises and try to say excuse me. Max apparently has set an example in more positive ways as well -- this morning, after Molly had her morning milk, she was snuggling next to me in bed when she let out a loud fart. She cracked one sleepy eye, chirped "excuse me," and rolled over and went back to sleep. What a little lady! ;)

Almost There

November is almost over, which means that National Blog Posting month is drawing to a close. Only two more posts to go and I'll have met the "post every day" goal! Although it's a pretty big time sink (especially because I feel compelled to take and upload new pictures to go along with my posts), I've actually kind of enjoyed it. I've probably bored the pants off of the readers who still do check in here on a regular basis (hi Mom!), but Max and Molly's virtual baby book benefitted from some extra details. I think I'll attempt to keep posting regularly, but I'm pretty sure I can't committ to every day (no cheering).

We've had house of crabby babies this week -- Max has been out of sorts, but Molly has really been a fussbudget. I'm not sure if she isn't feeling well or if she's going through a phase or if she's hungry or tired or what, but she's been throwing some fantastic tantrums with little provocation. She acts tired and pretty much wants someone to hold her constantly, but sometimes that just isn't possible. I can't even blame it on teething, because she now has all her teeth (unless her two-year molars are making an early appearance). Operation Sleep is still chugging along -- Molly is still pretty adamant about waking up around 3 a.m., even though the milk bar is closed. But, she usually goes back to sleep after a few minutes of complaining and she has been sleeping in a little better in the mornings.

Max, on the other hand, seems to be affected by Molly's bad mood and I think he really is teething -- I'm pretty sure his two-year molars are finally on their way. Even when he's crabby, he's still pretty entertaining. He's discovered that he can move chairs around the house and use them to investigate surfaces that were previously unreachable. He also seems to have a good imagination and an eye for abstract shapes. He insists that he sees an elephant in the wood grain of the dining room table -- he often points it out when he's eating. I went to get him up from a nap the other day and he pointed out a bunny ("munny") in the drool marks on the sheets. Tonight at dinner he was taking bites out of a piece of swiss cheese and showing me the "moons" he was making. He'd probably enjoy some more art supplies for Christmas.

Speaking of Christmas, I have to point out that I have about 75% of my shopping done and it isn't even December yet. This might not seem like an impressive feat, but you have to understand that I'm usually lucky if I have that much shopping done a week before Christmas. I even bought some stocking stuffers and the stamps for my Christmas cards. Gee, with no last minute shopping to do and no stocking to make this year, whatever will I have to panic about on Christmas Eve?

Where Is It?

Max is getting more and more verbal and if you give him half a chance, he'll happily talk your ear off (whether or not you understand everything he says is another matter entirely). Lately he's become really interested in where things are. If he's looking for a particular toy, he'll walk around the house, throw his hands up in the air, and exclaim, "Where is it? Where did it go?" He's been watching parts of "Dumbo" for the last few days, and there is a part in the beginning where a stork is looking for Dumbo's mother -- every time he gets to that part he turns to me and says, "Where is the mama elephant? Where did she go? Where? Where is she? There she is!" He says it with such genuine concern and puzzlement each time that it totally cracks me up. The only down side to this line of questioning is that he's taken to asking Dad where I am and bursting into tears if "the Mama" isn't trotted out immediately.

Hiding is also a lot of fun for Max right now. He's discovered a perfect hiding spot behind our (horrible) vertical blinds. If it weren't for his little toes sticking out at the bottom and the constant, "Where is Max? Where IS he?" chatter, we probably really WOULD have a hard time finding him. Max thinks it is very amusing when you walk around and look for him in silly places. Of course, Molly likes to get in the action as well, but she doesn't quite grasp the concept -- as long as she can't see you, she's convinced that she's very well hidden. She likes to sit in Max's "naughty corner," with her feet and legs sticking way out, and peek around the corner so you can "find" her. It's funny every time!

Just as Max is getting really good at playing on his own and doing lots of pretend play, Molly is beginning to perfect the pesky younger sibling role. She follows Max around everywhere and wants to do whatever he's doing (usually to his great dismay). Max will pick up his toys and move around to different parts of the room in an attempt to ditch his little sister and play in peace. Sometimes we can get them to play nicely with each other, but usually they end up stealing toys from each other and shrieking in outrage. They've also started whacking each other on occasion, which usually earns them a quick trip to the time out spot. But, then again, there are the times when they sit across from each other and take turns "beeping" each other's noses, giggling madly all the while.

First Bowl Cut

Maybe almost as important as a child's first haircut is their first "do it yourself" bowl cut. Max's hair had been getting shaggy for quite a while, but somehow schedules never quite worked out so Dad could take him to the barber shop. When Max's bangs finally got long enough that he'd tip his head back so he could look past the hair hanging in his eyes, we knew Something Had to Be Done. Since it was a holiday weekend and all (meaning the barber shop was closed), Dad and I decided to take matters into our own hands. After all, surely we could do a better job than the barber who likes to give him the Mr. Spock haircut (and who I refuse to let cut his hair ever again). And, if not, we still had a few weeks to let it grow out before Christmas.

We set up a chair in the laundry room and found an old towel to put around Max's neck. We grabbed Dad's beard trimmer, a spray bottle of water, and a pair of scissors -- the only hair scissors we own are actually dog hair trimming scissors, but we figured hair is hair. Max wasn't too intrigued by the whole process (especially when he figured out that we wouldn't let him play with the scissors OR the trimmer) and announced he was "All done!" after about 30 seconds (giving me just long enough to do the bangs). I managed to entertain him by squirting water in my face with the spray bottle while Dad did the back and cleaned up the sides with the trimmer. Max really started getting annoyed when he accidentally ended up with a mouth and nose full of hair clippings. We treated him to an afternoon bath afterwards, so all was forgiven.

Granted, it isn't the best haircut ever, but it isn't that bad either. See for yourself. Here's the before shot:


And here's the after shot:


Note that in the "after" shot (where he is hopelessly absorbed in his first-ever viewing of "Dumbo"), he can actually see without tilting his head at ridiculous angles. Hopefully, we haven't ruined his self esteem for life. ;) You'll have to forgive the awful photos -- Max hasn't been in a cooperative photo taking mood and I've been too full of turkey dinner leftovers to roll myself off of the couch.

Too

I ate too much stuffing. I ate too much pie. I took too many naps, read too many novels, and didn't get too much accomplished. I had too much fun lazing around the house and spending time with my family, and I probably logged too many hours in my pyjamas. I drank too much coffee (but it tasted too good!) and hopefully I won't regret it too much for the rest of the week. The evening is flying by too quickly, and I really don't feel like folding too much laundry. I have a feeling I won't be too happy when I have to drag my butt out of bed in the morning and prepare to face the work week. Holiday weekends are always over too soon!

Mama Meme

Kim tagged me for an "Eight Random Facts About Me" meme. So, since M&M haven't done anything cute yet today (unless you count Molly hitting her brother or Max using a Kleenex box as a step stool), you're stuck with this. Here are the rules: Each person starts with eight random facts/habits about themselves. People who are tagged need to write their own blog post and include these rules. At the end of your post, you need to tag eight people and then leave them a comment telling them they're tagged (I think everyone I would tag has already been tagged, so I'm making this an open meme -- if you haven't done it and you want to, consider yourself tagged!).

1. I have certain favorite pieces of silverware that have specific functions. I always eat ice cream with a metal baby spoon (I think it was mine when I was little, but I'm not sure). It's the perfect size/strength for eating Ben & Jerry's straight out of the carton, and the small bites make the ice cream last longer and keeps it from hurting my cold-sensitive teeth. I have a funny, old round soup spoon that I always use to eat soup, but only when I'm eating soup on my own (otherwise I use the standard-issue spoons that everyone else at the table is using). Then there's the fork that I've named "Excalibur" and its counterpart, "Spooncalibur."

2. I always have to brush my teeth and go to the bathroom right before I go to bed. It doesn't matter if I've just gone ten minutes before and don't really have to go -- I have to use the bathroom again right before bed or I can't sleep. And, if I wake up in the middle of the night, I have to make a trip to the bathroom before I can go back to sleep. As you might imagine, between pregnancies and night-waking babies, that's been a big inconvenience these last few years. Likewise, I can't go to sleep with dirty teeth -- I have to floss, brush, and use mouthwash before I go to bed (but, as long as I haven't had anything to eat or drink, I don't have to repeat that process directly before going to sleep).

3. I secretly love Julia Roberts movies -- I have no idea why. She must be the actress I hate to love, and if there's a Julia Roberts repeat on cable, I'll watch it. From "Mystic Pizza" to "Stepmom" to "Mona Lisa Smile" (and everything before, after, or in between), I'll watch them all -- again and again and again. I think I might be in love with her hair.

4. Which brings me to my shameful Hugh Grant confession -- I also love Hugh Grant movies (again, no idea why). He always comes across as a bit of a git, but I love watching him anyway. "Four Weddings and a Funeral" is one of my favorites (I might also love John Hannah -- probably because he reminds me of a guy I had a crush on in high school). Although Hugh Grant can't take all the credit for FWAAF -- I also love it because they quote one of my favorite W. H. Auden poems in the movie (this one, in case you haven't seen the movie ;). I've seen "Nine Months" more times than I can count (yes, the remake, not the original), and I love "About a Boy" (but, I like Nick Hornby in general, so at least I have another excuse). And, of course, I can't forget "Notting Hill," which has the grand distinction of starring both Hugh Grant AND Julia Roberts and which I actually saw for the first time while I was in England, and I then had to do the gross tourist thing and go there to visit the Portobello Road Market. Sadly, I did not run into Hugh Grant there and he did not spill orange juice on me (*sigh*).

5. I like to go on eating holidays. When I'm planning a trip somewhere, instead of being mainly concerned with what museums or sights I want to visit, I plan out what I'm going to eat. Stone crab claws and key lime pie in the Florida Keys; deep dish pizza in Chicago; fish and chips, ploughman's lunch, pasties, and cream tea in England; clam chowder in New England; gumbo and beignets in New Orleans (well, ok, I was about ten when we went to New Orleans, so I suppose I wasn't involved in the food choices ;). I keep an ongoing mental list of all the places I'd like to visit and all the food I'd like to eat!

6. I don't like to kill insects (with the exception of mosquitoes and fleas). I'm not scared of bugs and they don't bother me, but I'd generally prefer not to have them as roommates. If I find a wayward spider or a house centipede or a pilly bug, I catch it in a jar, carry it outside, and send it on its merry way. Live and let live.

7. I've worked in the IT field for almost 13 years now and I still don't own a PDA. I prefer to carry around an old-fashioned paper planner and keep track of all my meetings, projects, lists, and notes that way. I can barely remember to keep my cell phone charged (and I'm constantly forgetting to charge up my iPod) -- the last thing I need is another electronic device to keep track of and in good working order. Although I generally don't like paper clutter, there are some things that can't be replaced with electronics -- I don't think I'll ever want to read books on electronic devices. Curling up on the couch with a Kindle wouldn't be the same -- I love the different paper and typeface and covers and sizes of a real book (and I don't have to charge it!). I spend most of my day starting at a screen -- I read books to get away from that! On a related note, I also worked on websites for years without ever having a web page of my own -- it wasn't until Max was born that I finally made myself a place on teh Internets.

8. I hate calling to order pizza -- ridiculous, but true. I actually don't really like making phone calls of any kind, although I don't mind receiving them. I'm not sure why that is -- I must have had some bad phone experience in my childhood that I've repressed. ;) It probably doesn't surprise you, then, that I think email is one of the greatest inventions ever (although I do sometimes miss writing and receiving real letters).

There you have it -- eight reason why I'm a total nut (as if you didn't know that already ;).

Thanksgiving Redux

Even though we had a wonderful feast at Grandma and Grandpa's yesterday, Dad and I thought it would be fun to whip up another Thanksgiving dinner today. Although it is awfully nice to be treated to a holiday dinner without having to slave over a hot stove all day, there's something to be said for a house that is filled with the smell of roasting turkey, sauteing onions, and freshly baked bread (not to mention a fridge and freezer full of tasty leftovers).

So, instead of heading out to fight the crowds at a ridiculously early hour, we stayed home, took naps, cooked a whole lot of food, and enjoyed hanging around the house. I think I'll round off a very pleasant day with a piece of pie and another nap. ;)

Giving Thanks

I write a Thanksgiving post every year and I know I'm probably starting to repeat myself. But, there are certain things in my life that are worth giving thanks for every year ... even every single day. Although Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday, there has been a little thread of sadness running through it the last couple of years. Thanksgiving will probably always be connected in my mind with the beginning of my pregnancy troubles with Max. For me, it was the first step down the slippery slope of preterm labor. This time of year always brings back all those memories in full force and somehow it seems important to me to take the time to remember.

Remembering how scared we were then and how uncertain things were makes me appreciate how very fortunate we have been. It puts things in perspective and dissolves all the little trials and petty annoyances of life into harmless bits of nothing. There isn't a day that goes by that I don't look at my babies and thank God for them. I'm thankful that they were born and ever so thankful that we were allowed to keep them. Even on the crabbiest, tantrumiest, kicking and screamingest days, I'm grateful my children are healthy enough to drive me crazy -- I know there are parents out there who would give anything for one of those days. There are even some things about their prematurity that I can be thankful for -- if nothing else, it taught me to really take the time to appreciate every single little moment that I have with them. I try not to take anything for granted, because I know how hard won it was. I'm thankful that, whenever I walk in the door, I'm greeted with shrieks of joy ("It's the Mama!"), happy faces, and two little people who can't wrap their arms around me fast enough.

And, as always, I have so many other things in my life for which to be thankful. I'm thankful for my husband -- it still amazes me that I found the perfect person with whom to share my life. I'm thankful that M&M have such great older siblings -- they're such kind, generous, considerate, fun kids. Our families are right up there at the top of the list too -- we're lucky to have such wonderful people in our lives. All of the old friends that I've kept and the new friends that I've made -- Max and Molly have a whole "virtual" family that they've never met, but that have cheered them on and supported them every step of the way. I'm thankful that Dad and I have good jobs and a roof over our heads. I'm thankful for everyone's continued good health. I might even be a little thankful for pie.


Happy Thanksgiving -- I hope you all had a wonderful day!

Crabby Normal

I guess we can tell the gypsies to hold off -- everyone got a decent night's sleep and is feeling much better (although Operation Sleep was a total wash last night). We've now returned to normal levels of crabbiness. ;) Molly still seems a little cranky, but she was mostly her happy, sparkly self today. Max, once again, was 2, with all the emotional ups and downs that the age implies! As a nice Thanksgiving treat, I got off work early today and was able to spend a little extra time with M&M before they were herded off to bed.

I think I need to rethink my Christmas shopping list for Max and Molly -- they seem to have infinitely more fun with "found" playthings. This evening's entertainment consisted of blowing soap bubbles (made of dish soap and water) through a makeshift wand, blowing up a balloon and letting it fly around the room as the air escaped, and playing some elaborate chase game with rules that only Max seemed to understand. The bubbles were the biggest hit and even Molly was begging for more bubbles ("mah bahbs") when we finally had to stop. Max thought it was great fun to try to pop them with his finger ... at least until he figured out that it was hysterically funny to try to catch them in his mouth. The bubbles were a good excuse to have Max and Molly practice taking turns -- they each got a turn to pop a round of bubbles, while the other one waited. They actually did really well, especially Max (patience is not always his strong suit).

After all the excitement, both kids fell asleep quickly and kindly left Mama to her Thanksgiving preparations. It just doesn't feel like Thanksgiving to me unless I at least make a couple of pies, so I'm always in the kitchen the night before Thanksgiving, no matter what our actual dinner plans are. And, I must say, that there isn't anything that makes the house smell better than a homemade apple pie baking away in the oven. Cheers to all -- I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Gypsy Speed Dial

I think the faeries sneaked into our house and replaced our normally pleasant, well-behaved children with shrieking, flailing changeling babies. If there ever was a day that Dad and I were tempted to sell our children to the gypsies, this was probably it (amazingly, today even beat out any of the colic days). My day began pleasantly at 1:30 a.m. when Molly woke up ... and could not (or would not) to go back to sleep. Mind you, we're still sticking to the Operation Sleep rules that dictate that there is no nursing and no picking up between the hours of 11 p.m. and 5 a.m. Usually this isn't a big problem -- Molly wakes up, fusses for a couple of minutes, and goes back to sleep. Last night, the couple of minutes turned into a half hour, then an hour, then two ... she pretty much kept it up until 4 a.m. when she finally fell asleep. I got up a few times to comfort her, but she was never really distraught, just fussy and awake. She didn't have a fever, her diaper wasn't dirty, and she was warm enough. She was up again promptly at 5 a.m., nursed, and didn't want to go back to sleep (she's learned the word "no" and uses it with great frequency).

So, we stumbled downstairs where Molly decided it would be fun to run around and shriek at the top of her lungs. This, of course, woke up Max, who for equally mysterious reasons had been awake and singing in his bed until 10:15 p.m. the previous night. So, it was just barely 6 a.m., I'd managed a grand total of about 2 hours of sleep and I was up with two very overtired children. Things pretty much went downhill from there. ;) Neither child took an adequate nap and both spent a good deal of the day screaming, crying, and writhing about on the floor. Most of tonight's dinner was thrown on the floor. Needless to say, we soldiered on through dinner and baths and tried to get everyone to bed promptly. Add the baby craziness to the holiday craziness and general work craziness and today has been an exhausting day.

I'm not sure what the cause of the bad moods is -- I'm afraid that one or both of them may be catching a cold. If that isn't the problem, then I'm worried that Molly is having a reaction to the MMR shot she got two weeks ago (which would mean Max is either catching a cold or just overtired from all the Molly drama). Molly has developed a small pimply rash on her cheeks over the last couple of days, but right now it doesn't look like a shot reaction rash and she sometimes gets rashy cheeks. I'm sure hoping tonight goes a little better -- if it doesn't, Operation Sleep will be temporarily suspended while Molly isn't feeling well. Everyone knows that sick little girls need their Mmmbies and cuddles. ;)

Look! It's Prematurity Awareness Month!

November is Prematurity Awareness Month and MasterCard is working with the March of Dimes to help fight prematurity. Throughout November, MasterCard is helping the March of Dimes raise awareness and double their fund-raising efforts by matching online donations, dollar–for-dollar, made with a MasterCard card.

As I'm sure you know, we support the March of Dimes and make regular contributions in honor of Max and Molly. Their latest Every Baby Has a Story campaign is working to spread the word across the country. You all have been reading along with our story over the past few years -- we've been fortunate enough that our story has a happy ending. Every baby and every parent deserves a chance at that happily ever after.

So, if you're looking for ways to rustle up a few extra tax deductions before year end, I'm sure the March of Dimes would love to give you a hand. ;)

Lazy Sunday

I'm still not feeling great, but so far I haven't developed a full-blown cold (*knock on wood*). But, not surprisingly, I didn't get a whole lot accomplished today. I didn't go grocery or baby clothes shopping. I didn't clean the basement. I didn't eBay or Craigslist any of the numerous items I keep saying I'm going to sell. I didn't dust, clean, or vacuum anything. I didn't throw away the "orange ball" from yesterday (apparently, it was still fun today). I didn't even cook dinner (it ended up being one of those rare pizza nights ;).

I did take two naps, finish one novel, leaf through a couple of magazines, take a shower (!), look up camera prices online (*sigh*), check my email, blogs, and message boards a few too many times, and eat some ice cream. In my defense, in between my bouts of extreme laziness, I also folded two loads of sheets, washed and folded a load of towels, made two beds, made breakfast and lunch, and took the kids outside to play.

I have to say that I'm really looking forward to the short work week -- it's always nice to have a couple of extra days off and Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. How could you not love a holiday that's all about family, good food, and counting your blessings?

Under the Weather

Ugh, I woke up this morning with achy muscles, swollen glands, and a bit of a sore throat. Since nobody else at home is sick, I suspect that my body is trying to fight off the latest plague that is making the rounds at work. Although it isn't any fun to spend your weekend being sick, at least I have the hope of being able to squeeze a nap in somewhere. It can also be a bit of a challenge to take care of two little ones when the only thing you feel like doing is curling up on the couch! It doesn't help that Molly has been super needy and fussy for the last few days -- I hope she isn't catching something herself. She didn't sleep well last night, and the lack of sleep hasn't improved either of our moods.

But, come mid afternoon we were all getting a little stir crazy -- it was too wet and cold to go outside and Molly and Max had some energy to burn. So, I got everyone suited up and strapped into their car seats and we decided to take a little ride. I had some library books and DVDs that I had to return and I had planned a brief trip past the drop box. But, as soon as Max saw me load the pile of books in the car, he got all excited and started yelling, "librardee! librardee!" So, against my better judgement, we returned our books and went inside so Max and Molly could spend a little time playing with the toys in the children's section, sitting on every child-sized seat they could find, and terrorizing the patrons.

We took a little ride and then came home so I could start dinner. You know you really aren't up to parental snuff when you'll let the kids do just about anything as long as they aren't fighting or whining. Max managed to snake an orange off of the counter and he and Molly had a blast playing with their new "ball." Normally I don't let them throw fruit around the house, but the orange was destined for the trash anyway (it had seen better days) and they were really having a blast. And, as they hurled it at the wall and rolled it on the floor, it left a wonderful orangey fragrance in the air. Lets hope I feel better tomorrow or the avocado on the counter might not stand a chance. Guacamole anyone?

My Family, My Family

It's been a little while since my parents, siblings, and I managed to get together in the same place, at the same time. Since we all live in the same state, you'd think this would happen more often than it does, but with everyone's busy schedules and my travelingwithbabiesophobia, it's actually a fairly rare phenonmenon. So, when we all ended up at our house yesterday, we ate a lot of food, goofed around, and enjoyed our little family reunion.

Max was excited to see Papa and Papa (somehow, Max's grandmas all ended up being "Papas" too) and really enjoyed his time with his uncle and aunties. He was thrilled to have such a large audience for all his tricks and was quite the little ham. Molly didn't quite seem to know what to do with all these people in the house, so she stuck pretty close to Mama for a little while. She warmed up after a while and treated everyone to some of her interpretive dancing (with some pre-bed streaking as a grand finale -- Molly has figured out how to take off most of her clothes :P).

We were sorry we could't all visit longer -- Max was wandering around before bed looking for his Papas and his "Mungo Manko" (Uncle Michael). I suppose we'll have to gather up our courage one of these weekends and head over the river and through the woods to pay a visit to Grandma's house.

You Know You're Cute When ...

... you even manage to look adorable with drool running down your chin. ;)

Long day = short blog post. After a day spent wrestling with an ASP.NET application and an evening spent celebrating Aunt Doodlebug's birthday with the family, Mama is ready for bed! Lets hope that Molly is of like mind.

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like ... November

I think I rant about this every fall, but I swear that the retail Christmas season starts earlier and earlier every year. Our grocery store had Christmas treats out before Halloween and I was even hearing occasional Christmas muzak in October. Apparently, once November rolls around, it's officially time to start decking the halls. A nearby shopping center already had its holiday decorations on the lamp posts before the first week of November had ended. On November 1, our neighbors down the street put up their Christmas decorations as they were taking down their Halloween stuff. And, just for the record, their decoratations aren't limited to a few strings of lights -- they have a few glowing reindeer, drums, flags, lights, and a giant inflatable snow globe in their front yard (all of which are being fully lit/inflated every evening).

Don't get me wrong, I love the holiday season, but I really wish I wasn't already sick of it by the time December actually rolls around. I don't think it's out of line to want to have a little time and space to enjoy Halloween and Thanksgiving before I have to start worrying about stocking stuffers and mistletoe. For heaven's sake, at least let me digest my turkey before I start panicking about my Christmas to do list!

Summer (Fall) Reading

I've always loved reading. When I was little, my parents read chapter books to us (the "Little House on the Prarie" series, among other things) and I remember that I couldn't wait to learn how to read, so I could read books like that myself. I used to draw pictures in my sketchbooks that contained lists of all the words I knew how to read and spell. My mom probably remembers it differently (I'm not sure how accurate the memories of a five year old are), but I remember working really hard to teach myself to read before I started kindergarten. "Tip" was the first book I could read by myself and I was so proud. I remember walking into a bookstore around that same time, finding a copy of "Green Eggs and Ham" on the shelf, and getting so excited because I could actually READ it. I've been a total bookworm ever since.

I mostly read fiction, but I have a special spot in my heart for children's literature. I've read the "Wizard of Oz" series, the "Chronicles of Narnia", and all of Louisa May Alcott's work more times than I can count. I have to admit that I STILL enjoy a good children's novel, and you'll often find me furtively browsing the shelves in the child and teen rooms at the library (although sometimes I bring Max and Molly with me, for cover ;). Big Sister also really loves to read and we enjoy passing book recommendations back and forth and discussing the books we've read.

I do have to say that sometimes I have NO idea why certain books are designated as "children's books," while other books are lumped in with the adult fiction or the science fiction/fantasy books. I recently read all of Diane Duane's "Young Wizards" series and I thought they were totally fun, engrossing, and well written. I also read Phillip Pullman's "His Dark Materials" trilogy this summer, of which "The Golden Compass" is the first novel. I enjoyed Pullman's series immensely (and was truly sorry when I finished the last book), but it puzzled me that such a complex, dark tale had been flagged as a book that was most suitable for children (even though it is precisely the kind of book I would have LOVED as a child). I suppose the recent hullabaloo about Pullman's work and the upcoming movie reflects that conundrum, although I think people are making much ado about nothing. If you actually read the books and take the events in the context of the story, they aren't quite as radical or shocking as certain groups are suggesting. And, of course, we all know that powerful and influential organizations never go astray and abuse their power and to suggest that such a thing could happen is shocking. And, I'd be willing to wager that most of the more complex and interesting aspects of the novel were stripped from the movie anyway, in order to make it fit for the consumption of the general public.

I've read scores of (terrible) "adult" novels that are not anywhere near as well written or thought provoking as Duane's and Pullman's work. So, what makes a children's book a children's book? As near as I can tell, it really has nothing to do with the complexity of the story, language, or themes (except, there usually isn't much R-rated material in a children's novel), but rather with WHO the main characters are. If the main characters are children and the book isn't a first-person narrative, especially if it has any kind of fantastical element to it, I think the book automatically ends up in the publisher's "children's" bucket. The first-person narrative, oddly enough, seems to be important - why are Ray Bradbury's "Dandelion Wine" and "Farewell Summer" in the adult sci/fi section, while Pullman ends up on the children's shelves? I suppose I'll just keep shamelessly trawling the shelves in the children's section, just so I don't overlook some great novels!

Operation Sleep: The Tenth (and Final) Night

Well, we made it -- all ten days and I'm only suffering from a modest amount of sleep deprivation. Although we're night quite there yet, we've made a lot of progress over the last week and a half and I think another couple of days will put us at that finish line. Last night was actually (by our standards) a huge sleeping success. Molly went to bed at 6:30 p.m. and slept straight through until 1 a.m. (I can't remember the last time that happened). After she woke up, she fussed on and off for the next hour -- I was still downstairs on the couch and didn't go up to get her, since she was only half-heartedly complaining and not really upset. She fell back to sleep around 2 a.m. and slept until 4 a.m. I decided that 4 a.m. was close enough to 5 a.m. for a girl who hadn't nursed in 10 hours, so Molly had her morning milk and went back to sleep (in her own bed) until a very respectable 6:30 a.m. Hooray! Hopefully a few more days will do the trick -- Dr. Gordon seems to agree, because here are his "after" instructions:

After these first ten nights, continue to cuddle and feed to sleep if you like and she wants to, but do nothing when she wakes up except to touch a little and talk to her briefly. This may continue for another three or four nights but occasionally keeps going for another week or more. Then . . . it stops. She has learned that she is just as well-loved, gets virtually everything she needs and wants all day, but must give seven hours per night back to her parents and family.

Gee, now that Operation Sleep has come to a close, what the heck am I going to blog about? Hey, guess what we had for dinner tonight ... ;)

Operation Sleep: The Ninth Night

Well, the second to last night went ok -- not great, but ok. Molly went to bed at 7 pm., slept straight through until 11 p.m., woke up to nurse, and went back to sleep. She woke up again at 1:30 a.m. and wasn't too happy about not being able to nurse or cuddle with Mom. I talked and patted and comforted and then went back to bed. Molly gave a few shrieks of outrage, fussed on and off for a little while, and then went back to sleep. She got up just before 5 a.m., nursed, and went back to sleep with me. We all woke up at 7:30 a.m. and got up to start our day (which, thanks to Dad, got off to a nice start with some Sunday morning doughnuts and coffee :).

I wanted to take Max and Molly out for a walk today, since it's now too dark when I get home from work to go walking, but the weather was cold and icky and we had inside chores to do, so we never made it out. Max did ask to "play guitar" after lunch, so before nap time we played a friendly little game of Guitar Hero, while Molly danced. He doesn't really know what he's doing, but he sits there with the guitar and concentrates hard on hitting lots of buttons. I have to say that I beat the pants off of Max ... woot! :P) After naps, Max helped me finish off the pasties, while Molly, who was really fussy today, clung to my legs and whined. Of course, I use the term "help" very loosely -- I'm not sure that transferring large amounts of flour between several plastic containers really counts as helping, but he thoroughly enjoyed himself! Max must have done something right, because the pasties were delicious:


And now we're off to finish the last night of the sleep plan. Somehow, I think it's going to take us a few more nights to work the kinks out, but I think we're moving in the right direction. Molly has actually been sleeping more, even though she's waking up less. She's been asking to go to bed earlier and has been sleeping in later -- now we just need to do a little middle-of-the-night fine tuning!

Operation Sleep: The Eigth Night

I knew that I was jinxing myself as soon as I typed the words "in the home stretch" last night. But, I merrily typed and published them anyway and had to face the consequences. Molly woke up at 1:30 a.m. and decided that she wasn't happy about the new phase after all -- and she made sure Max and I knew it (à la Night Four). But, Mom held firm and, after lots of comforting pats, soothing words, and desperate recitations of "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star," Molly finally went back to sleep. She woke up at six for her morning milk, then stayed in bed with me and went back to sleep until 8:15 a.m. She slept through the 7 a.m. phone call and even Max chirping over the monitor didn't phase her -- we didn't get out of bed until we heard Dad come home, which almost never happens. Dad was nice enough to let Mom get a nap in before he went to bed, so we all ended up tolerably well rested.

When M&M went down for their nap, Mom indulged in a good cup of coffee and a mediocre novel. Sometimes the strategy of picking a library book based on the cover art fails miserably (kind of like selecting a bottle of wine based on the label design ;). But, the great thing about library books is that you don't have to feel guilty about your unintellectual process of selection -- if you end up with a crummy book you're only out a little time and a short drive (instead of being $20-30 poorer). I probably wouldn't have made it past the first couple of chapters, except I didn't have any other library books left to read.

When Max and Molly did get up, we decided to make a quick trip to the library, to address my reading material dilemma. Max was so excited to be taking a ride to the "librardee" and was laughing with glee as soon as we got out of the car. Taking the two of them to the library and trying to keep them quiet and contained isn't an easy task, so we made a very quick trip through the adult fiction section (I'd already figured out what I wanted -- and made sure it was in -- before we left the house) and then headed over to the children's section. Max is always intrigued by the toys and the kid-sized seats in the children's section -- Molly just wants to run around like a crazy thing. We grabbed a couple of Disney DVDs, managed to successfully navigate the checkout line, and tromped back out to the car.

We went home for dinner, play time, baths, and bed -- Molly was begging to go to sleep before it was even 6 p.m. I had planned to make my favorite Michigan pasties for dinner, but by the time we got back from the library it was already getting too late. So, we had tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches instead. Max did help me make up the dough for the crust -- we'll have the pasties for dinner tomorrow instead. So, stay tuned for tomorrow's exciting installment of "Will Molly Sleep?" -- wish me luck!

Operation Sleep: The Seventh Night

As I mentioned, last night was the first night of the final phase of our sleep plan. Here are the rules for the final four days:

Nights seven, eight, nine and ten. Don't pick her up, don't hug her. When she awakens after 11 p.m., talk to her, touch her, talk some more, but don't pick her up. Rub and pat only. No feeding either, obviously. She will fall back to sleep. Repeat the rubbing and talking when she reawakens. By the end of the ninth night, she will be falling back to sleep, albeit reluctantly for some babies and toddlers, with only a rub and a soothing voice.

I'm happy to report that my trepidation last night was unfounded (although the excessive consumption of freshly-baked cookies was still very therapeutic). Molly totally surprised me last night and was a sleeping superstar! She went to bed at 7 p.m. and then woke up at 11:02 p.m. to nurse (I give her a bit of grace period if she hasn't already been up). When she woke up again at 1:30 a.m. and started yelling for Mama, I went to her crib, tucked her back in (in spite of her protests), and shushed her and patted her for a couple of minutes until she calmed down. Then I climbed back into my bed and gritted my teeth, expecting to listen to Molly screech for a very, very long time. I sang her a couple of rounds of "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" from my bed and, to my surprise, her fussing lasted a mere ten minutes or so. After that, she rolled over and went back to sleep. I didn't hear another peep out of her until 5:30 a.m. – I let her nurse and she went back to sleep. She was still zonked out at 7 a.m. and I actually had to wake her up for breakfast. I'm sure hoping this wasn't a fluke – I could really get used to this whole "sleeping more than two hours at a time" concept. ;) I think we might be in the home stretch ... but maybe I should eat a few more cookies, just in case. ;)

Operation Sleep: The Sixth Night

Hooray, we're more than halfway done with baby boot camp! Right now it's hard to say how much progress we're making – Molly isn't eating between 11 and 5, but she's definitely still waking up. She did ok last night – she was up twice before 11 to nurse (granted, she did go to bed at 6) and then she got up a couple more times before 5 a.m. There was some minor squawking and complaining, but no major scream fests. Her built-in clock appears to be very accurate, because Molly was up at 5:04 a.m. and ready to have her breakfast milk and start her day (*groan*). Once we get her sleeping straight through from 11-5, then we'll work on getting her to sleep in a bit more. We'll just have to convince her that 6 a.m. is the "new" 5 a.m.!

Tonight should be another fun-filled night, because it's the start of the final phase of the ten-day schedule. For the last four nights, I can go to her when she wakes up and give her a few pats and some comforting words, but no picking up and no cuddling. I have a feeling Molly isn't going to like that any more than she liked the nursing moratorium. Wish me luck – at least tomorrow is Friday, so if I don’t get much sleep I only have one more day of work to zombie through. ;) Since it might be a rough night, I decided that I had to make a batch of chocolate-chip cookies to fortify me for the siege. MmMmmm!

Operation Sleep: The Fifth Night

Last night went much better than the previous night -- shrieks of outrage were kept to a minimum. Molly nursed right at 11 p.m. and then went back to sleep until 1:30 a.m. When she woke up, I picked her up and held her for a few minutes. Instead of nursing, she seemed content to lay her head on my chest -- she seemed to take comfort in the fact that her "Mmmmbies" were still there, even if she wasn't allowed to nurse. I put her back to bed and she went to sleep. When she woke up again a half hour later, I put her into bed with me and she quickly fell asleep. She didn't wake up again until 5:30 a.m., at which point she was allowed to nurse. She did managed to start my day off with a good chuckle, because when she finished nursing, she looked up at me, laughed, and said, "Boobies! Ta-da!"

Ever since Night Four, she's been a little extra needy about nursing during the day. I think she's afraid that the nighttime nursing ban might suddenly extend to other parts of the day. Either that, or cutting out the nighttime feeds has made her hungrier during the day. She did have her MMR vaccination on Tuesday, so I suppose she might be a little out of sorts from that as well. In spite of some good naps today, she was very tired tonight and was asking to go to sleep at 6 p.m. Hopefully, tonight won't be too rough for any of us. [Note: Given the recent lack of sleep around these parts and the time change, today's entry gets a recycled photo, because I didn't have a chance to take a new one today. I'll try to do better tomorrow!]

Operation Sleep: The Fourth Night

After eleven
Baby awake, milk bar closed
Molly’s lungs are strong

Operation Sleep: The Third Night

Last night was the final night of the first phase -- it went ok. Molly didn't do great, but she didn't do horribly either. She woke up about three times during the night, protested half heartedly about the short nursing sessions, and then was up at 5 a.m. for good (blasted time change! ;). She took two good naps today and was her normal, jolly little self.

Tonight is the first night of phase two, and I'm predicting that there's a stormy night ahead of us. Here are the rules for the next three nights:

Again, the nursing to sleep stops at 11 p.m. When she wakes up, hug her and cuddle her for a few minutes, but do not feed her, put her down awake. Putting her down awake is a crucial part of this whole endeavor because it really does teach her to fall asleep with a little less contact and then a little less. Not feeding is the big change during these three nights. One-year-old babies can easily go for those seven hours (or more) with no calories. They like to get fed a little through the night, but physiologically and nutritionally, this is not a long time to go without food.

Try telling that to Molly! I have a feeling she'll be really disappointed when she doesn't get the "Mmmmbies" on demand. There's a good chance that Juan Valdez might be my new best buddy come morning.

Operation Sleep: The Second Night

Well, the second night didn't go as well as the first. For some reason, Molly had a fussy night of sleep last night. She went to bed around 7 p.m., which is a bit later than her optimal bedtime. She slept until 11:03 p.m., then woke up for a brief nursing session, then back to bed. She then proceeded to wake up at 1 a.m., 2 a.m., 3 a.m., and 3:30 a.m., until I finally brought her back to bed with me. I did stick to the program (I'm actually allowed to co-sleep ;), so there were some brief periods where Molly protested mightily. She didn't get up until 6 a.m. (which would really have been 7 a.m., if not for the time change this weekend), which is actually good for her. She took a long morning nap and a long afternoon nap and went to bed promptly tonight. Hopefully she'll have a better night tonight!

In un-sleep-related news, we took advantage of the beautiful fall weather this weekend and spent a lot of time outside. Most of it was spent doing yard work -- Dad hurt his back this week and is out of commission for a few days, so Mom did the mowing, gave the "flower" beds another weeding, did some minor hedge trimming, and tidied up the yard in general. This probably doesn't sound too impressive, until you take into account that a couple of preemie babies, a few hospital stays, and a summer's worth of bed rest has taken its toll on our yard. At least right now I can walk out the front door of my house and not feel like I need to start apologizing to our neighbors. ;)

Once the chores were finished, Max, Molly, and I went for an afternoon walk and the first thing Max said when he stepped out the door is, "More walk, more candy!" Since he repeated the "more candy" request several times on the walk, especially when passing the neighbors' houses, I think he was hoping for a repeat of our Halloween "walk." But, even though they didn't come home with any candy, Max and Molly had fun crunching through the leaves, looking for bunnies, and playing at the park. Sadly enough, all the yard work and walking has left me tired and sore! With my daily blog post completed, I think I've earned a good, long stint on the couch with some snacks and a good book!

Operation Sleep: The First Night

Well, the first night of Operation Sleep actually went fairly well -- it was pretty much the same as any other night (which, of course, is terrible by most people's standards!). I put Molly to bed at 6:30 p.m. and she went right to sleep. She woke up at 9:45 p.m. and, since it wasn't yet 11, I nursed her and put her back to bed like I normally do. She woke up again at 12:30 a.m. -- I got her out of her crib, let her nurse for two minutes, then gave her a kiss and put her back in her bed. There was a minor whine of complaint when she didn't get to finish her snack, but she went right back to sleep. She was up again at 2:30 a.m. and 4:30 a.m. -- both times she nursed very briefly and went back to bed. At 6:00 a.m. this morning she was up for keeps and ready to start her day. She did surprise me by taking a one-hour morning nap and a THREE-AND-A-HALF-HOUR afternoon nap (lately she's been skipping the morning nap and taking a 1 1/2 - 2-hour afternoon nap). Of course, to balance things out, Max didn't take any nap at all.

Even after all that napping, Molly was ready for bed at 6:30 p.m., but I didn't manage to actually get her in bed until 7. So far this hasn't been terribly painful for anyone, but I'm guessing that the next phase is going to be the rough one for us. Stay tuned ...

Operation Sleep: The Preparation

As I'm sure I've mentioned (ad nauseum), Molly isn't a good sleeper. At the grand, old age of 15 months, Molly still wakes up 3-4 times a night. Previously, she'd nurse and go right back to sleep, so I didn't really mind the night waking. But, during the last few weeks she's started waking up and throwing baby fits about going back to sleep. As with Max, who also didn't sleep through the night until around 15 months, the sudden appearance of snotty nighttime behavior has pushed us to the point where Something Must Be Done. That and the fact that Dad and I want our bedroom back -- Molly has been sleeping in our room, since we were waiting until she was sleeping through the night (or close) before moving her in with Max. We thought we were close to evicting our roommate when she was five months old and started sleeping through the night ... but then she started cutting teeth and the whole sleep situation fell apart.

Max's main problem was the initial going to bed transition -- he was a pacifier baby and I don't think he was very good at self soothing. We ended up doing a kindler, gentler cry it out method with him. We were all miserable for about an hour the first night, 20 minutes the second night, 5 minutes the third night, and he's been a wonderful sleeper ever since. Molly, on the other hand, has no problem going to bed. You can plop her down in her crib at bed time, wide awake, and she'll stick her fingers in her mouth, roll over, and fall asleep. BUT, she is terrible about waking up at night and requiring Mama's presence (and a little nursing) before deigning to fall back asleep ... if she does. Lately it isn't unusual for her to decide to wake up at 4:30 a.m., demand books and play time, and refuse to go back to sleep. But, aside from the fact that Mama can't stand to let her little girl cry for long, we don't think the process that worked for Max will work for Molly. We thought Max was stubborn, but Molly is STUBBORN -- plus, she has an amazing set of pipes and incredible stamina.

So, now that Molly's teeth are virtually all in and Mama can't make excuses for the night waking any more, we've settled on this plan. I think it has the potential to be effective and appears to be Mama and baby friendly. So, I think tonight is the night that Operation Sleep will commence. Hopefully, in ten day's time we'll have a sleeping baby and a well-rested Mama and be wondering (like we did with Max), why the heck we didn't try it sooner!

To try to keep myself honest, I'll be posting daily reports to let you know how Operation Sleep is progressing. Just to pique your interest, this is what we'll be doing for the next three nights:

At any time before 11 p.m. (including 10:58) nurse to sleep, cuddle and nurse when she wakes up and nurse her back to sleep, but stop offering nursing to sleep as the solution to waking after 11 p.m.. Instead…..

When your baby awakens at midnight or any other time after 11 p.m., hug her, nurse her for a short time but make sure she does not fall asleep on the breast and put her down awake. Rub and pat and cuddle a little until she falls asleep but don't put him back on the breast. She must fall asleep with your comfort beside her, but not having to nurse to feel comforted enough to drift off.

During these first three nights, repeat this pattern only after she has slept. She might sleep for fifteen minutes or she might sleep for four hours, but she has to go to sleep and reawaken to get cuddled and fed again. At 6:01 a.m. [note: we're going to go with 5:01 a.m. instead, at least initially], do whatever you have been doing as a morning routine ...

It makes me a little nervous that the next sentence reads, "These will be hard nights." Wish us luck, because I'm sure we'll need it! Tomorrow I'll let you know how the first night went (after I've had a couple of cups of coffee). ;)

Trick-or-Treat!

Max and Molly had a great Halloween. We dressed Molly up as Little Miss Muffet and Max went as The Spider. As usual, I had an impossible time getting a picture of them together -- neither one of them wanted to stand still, ESPECIALLY if they were actually next to each other. Add that to the constant tearing off of hats and hoods and proclamations of, "All done!" (Molly says it now too), and you end up with a challenging photography session. I love this picture, because they both look totally disgusted with the whole process already! Molly did have a little "Curds and Whey" bucket, but she didn't want to hold it for more than a nanosecond.

Mom took Halloween afternoon off, so Mom, Max, and Molly carved their pumpkins after lunch (the little kids weren't able to stay up for the pumpkin carving the night before). Max enjoyed helping me scoop out the pumpkin guts, although his favorite part of the whole process was playing with the bowl of pumpkin seeds I set aside. Molly wasn't interested in the carving at all, but she LOVED her little pumpkin. She kept calling it a ball and throwing it around the room (it weathered the abuse pretty well). After that we all took naps, collected the big kids from school, and went over to Grandma and Grandpa's house to model costumes and have dinner (where Molly reaffirmed her love of pudding).

We got home a little before six and the big kids finished getting their Naruto costumes ready while I took M&M around to the neighbors' houses. Since her bedtime was fast approaching, Molly pretty much got tired of Halloween after the first couple of houses. We ended up going back home so I could put Molly to bed, and then Max, Big Brother, and Big Sister and I headed out to do some serious trick-or-treating (Dad stayed home to pass out the candy). I thought Max might get bored or tired or sick of wearing his costume, but he had a blast! I finally had to drag him home because his candy bucket was so full that it wouldn't hold another piece of candy.

He didn't quite get the whole concept of Halloween. In spite of weeks of coaching, Max kept forgetting to say "trick-or-treat," but he would start yelling, "Heeellllooooo!" as he was running up to the house. He was very good about his thank yous, however. I couldn't believe he walked as far or as long as he did -- he only started acting a little tired when we were about a half a block from home. Big Brother and Big Sister were more efficient than Max and I and ended up with a ton of candy.

When Max got up this morning, he asked for, "More spider, more walk!" He's tickled pink about his bucket full of candy, even though Mom and Dad are levying a rather hefty "tax" on his loot. We've been letting him pick out a small piece of candy for his dessert and he thinks that is SO much fun. I think we'll have even more fun next year, when Molly will be old enough to really participate as well. I hope everyone had a happy and safe Halloween!

Oh, and as an unrelated aside, November 1 marks the beginning of NABLOPOMO (an absolutely atrocious acronym that stands for National Blog Posting Month). I might participate this year, just for kicks. The good news is that you might be graced with a daily post at Buying Mockingbirds. The bad news is that I might have to resort to blogging about what I ate for dinner (as if endless baby anecdotes aren't bad enough!).