Hello, I'm here.

It's been a long time since I have written. Writing feeds my soul, and it is starting to starve without it.

Since it has been months since I have actually attempted to write anything with feeling, I'm not quite sure where to begin.

First of all, being a work-from-home parent of a 1 year old and a 2 1/2 year old, is as you would expect. It's like being trapped on a sinking ship, trying to blow up a life preserver that has a hole in it. Sometimes it appears that the ships hole has been patched and we are sailing to the shore... and just as I can see land it starts to sink again. Trying to blow up that broken life preserver leaves me exhausted and out of breath.

Work has tripled in the past few months. I'm not complaining, it has just caused me a few premature wrinkles and about 2-3 hours less sleep at night. I'm managing. The good news is that I feel really great about my accounting business, but I could kick my own ass, for taking that extra job at Dan's office back in January. I took it because I wanted a day away from the house, but after a month they gave my dusty desk to someone that actually shows up every day, and I was banished back to my home.

No bother, I have plenty of extra time now that Ketcher is mobile. His favorite places to play are in the pots and pans cupboard, and in his sister's bedroom. It's so easy to work when both kids are banging their hearts out to something that sounds like John C Riley at the end of Stepbrothers. (starts at 3:14)



With Ketcher's mobility, comes Kenzie's hyper awareness that her brother is all up in her business. Every toy is a battle. Every snack is something to hoard. Every bath frays my nerves. She is ready to spring at any moment. Even the hugs look more like wrestling moves from WWF... er, WWE is it now?  Anyway, you get the idea.

I am going to order one of those referee whistles. I'll let you know how it works out.

I have been combing pinterest and facebook articles trying to come up with some sort of sanity savor. Naps are getting shorter, bedtimes are getting later, and I am trying to salvage a small piece of peace in my day. Then I found it...

The baby still has his two naps per day. Kenzie watches a movie during his first nap and during the second nap she proceeds to either kick the living hell out of the door of her room, or beat on her windows and walls until she feels she has achieved her goal - to make Ketcher wake up and cry.

Leave the door open you say? Oh... that's cute.

Anyway, this afternoon nap is a critical time in my day for conference calls, damage control, and other work related items that need my full attention.

I was lazily reading through my facebook parenting websites, at 5am one morning, and I found this gem...



http://www.cuttingtinybites.com/2015/05/guide-to-quiet-time-boxes.html

These boxes serve 2 purposes: 1. Aiding in Kenzie falling asleep at 7pm. 2. Keeping her arms and legs from making noise during nap time.

If Kenzie does take a nap, she usually stays up in her room until around 9pm. That's a lot of noise, and a long time for her to be messing around. So out with the nap, and in with "quiet time".

I made 15 boxes to rotate over the next few months. Each box has a book, at least one puzzle, blocks or another building set, and a variety of toys that never really get played with on a daily basis.

These only took a few hours to make - due to
the kids removing each toy as I placed it in the box.

I also went to the library and checked out 2 CDs worth of stories to play while she is in her room. Be warned: the fairy tales and fables are actually freaky and quite dark.  Nothing like a little Rumplestiltskin to scare kids into behaving.

Yesterday was the first day. I put her in her room, with the drapes open enough to shine some light in. I opened the box of toys and made a big deal of how awesome it all was. I pushed play and left. I went upstairs to watch it unfold on the monitor while I did some work.

Not one sound came from her room the whole time. She happily built a tower, played with the puzzles, looked through the books, and generally seems quite content.

She was a little over tired by the time 7pm came. I was trying to get her calmed down and in bed by reading and made this mistake:

Me: "It's time for bed. Do you want to read or are you going to screw around?"
Kenzie: "Oh, screw around."
- at least she's honest.

So, we counted the stars and I left the room, fully expecting her to jump up and start kicking the door. No kicks ever came. She fell asleep instantly and slept until a little after 7am.

The battle has been won...

Now it's the end of the day. I have mastered being an awesome parent today, which has left me nearly comatose on the floor. I can feel my phone vibrating. I have 67 emails that came in between 3pm and 7pm and all of them are urgent. I peel my face off the carpet, and brush the dog hair off  - I really need to vacuum -  I haul myself up to my room to work until midnight.

Tomorrow, it starts again...

Do you have any ideas for gaining a few moments of peace throughout the day? I need all the ideas I can get!

Thanks for reading!
-Amanda

Sleep Habits: Luck or Influence?

"You were lucky with Kenzie! The next one is going to give you a run for your money!" - everyone

This is not something I want to think about, but as my due date approaches I am starting to get nervous. Was she born the way she is, or did I influence it? 

Kenzie is a great sleeper. At 15 months she sleeps a solid 12 hours at night and takes a 1.5 hour nap every day. She has slept through the night since she was 5 months old. Even before that she only woke once a night after the first 2 months.

How could I have influenced that?

Before she was born, and immediately following, I read Baby Wise, Healthy Sleep Habits Happy Child, 90 Minute Sleep Solution, and any other sleep book I could download into my Kindle. I had an arsenal of tools to use when things weren't working.

What I think probably helped the most was that I was home all day, every day. I never left the house unless it was scheduled immediately following a nap, and I was sure to be home before her next nap time. I gave up all my summer nights at the marina, to be home by 6pm so she could go to sleep on time. I never let her catnap in the stroller or car seat. If there was anything I was (and still am) psycho about, it's her sleep.

Even if I influenced her good sleep habits, what happens now?  The new baby will come and Kenzie will be 18 months old. A full toddler, tantrums and all. A toddler needs to get out in nature and release all that pent up energy. How will I maintain a baby sleep schedule?

I am starting to think the type A, strict schedule, will need to take a back seat to an easy going guideline. If baby #2 sleeps for an hour in his stroller while Kenzie has a great time running around the play ground, maybe that's a win. If the car seat lulls him to sleep, while we drive to our favorite pizza place, that's ok too. The new goal will be to have the majority of his sleep at home, in the crib.

Will loosening the reins mean a worse kid? I don't know, but I might be a happier parent.