Quality Play Time

Wow, what a weekend! We were busy from dawn till dusk every single day! That man of mine had three days off, and his daughter spent the weekend with us, so we got some good quality time with each other and with our kids.

So, good parents that we are, we left the dishes behind Saturday evening and went to play at our own "private" playground.

Monkey see, Monkey do...

Mommy even joined in on the fun.

Photography by Rick Maxwell (aka "The Man")

In sleeping news...Coop has been doing well, er, better,  with going to bed each night. No fits in the middle of the night; although there is still some waking, he is going right back to sleep. This is progress!!

Sleep Deprivation Relief!

I am cautiously optimistic today...I slept almost seven hours straight! Aside from the times that I woke up waiting to hear the boy getting out of bed, I slept good! And so did he!! Our nighttime routine went well, lights were out at 8:10 and he was asleep by 8:30. He slept until just after 6 am this morning. I'm not getting too excited, because this has happened before and we've gone right back to the "old" routine, but I feel like this is progress!

Of course, he's coming down with a cold, so it may be short lived success...in fact we're going to the Dr. today...but it's progress!

Tonight will be iffy since Lil G will be here (Rick's daughter) and they share a room. Send me your good sleep mojo...

Channeling Supernanny, Day 2

8:23 pm Lights out
8:23-8:32 pm Laughing, giggling, talking, hanging off the bed and trying to fling himself over the railing.
8:32-8:40 pm Lots of rolling around, kicking at the wall, talking to himself.
8:40-8:48 pm Some rolling around, legs up on the railing, but quiet.
8:48 pm HE'S ASLEEP!!!

Count the minutes, all 25 of them! I can't believe it went so much quicker than the previous night. I did change our bedtime routine slightly, and I think that may have helped a little. So, going to sleep, much better! Sleeping all night...notsomuch...

Up at 11:30, 2 am and 4 am...still went right back to sleep thankfully, which is half the battle. Grrr...then I had a bad dream and woke at 5:45 am. So, um, I think that's about four hours of sleep for me last night. I just wish I could figure out what keeps waking him up. It's frustrating thinking that something might be going on with him and he just can't tell me...

In other news, today we went to visit his new preschool! Can't believe my baby will be starting preschool in the summer!!! More about that to come...

The Sunset Queen

When I first started to get into photography, it was all about the sunset. I used to drive several times a year to Arizona. I would always plan my return trip, so I would stop at different beach cities along the way, near sunset. I have many photos of sunsets from different Southern California coastlines.

Sunsets are like God's gift to us, an ending and a new beginning, that we are given each and every single day.

I intended to use this week's You Capture photo challenge, "Sky," to get myself back to the beach for a new sunset photo, but it didn't happen. I didn't even get to photograph the sunset from my backyard, since of course, it kind of coincides with someone's bedtime. So I decided to share with you some of my favorite sunset photos that I've taken over the past several years.

Big Bear Lake, Big Bear City, CA

La Jolla, CA

Sunset Beach, CA

(Do you see Catalina Island?)

Huntington Beach, CA

Crystal Cove, CA

If only I could be outside taking a picture right now...you should see the moon here in So Cal...it's big and beautiful tonight! But if you're lucky enough to get a picture of it, be sure and share it over at Supermom's "Mono Monday" black & white photo challenge!

I Went All Supernanny On Him

I suffer from sleep deprivation. This is me most mornings.

I haven't had a good nights sleep since September, when my then barely two year old son started crawling out of his crib, and we moved him into a toddler bed. He started having what seemed like night terrors, so much so that he would "throw" himself out of his bed. Although he would fall asleep fairly easily, he would wake several times in the night and have these "fits." If he woke, he would come into our room and try to crawl into our bed. The first time, I let him, immediately regretted it and took many weeks to break him of it.

After discussing the issues with his doctor, we felt that possibly, a regular sized bed with a railing and a more regular, strict bedtime routine might make for a better night's sleep. So, in February, came the "Big Boy Bed." We settled on a routine, but still the night waking, still coming into our room, still throwing himself down on the floor kicking and screaming when I wouldn't let him in the bed. I would put him down in his room and walk out, he would jump out of bed screaming at me to come back. This would happen two or three times a night, and the frustration of the middle of the night fighting, and lack of sleep was really getting to me, so I just started soothing him back to sleep. Bedtime became increasingly difficult, so I started soothing him to sleep then as well.

But I'm tired. Really, really tired. And since I can't get Jo Frost to come to MY house, tonight, I went all Supernanny on him. I am determined to break this kid of his bad sleep habits so that he can fall asleep on his own, like he did as an infant. So, tonight, no soothing, no talking, no yelling, no singing.

The plan is to have lights out at 8 pm. I will sit by the bed, not talking to him or make eye contact, until he falls asleep. Every three nights, I will move closer to the door, until I am in the doorway, and then out of the room. The plan is the same for the night waking. The hard part will be not talking to him AT ALL every single time, and sitting quietly until he's actually asleep. I'm going to (try to) blog each day about this, to help keep me accountable for following my plan in order to reach my goal.

So here's what happened last night:
Lights out at 8:07 pm. I first explained to him what I was gonig to do, and sat on my stool right next to the foot of his bed. He laughed at me for about ten minutes, and tried to get out of bed a few times. Each time I put him back in telling him only "It's time to sleep." For the next thirty minutes, he rolled around, knocked on the wall, spun around head over feet, but stayed in his bed, and I sat there quiety, gritting my teeth, saying "I CAN do this!" over and over and over. He finally settled down and at 8:51 pm, hallelujah, he was asleep! I waited a couple minutes, then quietly walked out and closed the door.

He started crying at 8:55 pm. Grrr...

He opened the door and laid down in the doorway. I stood him up, he walked back to bed and he got in. I walked out and closed the door. This happened only one more time, and at 9:03 pm there was no more noise.

Holy cow, it took almost an hour, and I was nervous as to what would happen in the middle of the night.

He woke at 12:30 and at 2 am. I am proud to say that I put him right back in bed without a word, sat on the stool and in a few minutes each time he was asleep. He woke this morning at 6:15 am. We'll see how we do tonight...wish me luck!!

The Cup That Brought Us Together

I was inspired by Jenilee's memory walk last week about how she met her husband, so I decided to sit down and write my "How We Met" memory. I love our story, and thought I would share it with you here today.

I spent a lot of my teenage and adult life with the wrong men. Now, don’t read into that too much, I had maybe five boyfriends from the time I was 16 to 30. And they were ALL WRONG. I mean, way wrong. Like, oh you’ve been in jail? You’re perfect! kind of wrong. They were losers in every sense of the word, and treated me in typical loser fashion.

Three years ago, I finally got it right.

The Anaheim Ducks had just won the Stanley Cup (GO DUCKS!), and I was going to the celebration rally with my friend and her husband. They had to drop their baby off at her sister’s house and asked me to meet them there. When I got into the backseat of their truck, my friend got in the back with me, and a man got in the front seat. My friend says, “Oh, that’s my sister’s ex-husband.” I thought nothing of it as we drove to the rally.

Once there, my friend spent an hour applying paint to her husband’s face, which left Rick and I with nothing to do but talk to each other. The first question I asked him? “So, you used to be married to her sister?” He politely answered, but I later found out he was shocked that I would ask him that question. We chatted for the next hour or so; typical “getting to know you” stuff.

I later asked my friend, “So, he’s single, right?” She looked at me kind of funny, and said, “yes, but you don’t want to go there...” and continued to tell me all the things "wrong" with him. I let it go, and just enjoyed the rest of the day. Rick and I talked randomly throughout the evening; he had a new camera and I was really into photography, so we talked about that, and he even let me hold the camera to look at the pictures he had taken (now that’s trust!).

One of the things I remember most about him that day, is that he watched out for me. He made sure I had a spot to watch the caravan of players, and when we were headed out to the parking lot in a sea of people, and I wanted to stop and take a picture, he waited for me. My friends kept walking, but Rick realized I had stopped, and he stopped too. I remember thinking how sweet that was. When we got back to the house, he headed out to eat with his son, and I went home. I said goodbye, figuring I would probably never see him again.

Then about a week or so later, I got a text from my friend saying “Rick wants your number. Can I give it to him?” At first I had no idea who she was talking about, and when she reminded me, I said, “Really? He wants MY number?” She told me he had been bugging her for a few days. Seriously?

Rick called two days later, on a Wednesday morning, and asked if I would like to meet him for coffee or lunch that weekend. We agreed to meet for lunch at a favorite restaurant of his. We sat that afternoon and talked for over three hours. He had printed a bunch of pictures that he had taken at the rally, including one of me (surprise! of course now I can't find it anywhere). We could’ve kept talking, but I had a babysitter who needed to leave.

We started seeing each other regularly over the next several months, and I was smitten. We didn’t even kiss until I think it was our fourth or fifth date. He was a gentleman, through and through, so unlike the vultures I was used to dating. On our second date, we ate at MY favorite restaurant, and went to Seal Beach to take some photos, which is what a lot of our first months of dating consisted of. (We now have our own little photography business).

One of our favorite photos taken on our second date...

there's still debate over "who" took the photo. :)

We have been a couple for nearly three years. We have had some struggles; his job and our respective children are very demanding of our time, which can be hard on us, and most probably would have given up, but I believe with all my heart that God blessed my life by bringing this man into it. He has seen me at my worst - my jealous, insecure, demanding self - and he’s still here. He’s suffered through my issues with trust, and has healed my broken heart. He has wiped my tears of self doubt, held me through the heartache of letting go, and rejoiced with me in the most joyous of moments. He is kind, brutally honest, hard working, funny, independent, secretly compassionate, and the smartest man I know. His love for and commitment to his children is something I strive for as a parent. He accepts me, all of me, for who I am, and I love him for it. He has supported me and cared for me and I am so, so deeply, and endlessly grateful to have him in my life.

I'm sharing my story at Wednesday's Walk. Click on over and see what others are remembering...

Miscellany Monday - Cooking, Lost, Three Day Weekends, and Who's in My Bed

I thought this one sounded like fun, and I'm sure your dying to know what's new with me, so here's a few random things!

1) I spent most of Sunday in the kitchen, but I've got three meals made for this week, and baked cookies! I made Green Chile Chicken Enchiladas (put half in the fridge for dinner tonight, and half in the freezer for dinner another time), meatloaf, and chicken noodle soup. Oh and lets not forget Spaghetti with Italian Sausage for dinner that night. Are you proud of me? You should be!

2) I did not watch the Lost Finale. Ok, pick your jaw up off of the floor. I was way into Lost the first few seasons, but after my little angel babe came along, I had to cut back on my DVR time, and this is one of the shows that didn't make the cut. I was kinda over it after the fourth season anyway. I tried to follow it in the fifth, but it required just a little too much brain function. I prefer shows that don't make me think so much! I don't care who's behind the black smoke, what's up with Jacob's cabin, or whether Jack and Kate will be together forever.

3) I am super excited for the three day weekend ahead! Rick's actually got three days off in a row (unbelievable!!) and we're having two couples and their kids over for a BBQ on Sunday. We're all chipping in for a Bounce House for our kids, just because! The kiddos don't know it, so they will be pretty excited! We were going to get a new kiddie pool for them to play in, but since it's supposed to be in the 60s this weekend (ok what's up with that So Cal???), water play is no bueno. Now it's time to go shop for some new patio furniture!!

4) I gave in and let the boy get in bed with us on Saturday and Sunday and got to sleep in till 8 am both days! Wow!! This is unheard of in my house, and of course now I'm going to have to give in all the time! Not so fun when he comes in at 5 am and I have to get up at 6 am. No going back to sleep for me! :(

What have you been up to?