Dude, get it together

I blamed it on pregnancy for the longest time...

And then I'd just had a baby...

But then Christmas came...

I guess I could always have an excuse, but I feel like my head just is NOT on STRAIGHT! What's my deal? I feel like I'm so forgetful and have a million+ things to do and don't do any of them. I'm frustrated with myself and feel like I let others down.

But then by the end of the day, I realize everything I DID do. I guess there are just so many things I want to do and so much that needs to be done that I'll always feel "behind." I guess that's good. I'll never be bored, at least.

Okay, I'm off to finish my Bible Study (I'm a few weeks behind), and then maybe I'll sweep (can't keep up with Emma's urge to 'decorate' the floor), and then maybe, just maybe I'll get a chance to cozy up with my scrapbook stuff... *sigh*

And then there was naptime...

Emma's new nickname: Boomerang.

Maybe naptime in the big girl bed isn't such a great idea. I lost track of how many times I put Emma back in her room after various visits to both mine and Addie's rooms. "Hi!" she would exclaim, as if I would be thrilled to see her at my door. Back she'd go, and the routine would start over again. "No, you can't have your beads (necklace) in bed with you. Yes, you can have your nightlight on. No, I don't know where your baby's hat is. Yes, Addie is sleeping. No, you can't stand on your bed..." And so it goes...

But then tonight she went down peacefully, and at my last bed check, she was zonked. And Addie went down without a peep. And Gary also went down without a fight. :) And the house is quiet.

I'm helping out in a tax office again this year - I'll be popping into help a couple dozen times between now and April 15th. It's painfully dry and boring, but the money is good and we sure can use it right now. Since we can work it that Gary stays home on the days I work for a few hours here and there, I'm okay with it. I was sad being away from them today, although I admit the break is nice. And I'm also glad to share my day-in and day-outs with Gary. It's good for him to know what it's like. :)

Tomorrow Gary's given me the day to go SCRAPBOOKING! Woo-hoo!!! I cannot wait. He's brave to do this two days in a row since he had the girls for about 5 hours today while I worked. Thankfully they were great for him; I hope tomorrow is the same. My sisters are meeting me at the scrapbook store, so I'm fully prepared to get nothing accomplished! Ha! I have a lot of LOs that are unfinished, so I'm hoping to at least finish up those loose ends and start some new pages I've got brewing in my brain. I'm sooooo excited!

Okay... I haven't done one of these before, but I'm going to do one of the challenges from the Scrapbooking message board I'm addicted to - 2Peas! Here goes...

Random challenge for Friday - list some fun facts about yourself.
- I have a freckle (or a mole?) right on the very tip of my nose. Perfectly centered.
- I love stale marshmallows.
- I'm afraid to stand on the drain in the shower.
- I love to make up words.
- I vowed to go to bed at 10:30 tonight and here it is... 11:53. Good night!

I'm not ready yet...

Big milestone tonight... A BIG GIRL BED!


I was a bit nervous to take this step, but Emma embraced it with the zeal she embraces life with. I guess I should've known! We made the awkward transition from her crib to her pack-n-play almost two months ago, only because we wanted to move the baby out of our room and into the crib. It probably felt weird for Em to move into a bed smaller than her crib, but it worked. We were amazed that night after night we'd remind her that she wasn't allowed to get out (because she SO could) until we came and got her in the morning. Each morning we were shocked that she'd be calling us from her room: "Mommy! Dad-deeeeeeeee! Out!" She disobeys us all day long, is constantly on the go, yet listens to and follows this simple command? It blows us away. She never once got out without our permission. But what would happen in a big girl bed...?

Tonight before her bath she helped us make up her new bed. She was so excited. I mean, SO EXCITED. We let her test it out and explained the rules. She said, "K." After her bath she was never so excited to go to bed! We tucked her in - after explaining the rules one more time - and said good night.

She didn't even want her old blankie.

She didn't care if the night light was on.

She was in her BIG GIRL BED.

With trepidation we left the room, wondering how long it would be before she would come downstairs and greet us. An hour later we snuck upstairs to check on her, and she was still awake, laying so still in that big bed. "'Night." she quietly said. We were stifling our giggles as we backed out of the room.

Not only were we surprised that the nightlight we had left ON was now OFF (the nightlight that she was SO excited about just a few weeks ago), but she had stayed in bed and was still awake.

I'm not ready for her to be a big girl yet. I'm not ready for her to not need her blankie or her nightlight. I was secretly hoping she'd put up a fight. But at the ripe old age of 2 years and 3 months old, I guess she's growing up. Just stay little, Emma. Stay little!