My Buddy

 

Charlie is the second child which means she has always had Evy in her life. They are the best little buddies and have started playing so well together. Yesterday, Evy went to school for three hours in the morning to do a special Thanksgiving project that her teacher didn't want her to miss out on. So, just Charlie and I headed out to do some errands. After errands we stopped off at an indoor playground for awhile. We've been there before and the girls run like crazy animals having a blast. But yesterday, when it was just Charlie she was shy and wanted to sit in my lap. She was not interested in playing without her buddy. I am sad for Charlie that Evy will go to Kindergarten in the Fall and she will loose her little playmate. I think she's going to miss her terribly.

Shoe Tying

Evy's teacher made this little shoe tying contraption and Evy desperately wanted to bring it home over the weekend.

I was trying to help her learn, but oh my goodness I didn't realize how hard it is to teach someone to tie their shoes. It takes a lot of coordination and it's hard to explain step by step. Maybe we'll stick with velcro for awhile longer.

Mommy Day Fun

 

Before we moved we always did fun outings on mommy days. In warm weather we would go to the park, the pool, the zoo, or for a walk. On cold days we would do the Children's Museum, Tot-Lot, the library or the indoor pool. Since moving mommy days have mostly been spent getting things done. We've had a multitude of contractor appointments that I've tried to do so Scott doesn't have to leave work. Charlie and Evy are playing pretty well together so now I use my days at home to do laundry, clean, and try to keep my head above water. I'm not sure what has changed but I can't seem to keep up now. It's a struggle to no longer have time when both children are asleep--with Evy not falling asleep until 9 or 9:30 p.m. most nights I am so exhausted I just go to sleep at 10:00 and leave the work until the next day, or the next..... I need to find a new balance so we can enjoy our fun time before Evy heads off to Kindergarten this Fall.

 

On Friday, I decided we were going to have fun! The girls got to watch nursery rhymes on the computer while I quickly got us packed up and ready to go to Tot-Lot.

 

 

We were only there an hour but the girls had a great time playing with all the toys. They loved these "bunnies"....although I think they are actually donkeys?!? Not sure.

Funny Things

This morning Scott was showing me a book that he repaired after Charlie ripped it last night. I said, "Charlie, did you rip that book?" She said, "Yeah. I did. I serious."

Charlie is growing out of her carseat so we need to bump her up to Evy's. I asked Evy if we should get a booster seat for her. "I am going to have to fink (think) about that at school today."

Desperate Times...

We have been living in sleep deprivation hell for the past 12 weeks. Evy is suddenly afraid of the dark and is having a hard time with everything related to sleep. She says that she is afraid of shadows, that she can't fall asleep, that her heart beats really fast when she tries to fall asleep, and when she falls asleep she has "bad thoughts." I think she has real anxiety around sleep. It takes her about 45 minutes and numerous trips out of her room before she finally falls asleep around 9 p.m. She then wakes up and comes in to our room 1 to 3 times during the night. Last night she was in our room at midnight, 2 a.m. and 2:45 a.m. It would be one thing if she then slept in, but no. She is awake by 6 a.m. every morning. I am slowly dying.

She no longer naps so I cannot believe that she is able to function on this amount of sleep, although it does not seem to affect her. Since the day she was born she has fought sleep and existed on the minimum requirement for her age. If the child didn't look exactly like me I might think she was switched at birth. I cannot comprehend how my offspring does not share my love of sleep. Thank God I slept a lot before I had children.

We've tried nightlights, sound machines, soft music, audio books, and reasoning. We've tried "tough love" and "understanding." We follow the same bedtime routine every night and have started turning the TV off early in the evening in case that is over stimulating her. I have no idea what else to do so tonight I started a bribery positive reinforcement chart. If she stays in her bed for five nights she can pick out a Palace Pet (Disney's latest racket to suck all of your money out of your hands). Lets hope this is the ticket. Please feel free to share any ideas you may have in the comments. I'll try to stay awake long enough to read them.

Evy's teacher, Miss Nancy, says that Evy is very much a visual learner so I made some visual tools just in case that may help. Like I said...desperate times.

Angelina Ballerina

Evy and I went to Angelina Ballerina yesterday. It was a short production that involved mice (well, humans dressed up as mice) signing and dancing...I think Evy loved it. I enjoyed the frozen yogurt afterwards.

 

Photo Credit: Kate A.

 

 

More Halloween

Celebrating Halloween on only one night would be totally boring and a waste of a costume.

So here is the rest of our Halloween week roundup!

 

Evy had a Halloween party at school where she ditched her cowgirl threads and went as Barbie Pop Star.

The adult-only party where the trophy wife and sugar daddy made an appearance.

Dance class last week was also Halloween themed.

 

And the most fun? Trick or treating at mom's office where both cowgirls came away with a total haul!