Cautiously Optimistic

Things are looking better than they did last night.  I ended up bringing him to bed with me in the guest bed, nursing and falling asleep with him.  He slept all night without waking right next to me.  Whatever it takes to get some good rest into my little guy so that he can rest well on his own again.  Today he skipped his morning 1/2 hour nap and is now napping soundly in his crib by himself.  He has been asleep 1 1/2 hours so far.  I am hopeful that we may have jumped this hurdle. 

I just finished 9 miles on my bike, and did 5.5 yesterday.  A little shy of my goal, but I can probably fit another 1.5 miles in this evening.  Feeling good!

Frustrated

I am frustrated, the kind where I need to scream into a pillow.  For the past three days Eli has refused an afternoon nap.  I know children sleep better when well rested, so this is just spiralling downward and out of control.  Tonight he is refusing to go to sleep.  It slept for about 2 hours and then woke up.  He will not go back to sleep.  I have tried everything out of my bag of tricks.  Now Aaron is with him and I am venting.  He needs to sleep... I need him to sleep.  I am fundamentally against having my children cry it out.  It goes against every maternal fiber in my body, but if this doesn't improve I may have no choice.  If it comes to that, I will have to leave the house.  I can not handle my child screaming for me and me ignoring it.  I am really hoping I don't have to go that route. 

At the moment Eli is quiet.  Maybe Aaron was successful in this endeavor.  I need some chocolate.

Saturday

My day started out in a fantastic sort of way.  I woke up feeling refreshed.  We had breakfast.  The kids went to work at their Saturday chores, Eli was in a good mood.  Aaron began to fix the leaky kitchen faucet knob.  Then Eli was showing many signs of needing a morning nap, so I got him ready to go to sleep.  Aaron and Isaac got ready to go to their Daddy/Son date to the movie theatre.  Hannah finished up her chores and played in her room.  The boys lefts, Eli went to sleep and Hannah was content playing in the basement.  I biked 8 miles, took a shower and got ready for the day.  I was doing a few things around the house and heard a noise over the monitor.  It didn't sound like Eli.  Then I heard it again.  I peeked in his room and he was laying quietly playing with his Leapfrog Scout Dog that was given to him by his Mimi Marci and Papa John.  He was happy as could be.  I LOVE when he wakes up in a good mood.  The rest of the morning was beautiful.

The rest of the day wasn't so beautiful, but I am going to focus on the morning and be thankful for a great Saturday!

On Monday I will have had my bike for one week.  The only day I didn't get time in on it was Friday, because Eli refused to nap.  When evening came, I was just not in the mood to workout.  But, I have gone 42 miles on it so far and hope to put another 16 miles on in the next 2 days.  If I can keep it up for the month, it should become habit. 

TANTRUMS

Eli has figured out how to throw a good little tantrum.  Since getting home, he has really shown his stuff.  I think a lot of it is because he is a bit constipated and his tummy hurts.  We are trying to remedy that.  He is, however, very focused on things that he wants and will let me know when our ideas don't agree.  He is refusing to nap this afternoon, probably because of his tummy, but maybe he just is being stubborn.  I don't know where he would get that trait.  So he screams, arches his back, gives me nasty little looks and does not give up easily.  I'm giving in because it could be his tummy.  If that wasn't part of the equation, I would march forward to win the battle.  But today, he wins.

So, I won't get my biking in... maybe tonight.  I went 7.5 miles yesterday.  I would like to get at least 8 miles in sometime today.  I was a little sore yesterday, but feeling good today. 

Of course Isaac would choose today to nap, not a day that his brother is also sleeping.  This is another natural law that no one tells women before they become mothers.  Sigh.

It may be a long afternoon.  Hopefully the little guy can get things moving and he will return to his happy little self.  Or maybe he will assert his new found tactics and the war will be on. 

Happy With Myself

I went 9.5 miles on my bike today.  I'm quite pleased with my progress and that Eli has remained asleep for my biking endeavors.  Isaac gets his computer time while I pedal away so all is well.  I borrowed Isaac's MP3 player and Jars of Clay helped me along the way.  Awesome!

Now I need to catch up on what I used to do during that time... clean up the kitchen/dining room and do the breakfast and lunch time dishes. 

My Newest Purchase

I had some Christmas money I was trying to decide what to do with.  I had planned to get a coffee maker, but I held off.  I had been thinking about getting a stationary bike, but I didn't want to spend a huge amount of money on it.  So I watched craigslist and the local classifieds online and found a very nice one for just the amount of money I had!  I bought it yesterday and couldn't be happier with it.  I have struggled to find a time to get some exercise time in.  I can't really leave the house because of the kids, and going on a walk with them doesn't work because of naps and pick up time from school.  So, I am hoping this is the answer.   Yesterday I was able to get 20 minutes in and went 6 miles.  Today I biked for 25 minutes and went 8.5 miles.  I'm feeling good about this!  I have a ticker set up on my iGoogle page to see how long it takes me to bike 1000 miles, but I haven't figured out how to put it on the blog page.  Any help would be great!

Eli and Hannah had check ups yesterday.  Eli had his 12 month well child in December but was vomiting (at the clinic) and had a double ear infection, so he wasn't really a well child.  So, at 13 months, Eli is 22.5 pounds and 29.5 inches.  He is somewhere between the 25th and 35th percentile for both.  Doing great.  Hannah is in the 75% for height and 50% for weight.  Also doing very well.  They both got shots.  Eli was a little off today, but not bad.  Hannah is a little sore on her arm, but not bad.  She's tough.

Well, I need to get the dishes cleaned up and settle down to watch an episode of CSI Miami.  Gotta love Horatio!

Happy Birthday Hannah!