I sleep mommy, daddy bed?

So this week has been busy, and crazy, and kind of all over the place. School has been everything but teaching. I had an opportunity to observe at another local high school, and it was awesome. We were sent to observe a 90 minute block schedule, but I was able to get so much more from the visit. I am hoping our local high schools can open a dialogue about what practices work best and can share those practices. We always seem to be in such competition with one another that we miss opportunities for sharing and growth. Maybe this will be one small step to something like that.

My 11th grade classes have been doing basically everything but English instruction. We had to complete an SAT questionnaire that took forever. Then, I had to walk them through mock interviews and resume writing. That took more time than anticipated. Tomorrow, we do a big survey in the library...losing another day. Things just seem to pile on all at once. Luckily, my 10th graders are basically on track, and they got to witness me go crazy over Dante's Inferno. Yep, I get a little excited.

In news from the home front, our heater decided to break. Luckily, it was a minor issue and we got it fixed, but it left us without heat for a night. This meant borrowing space heaters from my parents and a night of basically no sleep thanks to Lily and her, "I DO NOT WANT TO SLEEP!" attitude.

Yes, my little sleeper girl. The child who brought you this:

She is having sleeping troubles. And it is so hard. She is scared of monsters. She has this insane imagination and she thinks there are monsters in her room. Tonight, we solved that problem by giving her a flashlight for night night. She doesn't want to go to sleep in her room. She wants "mommy and daddy bed." We never let her sleep in our bed, so this was a bit of a surprise. Her nightly routine doesn't change, but lately she is adding things. Last night, she was awake almost all night just fighting sleep. She did have to sleep in our room because of the heat situation, but she wasn't comfortable (she sleeps better in her bed). Thank goodness tonight wasn't too bad. It is just so frustrating when she is fighting sleep then screaming then, sometimes, waking Jack.

I am working so hard to remember that these times will pass. And that there are some really lovely things about putting Lily to bed. She is letting me rock her. She wants me to sing lullabies to her. Mostly, I sing things like "Sweet Baby James" and "The Circle Game", but she seems to like them. They are also the songs I sang to her when she was an infant, so it's a very sweet memory for me. I know, eventually, she won't want to hug me all night long. She won't request another kiss. Another minute to hold my hand. Another a song. I know that. And it's still hard. And frustrating. But we hold on. We look to better days and nights when maybe monsters won't seem so big. 

Also, spring needs to figure it's s*&# out. For real. I am tired of winter. I need to get Lily and Jack outside. Lily is craving walks and sunshine. And, I think, it would help her sleep better to get outside and burn her energy. 

And, finally, Jack is walking. Full time. It's glorious and horrifying. 

At 13 months Jackson loves...

At 33 months Lily loves...

Wow, I am slow to post Lily's monthly update (and to post anything...). Anyway, let me get to it!

At 33 months Lily loves...

1. ...applesauce. Otherwise known as Greek Yogurt.

2. ...only the yellow Veggie sticks.

3. ...painting with her Color Wonder paints.

4. ...sharing her art from school. She cried today when she couldn't bring it home because it was for the art show.

5. ...using the potty all the time, even when we are out (however, she doesn't love public bathrooms...they are too loud).

6. ...bowl! A new love discovered at Averi's 5th birthday party. (And, what? Averi is 5?!)

7. ...helping her brother with his new skill...walking!

8. ...eating sweets, particularly ice cream, particularly chocolate (that's my girl!).

9. ...warm weather and playing outside (c'mon spring! get with the program!)

10. ...and, of course, mama and dada!

Updates and Spring is in the Air!

I need spring. If I learned anything this weekend, it's that I need spring in a big way. We had two lovely weather days, so we got out of the house. It was glorious! On Saturday, we did a little shopping, and went for two walks. It was so nice to be outside in the sun. Today, we went to Tom's parents' house for Tom's birthday. Later, we took another walk. It was a bit chillier today, but it was still so nice to be outside for some fresh air. Lily and Jack enjoyed riding in the stroller. Lily also got to play with bubbles and swing in the backyard for a bit. This weekend made me very optimistic for spring. The forecast for the week is looking semi-promising, but there is some rain/snow even that is coming at the end of the week that looks like it could be icky.

Lately things have been quiet at school and around the house. Lily had a milestone today- her first paper cut. I say milestone because, as she is my daughter, getting a paper cut runs in her genes. She took it well though; better than I usually do! Lily has also hit the 3s early, which is so less than pleasant. Usually, she is a very good kid, but lately, her listening skills have been horrible! She is openly defiant and thinks it's very funny when you discipline her. I know this too shall pass, but I hope it passes faster than all the other phases!

Jack is also doing well. He is eating basically all real foods now; he only gets purees when he is being picky (which is really rare). He is almost off of his bottles. Today, he really only had one bottle before bed. He is doing very well with whole milk in a sippy (except for today, when he decided to drink a lot of milk in the car and then let most of it dribble down his front without our realizing it...his fleece and his onesie were soaked with milk). He is walking multiple steps now, but he isn't walking fully yet. He still prefers to crawl because it is a faster mode of getting around (for the moment, at least). At his 1 year appointment he weighed 26 pounds (the nurse put 29 on the paper, but I think that was an error) and was 32 inches long. He is really the size of a two year (I would know because he is almost the size of Lily). The doctor said that his size is just fine, although, as he gets older we might notice that people will expect more of him because they will assume he is older. He said that will mostly happen when he is school aged, but just to watch out for it.

I have about 10 blog posts that I have started and stopped, so maybe, at some point, I will get around to finishing one of them. For now, these updates will have to do!