Laughter

Today Flora and I napped together or I should say, she napped by herself for 30 minutes and then I napped with her for a while longer because I knew she was still tired.  When she finally woke up we lay in bed talking for a few minutes.  At some point during our conversation Flora began to hold up 2 fingers, say "two oranges" and laugh hysterically.  I have no idea what was so funny about two oranges but her laughter is contagious and before long we were both lying there, looking at one another and laughing.  I love her.

Exhausted Mommy, Playful Girl

The NY Times parenting blog, The Motherload, featured a post written by a desperate mother whose lack of sleep for the past 2 1/2 years caused her to collapse in exhaustion at her gym.  I could really empathize with this this mom.  I dont think you can possibly imagine what years of disrupted sleep does to a person until you experience it.  I look older, I'm irritable, my hair started thinning, I'm forgetful, I get dizzy and disoriented easily, the list goes on but I will spare you all the details.

Fortunately, this is not something that most parents have to endure for years on end but for those of us who do there is little we can do to change our circumstances.  No bedtime routine or sleep training method is going to make my child sleep through the night.  Believe me, I tried.  Flora doesn't sleep in the car, she doesn't just pass out from playing, she fights sleep with every bit of will she has.  Instead of falling asleep at bedtime when she is clearly exhausted, she will lie in bed and sing, talk or scream for hours until she just can't keep her eyes open any longer.  Then, she wakes up in the middle of the night.  Once.  Twice.  Three times?  Then she sleeps until 6 if we're lucky.

It has gotten better recently.  I think.  When you've slept poorly for years sometimes it's hard to tell if it's getting better or if you're just getting used to it but mostly I think it's getting better.  If you meet another exhausted parent like me please don't judge and imply that we must be doing something wrong because our child does not sleep as well as yours.  Just accept that all children have different personalities and some are so intent on experiencing everything the world has to offer that they would rather do anything but sleep.  If you're feeling really generous you could let us take a nap. 

On a happier note, we went to the Children's museum today and Flora had a great time.  

The museum has a new giant lite brite.  It was more popular with the older kids but Flora gave it a try. Please notice her outfit.  She picked it out herself.  Who says you can't wear shorts when it's in the 40s?

Then there was some face painting.

Grocery shopping.

Then it was off to work as a veterinarian. 

Finally it was time to relax in the clay studio.  

All this before lunch!  

You may think i write a lot of posts about sleep but when you don't get enough it's hard to think of anything else.  Despite the lack of sleep in our house we still have a lot of fun.

What are your thoughts on the Motherload post and sleep?

A Litte Break

After a long week with the girl I made sure she got in some good Daddy Time today.  I love watching these two play together.  Don't ask why she's wearing her shirt on her head.  I have no answer except that she's two and that's what she wanted to do.  Tonight David and I are  headed out on a much needed date.  I can't wait!

Untitled from Ellie Saldana on Vimeo.

Last Two Teeth

Would you believe this sweet angle lay in bed and yelled at me for more than 90 minutes before finally falling asleep?  I then spent the duration of her nap a prisoner in my own home, scared to make any noise for fear of waking the monster.  My efforts were in vain.  She woke after only 45 minutes and then spent the rest of the afternoon rubbing her eyes and crying.  These are her last two teeth, her last two teeth, her last...

Everything I've read says that the first two teeth are the hardest.  Kids get used to the sensation and each subsequent set of teeth is easier.  Lies!  How did your house cope with teething?

Cinnamon Peanut Butter Rice Treats

I love Rice Crispy Treats but unfortunately there is no way that I can eat them since I can't eat sugar and marshmallows are full of it.  I could probably learn to make my own marshmallows with a different sweetener and then make the dessert but that is more effort than I am willing to put into what is supposed to be a simple treat. Tonight, with a little inspiration from the back of my cereal box I came up with a delicious, though very different, rice cereal treat.

Cinnamon Peanut Butter Rice Treats (adapted from the back of my Erewhon Crispy Rice Cereal box.)

1/2 c peanut butter

1/2c rice syrup

1/2t vanilla extract

1/2t cinnamon

2c rice cereal

Mix peanut butter, rice syrup, vanilla and cinnamon together in a bowl.  Stir in cereal.  Form mixture into balls and enjoy!

I didn't actually measure any of the ingredients, the above recipe is just an approximation of what I used so don't dirty a measuring cup unless you feed you need.  These treats are ready in less than 5 minutes and are really good.  It's taking all my will power to resist eating them all.

If you are like my family and can't eat sugar or potato then you know how hard it is to buy cereal.  I have found two brands that make a rice cereal I can eat: Erewhon and Barbara's.

Dress Up

Tonight while making dinner I heard, "Dada, let's play dress up.  What you going to wear?"  I could hear them back there getting dressed and then I heard, "Here, dada. Here's your fairy wand."  "Can't it be a sword?" "No, it has to be a wand."  "OK, it's a wand."  That's when I went back to peek.

Sorry the photo isn't better.
Flora caught me and insisted I "Stop taking pictures."

Lazy Sunday

Now that I am a mom there is nothing I miss more than lazy Sundays.  Sleeping until ten, eating a big brunch, spending all day in my pajamas and reading a book or watching a movie can be the perfect way to end a weekend.  Once you have a toddler it's just not possible.  Usually we spend Sunday running errands or going for walks.  Sometimes I think David and I enjoy running errands as a family because sitting in the passenger seat of the car while the other drives is the closest thing we get to relaxing while Flora is awake.  For that 15 minutes we're in the car she is restrained and can't jump on us or bring us a new puzzle solve.  Don't get me wrong, I love the cuddles, stories and puzzles but sometimes I just want to sit and do nothing. Today was the closest I've come to nothing in a long time.

Because Flora pretty much never gets sick, and believe me I'm not complaining, it also means that she almost never has days where she is happy to sit around and cuddle.  Today however, she did not feel good.  She's not sick but she is teething and does have a nasty diaper rash.  (More about the diaper rash at the end of the post.  I need some advice.)  The day started off with a lot of this:

Followed by even more of this:

By nap time I was desperate for relief so I offered her a short walk to the videorama and the movie of her choice IF she would nap.  She negotiated and got some popcorn added to the deal. Yesterday was similar to today and instead of napping she lay in bed, exhausted, for 2 hours saying "I all done napping" and I was not interested in a repeat performance.  I don't know if my movie/popcorn bribe worked or if she was just too tired to fight sleep today but she did nap.  Then, we did rent a movie.  Curious George with Will Ferrell voicing the man with the yellow hat.

The movie was what you'd expect but the afternoon sitting on the couch snuggling my exhausted and grumpy little girl while she ate popcorn and watched "Monkey George" was great.  It was the closes thing I've had to a lazy Sunday since she could crawl.


Ok, now back to the diaper rash.  Flora is fully potty trained except at night when she wears one diaper;  the same kind of cloth pocket diapers she has been wearing since she was tiny.   They have always worked great and she never had diaper rashes when she wore them all day.  Now, all of a sudden, she keeps getting a nasty bright red rash on her bottom.  I don't get it, her but is dry and gets air all day long but that one diaper at night seems to be causing her serious problems.   It was so bad today that I went out and bought some disposable diapers to see if that would help.  Any moms, or dads, out there know what might be causing this new problem?  Her diet hasn't changed so I don't think it's food related.   She never poops in her diaper so it's only urine and I'm pretty sure she doesn't pee until the early hours of the morning because we've tried to go diaper free a few time and never had trouble until then, so it's not like she in the wet diaper for 8 hours. Taking her out of diapers completely is not an option at this point because though she hasn't had a daytime accident in months she has never woken up dry.  Come on wise parents, what's you're advice?