The Switch

Lately we have been dealing with a little man who does not want to go to sleep. He is now big enough to climb out of his crib so to prevent him from falling from his crib we have had to begin the dreaded switch from crib to big boy bed. I was not excited for this day, and now I really know why. I don't think he has been to sleep before midnight in over a week. His new routine is to stay up as late as Mommy and Daddy and go to sleep with us. It is really cute to see him curl up in the middle of our bed, but I sure do miss my nightly showers ALONE. Last night was not a typical Friday night for us. We used to have a nice dinner as a family, have some fun, put Max to bed, and watch a movie and relax. This Friday? Well, we started with fajitas {my favorite} and then a trip to Target, which used to be my favorite store, but when shopping with an almost two year old nothing is a favorite anymore. After dragging Max around to get what we needed I was trapped in the toy section as my hubby went off to look at whatever he needed {lucky} Max may not be old enough to tell me what he wants for Christmas or his Birthday, but stick him in the toy section and you'll have plenty of ideas. Of course I was not going to buy his gifts right then so it was quite a struggle getting away from the toy isles. After spending too much at Target {this hits me hard, since I try so hard to budget all week long, with smart shopping, and my coupons, and then I feel like we blow it with a stop at Target} We stop for some well deserved ice cream and headed home. It should be about bed time for my little man, but he is nowhere near that point. I try once to put him in his bed and lets just say that didn't go well. So at 10pm my baby boy was upstairs watching cartoons as I made and filled the goodie bags for his Birthday Party next weekend. I was proud of my cute little bags and since Max was still wide awake I moved on to cleaning. After cleaning the kitchen, finishing the laundry, and picking up the living room I decide that it is time for bed. I scoop up my little man and we head downstairs. As soon as he is sure both Mommy and Daddy are in bed for good he falls asleep immediately. We were awakened the next morning by the tree trimmers. Our trees really needed some love after the heavy snow. It is a little sad to see how many branches had to come down, but I guess our front yard looks bigger now. One of our trees in the back was almost cut down completely {I think they went a little overboard, but that's okay} I knew they were coming today but was still surprised by the sounds in the morning. After our morning entertainment of watching them trim the trees and put the branches into the "tree eater" {Max loved this part} we had some lunch. Max was playing quietly in his room when I realized maybe this was too much silence, when I went to look he was not in his room, but instead he had climbed on our bed and fell asleep. This is so cute, he had decided he was tired and had gone to his favorite sleeping spot. Now Max is asleep downstairs, Daddy is sleeping on the couch, and I am online wrapped in a blanket. Hopefully after Max's nap he'll be in a good mood for a dinner out and then maybe he'll sleep tonight {ha} I guess I at least know that I will accomplish a lot every evening if he continues his new sleep schedule. Which is good, since I have a list for myself to finish before his party. I am just hoping we have a dry day, since my plan is to have all the kids have fun OUTSIDE, since my house is NOT big enough for everyone....so my fingers are crossed. I plan to wait to get Max's Birthday presents until next Saturday morning, I know this seems like I am cutting it close, but I get paid on Friday and he'll be better off if I wait. I have also decided to order his cake and the food for the party, this may not be in my "thrifty" style, but it sure does fit into my work week quite nicely. Much of what is left is last minute, balloons, last minute cleaning, and setting up the yard for a Dinosaur hunt. Hopefully my plans for a great party at home work out. As long as Max has fun I will be happy and I don't see anyway he wouldn't, so I guess I have already succeeded.

Kelly Callahan