You Can't Force Sleep

E has always been a good sleeper.  He was sleeping through the night around 3 months old and we've never had any problem getting him to sleep...until recently.  The past week E's sleeping has been so off.  He's up at 4am some days, taking long morning naps, not taking an afternoon nap or if he did it would be around 5pm and then not go to bed until 9pm and then still up between 4am and 5am.  The poor kid was exhausted and you could tell by the way he was acting.  He's wasn't my usual happy boy.

Mike and I tried forcing him into a sleeping pattern.  We'd wake him up from naps so he wouldn't sleep so long in the day.  We'd sit rocking him trying to get him to take a nap.  None of it worked.  It seemed the more we tried to get him into a sleeping pattern the worse it got.  He would sit and cry and rub his eyes and my heart would ache because I didn't know what to do.

By yesterday, it was bad.  When I got home from work, I took E so Mike could have a little a break.  Books always seem to calm E down.  So that's what we did, we just sat and read one of his favorite books over and over and over.  He finally closed his eyes and when I put him down in his crib he was out.  We decided we didn't care if it was only 5 in the evening, the kid needed sleep so we were just going to let him sleep.  He slept all through the night waking up once around 12:30am.  But a quick tuck-in did the trick and he was back asleep.  He woke up at 5am the next morning.  I was already at work by then so Mike texted me that E was back to his normal self.

E ended up taking an almost 3 hour nap this morning but no afternoon nap.  It seemed to work for him though.  When I got home from work tonight he was a different baby than Thursday night.  He was his happy self playing with toys and being as sweet as ever.  He ate a good dinner and went to bed easily at 7:45pm.

What I've learned from this past week is that I can't force things.  E is his own person and I need to respect that even if he is only a baby.  I can't be in control of everything and sometimes I just need to go with the flow.  Part of that is also learning to trust that things will work out.  I need to trust that E will sleep when he needs to sleep but it will be on his terms.      

Having a Little Boy

 I don’t have a daughter, and if I did, I absolutely would love her just like I love E. But I believe I was meant to have a little boy.  I love that I can just buy t-shirts, shorts, a few polos and he’s good to go.  I don’t want to deal with dresses and leggings and all the accessories.  I love the fact that he’s always just a little bit dirty, whether it’s food in his hair or dirt under his finger nails.  E is definitely all Boy!  I feel relieved that I won’t have to play Barbies or dress up.  I’d much rather play Legos or trucks.  I know I’m succumbing to stereotypical gender roles as I think of my child.  But it’s hard not to and honestly, I want to.  I love having a little boy so I can do those “boy” things.  I know I could play trucks with a little girl, but I just don’t think it would be the same.  If Mike and I have more children and we happen to have a little girl, I know I will enjoy that too.  I will gladly embrace the pink outfits, bows, and nail polish.  I’ll even play Barbies, but for now, I love having a dirty, mischievous little boy.

Monday Funday

This weekend marked my first Mother's Day as a Momma.  I did celebrate last year because I was 8 months pregnant and a mother to be. This year was special because I actually felt like a Momma and E was really here.  I had to work all day on Saturday so it was a short weekend for me but I still had a wonderful Mother's Day Weekend!

I got the sweetest cards from both E and Mike and Mike booked a massage for me next Saturday.  Looking forward to that!  My boys also know me well, this was included with my cards...

What Mom doesn't want a bottle of wine for
Mother's Day?

Mike worked on E's sandbox the rest of Sunday while E and I took a nap.  The sandbox is almost done, the only thing missing is the sand.  In the meantime E is content to play with the dirt on the outside.  In the afternoon I planted flowers in the front of our house.  I bought the flowers about a week ago with good intentions of planting them sooner.  Well, you know how that goes.  Some of the flowers are dying but I think a good watering will bring them back to life.  

Mike grilled steak kabobs for Mother's Day dinner.  They were perfect!  Then we made a trip to DQ for dessert.  All in all, a great first Mother's Day!

Today we had out last day of school for E.  Thank goodness!  I've mentioned I don't enjoy going, too many kids and too many parents talking about how advanced their child is and one-upping the next parent.  "Can your child really be advanced when they're under a year?"  That's what I want to say during the group discussion, but I don't.  E does seems to enjoy class and we have met a few nice people.  We have a 2 week break before the summer session starts which against my protests, we will be attending.  The things we do for our children!

This week I'm trying 4 new recipes from Pinterest.  I'll post a recap later in the week.  Here are some pics from the weekend...

Sandbox in place complete with toys, minus the sand.

Lack of sand did not discourage E.

My grilled Mother's Day Dinner.

A Note from the Paternal Side - Sometimes a Man Just Needs a Paci

My favorite affirmation for Evan is “Sometimes a Man Just Needs a Paci.” I don’t remember being 11 months old, but I am reliving the epic experience now...daring to place myself in his gigantic shoes.  

You work hard everyday in your play and exploration.  You are starting to figure a few things out.  Objects that are solid can be held on to.  Wait...what if they sprout hinges?  What the heck are hinges!?!?  You hang on for dear life as the once solid gate swings you around.  

Day after day, week after week, you relentlessly pull yourself towards the divine dog food dish.  Unimaginable treasures lie inside...waiting for your discovery.  Lurking overhead, a hyper vigilant parent swoops out of the sky like a vulture to defend the forbidden object, placing it just beyond reach.

You are beginning to understand words but do not yet possess the gift of expression.  You see a parent cutting up blueberries and are overcome with the unregulated passion that only blueberries can bring you.  Your only option is to cry with anticipation while simultaneously feeling the frustration that comes with not being able to say “keep’em coming!!!” when the inert parent doesn't cut them fast enough.

Movement is slow but gaining momentum. You stumble and tumble along and you know you have to keep going.  The falls will come, but on a good day they don't hurt too bad.  

Evan is coping with his new world the best he can.  It can be difficult at times but well worth his heroic efforts.  When the tears come, I pick him up and say, “Sometimes a Man Just Needs a Paci.”  

Monday Funday

Another weekend comes to a close.  I always get a little sad on Monday afternoons because I know tomorrow starts the work week again.  It's not that I hate my job, but I would much rather be spending time at home with my family.  Like I said, thankfully I don't hate my job so once I get through Tuesday it's not so bad. 

My parents came for a visit this weekend.  I'm very close with both my mom and dad so I love spending time with them.  I'm lucky because my parents adore Mike and he enjoys spending time with them as well (at least that's what he tells me).  When we get together we have a great time.  

Saturday was cold and rainy so Mom, E, and I went shopping.  Poor E didn't have any summer clothes.  He had a few short sleeve onesies that he's been wearing with the nicer weather but that's about it. I knew I'd eventually need to get him new clothes, it's not like he can wear his summer clothes from last year.  But it wasn't until that first warm day that I realized he really didn't have much at all.  No worries, Grandma and I got the kid stocked up.  

Just a few items from E's summer collection.

Unfortunately, Mike picked the wrong day to go fishing.  He and a friend entered a fishing competition at Lake Minnetonka.  He came back freezing and without a prize.  He said he did have fun though so it wasn't a complete bust.  

Sunday and today we had great weather.  We spent as much time as we could outside and grilled Sunday afternoon and Monday night.  Mike even started our first outdoor project of the year, a sandbox for E!  Here's some pics from our outdoor adventures this weekend.

 

Picked this up for the weekend.  Perfect for drinking outside!

The beginning of E's sandbox.

Who knew Grandpa was such a photographer?!?!

Grilled fish, sweet potato, and asparagus.

Mommy and E waiting to go to the park.

And just because my mom thinks I'm
pretty darn cute.

The Times They are a-Changin'

Things are shaking up in the Gesellchen house. I’m getting a new work schedule starting the 2nd week of June. I’ll be working Saturday – Monday 5pm to 6am. This is very different from my current schedule of Tuesday – Friday 5am to 4pm. I knew my schedule would be changing and I was able to put in my request for what would work best for me and my family. I was fortunate enough to get my 2nd choice. However, this will be an adjustment with our schedules at home and we’ll have to figure some things out. We are fortunate that Mike is an at home dad, otherwise I don’t think this schedule would work for us if he had a job outside the home.

There are some definite downsides to this schedule.  My sleep schedule will be all out of sorts.  I’ve spent 2 years waking up for work at 4am and going to bed before 10pm.  I don’t even know the last time I saw midnight let alone stayed up the entire night.  Most people have the weekends off and I won’t be able to see my family and friends without some planning ahead.

I’m focusing on the positive side of this new schedule and as I really started to think about things, the positives are outweighing the negatives.  I work 3 days a week and still maintain full benefits and pay.  Not too bad.  Working over nights, I will still get a Friday night and some of Saturday and I can pretty much get my whole weekend by just taking 1 day of vacation.  The new schedule will also be less stressful than my current one as far as work load and team management. 

I’m excited for this new opportunity and to have 4 days off with my family.  This adjustment will be challenging but I know we can make it work. 

Meatless Monday on a Wednesday, a Snowy Day in May, and Two Crabby Parents

I worked the night shift on Monday so we are finishing up our month of Meatless Mondays today.  As I mentioned last week, this week was more of a decadent dish but lighted up using spaghetti squash instead of  pasta.  But more on that later.  Let me elaborate more on the title of this post.

We had  snow today, 3-6 inches in the forecast.  We didn't get near that and nothing stuck but it did look like this outside.

  

I'm hoping that's all the snow for a while and we can finally get a spring. I'm so sick of winter!  The weather had an impact on why there were two crabby parents in our house.  We had a tease of spring and it was so fun to get outside as a family.  Today was my day off so I was bummed it was crappy weather.  Plus I was stressing about all the things I need to get done at work when I go back tomorrow.  I was trying hard not think about it and let it ruin my day off.

In addition to the weather, Mike was crabby because he was having printer issues with his computer and he spent a good portion of the morning trying to figure it out.  With both of us being crabby it led to an argument about the proper way to mop the kitchen floor.  Lesson learned, if my husband is going to mop the floor, who cares how he does it, at least it's getting done.

That's when we decided we needed to get out of the house despite the weather.  We wallowed in our crabbiness over a lunch of nachos and beers.  Yeah yeah, I know, turning to junk food and alcohol to make you feel better is not setting a good example for my child.  But he's still young so I think we're safe, plus he had grilled chicken and fruit.  I do have a few good parenting skills.

A mood lifting lunch.

After lunch we were less crabby and went to Toys R Us to look for some outside toys and shoes for E.  E was in heaven!  I'm worried what he'll be like when he gets older and can actually put things in the cart.

So that leads us to the original point of this post, Meatless Monday.  By the way, yes we did cheat and had chicken on the nachos.  Dinner is completely meatless though. I've been wanting to make this recipe for a while, Spinach Artichoke Pasta.  It's from The Pioneer Woman's website and it was delicious!  I cut the recipe in half because the original serves 10.  I also added chopped red onion to the spinach and garlic mixture because I love the smell of garlic and onion sauteing in butter.  I also chopped a tomato and added it.  Since I used spaghetti squash instead of pasta, the mixture was a little runny.  I baked it for 20 minutes at 350 so it would set up more.  I sprinkled bread crumbs and more parmesan cheese on top which turned a wonderful golden brown.  Both the boys liked this meal and I will be making it again.  Next time I will use less artichokes, 1/2 a can instead of a whole can.  They overpowered the dish and I wanted to taste more of the spinach and spaghetti squash.  

Spinach Artichoke with Spaghetti Squash

As our month of Meatless Mondays ends, I found 4 great new recipes to incorporate in my meal planning.  And Mike learned that he can be satisfied without having meat at every meal. I look forward to cooking  more meatless meals for my family.