A Day (or two) in Our Lives

She swears she isn't tired...I turn around and she is sound asleep on the rug!

A few minutes later, the dog joined naptime. Ahhh..peace and quiet.

Our two cats, Bob (on top) and Puma, both girls, both fighting over the same seat. Bob always wins, even though she weighs 5 lbs. less. She just lays on top of Puma until Puma gives in.

Emily and her buddy, Bella.

Em sporting her overalls and pigtails.

Not Sleepy?

What does a 3-year-old do when she doesn't want to sleep at night?

Of course, what else but climb up the dresser drawers, into the highest, smallest drawer, wedge yourself in and then cry because it's not "comforble"!

Mom and Dad were not happy campers...but we had to take the pictures! (And for all those worried about the dresser tipping over....don't, we've got it taken care of, and are now monitoring her bedroom via video monitor.)

Maternity Leave from High School

According to a Fox News report, some pregnant Denver high school students are requesting at least 4 weeks unpunished maternity leave from high school. Currently, school policy is to require the girls to return to school the day after they are discharged from the hospital or face unexcused absences until they do return. The teenage mothers-to-be believe that this policy is unfair to them and interferes with their bonding time with the new baby.

How incredibly sad.

I feel very sad for the new babies, many of whose mothers will be more concerned with whether they will be able to fit into their prom dress or stay out all night at a party than concerned about the well-being of their child. I feel sad for the child that will most likely struggle all his life with a single mom whose education didn't come first and is now forced (if the child is lucky) to work very hard all the time to make a decent living. I feel sorry for the young mothers who (if the child is lucky) will have to spend the rest of her life working a boring, unfulfilling difficult job just to survive each day with her completely dependent child. I feel sorry for the high school counselors who are recomending the "high school maternity leave" who truly care about the young mothers and wrongly believe that this is the best policy.

How very, very sad.

Christmas 2007 Photo Essay

I don't know why the pictures ended up like this, but I'll work with it.

Emily had a great Christmas with Grammy, Pop-pop and Aunt Kathy in Delaware (where it was aroun 40-50 degrees the whole time!). Above are a few of my favorite "Emmy" pictures from Christmas day.

Most of her gifts revolved around the Disney princess theme. All the pictures show her wearing her Princess "bess" aka "dress". It's really a nightgown, but the two are inseperable. Literally. She wants to wear it all day and night. Getting her out of it is a battle. She did get a new princess dress, but it's still a little big right now. Her favorite Christmas morning gift was the Cinderella snow globe from Aunt Kathy. Emily has insisted on seeing these snow globes in Walmart, Target, Meijer and Sears since the time they came out in November. She was thrilled to have one of her own.

All in all, it was a good Christmas. Of course, it's not over yet. This weekend we will celebrate with Andrew's side of the family. This child will think Christmas never ends!

New Year's Photo Essay

Bella loves the snow. She loves sticking her nose in it and then romping through it.

The view of the deck on New Years' day.

The trees covered in snow. Lots of snow.

The view from the deck today. 16 inches of snow. 26 inch drifts. Too much snow. (Ignore my reflection in the glass. It's too cold to open the door!)

The view from the front door. Pretty, but enough already!

Think I Fixed the Problem

For some reason changing the template and going back and setting everything back up again seemed to fix the problem. I can't get the font I want without having the same issue though, so I guess this will have to do for now. Still, I think the new look is nicer.

Trouble With Blogger

Well, it appears that I'm smart enough to change the template and colors and page elements of my blog, but somewhere in the process I've managed to do something wrong. I can see that there is one comment on my newest post, but I cannot open it, no matter what I try. I also cannot access any links on my blog. So, if anyone has any suggestions, I'd love to hear them. Until then....I'll keep trying when I can.

Truly, the Right Perspective for the New Year

The following was written by Ben Stein and recited by him on CBS Sunday Morning Commentary.

My confession:

I am a Jew, and every single one of my ancestors was Jewish. And it does not bother me even a little bit when people call those beautiful lit up, bejeweled trees Christmas trees. I don't feel threatened. I don't feel discriminated against. That's what they are: Christmas trees.

It doesn't bother me a bit when people say, 'Merry Christmas' to me. I don't think they are slighting me or getting ready to put me in a ghetto. In fact, I kind of like it. It shows that we are all brothers and sisters celebrating this happy time of year. It doesn't bother me at all that there is a manger scene on display at a key intersection near my beach house in Malibu . If people want a creche, it's just as fine with me as is the Menorah a few hundred yards away.

I don't like getting pushed around for being a Jew, and I don't think Christians like getting pushed around for being Christians. I think people who believe in God are sick and tired of getting pushed around, period. I have no idea where the concept came from that America is an explicitly atheist country. I can't find it in the Constitution and I don't like it being shoved down my throat.

Or maybe I can put it another way: where did the idea come from that we should worship Nick and Jessica and we aren't allowed to worship God as we understand Him? I guess that's a sign that I'm getting old, too. But there are a lot of us who are wondering where Nick and Jessica came from and where the America we knew went to.

In light of the many jokes we send to one another for a laugh, this is a little different: This is not intended to be a joke; it's not funny, it's intended to get you thinking.

Billy Graham's daughter was interviewed on the Early Show and Jane Clayson asked her 'How could God let something like this happen?' (regarding Katrina) Anne Graham gave an extremely profound and insightful response. She said, 'I believe God is deeply saddened by this, just as we are, but for years we've been telling God to get out of our schools, to get out of our government and to get out of our lives And being the gentleman He is, I believe He has calmly backed out. How can we expect God to give us His blessing and His protection if we demand He leave us alone?'

In light of recent events...terrorists attack, school shootings, etc. I think it started when Madeleine Murray O'Hare (she was murdered, her body found recently) complained she didn't want prayer in our schools, and we said OK. Then someone said you better not read the Bible in school. The Bible says thou shalt not kill, thou shalt not steal, and love your neighbor as yourself. And we said OK.

Then Dr. Benjamin Spock said we shouldn't spank our children when they misbehave because their little personalities would be warped and we might damage their self-esteem (Dr. Spock's son committed suicide). We said an expert should know what he's talking about And we said OK.

Now we're asking ourselves why our children have no conscience, why they don't know right from wrong, and why it doesn't bother them to kill strangers, their classmates, and themselves

Probably, if we think about it long and hard enough, we can figure it out. I think it has a great deal to do with 'WE REAP WHAT WE SOW.'

Funny how simple it is for people to trash God and then wonder why the world's going to hell. Funny how we believe what the newspapers say, but question what the Bible says. Funny how you can send 'jokes' through e-mail and they spread like wildfire but when you start sending messages regarding the Lord, people think twice about sharing. Funny how lewd, crude, vulgar and obscene articles pass freely through cyberspace, but public discussion of God is suppressed in the school and workplace.

Are you laughing?

Funny how when you forward this message, you will not send it to many on your address list because you're not sure what they believe, or what they will think of you for sending it.

Funny how we can be more worried about what other people think of us than what God thinks of us.

Pass it on if you think it has merit. If not then just discard it... no one will know you did. But, if you discard this thought process, don't sit back and complain about what bad shape the world is in. My Best Regards.

Honestly and respectfully,

Ben Stein

A Perfect Example of Insanity

Here is a headline from the WNDU (South Bend, IN.) online news: BMV letter over driver's license data worries immigrants.

Here is the text of the story:

The Bureau of Motor Vehicles' recent letter notifying more than 200,000 people that information on their driver's licenses doesn't match a government database has left some immigrants fearful that they'll lose their licenses.

Director Rebecca Griffy says Heart and Hands, a Plymouth nonprofit that helps Latinos and immigrants, has been "bombarded" by callers worried about losing their licenses.
Those fears are real because any recipient of the BMV letter who cannot resolve the mismatched data issues will have their licensed revoked.

Griffy says undocumented residents often use false Social Security numbers. She says that if they lose their license it could hurt the economy by keeping people from working and shopping.

Seriously, Americans have lost their minds. This is insane.

First, the headline is wrong. It should read "BMV Letter Over Driver's License Data Worries Illegal Aliens". Legal immigrants have no reason to worry. Legal immigrants to the U.S. have valid SSNs and driver's license numbers. Legal immigrants are employed legally. End of story. No fear for jobs or the economy.

The problem, as we all know, is illegal aliens. People illegally in the United States, for whatever reason, who have either stolen a legal person's identity and/or falsified legal employment and driver's license information now have a legitimate reason to worry. And worry they should. I personally don't care why they are here illegally. I do care that they are breaking America's laws. That's the point. That's why they should be worried. Forget about the economy. There are plenty of legal Americans who will work. Enforce the laws. Don't write new ones. Just read the laws, and then enforce them!

And just as a side note....anyone who knowingly employs or enables an illegal alien should also have to face the consequences.

Ignoring this situation is insanity, pure and simple.

Christmas Q&A

I'm a copycat, but this sounded like fun, so I'm going to play along!

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? Both. I wrap most things, but sometimes I like to mix in some pretty bags. Plus, if I have an older grandparent I will use the bags because they are easier to open.

2. Real tree or artificial? Fake tree here. With two tree-climbing cats, a rambunctious dog and a three-year-old, the pine needles and sap would be too much.

3. When do you put up the tree? As soon after Thanksgiving as possible. This year, we're doing it today.

4. When do you take the tree down? Oh, sometime in January or February....whenever I get tired of keeping the pets and Emily out of it.

5. Do you like eggnog? Never had it, don't intend to try it!

6. Favorite gift received as a child? Hmmmm...probably my first real bicycle. It got a TON of use.

7. Do you have a Nativity scene? Yes. I bought one last year that has scripture verses on each character. Hard to explain.

8. Hardest person to buy for? My mother-in-law. Great mom-in-law, couldn't ask for better, just tough to shop for!

9. Easiest person to buy for? Emily, hands down.

10. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? Hmmm.....a globe.

11. Mail or email Christmas cards? Mail, hopefully before Christmas!

12. Favorite Christmas movie? Chevy Chase in National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation. Absolutely hilarious!

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? Usually around October/November. I like to be done by December, but it rarely happens.

14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? I don't think so.

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? Christmas cookies...the batter in particular!

16. Clear lights or colored on the tree? I prefer clear.

17. Favorite Christmas song? Impossible to say. I like them all...seriously. But anything by Josh Groban, particularly "O Holy Night".

18. Travel at Christmas or stay home? Travel...always. This year we go to Delaware, next year to Greentown. We switch off.

19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer? I think so.

20. Angel on the treetop or star? Star.

21. Open presents on Christmas eve or morning? Both. We open presents from one side of the family the night before, toys from Santa Christmas morning and more presents from the other side of the family later on Christmas.

22. Most annoying thing about this time of year? Stores ignoring Christmas and making it a "holiday". Also rude people.

23. Corniest family tradition you do, or miss doing? We give batteries in everyone's stocking. Silly, I know.

24. Ugliest Christmas decoration ever invented? Upside down Christmas trees. Why?

25. Theme trees or homey? Either. I like both...someday I'd like to have one of each!

Things For Which I am Thankful This Shopping Season

I like to shop, but I detest the crazed Christmas crowds this time of the year. So I try to do my shopping at odd times (usually during the day on a weekday while most people are working) or as much as possible on one of the busier shopping days. Yesterday was one of those days.

My goal was to hit Kohls during their "Power Hours" sale, which lasted until 1:00pm yesterday, and other various quick stops best accomplished without a three-year-old in tow. Along the way, I compiled a list of things for which I am thankful for.

1. Clean Public Restrooms and paper toilet seat covers. I, like many other people I know, detest using public restrooms and avoid them at all costs, but on a day-long excursion, eventually even the most determined can't avoid them. Therefore, I am thankful for those stores that actually maintain their restrooms (meaning they at least periodically clean them!). On my list of reputable restrooms is Kohl's, Hobby Lobby, Macy's and Nordtroms. There might be more, but those are usually dependable. An added bonus is the paper seat covers which allow me to greatly reduce my public restroom time by not having to build my tp nest. These sanitary little life-savers are MUCH appreciated, especially in an era where people apparently do not believe in wiping their bodily functions off the seat after themselves. YUCK!

2. Emily's stroller and automatic doors. I have found that Emily's stroller works much better without her in it. It works great for carrying my purse, drink, coat and packages leaving my hands and back free to shop. Of course, it would help if the aisles were bigger (JCPenney, are you listening?) and the doors were automatic, but still I may be using that stroller at Christmas time long after Emily has outgrown it. Kudos also to anyone polite enough to hold a door open. It doesn't happen often enough.

3. Clean fitting rooms with doors large enough for above-mentioned stroller to fit through. I greatly appreciate those stores that take enough time to maintain their fitting rooms. I detest rooms (and the people guilty of this) that are filled with clothes to the extent that there is no room to hang the clothes a person brings in with them. People, put your clothes away!

4. Competent cashiers and employees with adequate cash registers. Finding a helpful employee is rare, but great when it happens. I always try to make a point to find a manager and send a good report. On the second point, having enough check-out lanes during a busy season is a must. Again, I must praise Kohls for this one.

5. People with a good sense of humor and a smile on their face. Again, this is a rarity in the "most wonderful time of the year". It goes a long way toward "making spirits bright". (I couldn't resist.)

6. Individual gift receipts with more than a bar code. Having the item description makes life so much easier later.

7. Christmas music playing in the background. This falls into the making spirits bright category.

8. Warm weather. Not too warm of course, but sunny with a little nip in the air is just perfect. No ice, no rain, no wind.

9. Finding exactly what you want, in the right size for at least 50% off. (Then seeing the "you saved $120 on your purchase today" on the receipt.)

10. The all-Christmas, all-weekend long local music station. It's the most wonderful time of the year!

That Kind of Day

Emily painted (with permanent purple paint) the months-old new kitchen table and floor and centerpiece and placemats and base board.

While yelling at her in as controlled a voice as I could manage....

The dog peed on the floor.

Then Emily left a "load" in her diaper while asking me for the 17th time if she could get up out of her chair yet.

It had been a good day....

Still sound so "wonderful" to you now, Chris?

Where's Grandma when you need her?

The Newest Member of Our Family

Well, I know that I am about to make my dog-loving blogging buddies very happy. We have a dog.

To be exact, we now own a German Shepherd mix (with what, we don't know!). Her name is Bella and she is 11 months old. She and her brother were picked up by a police officer (not sure of the other circumstances). The story is that the two dogs were so scared that they promptly puked all over the officers' patrol car. By the time the Humane Society worker got to the scene, the officer had puked all over the road. Apparently he doesn't handle bad smells well. (This causes me to wonder if he has ever picked up a drunk, seen a dead body or has kids...)

So now she is ours. We claimed her last night and it took until around 11:15 today for her to bark at all. She's basically a cuddler. Oh, and she likes to chew. A LOT! I woke up this morning to Bella staring at me from about 5 inches away, paws on the edge of the bed. That's gonna take some getting used to!

So far, Emily likes Bella. She told everyone we saw on our walk and in Meijer, that she had a new dog named Bella. The cats are surviving. But that leads me to another part of the story...
Monday, as part of the humane society's requirements, I had to get our cats up-to-date on their shots. So I took Emily and two cats to the vet. I'd say that you can imagine how that went on your own, but really, you can't. Bob, the smaller gentler cat did okay. She didn't like it, but she survived. Puma, on the other hand, was a different story. Puma is MY cat, and only mine. She tolerates everyone else. Monday, she tolerated no one. To sum it all up, Emily was in tears, terrified, Puma was screeching like an angry panther, Bob was cowering in the corner and it took 4 veterinary personel. a huge pair of thick rubber gloves up to the elbow and a muzzle to do even a cursory exam. They didn't finish. They also told us she didn't need to come back in a year...she could wait three...or forever.

Oh and did I mention that Bob, the other cat, gets carsick....and did.

So far, Bella seems to be very gentle and pretty well behaved, but not trained and not perfect. But we'll work on that. My life should be pretty interesting...any tips appreciated!

And now for the pictures...

It's My Birthday But Please...No Surprises Like This!

Today is my birthday. It's the last one we're going to officially count before we stop. Now, I enjoy surprises as much as the next person, but this is one surprise I can say I'm happy to have never received...

According to Fox News:

"Officials at a U.K. high school were aghast after a stripper visited a student during class and whipped him in front of other students and a horrified teacher, Sky News reported Thursday.
A booking error is to blame after a mother arranged to send a "gorilla gram" to her son on his 16th birthday, an arrangement she cleared with Nottingham's Arnold Hill School and Technology College. Instead, the agency sent a stripper clad in a policewoman costume, Sky reported.

Click here for the Sky News story.

After whipping the teen, the stripper placed a collar around his neck and led him around the classroom with a leash, telling him he had been a "bad boy" for not doing his homework. She then put on a Britney Spears tune and stripped for the shocked class, witnesses told Sky.
The police were not called and no one was suspended from the school in the incident, and officials said they were investigating."

I"ll bet that was one very surprised student and class. But where in the world was the teacher?

Talk about a birthday to remember!!

Some Recent Pictures

Sitting on a bench in front of the river

Taking a hike on a nature trail

Our little leopard on Halloween

Cute kitty!

Visiting daddy at his office

Discouraged

It's 9:50 pm on Thursday night. I have hardly said two words to my husband, my 3 year old is still awake and determined to stay that way and be angry about it, despite having started the bedtime process at 8:00 pm.

Em had at least one major meltdown (the kind where people openly stare and judge with evil looks) in KMart and two minor ones in two other small stores.

She can hardly keep her eyes open past 4:00 and she is crabby and miserable and making us all that way. She has dark circles forming under her eyes. Nothing we do is right or helpful at all.

This has been going on for a month and a half, night after night, relentless in intensity and getting worse.

I can't think of another time in my life when I've been more discouraged, defeated and frustrated. My heart is heavy and breaking and I don't know how to fix things or who to talk with or where to turn next. I'm praying but it feels like no one is listening. I know that isn't true, but still....

Solicitors Will Be Shot On Sight!

Anyone who has visited my house lately has noticed a handwritten sign on my front door. The sign says "NO SOLICITATION!" Apparently, some people can't read.

Saturday morning started off fine. Andrew took Emily with him to get his hair cut and out for lunch so that I could get some cleaning done before the in-laws came. It was a good plan. It should have yielded great results. It had real potential, but I was foiled by, you guessed it, door-to-door salespeople. (Yes, I meant the plural.)

While the other two-thirds of my family headed to their destinations, I put on some make-up and some cleaning clothes, threw a headband in my messy hair and went to work straightening up the living room. I had just gotten the clutter out of the way and was starting to de-clutter the kitchen table when I noticed someone standing at my front door (the outside door is glass).

Now, I'm nothing if not polite, but I've decided that that approach has gotten me nowhere lately. I answered the door and opened it up enough to talk to the young woman on the front step. She handed me a bottle of Glade airfreshener as a "free gift" (I knew I was in trouble right there). Then she said that she just wanted me to answer a few questions for a quick survey that would only take a few seconds. "Seconds" was her exact word. You'll want to remember that. She then said, "Hold on just a second, I have to go get something and I'll be right back." So, I went back to cleaning and then answered the door when the woman returned again. What I wasn't prepared for when I opened the door was that what this woman went back to "get" was the rest of her "tag team".

That was the second sign of trouble. Then I saw what they were carrying....a large box with what else, but a vacuum cleaner, specifically a Kirby vacuum cleaner. Now there were two different women in my house, a vacuum cleaner and one ticked off-but-still-trying-to-be-polite Christina.

From the get-go, I made it clear that I had company coming at an unspecified-but-soon time (completely true), that I needed to clean (obviously true) and that I would listen to their pitch but only to be polite. A lot of good that did me.

First Katie, the aging cheerleading/homecoming queen/man-eater-in-high-heels started in on the pitch explaining that her colleague was just starting out (it was her 3rd day on the job) and that she was trying to win a contest to go to Orlando. All I had to do was listen and she would get credit. Okay fine. So then Brittany, the overweight frumpy-but-shy young woman started in on the pitch. Katie made her exit to check on her other "worker bees" in the neighborhood with the promise to return. (Oh goodie!)

Brittany then started unpacking the box and getting down to business. First she showed me the air compressor feature of the vacuum. (I kid you not.) Then we moved on to the duct cleaner feature, the ceiling fan cleaning feature, the wall cleaning tool, the stereo dusting tool, the upholstery tool, the paint sprayer/insecticide sprayer feature (again, I'm not kidding, but does that sound like a dangerous combination to anyone else?) and on, and on and on.....At the end of the first hour, we were just getting through most of the attatchments.

I was seriously irritated by this time and had already refused several offers to show other features (like the one that would require me to take off the sheets on my bed and let Brittany show me how many dust mites were in my mattress. Somethings are better left unknown....seriously.) At this point, I told Brittany, in the politest tone I had left in me that she needed to wrap this up in five minutes. So what did young Brit do? She started pouring baking soda onto the carpet and then rubbing it in to demonstrate the actual vacuuming part of the vacuum. (This of course after expressing her disappointment in not getting to show me the carpet shampooer attachment.)

Now I will stop here to say that not only am I seriously irritated with the interruption in my morning, but it was also unnerving to see the amount of dirt in my carpet. The vacuum did seem to work well, but that was beside the point.

Meanwhile, Andrew and Emily returned home. Andrew began cutting the grass and Emily hung out with me part of the time. After the baking soda demonstration, I told Brittany that time was up, even if she wasn't done. So she called her manager Katie. Katie came back in and the real sales pitch began. The price of this behemoth machine was a whopping $1875.00! Yeah, right. But after my first, uh...not interested, I suddenly got the "Friends and Family Discount" droping the price to $1300, cutting out part of poor Brittany's sales commission and payable in 24 payments of $70.00. That's all.

Now again I pause. I forgot to mention that Katie has now talked to Andrew while he was outside and reports back to me that it was "cool" that I was getting a new Kirby vacuum. (Yeah right!) I was tempted at this point to buy the dang thing, in part just to get rid of these people but also because I was appalled at the amount of dirt that my own vacuum was leaving behind. So I went outside to talk things over with Andrew. Thankfully he talked me down from breaking under the pressure of the high sales pitch (to which I normally don't yield.) So I went back inside and said no thank you once again.....which led to more begging and pleading and the call for more reinforcements.

So Katie and Brittany begin packing up the Kirby (incredibly slowly) while waiting for the top dog manager who "just wants to make sure that the presentation was done well." Well, I'm past the point of polite by now and ready to be done when Backstreet-Boy-Wanna-be-Jesse comes in. He wants to know why I don't want to buy this vacuum..."is it the price?" Well, duh, of course it is. I said yes, I didn't have the cash and I was trying to get out of debt and didn't want anymore payments. To which Jesse replied, "Well, you're always going to be in debt."

Now that was what pushed me over the edge. I replied, "No, I'm not always going to be in debt. I don't have to be unless I keep doing dumb stuff like this." (I think that started to tick him off.) So he said, "Well you're always going to be in debt, and really, there's good debt and bad debt. Don't you think this is good debt?" (Yes, he actually said this.) I replied that I did not believe there was good debt, that it was all bad and that I didn't always have to be in debt. He might be, but I wasn't going to be.

Finally Jesse tried again and that's when I lost it. I told him "My answer is no and it is not going to change no matter what you say. Now you need to leave right now." (In the same tone that I use with Emily, by the way.) Well, this sufficiently ticked off Jesse and his little band of thugs and they finally left almost 2 hours after they first arrived....

And that is why the sign on my door will be changed to read, "Solicitors Will Be Shot On Sight!"

Not Much to Report

Well, I guess I just don't have much to say these days. My life is currently consumed with caring for Emily from sun-up to sundown these days, with no break in between. Naptime is still a major struggle. If I can get Emily to lay down and be still for 5 minutes (or less) she almost always will fall asleep, but something keeps waking her up about 20-30 minutes into her nap. I finally got to the point where I told her she didn't have to sleep, but she did have to play quietly in her room until "quiet-time" was over. That was just a big joke. She would either yell down the stairs, "MOM....MOM.....MOM....UH...MOM etc... or cry forever, either of which totally defeat the idea of quiet time. So today, I have her trying to sleep in the guest bedroom with the tv on in the background. I'm not proud of it, but if it helps her rest and gives me a little break, then so be it.

Ahhh...the things we say we'll never do.

We go to visit Emily's new doctor tomorrow afternoon for a flu shot and a consultation/brainstorming session. I hope and pray that this new doctor has some helpful ideas.

Let's see....in other news, not much is happening. Emily doesn't love going to "pretty school", but she's got to go. I don't know that I really see any improvement in her speech, but then again, even though she is getting more therapy time per week, it's group therapy as opposed to individual therapy. I expected progress to slow, but only time will tell if this is helping enough. I just hope we're not simply treading water and losing valuable time.

Anybody who says parenting is easy has obviously never done it!

Nightmares and No Naps, Need I Say More?

So I haven't been keeping up with this blog very well lately. It's not that there isn't plenty to comment on, particularly in the realm of politics, but the truth is, there's just too much going on in my own little world right now to think about the other stuff...and frankly speaking, when I do have a chance to relax, the last thing I want to think about or hear is another fight about anything. I just want to relax and laugh.

There's not much of an update to report. Emily is still not sleeping well. Every nap and bedtime is a forever-long battle with lots of tears all the way around. She hasn't been napping the last few days, or if she does, it's only for a short time followed by her waking up screaming and running from her room in a panic. We think she is having nightmares. She remembers waking up and being scared of "sounds" outside her window. (We know the streetsweeper and the trash trucks are loud, but that's been happening her entire life.)

When Emily wakes up like that, she is inconsolable. It's scary and unsettling. I hate having to leave her alone in her room at night, scared and panicky, but I also know that sleeping in her room would only delay the inevitable battle. So we continue to wage this battle a while longer.

Add to this that Emily is now also waking up with the sun (this, the child who has always slept in late) and we have one very tired girl. She is also stock-piling anything she can find that isn't nailed down in her room into her bed. Every day, I find old shoe boxes (with and without shoes), all the clothes she can find on her floor, probably 40 books (not exaggerating here) and various other things in her bed all piled up on and around her in her bed. This concerns me a little. I've never heard of this happening before and I'm not sure why she's doing it.

Of course, this leads me to the conclusion that it's probably time to mention this to the doctor, except that the doctor we've been seeing isn't the easiest person with which to talk. So, I called the office and asked to switch to someone else, just to see if we "click" any better. Now, we have an appointment on Nov. 1, to discuss our concerns, but I don't know if I can hold out much longer. We shall see....

In other Emily news, preschool is going fine, but she is having some separation anxiety (yet again....) I have a hard time with this. While I was always shy, I don't remember being upset about being away from my mom or dad, and neither of them were stay-at-home parents. Now, I spend nearly 100% of my time with Emily, and apparently it's still not enough, yet I know we would kill each other if I tried to homeschool. So we're gutting it out there, too. I know that battle won't take as long, though.

So, that's about it for now. Thanks so much to the ladies and gentleman who encouraged me in my last post. It's been hard to find time to myself to post, but I read your words and appreciated them. In the meantime, I'm just trying to keep going.

Trying to Laugh Instead of Cry

I'm thinking about having some t-shirts made. There will be two in adult sizes and one in a child's size.

The adult shirts will say: I Survived Hurricane Emily!

The child's size will say: Hurricane Emily

So, I told Andrew that I was thinking about this, because sometimes you have to do something to laugh or you'll just end up crying, but he pointed out that we haven't actually survived yet. Hmmmm....

That about sums it up. We're in the process of surviving a massive storm of wills. I bought "The New Strong-Willed Child" by Dobson, and read about 50 pages last night. So far, I'm just discouraged that this seemingly never-ending series of battles truly will never end, but I'm trying to stay positive.

But I'm serious about the t-shirts....