MONSTERS!!

One note of advice: Do NOT let your 2 1/2 year old watch the movie Monsters Inc. (by Disney). We all went to the video store before leaving for Chicago and let the boys pick out a movie they could watch on the drive up. They seemed very determined that Monsters Inc. was the one. We had seen it before, and neither of the boys were afraid of anything in the movie. After all, Finding Nemo has super scary parts and they LOVE that movie. Anyways, we watched the movie in the car ride up to Chicago and they really enjoyed it....I thought nothing further of it.

UNTIL....Drew started waking up and saying "there's monsters in my closet". We explained there was no monsters, they are just pretend, and put him back to bed. He seemed to do well with this, and we experienced no further problems... at that moment. Then he started waking up at least 2-3 times a night crying. When Ryan went up to ask what the problem was, he said "there's no monsters, they are just pretend, there's no monsters". Poor guy......he's trying to convince US there's no monsters!

We started to let him sleep with a flashlight to comfort him more, and it worked the first few nights. We peaked in on him to see how he was doing the first night with the flashlight, and the poor child was clinging on to that flashlight for his dear life even though he was in a deep sleep. Of course that wore off so we tried leaving the light on in his closet. That had no effect at all either.

Our latest solution has been to let him sleep in the same room with his brother. This often means less sleep for both of them, but hey, we were already getting less sleep so what's the difference? After putting them to bed and telling them to go to sleep, we went downstairs and waited. When they used to share a room they would play for a little while and then they quiet down and go to sleep. So we were expecting the same thing to happen. All of the sudden BANG BANG BANG. Drew was pounding on the door (we put a childproof handle on the door to prevent them from climbing into our bed). Oh man, not gonna work. I go open the door....."yes Drew?".
"I wanna sleep in my room"
"Okay Drew, but you get scared being by yourself"
"Ethan sleep with me"
"Okay. Ethan do you want to sleep in Drew's bed with him?"
"Ohhh Yeah!".
Great. We'll see how this goes.
I had barely put my foot down on the main floor from coming down the stairs when I hear BANG BANG BANG. Back up the stairs (at least I'm getting exercise out of this).
"What?".....losing my patience now!
"I wanna sleep in Ethan's room"
"No. You were just there."
"Pease?" looking at me with those big brown eyes.
"Fine. Last time changing rooms though, okay? You MUST go to sleep"
"Ok"
Back to Ethan's room both boys go. Needless to say this went ON and ON and ON. We ended up having lots of crying and disciplining:-)

Has the situation been better the last few days? Slightly, but we still DREAD naptime and bedtime. It used to be so easy, in fact my boys used to look forward to that time of day (so did Mommy!). Now it's a constant battle (game for them) of up and down the stairs. You know when naptime is the most stressful time of the day that something has got to change!

I actually have the boys sleeping in seperate bedrooms again since Drew just likes to go back and forth between the two rooms. So now when he wakes up at night, either Ryan or I will end up sleeping in bed with him. Let's just say we are walking zombies lately:-)

Any other suggestions for dealing with a toddler afraid of monsters? Anyone else go through this? It's EXHAUSTING:-) I have open ears.......

Bleh

Yep, that's how I've been feeling lately. Just bleh (is that a word?). Completely unmotivated. Someone needs to just come and slap me into shape:-) Probably because I've been eating horribly and not exercising. Or maybe because it's like 120 degrees outside and HUMID. Or maybe cause I'm still not getting good sleep cause Sissy just got her 4-month shots and has been feverish and fussy. Still, just bleh! I'm hoping once the boys start school (11 days....but who's counting!?!) I'll be able to snap out of it and be more active. Not to say I'm laying around all day....I just haven't been the same social person I usually am. My friends think I've probably dropped off the face of the planet cause I haven't been doing as many playdates....I'm still alive I promise:-) I guess between having company (we had a house full of 10 people for 4 days) and adjusting to being back from vacation, that could do it. Anyways, on to more uplifting topics.

I did a photo-shoot last weekend, and it went really well. Have done a few since having Elise, and it's been a blast. I enjoy having a hobby that turns my mommy-mind off. I'm hoping one day to make a business out of it, but for now it is more of a hobby. I need much more experience, plus I would love to take some classes so I am more knowledgeable about the camera. Check out the slideshow of pictures

Sissy had her four-month checkup recently. "Little" Lady is 16 pounds and 26 1/2 inches long.....90% for weight and 95% for height. You go girl (who says that anymore?!). She is changing so much everyday. She rolls both ways already. She LOVES to play with toys, grabbing them and instantly putting them into her mouth. Just today she discovered her voice. I mean really discovered her voice. It's so funny. She's talked plenty before (I've shown video of that), but now she realizes she can scream. The scary part is, she can be very loud without barely opening her mouth. I can only imagine how much louder she will be as a toddler throwing a tantrum. Eeeek! Check it out:


That's all for now folks. Hopefully I will have a more positive tone next blog. Until then, on with life and loving others. That should help me get out of this funk, huh?

I'm Back!!!

Yes, it's been a L O N G time since I posted. The kiddos and I went back to good 'ole Chicago for a couple weeks, and honestly I have not been very motivated since returning home to blog. Guess I'm kinda in a slump, and need a little push to get back in the swing of things. I was talking to Ryan last night about it (the fact that I haven't felt like blogging at ALL lately), and he made a really good suggestion. Instead of approaching blogging as a brag-book for my family, I should just try to use it as an online diary of sorts. In other words, I don't have to always put up pictures of my kids or try to show them off......I'm gonna try to be completely real and open, exposing my thoughts and feelings (uh oh!) and not just talk about what went on during my day (don't worry I'll still have to put some pictures up!). There is a blogger I have found online that is a prime example of this....here's her site. I absolutely adore her candidness and honesty. Currently she is posting about how her and her husband met, and the whole saga of their relationship before they got married. Very good reading....she's not hiding anything! While some bloggers choose to use code names and are completely private (understandable!), I get so refreshed by her openess. So hopefully this will motivate me to keep up with my blog more often, and won't be as hard for me to find things to talk about. What do you all think? Comments welcome....

But first....I have to show some adorable pictures from our trip. (Okay, I just completely contradicted myself....but HAVE to share!). We had a blast visiting with Gta and YaYa. I LOVE seeing the boys interact with my parents. They are both soooo great with kids. In fact, here's a video proving my point: (Oh, I'll warn you I'm laughing very LOUD in the background the whole time)


I was also able to visit with lots of friends from my childhood, high school, and college. It's fun because they are all just starting to have children now (I feel like a pro with my third child already...hehe). Now they can fully understand what my life has been like these past four years. Until you have children it's hard to imagine the lifestyle change. Anyways, it was very surreal to have my kids playing with my friend's kids.....very very weird but cool. Here's a couple pictures:

Ethan sitting next to Alyssa (Marnie's little girl)

Sissy with Angelina (Tara's daughter...they are six weeks apart)

Sissy with Conner on the left (Jackie's son) and Jason (Nicky's son)


Another highlight from the trip was getting to spend so much time with my sister and her two boys. I wish we lived closer to them. My boys loved hanging out with Jacob and Bretter.....especially since Aunt Kerry has a pool in her back yard!


My cousin Lora and her family live in DC, but were passing through. What a special treat to see them! I was in her wedding 16 years ago....how times have changed since then.....here is a picture of my sister, me, and Lora (yes I chopped my hair!)

LOVE this picture! Lora's daughter Summer holding Elise:

Also got to eat some super delish food! Nothing beats Chicago food....Portillo's, Lou Malnatti's, Culver's, Jimmy John's, Bakers Square, I could go on and on.
The boys were able to experience so many wonderful things with Gta and YaYa: going into Chicago to the zoo and lakefront, the children's museum, walks down the riverwalk, the library, dunkin donuts, bike rides, a neighborhood festival, I could go on and on!
Thanks Mom and Dad for a wonderful, memory-filled time!

Hangin on YaYa's stairs eating ice cream....doesn't get better than this!

Going on a bike ride with Gta...all three kids in tow!

So long for now....