I don't know if it's due to Ainsley sleeping through the night again or just a general change of heart, but this week is going infinitely better than many previous ones.
I think I was almost paralyzed by all that we had to do in regards to the house, moving, holidays, Ainsley's first birthday. I just couldn't bring myself to start anything. It was all just too overwhelming. How do people EVER move with a baby? I have 3 hours a day to myself (naptimes) if I'm lucky and to be quite honest, using my precious free time to pack and organize is not good for my sanity.
Lucky for me I discovered that Ainsley is quite happy to play while I organize. She LOVES when I pull out a box of old baby clothes that she can rip apart and crawl around in. Today I discovered a baby sized lawn chair that we hadn't used this summer because she was still too small. I believe it's her new favorite toy.
So I've resurrected the morning routine of getting down to business from the get go. While still in our pajamas Ainsley and I tend to be the most productive and then it sets the tone for the rest of the day. I still spend her naps watching a movie or show on the couch while continuing to knit her behemoth Christmas stocking. (Aside - My brilliant plan to felt a Christmas stocking means that I need to knit one 3 times the normal size so that when it felts it IS normal size...not so brilliant) Other than that though, we've gone through most of the major areas to clean and organize and I'm actually thinking of looking up moving boxes (any ideas on where to get free ones?) and starting to pack some of the lesser used items in our home.
This whole process still seems to surreal to me. I've dreamed of owning a home from the minute Ian and I got married. It had been borderline painful for me not to be able to paint rooms and change light fixtures. I am all about the little details in a home. Funny that in our new home we will have to forgo most of these details to fund a kitchen redo. At least the option is there. We will be painting some rooms, but that's about it to start. In the spring we are hoping to have a enough money to do a little landscaping, or at least plant a small vegetable garden. The possibilities are so exciting.
Now to just get this whole apartment organized and packed. One day at a time!
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Monday, October 26, 2009
Another gray morning. Ugh. At least I have a valid excuse for why I'm still in my pajamas at 9:30 in the morning.
After a few weeks of dropping the "self soothe" ball with Ainsley, Ian and I let her cry herself back to sleep last night. It took over an hour for her to settle down once she woke herself up at 12:46. Double ugh. I hope she remembers quickly how it used to be.
We are so consistent for weeks and then we go on a trip or someone comes to stay with us and everything gets all messed up. She'll be sleeping through the night just fine and then when there is ANY change in her schedule she flips out at night. She's also had a cold for a while which doesn't help. I can't let her scream herself to sleep for an hour when we're staying with family or family is staying with us. Can I? Any advice would be helpful.
She's down now for a morning nap. Here's hoping it's a long one!
After a few weeks of dropping the "self soothe" ball with Ainsley, Ian and I let her cry herself back to sleep last night. It took over an hour for her to settle down once she woke herself up at 12:46. Double ugh. I hope she remembers quickly how it used to be.
We are so consistent for weeks and then we go on a trip or someone comes to stay with us and everything gets all messed up. She'll be sleeping through the night just fine and then when there is ANY change in her schedule she flips out at night. She's also had a cold for a while which doesn't help. I can't let her scream herself to sleep for an hour when we're staying with family or family is staying with us. Can I? Any advice would be helpful.
She's down now for a morning nap. Here's hoping it's a long one!
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Ha
I'm laughing as I read my last post, and now it's been almost a month again before I wrote. Uff da. Well, serves me right for making a virtual promise.
A lot has happened in the last month. Ainsley is, of course, one month older. She took her first steps at 9 months, 4 days old and can now motor across a whole room without falling on her hiney. Her newest sound is either "Th" or "s". It also sounds a bit like a speech impediment sound. Speech pathologist Aunt Julie will have to advise at Thanksgiving.
We are buying a house in Oak Park. One came on the market after about 3 weeks of nothing great. We saw it, we loved it, we made an offer. One very stressful attorney review period later we're just waiting to close! We went on a family trip to IKEA this morning to look at kitchen cabinets. It's the one area that we want to rehaul in the new house. I'm mostly just excited now with only about 5% left of nerves.
The sun has finally broken after days of gloom and rain. Perhaps we'll get a few good days of fall left. I'm going into the winter painfully aware of how limited my activities with Ainsley are going to be. Any good ideas for things to do with an almost 1 year old?
Both Ian's and my mom came to visit in the past weeks. I am lucky to have a mother in law that I truly enjoy the company of. It was actually on a walk with her that we muttered the phrase "wouldn't it be great to live on this block?" as we walked by the cul de sac street ending at the best park in Oak Park. Lo and behold we will indeed be living on that block. My mom visited this past weekend and we spent the majority of the time up in Winnetka with her parents. I did get to show her and my sister our house and was reinthused after a long and painstaking home inspection the week before. She brought Ainsley her first snow suit! Along with adorable overalls that she sewed and her trusty sewing machine to help me with the waldorf doll I'm making for Ainsley for Christmas, or her birthay, I can't quite decide yet. I love that "I'm " making Ainsley her doll when really I ordered the supplies and my mom will be walking be through every step. I'm a knitter, aspiring to branch out into other crafts.
Tonight is my favorite tv show night. I'll get to sit for 2 whole hours and knit Ainsley's ginornous Christmas stocking watching abc. That is if Ainsley will go to bed early enough to let me. Considering she didn't go down for her afternoon nap until 3:15, it's not looking good.
I'll update again soon..that is NOT a promise.
A lot has happened in the last month. Ainsley is, of course, one month older. She took her first steps at 9 months, 4 days old and can now motor across a whole room without falling on her hiney. Her newest sound is either "Th" or "s". It also sounds a bit like a speech impediment sound. Speech pathologist Aunt Julie will have to advise at Thanksgiving.
We are buying a house in Oak Park. One came on the market after about 3 weeks of nothing great. We saw it, we loved it, we made an offer. One very stressful attorney review period later we're just waiting to close! We went on a family trip to IKEA this morning to look at kitchen cabinets. It's the one area that we want to rehaul in the new house. I'm mostly just excited now with only about 5% left of nerves.
The sun has finally broken after days of gloom and rain. Perhaps we'll get a few good days of fall left. I'm going into the winter painfully aware of how limited my activities with Ainsley are going to be. Any good ideas for things to do with an almost 1 year old?
Both Ian's and my mom came to visit in the past weeks. I am lucky to have a mother in law that I truly enjoy the company of. It was actually on a walk with her that we muttered the phrase "wouldn't it be great to live on this block?" as we walked by the cul de sac street ending at the best park in Oak Park. Lo and behold we will indeed be living on that block. My mom visited this past weekend and we spent the majority of the time up in Winnetka with her parents. I did get to show her and my sister our house and was reinthused after a long and painstaking home inspection the week before. She brought Ainsley her first snow suit! Along with adorable overalls that she sewed and her trusty sewing machine to help me with the waldorf doll I'm making for Ainsley for Christmas, or her birthay, I can't quite decide yet. I love that "I'm " making Ainsley her doll when really I ordered the supplies and my mom will be walking be through every step. I'm a knitter, aspiring to branch out into other crafts.
Tonight is my favorite tv show night. I'll get to sit for 2 whole hours and knit Ainsley's ginornous Christmas stocking watching abc. That is if Ainsley will go to bed early enough to let me. Considering she didn't go down for her afternoon nap until 3:15, it's not looking good.
I'll update again soon..that is NOT a promise.
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