Monday, January 10, 2011

Under Construction Etc.

Wow. I consider myself a fairly capable person when it comes to computers, but trying to update the format of this blog has me stumped. I think it has something to do with the settings on the computer, and I make it a habit to never dabble in the settings. Hopefully this week Blake can help me get a handle on it; until then, bear with me!

Today has been one of those nice stay-at-home days: diapers are washed and stuffed, laundry is being done, I finished reading for book club (Mudhouse Sabbath by Lauren Winner), placed my Bountiful Baskets order, kept my baby alive and happy, had a friend over for lunch, baked cookies on a whim, had dinner (baked french toast) ready for the oven by 8am, took out the trash and recycling, and I'm sure I'll accomplish some other trivial little things (in a couple minutes I can cross: "update blog" off the list!). It's overcast and chilly (I thrive in this weather), Blake will get home in an hour, and I'm looking forward to a cozy evening watching The West Wing.

Rory, bless her little heart, slept from 8pm until 6:35 this morning. For the first six months of her life, I stressed about not really setting a schedule for her. Granted, Blake and I live pretty spontaneously, and a strict schedule would not have meshed well with our lives, but I read so many places that the best parents get their babies to nap, eat, and go to bed at roughly the same time everyday. We tried that, really we did. One night I dutifully put Aurora down to sleep before 9, and she promptly began to scream. And scream.  Some babies cry themselves to sleep. Others cry themselves to hysteria. Rory falls into the latter category. After 45 minutes of manic, frenzied shrieking, Blake and I (both close to tears ourselves) determined that we were not going to be able to let her "cry it out." So  we let her stay up until 10 (or 11) if she needed to, and trusted that one day she would sleep like a proper baby. And now she does! A little before 6 months hit, Rory began to set a bedtime for herself. And a nap time (or two!!!). Some nights she gets up once, but a lot of nights she sleeps through! And we didn't have to battle her! There's enough flexibility in her "schedule" that I can still run errands as long as we're back between a certain time window, and if she's an hour late getting to bed at night, she's okay. Our baby girl is growing up!

In other news, since I'm not taking a class at NAU this semester, I'm looking for a place to volunteer where I can speak Spanish with native speakers. I have a few leads with organizations offering adult literacy classes, and I could see myself enjoying doing that a few hours a week. The jerky I made in the dehydrator was "so awesome," according to Blake, but I'm sad to say my fruit leather actually turned out to be "fruit brittle." Who knew something so "easy" would take such finesse?

But, I'm not letting my fruit brittle get me down: my baby is blowing raspberries, a box of books came in the mail, a good friend just had a baby, and I have a dozen other reasons to smile!

Happy Monday!

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