Help!

Today I sent this email off to friends. I need help! I have a need for input on an issue with my daughter that I cannot for the life of me figure out how to fix!

She has always been a terrific sleeper except for those rare occasions of illness or teeth problems. For as long as I can remember she was going to bed at 8pm ish and getting up around 7-730a. She takes a 1.5-2hr nap each day too. Suddenly she has begun waking at between 6-630 ish and it is killing me. You see, no one in this Corrona household gets up before 7, it just isnt allowed.

Now obviously the first thing that occured to me is that she has reached another stage at which she will need less sleep. She has always needed less sleep than what the books say a child her age needs, so I quickly adjusted her bedtime back thirty minutes to counteract the early rising.....but nothing seems to work! Last night we had company and she didnt go to bed until 9pm, and there she was up and at em at 620! I cant have this! Especially with a husband who goes to bed around 3am after work and isnt able to help me out in the morning. I stay up in the evening to be with him, which makes mornings at 6 revolting!

Please offer any advice you might have! All I want is to sleep until the 7's. Less than that is simply unacceptable!

Mother Goose

Ive come to the conclusion that Mother Goose was an exhausted, fed up mom who decided to write rhymes to scare kids into behaving after all else had failed. Why else would we have a nursery rhyme like the old woman who lived in a shoe?

"There was an old woman who lived in a shoe, she had so many children she didnt know what to do.
So she gave them some broth without any bread, then whipped them all soundly and sent them to bed."

Sounds like something only a fed up, tired, cranky mom would resort to writing about. Or how about some of the other nursery rhymes we were taught as children? The other day I popped in a children's cd I'd gotten as a gift and was astonished at some of the songs they were singing! These are the same songs I was taught as a child, and I realize they had no real impact on me, but as I was singing along the other day I got to thinking "What's this got to do with being a kid? This song is a little bit freaky!"

"Three blind mice, see how they run. They all run after the farmer's wife, she cut of their tails with a carving knife, did you ever see such a sight in your life as three blind mice?"

Or the other favorite ...."four and twenty black birds were baked in a pie. when the pie was opened the birds began to sing, "wasnt that a dandy dish to set before the king. .....the maid was in the garden hanging up the clothes, til one little black bird came and nipped off her nose."

These songs are a little graphic for me now that I understand what's going on in the story! I know that many of these old nursery rhymes are from the old days and were passed down over the years to us today and dont quite apply the way they once did. That makes complete sense. Im just not sure I want carry on the tradition! Im not sure I want Luxie thinking about cutting off the tail of a mouse! I think, rather, I will stick to some of my old favorites like "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" and "Old MacDonald Had a Farm!" You know, the kind of songs you can sing at the dinner table and still feel well enough to finish your meal.

Mommy Tricks

I got to thinking about certain "tricks" of the trade that Ive seen moms use that opened my eyes to doing things differently or provided me with some "inside information" that I wasnt aware of. You know, those things you see another mom do and you think "what a great idea! i had no idea i could do that!"

1. saving the plastic grocery bags to use them for stinky diapers. I guess it is plainly obvious but I just learned this one about 4 months ago! what a great idea. you put the stinky diaper in the bag, tie it up, then toss it in the outside trash, never to be smelled again.

2. If it is raining or bad weather and you have a hatchback car or suv, lift the lid and open the stroller under that. Then load the kids in the stroller under the hatchback, shielding you and them from the weather.

3. "Easter Egg Hunts" in the house. This works really well for my 2 year old who loves to put things "in." I put plastic eggs, or fake kitchen food, or kid things around the living room or the entire house. Then she goes "shopping" or "hunting" for these things. She loves to find them and put them in her bag, and it keeps her busy for at least half an hour.

4. Keep an extra plastic ziplock bag in your snack bag. This has come in so handy for various uses. At the park Luxie likes to use it to carry around the treasures she finds, nuts, flowers, leaves, etc. At restaurants I have used the bag for leftovers, keeping her occupied before the meal comes by putting things in it, and for putting her messy baby spoon or half eaten baby food jar in (when she was younger) following the meal, containing the mess.

5. Keep an extra sippy cup in the car. I cant tell you how many times I have forgotten the cup! Then I am stuck either trying to give her drinks out of a cup without a lid (some places still arent kid friendly enough to serve kid cups) or driving around with a whining baby girl who is really thirsty! Granted, now that she can use a straw things are much easier, but I could have kicked myself for the number of times an extra sippy cup in the car was needed last year!


I would love to hear about any other mommy tricks you might have seen. I know my life has been made a little easier by these!

Today we celebrated!

What a fun birthday party! I think Luxie had a blast...and hopefully she will remember the fun she's had!

This morning we prepared her by explaining Grandpa, Grandma, and her favorite cousins and family were coming to celebrate this afternoon. She was so excited. Then naptime came and we all got busy, Nate put the wagon together, Grandmas and Grandpa were decorating and wrapping gifts, and I frosted the cake. We knew we had only a few hours so we had to work quickly!

When she awakened from her nap she knew the party was about to begin! It was all I could do to get her into her dress before she tore out of the room and ran thru the streamers we had hung in the doorway. Then she saw the balloons--and that was it! She carried those balloons around throughout the entire party, hardly setting them down to open her gifts! She was so happy to see her cousin, Ava, who is 4, and they spent the afternoon playing with the new toys. When we decided to eat the cake, she dug right in and loved it.

Later we all went to dinner and her "frazzle meter" began to skyrocket. By the time we got home she was so tired, and ready for bed. Let's hope she sleeps in late tomorrow--I could use the rest!