Crib to Bed and Back to Crib

Sis had been showing interest in getting a "little girl bed", so we went ahead and set the toddler bed up yesterday. She was SO excited but simply would not (could not?) nap in it! She kept coming downstairs, asking when it would be morning, saying she didn't want to go to sleep, which is so unlike her! The girl loves her siestas. So we put the mattress back in crib, and she snoozed away, although she was bummed about losing her bed.

She went to bed in her bed last night, no trouble aside from an 11pm fall, which I slept through so it mustn't have been too bad.

I thought nap time would be fine today, but NO! She wouldn't go to sleep in her bed, ("Mommy! It's light outside!", "Good Morning, Baaaaaaltimore!", and "Mommy, I'm AWAKE!) so I put her back in her crib, but then she didn't even sleep in there! This girl has never ever missed her nap, and she usually goes for a good 2 1/2 hours.

SO what do I do? I'm thinking take the bed away altogether. Back to her crib, bed outta sight. Forget the whole thing til she's 18. Opinions?

Works for Me Wednesday:Laundry Miracle

Last week I asked for laundry advice-- I couldn't figure out a way to get the folded laundry back to its proper owner!

Anyway, I received lots of great ideas from commenters, and here's what I'm doing now. And it's working like a charm!!!!

Basically, the idea is to sort by bedroom, not by color. That way, one person's laundry stays together. From bedroom, to washer, to dryer, right back to bedroom again. And outfits stay together, too! This is especially helpful with Sister's clothes. Little girl clothes seem much more demanding that way, don't you think?

Here's what to do:
-Put a hamper for dirty laundry in each bedroom. Each person must put his/her laundry in his/her hamper.
-Designate another hamper for socks and undies. (I wash always wash these with bleach.) Everyone puts their dirty socks and undies in this hamper. Ours is in the hallway.
-Add one more hamper in the bathroom for towels, blankets, and sheets/pillowcases.
-When a hamper is full, just take it straight to the laundry room and wash it. Do not sort by color. Just dump the whole thing in, wash it, dry it, fold it, and take it right back to its owner.

This new system has been working for me big time this week. I think I've finally found the answer I've been looking for! If you're laundry-challenged like me, give it a try!

For greater ideas, head over to Shannon's blog.

Edit to add: Oops! My first two commenters brought up a good point that I forgot to include: Keep potential "bleeders" out of the mix. Plus Hubs's work clothes.

Waiting and Watching

Sis and Bud were playing Little People this morning...

Bud, in a superhero voice: My name is Weight Watcher!
Sis: Hello, Mr. Weight Watcher! What are you doing?
Bud, still superhero voicing: Well, I wait. And I watch!

Guess they've overheard me talking about WW. I'm glad they don't really know what it means. I don't want them to know about losing weight and all that. Even when I go to Curves, which isn't very often these days as Hubs is working 23/6, we talk about just wanting to get healthy and strong.

I'm hoping they don't have to deal with the body image/weight control issues that I have, but chances are, at least Sis will, at least to some extent.

So how to you emphasize the health/nutrition/exercise thing while avoiding weight/physical appearance? Any ideas out there?

Awe.

I gave Sis a sweet little beaded necklace at Christmastime.

Holding it as gingerly as she could, and in her breathiest, quietest voice, she said: "Oh, Mommy! It's awwww-ful!"
Me: You mean it's awesome?
Sis: No, Mommy, it's awwww-ful! (Still sweet and breathy.)
Me, a bit confused: You like it?
Sis: Yes, Mommy. Thank you! I love it! It's awwww-ful!

3/4

Sweet Baby had his 9 month check up last week!
Stats:
Length: 30 inches(95%)
Weight: 23 pounds(90%-)
Head: I can't remember but I guess it's normal since they've never commented!
Shots: none! yay!
Sleeps:
night-6:30/7:00pm until about 6:30 am
naps-9:00 until 10:30/11:00 am, then again 1:00-3:30 pm, on average.
Eats:
Still babyfooding. But he has his pincer down pat, so he's doing Cheerios (the healthy/organic ones don't dissolve as easily!), tofu, plain yogurt, bits of whole-wheat pasta and bread, mushed broccoli, etc. Fruit is still too slippery, and he gags on little peas/carrots. Guess he's not ready yet. OH, and he LOVES LOVES LOVES pizza crust. Good thing, as pizza is a huge favorite around here. He actually freaks out when I take it away to bite the soft part off after he's had it awhile.
Tricks:
-Shakes his head back and forth like he's saying "no"
-whole-hand points to ceiling fans
-"So big!"
-claps when you say "YAY!" or when other people clap
Physical stuff:
-Sits perfectly, no need to worry about him falling back.
-Army crawling since 7 months. Reach with one arm, up on the other elbow, push with one foot, and lunge forward. Repeat.
-Pulls up in his crib, but doesn't move his feet!
-Pulls up to his knees on chairs, couch, baby gate at top of steps.
Verbal stuff:
-still squeals like a girl
-baba, nana, dada, mama with no meaning attached of course
Random stuff:
-He's so attached to Blankie! He will not take his bottle unless he's clutching it.
-He'll fuss until I get him his book before bed-- We read The Going to Bed Book by Sandra Boyton. He loves it, probably since I've been reading it to him since he was 6weeks old!
-He's still a super-pleasant/easy baby, but is definitely becoming more of a hand full with his mobility...We said adios to his exersaucer, as he simply doesn't have the time for that sort of confinement. He will, however, hang out in the kitchen pack and play, if he has toys that are cool enough.
-Buddy and Sister are his favorites. He loves them like crazy, and visa versa.

Guess I should post a pic of my little man...

Accents

Buddy: I have another synonym for you, Mommy.
Me: What are they, Bud?
Buddy: "Water" and "wooder".
Me: Yes, they do mean the same thing. We say "water". Who do you know that says "wooder"?
Buddy: Cousin J, Cousin T., and Mamoo.

Very funny. Can you guess where we live?

Wednesday Me For Works: Laundry help, please!

I am really, really good at getting the laundry done and folded. Really good. HOWEVER, I simply can not figure out how to put it away! HELP! Baskets of neatly folded clean laundry are overtaking my bedroom. As we root through them to find what we need, they become messy, unfolded baskets of somewhat-clean laundry overflowing onto the floor. (I'm really embarassed about this!)

Does anyone have a miracle system for getting everyone's clean laundry to their rooms and then putting it away?