to each HER OWN

When my oldest daughter was born, I pretty much learned that I had no idea how to raise a child.  I read a lot, asked a lot of questions and relied heavily on my intuition.  When it came to getting her on a good sleeping schedule my days were filled with a lot of trial and error.

Pretty soon, I found something that worked.  She was sleeping through the night at 4 weeks!  And, she was napping very regularly at least twice a day, for at least 3 hours each time.  I found myself with an unusually large amount of free time given the fact that I had a new baby.

When my latest bundle of joy arrived, I was committed to trying out my same sleeping strategies with her.  And, it worked!  She slept through the night at less than 2 weeks old.  I informed her pediatrician about her amazing sleep habits and she told me so long as she was peeing and pooing regularly, I didn't have to worry about waking her up during the night.

Over the next few weeks, things were pretty smooth sailing at night.  She was going to bed at a good time, only waking up once for a feeding and easily fell back asleep until the morning.

Nap time was a completely different story.  I couldn't get her on a schedule and I found myself wondering if she was going to be a no-nap little girl.  And that just seemed so wrong to me.  Kids needs naps!  I was determined to get her on a good schedule by doing the exact same thing I did with her big sister.  It worked then.  It should work now.

Then things got worse.  She completely fought going to bed.  She was waking up shortly after being put down.  She woke up multiple times during the night.  And, all of this was going on while she continued to not nap during the day.

I decided to face reality.  My methods were not working with this little one.  I thought about all the things I had tried with my first daughter that didn't work.  I wondered if they would work now.  It just seemed so weird that what SOO did not work with one child would easily work with another.

Then, on Mother's Day, I got sick.  I'm pretty sure it was vertigo.  It kicked in later in the day.  By the time it was ready to get the girls down for bed, I was completely useless.  I could barely walk because everything was spinning.  I told my husband all I could do was go to bed, leaving him in charge of getting the kids to bed.  While in bed, I could hear him struggling with both girls.  Both seemed to be fussy and uncooperative.  Eventually, he got the oldest one in bed.  That just left the baby.  She wasn't responding to the usual routine, so I told him to just put her in her bed and let her cry.  Nothing else was working, and I felt comfortable that she was old enough for the cry-it-out method.

So, he put her down and she began to cry.  And cry.  And cry.  And cry.  I told myself I wouldn't let it go on for longer than 30 minutes.  Despite her crying, I could tell she was fine and just crying out of sheer exhaustion.  Dustin first put her in bed at 9:59.  The crying stopped at 10:32.  And she slept through the night.

Because that had gone so well, I decided to try it for nap time.  Isabelle, my oldest, refused to nap in her crib, so she napped in her swing and LOVED it.  This time around, the swing was less than thrilling. 

To my surprise, nap time went splendidly well.  She cried minimally and slept for hours.

That night, she cried for only 20 minutes.  The next night, 15 minutes.  And last night, she didn't make a peep!  And, nap time, has continued to be a success.   She has never napped this consistently her entire life!

I've learned a very important less this week:  my daughters are not the same.  Even at their young ages, they already have their own personalities, their own likes and dislikes and their own preference in sleeping patterns.  What works for one, doesn't necessarily work for the other.

And in order to make my life a little more sane, I need to embrace their differences and not be so rigid in how I go about doing things.

I know we'll have our not-so-fun nights again.  I know all phases, whether good or bad, don't always last, but at least now I am more aware of my daughters' differences.

And being aware is a very good thing.

CURRENTLY {may 2013 ed}

READING

  I want to start on my goal of reading all of Jane Austen's novels.  I have them on my iPad, but I find myself torn between reading them on a device or holding the actual book in my hands.  One of the reasons why I want to read more is to be a good example to my kids about the importance of reading, and I think a stronger impression could be made with the actual book.  Thoughts?

DRINKING

Water.  After the caffeine withdrawal headache from hell I finally decided to cut out pop from my diet.  I'll make exceptions here and there, but for the most post I am completely done with pop.  The stuff went straight to my stomach anyway, so it's a small price to pay in order to feel and look better.

WISHING FOR

Getting tickets to the Joshua Radin concert and seeing Jerry Seinfeld perform live.  Both of them will be in my area this month.  Ah, if only I had all the money in the world...

WORKING ON

Curbing my sweet tooth.  It seems as though my need for sweets is completely out of control.  I'm trying to substitute a donut or candy bar with yogurt.  It works pretty well, but I still crave the good stuff every single day.  Every.  Single.  Day.

EXCITED ABOUT

The nice weather!  It's finally nice enough that I can take my girls outside for a walk.

PROUD OF

I'm handling the whole two kids thing better than I expected.  It's not easy and there are definitely days when I wish I could just do whatever I want whenever I want.  But overall I've adjusted to my new normal just fine.

WONDERING ABOUT

What Dustin will get me for Mother's Day.  I'm more of a practical gift sort of person.  I'd love it if my gift was getting all of our carpets cleaned.

GETTING SERIOUS ABOUT

Being more active, planning FHE every week and planning dinner one week in advance.  

WRAPPING it UP

Today is the last day of the A to Z Challenge.  I got through most of the posts, so I'm happy about what I accomplished.  Even though I didn't get around to writing about it, I do actually have bucket list goals for the letters V, W and Y.  So, here there are.

{v}:  VEGETARIAN

I'm not a big meat eater.  In fact, most of what meat I do eat is chicken.  If I do eat red meat, it's usually in meals like spaghetti or tacos.

Back during my college days, I did cut out red meat completely and liked it.  My husband also was a vegetarian for awhile, but had to change his ways during his time as an LDS missionary.  Both of us have expressed interest in going completely meat free, but haven't quite committed to it yet.  We have, however, lowered our meat intake and usually try to have at least one vegetarian meal for dinner each week.

Because of all this, I'd really like to live a vegetarian lifestyle for at least one year.  I'm curious to know if I'd love it or hate it.  I'm not sure when I'll do this because I do know if I want my children to live a meat-free life as well.  It wouldn't be hard to accommodate both lifestyles, but it would be ideal if we were all on the same page.

Are any of you vegetarians?  What are your motives?

...

{w}:  a healthy WEIGHT

My weight has fluctuated a lot over the last few years.  All in all, I am over weight and am usually uncomfortable in my own skin.

One day, I looked at myself in the mirror and didn't like what I saw.  And then it hit me like a ton of bricks that I didn't have to look this way.  While that may sound completely absurd, I realized that day how my weight is both a physical and mental health problem.  I had no idea I believed I couldn't change.

A goal I have in life is not to be super skinny, but to be at a healthy weight based on my height and maintain it throughout my life.  I've always struggled with being active.  I'm not one of those people that adores sports and playing them all day long.  So, maintaining a healthy weight for me will include adding activities to my every day routine.  While I'd love a gym membership, it's just not in the cards for me right now.  Instead, I need to be different ways to stay active.  I'd like to start running and I've heard there are so many benefits to jump roping, so I think I'll begin there.

I think this is an important goal not only for me, but also for my family.  I want to be an example of health to my girls, but not in an unhealthy way.  I don't want them hearing me complain about my weight.  I don't want them seeing me try every diet in the book only to fail.  

I realize I shoulder great responsibility with my girls in terms of body image.  I can't prevent them from seeing the misguided pictures of what society deems beautiful.  I probably can't prevent them from, at one point in time, feeling like they are overweight or not pretty.  

I can, however, be an example to them of leading a healthy lifestyle.  If I want them to eat fruits and veggies, I have to eat fruits and veggies.  If I want them to exercise, I have to exercise.  If I want them to get outside and enjoy the sunshine, I have to get outside and enjoy the sunshine.

I feel blessed that I have a desire to change my habits.  Only good things can come from it.

...

{y}:  YOUR song

I think one of the most romantic songs ever is Elton John's Your Song.  It's a simple song with beautiful lyrics.  I could listen to it multiple times a day and never get sick of it.  In my mind, it's timeless.

I would LOVE to see Elton John in concert and hear him sing this song live.  

That would be totally awesome.

...

And that is wrapping up my A to Z Challenge for this year.  Thanks to everyone who commented!

{u}: UNDERARMS

For as long as I can remember, I have hated my arms.  Wearing a tank top or anything sleeveless was never an option for me.  And, over the years, fashion trends have not been kind to me in terms of finding clothes that have long enough short sleeves that I'm comfortable in.

Needless to say, I love long-sleeve weather.

But, I'm done hating my arms.  And, despite how silly this may seem, it was only recently that I truly came to understand that I can change the way my arms look.  If not, I'll end up with very flabby underarms indeed.  And I don't want that at all.

What I want is to be comfortable in short sleeves and to have healthy, toned underarms. 

Not crazy Madonna arms, but nice Michelle Obama arms.

I'm in the process of finding a good arm workout routine that I can do easily at home.  If you have any tips let me know!

Obviously, this will be an ongoing goal since my weight will fluctuate from time to time.  But, I'm still putting it on my bucket list because it's something that has bothered me for way too long and will be a great feeling when I finally can say that I love my arms!

{t}: TIMES square on NYE

Since I'll be living in NYC and already brave the crowds of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, I may as well round out the year in Times Square.

Yes, I hope to ring in a new year while standing on the streets in Times Square.  I know it'll be beyond crazy with people.  I know every inch of my body will be freezing.  And I know it'll be even crazier walking or riding the subway back to my house {or hotel}.

But, it'll be totally worth it.

{s}: SNOW sports

I've lived in Utah almost my entire life.

And I've never, I repeat NEVER, been ski or snowboarding.

Never.

To my fellow Utahns, I apologize for disgracing Utah and bringing shame upon all those who live in this great state.  I also apologize to all those people that travel from miles away to enjoy the Utah snow when all I do is complain about it.

In all seriousness, I am pretty disappointed with myself for never taking to the slopes.  I don't know if I'd enjoy skiing or snowboarding better, but I do know I need to try it for at least one season.  At first, I 

thought this goal would just be "go ski or snowboarding."  But then I realized that is hardly a difficult goal.  So, I'm changing it to buying a season pass at one of the many resorts and use it diligently throughout the winter season.

Now that is a lofty goal for me!

I'm pretty sure the pictures above illustrate what my skill level will be in a few years. :)

{r}: READ

I already have a goal to read all of Jane Austen's books, but I wanted to include another item about reading anyway.  And that is to read one book each month for 12 consecutive months. 

This may seem like a strange goal to some people, but for me it'll be a huge accomplishment.  While I love to read, I tend not to make time for it.  And, I tend to read really, really slow.  When I hear people say, "Man, it took me an entire week to read that book!"  I'm always amazed.  If I finish a book in a week I think I must be way advanced.

Anyway, this goal can go hand-in-hand with my Jane Austen goal, or I may find a different book to read.  Either way, I think this will be a great way for me to teach my children about the importance of reading and making sure I take time out for myself as much as possible.