small battles

two nights ago, ellie went to bed with not one but two diapers on.  don't judge.  friday, jack went all day with his jammie shorts on underneath his regular shorts. 

just one of the things that happens when you tell  your son "put on your shorts" but neglect to remind him to "take off your jammies". 

you know you've heard the phrase "pick your battles"?  i swear to you, i could battle ALL DAY with my mitchletts.  they both have a ferocious fire inside that will serve them well.... one day.  so i've learned to pick and choose which ones i will battle. 

"yes, you can have a corn dog for breakfast."

"no.  we cannot leave your sister at target.  she needs to come home with us and besides, she would destroy the store by nightfall."

"fine. you can wear your dad's shorts on your body and your own shorts on your head but you need to dress like a normal person when people come over."

there are battle i will fight and battles i will let slide.  but this one will not stand. 

ellie has this pair of sandals that STINK.  and i mean it's bad.  like a stench that could kill a man.  she took her shoes off at dinner the other night IN A RESTAURANT and i thought we would be asked to remove our disgusting stank baby.  this girl lives up to her nickname "The Stink" like no other.  anywho... she loves these sandals.  she loves that she can put them on all by herself and still run around like a maniac.  thank god feet grow though, right?  they're getting a little small.... and i may have hidden them in the garage so she couldn't find them yesterday....  you would have done it too.  don't judge.  i'm going to give them a run in the washer to see what happens and if they smell like normal shoes again, great.  if i can't get rid of the zombie morning breath smell, then so help me they WILL disappear for good. 

camping. and.... why i will never be naked in front of jack again.

go camping!  whew!  we just got back from a couple days up in yosemite!!  i say a couple with a twinge of sadness because really, i could spend a LOT more time up there but, alas, my sweet hubby is not the camping enthusiast i am and i also have two small mitchletts. i swear we would get up, ellie would take two steps out of the tent and immediately turn around with a huge dirt beard and several blacked out teeth.  ellie went on a hike in the ergo with matt and i to the bottom of yosemite falls while jack stayed with the rest of the group and headed up almost to the top!  jack and i did a little bike riding in a rental with a caboose.  we saw lots of deer and some ballsy squirrels.

so, if you have kids, they've probably seen you naked.  i know, shocker.  but if you think it's not true... it is.  in all fairness, you see them naked all the time.  it was bound to happen.  well, my kids see me naked on a regular basis but i was starting to feel bad about it and wondered, "when do i need to stop being naked in front of jack?"  i read a bunch of snobby insightful parenting blogs and articles and each one told me, "you'll know when it's time".

"but when?!"

saturday morning, june 22, 2013,  we were getting ready to head out for our day in yosemite.  jack and ellie were dressed, matt was in the bathroom, and i was trying to get dressed so we could get out of the tent together.  as i lift my shirt over my head i hear hysterical laughter (never a good sign).  i knew matt wasn't that dumb so i look up to see jack pointing at me, "what are THOSE!?!" he almost screams for all of the valley to hear.

ahhhh.....  when.  that was the time.  never again, son.  never.  again.

overall, i think i can safely say (write?) that the mitches had a great time and can't wait to go camping again this summer next summer sometime soon eventually!!  right, hubby?!? 

go camping!

cowboy baba

i can't really speak to what my grandpa was like before 1981....  i wasn't around then.  and i've heard that i'm not the best person to ask about that first year either.  my grandma used to tell me that i would cry hysterically any time i even sensed my grandfather's presence in a room.  but once we got past our differences (it was me... not him), he quickly became one of the most important people in my life.

my sister and i used to go out to my grandparents' house in lakeside on a regular basis.  i would wake up early in the morning and creep out to the living room where my grandpa was reading the paper in front of their wood burning stove and the morning news (channel 8, i believe).  i would crawl into his lap, snuggle against his strong chest, listen to his rhythmic breathing and absorb the latest breaking news from carol lebeau.  my grandma would get up to make us warm waffles and fresh squeezed orange juice.  we would pour Cairo syrup into all the little waffle square compartments and my grandpa would offer me a cup of coffee.  i declined every time but he would try to convince me to drink it anyway...

"it'll put hair on your chest!"

after my mom passed away, my grandparents were there a lot to pick us up from school or watch us when my dad went out of town.  i'll never forget the day before my 16th birthday.  grandma asked me to back the car out of their carport.  grandpa moved his truck first and i backed the oldsmobile out... right through the side of the mobile home.  i dragged the kitchen stairs (along with the back of the newly painted car) straight into where the dining room was.  grandpa came running up the street thinking a bomb had gone off.  grandma opened the kitchen door (thank God she didn't try to step out!) thinking the big california earthquake had finally struck.  my sister ran around the side of the house...

"sam!  what did you do?!?!"

but grandpa just shrugged the accident off.  said it must run in the family (my mom ran a car through the living room when she was 16).  he pulled out a hammer and pounded the house back into shape like it was no big deal.

even after my grandma passed away in 2004, grandpa still managed to make the time to support me and my sister.  he was there at my wedding.  he sat with me for hours at the hospital while we waited for jack to be born (still not sure how grandpa got to the hospital).  he was there at my sister's wedding.   he came to the hospital when ellie was born.  he always made it to all the important events.

though he's gone now, we know he's happy in heaven reunited with those we've lost already.  we will miss you cowboy baba. 

having lemon slices together with jack...  another thing that will put hair on your chest

tickles with cowboy baba

meeting ellie at the hospital

hanging out at grandpa's apartment

time for a snack.. thanks, cowboy baba!

what's that smell?

life has been pretty crazy these days at the mitches but i will spare you all (really it's just jill reading though) the drama.  school is back in session and i'm avoiding inputting my dra scores onto a google doc as i type this. 

i was over at bunco the other night (where i CLEANED UP) and got called out for not posting enough...  so here is the boring post to kick off my weekly postings.  i set alarms to remind me of most things in my life and so i set an alarm to remind me to "write something on the blogs!" too.  it's that bad. 

anyhoo, here's my story of the day... 

i was washing the dishes and loading the dishwasher (like you do) and fending off attacks from the tank ellie.  seriously, that girl hears the sink start up and she comes running to grab the nearest ceramic plate, serving bowl, or butcher knife to carry out her evil plans against the rest of us.  but i digress.

so i moseyed up to the sink when i was assaulted by the god-awful smell of something like dead ass.  sorry to be crude but it was out of control.  i immediately recoiled and shooed the boy (my puker) out of the room in hopes that he had not caught a whiff yet.  i guess i should have done the dishes earlier....  gag.  i had to battle through the cups, plates, and silverware when i finally caught up to a cutting board that looked (or smelled) pretty guilty.  i seriously had no idea that cutting boards had expiration dates!  have i been too naive?  well, it got the boot and i finished the swamp dishes from hell without further incident.  however, tonight i was getting dinner set up and i swear the smell is coming from the disposal now!  ahhhh!!  it lives!! 

well, i found this post tonight as i was avoiding more school work browsing through my blogs and i think i'm gonna try it out tomorrow.  it's actually how to unclog a sink but some of the comments say that it will get rid of god-awful dead ass smells too!  i'm pretty sure they used those exact words....  just gotta get to the store to pick up the supplies and then give it a whirl!  i'll let you know how it went.  hopefully next week when my alarm goes off.... or in a few months...  =)

i'll end this post with a couple pics of the mitchletts just for kicks... 

look, mommy!  i'm a knight!

cheese!  (i swear she puts herself in the cage... i just take the pictures)

"a trip to wal-mart" or "to hell and back"

sunday we were getting ready to go to a birthday party and i mentioned to hubby

"you know, we really should get the kid something...."

so i went to my go to spot for cute gift ideas and came up with this!  super cute for a dinosaur party, right!?  problem was... i needed a hooded sweatshirt... in june... in southern california... during a heat wave.  damn.  hubby says

"well, let's just go over to wal-mart.  they'll have everything you need all in one place."

gasp!

"you know how i feel about that place",  i muttered.

"i know i know.... but it's on the way home.  it'll be fine."

famous last words.

as we pulled into the unholy ground parking lot, the kids immediately started melting down.

"see!  they can sense it!", i hissed.

we dragged them into the store - jack started arguing with EVER-Y-THING i said and chris farley ellie was a hot mess already.  of course.... no hooded sweatshirts.

of.  course.  hubby tried to make it all better

"just pick out some clothes while i distract the kids in the toy section and then we can get out of here"

i'm sorry if you are a wal-mart shopper.  i truly am.  especially if you buy their clothes.  they're cheap.  they're ugly.  and your poor children are going to go up in flames if they are anywhere near a candle or heat source.  ALSO.  they make their labels so that you either see the price ($3.87) or the dreaded store name. and you can't take it off or else you look like you raided your closet for presents.  and you can't leave them on because everyone will know you shopped at whiskey tangoville wal-mart!  gah!!!

so i finally just grabbed some cheap-ass-zero-quality clothes and sprinted to the front of the store.  we purchased our crap gift and as we're leaving realize that the boy should probably make a pit stop.

cue the screaming demon.

"i don't want to go pee-pee!!  i hate pee-pee!  it's not my favorite!  i. don't. want. to. go. pee. pee!!"

allllllllll the way into the restroom, into the stall, onto the potty.  as i'm holding him down on the potty he suddenly looks at me and says

"fine.  i go pee pee all by myself."

i grabbed that kid, yanked up his shorts, and made a mad dash for the front door.  we got to the car and he fell asleep almost instantly.

the power of christ compels you! ohthankgoditsover.

by the way.  i made a beeline for target once the kids were home with the mister and bought a super cute little outfit.  returned those damned clothes the next day.

mark my words....  never.  again.

the stink turns one

worst.  blogger.  ever. 

that being said....  my baby girl turned one about a month ago recently!  i know it's super cliche to say, "they grow up so fast" but seriously... they kinda do!  i remember the dark days - aka those first 6-8 weeks and thinking to myself, "this madness is never going to end!"  anyway, we had a lovely "hungry caterpillar" party for our sweet chunk and she had no problem digging right into her cupcake (that's kinda cliche too, right?)  happy birthday, ellie! 

a story by jack

jack and pepe and greco were running.  and there was a lot of big humungous ice.  and then pepe and greco falled down.  but angel grandma bring medicine and picked pepe up.  then jack and pepe and greco were running again.

oh man, i love this boy.  he finished his story by asking me, "what do sea monsters eat?"

"probably sea monster food", i said.

"ohhhhh... the pirates feed them?  they are babies and then the pirates feed them and they get bigger bigger bigger?"

"yes, that's exactly right."

we miss you, big dog.

baby food.

oh man.  long time.  and watch out... this is a long post. 

okay.  so i was at lunch with some ladies who are new (or up and comers) to the "mommy" scene and we were talking about the big baby food debate.  do you slave over a hot stove all day to make delicious, nutritious, food for your baby a la crunchy granola?  OR do you spend a fortune buying the organic baby food that comes in a jar because you don't have time for all that food making nonsense?  well... i've been in both camps and i'm back from the trenches to tell you...

you don't have to do either one!  with the boy i thought that i never had the time to make my own baby food and honestly, i didn't have the confidence either i guess...  but it turned out to be super expensive and i felt guilty for not being the super mommy who does it all.  so with the girl i decided to just buckle down and try out this whole homemade food nonsense.  and you know what?  it's really not that bad!  and!  it's waaaaaaaay cheaper than buying the jars.

so here is just a quick picture tutorial into how i do it (in case you're interested) so you have something to look at ... and also because it's easier than you coming over and judging the state of my house.  just saying...

okay.  first thing.  you're going to need to decide what to make.  i started the girl on sweet potatoes as her very first food.  since then she eats almost anything i put in front of her, especially if i blend it with something else.  tonight i made butternut squash.  so, buy a squash.  you're also going to need a good, sharp knife, cutting board, good vegetable peeler, a pot with a lid, one of those steamer basket thingies, and some sort of food processor.  i've heard you can use one of those handheld immersion mixers too but that's too fancy for me.

peel the squash then scrape out the nasty stuff inside.   cut it up into about 1" pieces or thin slices (it's your call) and put it in a steamer basket thingie in your pot with some water.  you're gonna let it steam until it's super soft and a bit mushy.

move all your squashy goodness into a food processor.  you can add some of the water that you steamed the squash with or some breastmilk or formula to thin it out and give it a familiar flavor if you like.  

blend, blend, blend until it looks like... baby food.  =) 

 okay, now you need to figure out how to store all of this yummy goodness.  i use two different methods and they are both great.  the first is by one step ahead and it's these great little containers.  they hold about three ounces of food and you can freeze, warm up, and serve all from the same container.  the second is the fresh baby - baby food freezer tray.  i think you get a two pack and they hold twelve one ounce "cubes" once it's all filled.  just spoon in your puree, cover, and freeze.  you can also use these for breastmilk that you've pumped too!  the good thing about this one is you can just pop out a few cubes whenever you want. 

so when it's all said and done, you've got your food for your kiddos!  oh!  a bonus of the whole thing:  sneaking purees into regular food so your boy (or girl) gets extra veggies.  trust me.  when your kid eats a steady diet of nuggets, corn dogs, and mac and cheese it's nice to know he's getting a little something extra when you slip some carrot, squash, or sweet potato puree into his mac and cheese or in tonight's case - quesadilla!  true story!  i just spread some squash on one of the tortillas and then smashed it in there with the cheese.  

 poor thing didn't even notice.  and the girl was just thrilled that i was feeding her again. 

 gasp!  you made me food, again!?!  oh you....  you shouldn't have. 

mo cookies

jack and i had an oreo cookie party on the kitchen floor the other day.  we shared.  he ate the creamy middle.  i got the soggy wafers.  mmmmmm.....  jealous?

this is him screaming "mo cookies!" at me.  also... this may or may not have been his dinner that night.  don't judge.

i'm alive.... i think

just a quick post-ita to assure ALL of my readers (i'm so popular, you know) that i am still alive and kicking, though just barely.  you may have noticed that the small people from your neighborhood disappeared.  don't worry.  school started.  i'm watching them.  actually, i'm supposed to be teaching them but in the crazy chaos that is the first week or so it's more like i'm wrangling them.  so, i promise to try and blog soon.... back to school night is this week and i'm hoping that maybe things will settle down a bit after that????  and i won't feel as though i've come down with mono or some other horrible kissing disease that mimics the exhaustion of "first week of school".

coming soon:  i'm a big girl now.  my superboy turns three.

to the crazy b's i saw today

you: were having a gnarly cat fight in your apt. parking lot.  i only noticed because my windows were down and i was able to hear the profanities you were hurling at each other along with your fists.  yes.  you were punching each other.

then.  i saw that one of you brought your child along for the show.  your poor little boy was watching you behave like even less of a lady than you already claim to be.

i:  drove around the corner and was so upset that i doubled back while dialing the esco. p.d.  ya that's right. i did it.

but.  when i got back to your complex the two of you were gone and your kid was too.  i can only hope that both of you dropped dead and your son was rescued by a kind soul.  i wasn't going to go on a door to door hunt for you worthless sacks so i hung up.

be warned.  if i ever come across you again, i will not only call the police but - if my children are not in the car with me and yours are safely hidden away somewhere - i will run you over with my car and save this city from your pathetic childish antics.

get some class.

they call her the stink

not once.  not twice. but three times (a lady?) this week, our delicate flower has produced something in her drawers that can only be compared to armageddon.  the worst attack (in my opinion) took place in a restaurant while we were out to eat with cowboy baba.

hmmmm.... she seems fussy grampa, i'll just take her out to the - ohmygawd!!! why is my hand slimey?!?  what's happening?!?!  ohmygawd!!!

and this child does not do anything half-ass (no pun intended).  i left her home with the hubby and jack for a couple hours the other night and i received this text:

worst fears realized.  BLOWOUT.

poor hubby.  poor baby girl.  anyway, i leave you with a picture that i snapped of the stink this week after one of her "incidents".  ya.  they're that bad.  maybe it's a phase....???

flashback friday

i was lurking my own blog the other day because people do that, right?  shutupitstotallynormalokay???  anyway, i found this post from back in the day - like november '08 style.  you have to read it because i am flippin' hilarious sometimes but the kids in my class top me most of the time.  check it out:  is that a banana in your pocket?

adventures in potty training - damnyoupeepee.

right now as i write this post one handed there may or may not be:

pee on the floor

dirty bottles on the table

a wet diaper next to me on the couch

a three year old in time-out

an 8 week old passed out in my arms

oh, the glamorous life i lead....

it all starts innocently enough...  so we're attempting to potty train the boy which is absolutely an adventure.  i can't tell you how often i'll turn around and see him watching pee evacuate from his little body all over the floor MINUTES after i've watched him pee in the potty.  today was especially exciting when i dragged him in the bathroom to "try" and realized his big boy undies were already wet.

"where's the pee pee, jack?"

blank stare.

so i start searching the house for evidence and quickly come across a gigantic puddle next to the train table.

"ta-da!"

are you serious, little boy?  he's so happy for me that i've found the "prize" in this f*&#@$ up treasure hunt.  so i put a smile on my face and grab the lysol.

"next time he pee pee goes in the potty, right baby?"

right?! through gritted teeth....

journaling mommy

so i stole this idea from someone else...  pretty sure it was coach (holla, carisa!).  aaaaaaaand i'm not sure if i'm doing it the same way as her but here's what it entails.  i went and bought two fancy looking journals here - one for each little mitch.  then the plan is to write journal entries about each child - to each child - in their personal journal.  and THEN the final product would be to one day (when they want it) give them their journal(s) so they have a record of them growing up.  cool?  ya, i know.  =) anyway, i bought the journals last week sometime and i'm JUST getting to the stink's.  i finally wrote her first entry yesterday and now i need to get on jack's so he doesn't get all jealous and stuff.

dr. stasche and the river rat... or the day ellie was born

**just a warning... this is a loooong post so if you don't have a couple ten fifteen minutes to spare.... come back soon.

it all started around 6am on may 11, 2011. i was told to call up palomar labor and delivery and "see if they have room". so i did and got a hold of a very nasty type nurse

"hi! i'm supposed to call and see what time to come in for an induction?"

note my tone of hope...

"psh! ugh... call back at 11 and we'll see if we even have room for you."

note the tone of nasty...

so i hung up and stewed in my rage for a bit and then remembered that nurses work 12 hour shifts usually ending around 7... so... i called back at 8am, hoping for a nice nurse this time.

"hi. my doctor wants me to be induced today. what time should i come in?"

i used my big girl voice this time... learned it from my sister...

"oh! what was your name? spelts? can you come in right now??"

booyah! that's right, palomar! so i jumped out of bed and screamed at matt to get a move on! we're having a baby today!! i ran to the shower and shaved my legs (gotta have smooth legs for a delivery), scarfed down some fruity loopies (breakfast of champions), and hopped in the car - ready to go.

we arrived at the hospital at 8:45am and waited to check-in. did i warn you that this might be a long post yet??? you have been warned.

at the check-in counter there was a young girl (no more than 23??) who was very pregnant and seemed to be practicing her lamaze breathing....

"hee hee hooooo... hee hee hoooo... is this your first?"

"uh no... i have a two and a half year old named jack. is this your first??"

i worried she was gonna have her baby in front of me.

"oh no... it's my third."

gong! my jaw hit the floor. pick it up sam. i managed an...

"oh my..."

"ya... i had my first son and then got pregnant again 6 weeks after he was born... GONG! oh here's your jaw... and then i got pregnant with this one 9 months after the second. my mom says i'm just fertile!"

i couldn't help myself..

"oh girl...."

i did however refrain from telling her what I would say she was... we finally bid our new "fertile" friend goodbye and checked into our room at 9am. our nurse started filling out paperwork for us

"did you want an epidural today? did you want your tubes tied after delivery?"

"yes to the epidural and no to the tubes but now that you mention it, i just met a girl in the hall who i think may need that service..."

so around 11am our doctor cruised in to meet us. yes. we waited two hours to see a doctor. but he was a sight. have any of you ever played angry birds? then you may be familiar with our attending physician, "dr. stasche". i managed to snap a quick photo of him...

theeeeeeeere we go... anyway, he checked me and told me he would start me on pitocin right away and we would see how that goes... flash forward 13 hours of a few contractions and then nothing... bump up the pitocin... a few contractions and then nothing... bump up the pitocin. meanwhile, my super nice crunchy granola nurse leaves for the night and we met our night nurse, a very nice filipino lady named cheryl who looked like she would take very good care of us. midnight rolls around and everything changed. a woman walked into my room.

she looked like she spent every weekend baking in her beach chair next to "the river" wearing her rolled up, unbuttoned bongo jean shorts and a neon green bikini top, with a coors in one hand and her pack of ciggies in the other. she alternates trips to the river with trips to the desert and trips to her garage to bleach the $%#* out of her hair, i'm sure.

"where's cheryl??"

note the terror in my voice...

"oh she had to go work in the nursery. why?"

ummm... because you're not her and frankly, you scare me. instead i mumbled...

"just wondering..."

"well, i'm the river rat, i'll be your new nurse. i think you'll like me."

oh i doubt it.

enter dr. stasche to break my water. he tells me to hold out for my epidural until i'm "uncomfortable" and directs the river rat to call him "when the baby is crowning". wonderful. did i mention matt had been playing angry birds this whole time? like 13 hours worth? we started calling him "slayer"....

so now it's 3am and i'm "uncomfortable". my pitocin is turned up to 15 (max is 20). carisa (holla!) is standing at the end of my bed breathing with me - i wouldn't let her hold my hand or touch me... i started getting cranky. i've told the river rat that i would like my epidural and she returns a couple minutes later...

"okay, i told them you want an epidural but the anesthesiologist is doing a c-section and there's another woman ahead of you who's screaming so you're third in line..."

oooookay. so an hour and a half goes by and matt wakes up (yes, wakes up) because someone let a sailor loose in our room... or i was a little more than "uncomfortable" and a little more than "cranky". i'd been waiting an hour and a half for my epidural, okay? matt stumbled sleepily over to the bed...

"hey, did you get your epidural?"

"GET OUT OF HERE AND FIND MY EPIDURAL!!! DON'T COME BACK WITHOUT IT!!"

roared the sailor. matt looked scared. just then, the river rat walked in with dr. gorilla the anesthesiologist (not his real name but i can't remember the real one).

"oh thank god! gimme the epidural! put it in my back! i really need to push i think!!!"

dr. gorilla turns to the river rat and says...

"did she fill out the paperwork for the epidural?"

"oh you're KIDDING me!! no! just put it in my back! i NEED TO PUSH!!"

"you're probably not as far along as you think, sweetie.... just let me find that paper..... we can check you once you're epidural is in..."

ohmahgawd. at this point i had not been "checked" since midnight. i was at the same time thinking i was going to pass out and puke on myself. i think i screamed at the river rat that i was "sitting on my baby" and they were having a hard time getting my epidural in. finally they got the line for the epidural in and dr. gorilla stepped away to "get the medicine" so the river rat said she would check me...

"oh! (beep beep boop boop) dr. stasche?! you need to come to room 252 right now... i think you might miss the birth of this baby. okay honey you just need to push right now."

for real? for REAL?!?! seriously. so i pushed that baby out! dr. stasche arrived just in time to catch ellie and dr. gorilla got the tester tube of medicine in... while they cleaned her off. perfect...

in the end it was a crazy day but our lady came like gangbusters at 4:57am on may 12, 2011 and she was totally worth it.

ellie t. spelts

entered the world with a ruckus (get the full story later) on may 12th, 2011 at 4:57 am. our little lady weighed in at 8 lbs. 12 oz. and 20 inches. love this girl!

i superman

***the views and opinions expressed in this post regarding superman are in no way a unanimous household view. ***

the other morning i was having breakfast with jack and he looked at me very seriously

"mommy, i wanna fly"

"okay baby. but you don't have wings. how are you going to fly?"

he didn't even have to think about it long. he pointed straight to the picture of supe

rgrover on his bowl and said

"i need a cape. "

"okay baby. we can get you a cape today."

"and a helmet."

i love that he added that on. it's as if to forewarn me of the er trips we will make when he leaps off the roof of some tall structure.

so we went over to jo-ann's with carisa and the buddies (holla!), bought some cape making materials, and got to it. all night that little boy would come over to me while i was on the sewing machine, point to the cape i was working on and say

"my superman?"

now here's the problem. apparently there are two camps in the mitch household. pro superman and anti superman. i am all for the guy. c'mon, right? he's a man who is super. he can leap tall buildings.... blah blah blah... i like him and clark kent. matt however, is anti superman. he can explain it to you sometime. i don't don't why. jack - it turns out - thinks anyone with a cape is superman. so... there you go. but nonetheless it really irks matt that jack is referring to superman in our house. psh.

so long story short, the cape was made. the boy was ecstatic the next morning when he got to wear it the first time

"i fly!! i superman!!! fsh, fsh, fsh!!!"

(those are "flying" sounds in case you haven't heard)

and i made one for the lady too so she's not jealous when she comes out.

big boy bed update

we've been at it for a while now and (knock on wood), i think we may have made a break through. after several different door handles/lock situations, and tearful nights (not just jack) we "might" have a routine going that works for bedtime.

it starts with reading 4 books in a very specific order on the couch. then, we move to the big boy room for 3 kisses, 2 blankies, and 1 little prayer. finally, we turn on the special woody nightlight (thanks auntie mophie!) and the music, i discreetly lock the door and say goodnight.

now this works most nights - thank God!! i unlock the door when we go to bed and we usually see jack around 4am in our room. but it's progress, right??? he is very polite at 4am though. he walks in, throws his blankie on top of me and then taps me (but never says anything) to pick him up and put him in bed with us. then he usually gives one or both of us one of his super intense kisses before going right back to sleep!

so hopefully this keeps up for a while! then we can try and tackle potty training! =(

battle of the big boy bed

i'm so exhausted i can't even tell you... jack is on week two of sleeping in a big boy bed. every night it's the same thing: we read a couple books on the bed, turn on the sleep music and turn off the lights... and then the battle begins. i usually lay down with him to "help him" go to sleep but that doesn't last long because he starts kicking, hitting, yelling "no", even biting me. boo. =( so i end up getting up and walking out of the room but eventually get back in bed with him and lay with him until he falls asleep. this entire process usually lasts about two and a half hours. as i mentioned before.... i'm tired.

so last night we tried something new. i saw it on "supernanny" once. put him in bed. say goodnight. walk out and shut the door. that worked for about one minute. then the door opens and he runs out giggling like a crazy leprechaun. now "supernanny" says the first time they come out you tell them it's time for bed and then each time after that you just walk them back to bed without saying anything and they will eventually tire and go to sleep.

well, after about time - oh i dunno - 30, i turned to the sound of the door opening to yell "go to bed!" at the boy and saw a pair of mickey mouse ears peeking out at me. that little ham had found his mickey hat and figured "mom can't deny the cuteness of me in mouse ears" and then tried coming out of his room. it was ridiculous cute. so i ended up laying down with him again and he fell asleep finally.

so. tonight. we decided to stay strong and do the "supernanny". we started the walk him back to his room at 8:30pm. by 9pm i was over it. so i stayed on one side of the door holding the knob so jack couldn't open the door. he started crying the saddest cry ever but then he started trying to "trick me" into opening the door with every excuse in the book: "mommy! jack wants water!" "mommy! the door's locked!" then he walked over to his bed (i heard him) and sobbed into his pillow "mommy! jack's crying!" really, little boy? oh man, he kills me.

so now it's 9:24pm. jack is still yelling at me from in the room with an occasional crying jag, BUT... he's on his bed. he hasn't come back out yet. i don't know if he thinks the door is locked (it's not) or if he's just so tired that he doesn't want to get up. i don't want to jinx it but i think he may fall asleep eventually in there... we'll see.