Aiden drives me crazy on a daily basis. I love him insanely, but life with a toddler can be rough. And then he does something like this, which just makes it all worth it....
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
I Wish They All Could Be California Girls...
Who says the soldier has to do all the work? In the Army, whenever you have to do anything official, it has to be the soldier who does it. They don't want to talk to the spouse, even though everybody knows it's us wives who make the decisions anyway.... :-)
So our potential assignment to Germany has fallen through, surprise surprise. While I am disappointed to not be going back to Europe, it's really okay. Now my kids will be closer to Grandma and Grandpa for longer, and it's a lot less work and stress for me! So where are we going, you ask? Fort Irwin, CALIFORNIA. That's right, we are returning to our homeland, where the sun always shines, gas is $4 a gallon, and the roaches are not the size of puppies.
Now let me tell you how we got this wonderful assignment. Me. That's right, me. Chris was having trouble staying in touch with the guy who does assignments (big surprise, seeing as how he's in a war zone), so when he did finally talk to him, he told him to just call me and tell me what was available, and whatever I wanted was fine. So I got in touch with the guy, got the low down on all the places we could go - Boston, Wisconsin, Alaska, Seattle, just to name a few - and Irwin. Chris and I talked it over (I know he said it was my call, but I couldn't make a decision like that without talking to him, I mean, it is HIS job), and we decided that California was calling our names. So after another 10 minute phone call to the guy, we are officially on assignment to Southern California, reporting in December.
Now, Irwin is in the Mojave Desert, outside of Barstow, otherwise known as the armpit of California, BUT, it's 120 miles from Las Vegas, 90 miles from Orange County, 60 miles from Big Bear Lake, and not far from Palm Springs and Lake Havasu. I mean, could you ask for more stuff to do? So I'm totally excited to once again be a California girl.
Bloomingdales, here I come....
So our potential assignment to Germany has fallen through, surprise surprise. While I am disappointed to not be going back to Europe, it's really okay. Now my kids will be closer to Grandma and Grandpa for longer, and it's a lot less work and stress for me! So where are we going, you ask? Fort Irwin, CALIFORNIA. That's right, we are returning to our homeland, where the sun always shines, gas is $4 a gallon, and the roaches are not the size of puppies.
Now let me tell you how we got this wonderful assignment. Me. That's right, me. Chris was having trouble staying in touch with the guy who does assignments (big surprise, seeing as how he's in a war zone), so when he did finally talk to him, he told him to just call me and tell me what was available, and whatever I wanted was fine. So I got in touch with the guy, got the low down on all the places we could go - Boston, Wisconsin, Alaska, Seattle, just to name a few - and Irwin. Chris and I talked it over (I know he said it was my call, but I couldn't make a decision like that without talking to him, I mean, it is HIS job), and we decided that California was calling our names. So after another 10 minute phone call to the guy, we are officially on assignment to Southern California, reporting in December.
Now, Irwin is in the Mojave Desert, outside of Barstow, otherwise known as the armpit of California, BUT, it's 120 miles from Las Vegas, 90 miles from Orange County, 60 miles from Big Bear Lake, and not far from Palm Springs and Lake Havasu. I mean, could you ask for more stuff to do? So I'm totally excited to once again be a California girl.
Bloomingdales, here I come....
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Success?
Well, the last 2 nights Aiden has cried for about 3 minutes. And it's really been more of a whining cry than all out screaming. I've gone in both nights after about 15 minutes of silence and he's been sound asleep. He has yet to wake up in the middle of the night since we've started this whole thing, too. I'm totally in shock that he is taking to this so well, I was fully prepared for a HUGE fight. I am so proud of him, he really is becoming a big boy. Does this mean we have reached success? I'm sure we'll have some bad nights sometimes, but I think he's got it down.
Next stop - potty training....
Next stop - potty training....
Monday, April 28, 2008
Round Two
Well, round two of the new nightly routine had only 25 minutes of screaming, so we are making progress! And once again, he slept all night long, which is even better. Apparently I was making myself crazy over this for no reason, it's really been pretty easy. I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop... :-)
Sunday, April 27, 2008
Check It Out
For a firsthand look at the life of a deployed soldier, check out Chris' blog - The Army Life As Lived. Make sure to leave him comments, any contact with "regular life" is appreciated!
We Did It!!
Aiden screamed bloody murder at the top of his lungs for about an hour last night, then fell asleep in his bed. I'm surprised he wasn't on the floor, since I know he was out of his bed at one point. I was surprised that it only took an hour, since we have had some marathon screaming sessions before. I figured the middle of the night episode would be worse, and then to my utter amazement he slept all night long, for the first time in weeks. That's one thing about screaming for a while, it wears you out! So the first night of our new routine was way easier than I had thought it was going to be, all of my friends with small children - feel free to shoot me. He's also in a great mood today, something we haven't experienced in a long time, either. Probably because he's been so exhausted all the time and refused to sleep! It's amazing what 10 hours of uninterrupted sleep can do! Anyway, we'll see what tonight brings....
Saturday, April 26, 2008
And So It Begins....
I've always tried to pick my battles when it comes to raising Aiden. I can go overboard obsessing about every little thing, or I can just take a deep breath, remind myself that he's a toddler and just abide by my time-honored statute - if it's not going to hurt him, and he's not going to hurt it, then just let him be. This has always worked very well in the past, and I think I'm pretty laid back about most things when it comes to him. Well, the time has come to pick a battle.
I've always allowed him to sleep in the bed with me if he woke up in the middle of the night. He has always started out in his own bed, but somehow always ends up in bed with me before the night is over. Mainly because it was the best way for all of us to get a good night's sleep. Up until now, that has always been the most important thing to me, especially while working, and being pregnant. Last night however, all that changed. He's been steadily waking up more and more often during the night. He's taking forever to go back to sleep, even in the bed with me, whereas it usually only took him 5 minutes or so. I'm already sleep-deprived thanks to a new baby, I don't need my 2 1/2 year old to add to it. Then he started throwing middle of the night temper tantrums in the bed, for no reason that I could figure out. That really pisses me off. Nothing like being beat up by your toddler at 3 am. When that happens, I just haul his little butt back to his bed and let him scream for a few minutes before going back and getting him. He's usually very compliant after that, but lately it hasn't made a difference. So now we are all tired and grumpy and cranky, and I decided that something has to change.
So tonight I'm implementing a new policy. He's sleeping all night in his own bed, and I'm not going to sit with him until he falls asleep anymore, like I have been. Again, it used to take 5 minutes, now it can take up to an hour or more, and I just can't do that with Jack here now. It's time he learned to fall asleep on his own. So as I write this, Aiden is in his room, very loudly letting me know that he is not happy about being in there by himself. In fact, he's pretty pissed. I used to not be able to handle letting him cry, but times have changed. He's not a baby anymore, he knows exactly what I want him to do, he's just the most stubborn, willful child I have ever met. So I am steeling myself for several nights of h-e-double hockey sticks before he breaks. I've been called stubborn before by a certain husband of mine, so we'll see who's going to win. I'm going to make a prediction that it's going to be me. Good thing I'm up anyway! Pray for me please, I have a feeling that there are fierce battles ahead...
He's been quiet for a couple of minutes now, so he's either given up or been abducted by aliens. I'll keep you posted.
PS - Sara, pray extra hard that it doesn't take more than a week to get through this...that or bring a pair of earplugs with you next week! :-)
I've always allowed him to sleep in the bed with me if he woke up in the middle of the night. He has always started out in his own bed, but somehow always ends up in bed with me before the night is over. Mainly because it was the best way for all of us to get a good night's sleep. Up until now, that has always been the most important thing to me, especially while working, and being pregnant. Last night however, all that changed. He's been steadily waking up more and more often during the night. He's taking forever to go back to sleep, even in the bed with me, whereas it usually only took him 5 minutes or so. I'm already sleep-deprived thanks to a new baby, I don't need my 2 1/2 year old to add to it. Then he started throwing middle of the night temper tantrums in the bed, for no reason that I could figure out. That really pisses me off. Nothing like being beat up by your toddler at 3 am. When that happens, I just haul his little butt back to his bed and let him scream for a few minutes before going back and getting him. He's usually very compliant after that, but lately it hasn't made a difference. So now we are all tired and grumpy and cranky, and I decided that something has to change.
So tonight I'm implementing a new policy. He's sleeping all night in his own bed, and I'm not going to sit with him until he falls asleep anymore, like I have been. Again, it used to take 5 minutes, now it can take up to an hour or more, and I just can't do that with Jack here now. It's time he learned to fall asleep on his own. So as I write this, Aiden is in his room, very loudly letting me know that he is not happy about being in there by himself. In fact, he's pretty pissed. I used to not be able to handle letting him cry, but times have changed. He's not a baby anymore, he knows exactly what I want him to do, he's just the most stubborn, willful child I have ever met. So I am steeling myself for several nights of h-e-double hockey sticks before he breaks. I've been called stubborn before by a certain husband of mine, so we'll see who's going to win. I'm going to make a prediction that it's going to be me. Good thing I'm up anyway! Pray for me please, I have a feeling that there are fierce battles ahead...
He's been quiet for a couple of minutes now, so he's either given up or been abducted by aliens. I'll keep you posted.
PS - Sara, pray extra hard that it doesn't take more than a week to get through this...that or bring a pair of earplugs with you next week! :-)
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