Little Things Thursdays, Week 7

A day late again. You can forgive me, right, knowing about the sleep training going on?

#1. No sleep struggles last night. They had baths at 7, ate at 7:30 (Indigo ate 6.5oz!), and were in bed at 8. Periwinkle was so sleepy she was asleep before her head hit the crib mattress. I sang them a song (more like croaked, given my cold) which I think they liked. This is going to be part of their new bedtime routine, which I am hoping helps with easy bedtimes. Indigo required one check but was asleep by 8:15! Amazing considering it took an hour to get him to sleep two nights ago. They slept until 2:15am, ate, resisted a little, but were asleep by 3am. She was awake at 6:10am when I was getting ready but Indigo was still out. I'm guessing they were both awake by 6:45am based on the fact that Blue was getting them ready by 7am (I stalked on the monitor -- handy having an app for my phone!). This means they got about nine hours of sleep. Not quite the eleven we want, but closer than eight. We will give it a few more days and if this is still their wake up time, we will try a dreamfeed at 10pm. If they have even a few ounces then it might push their middle of the night feeding to 4am, which then means they won't be hungry and awake at 6am, and we'll feel less guilty having them wait for their morning feeding until 8am at daycare. So all this boils down to, they slept, and we slept! It was great!

#2. That second crib wasn't a waste! We split them up last night. I think this is a part of why they slept better -- no feet in each others' faces! Kind of sad to see them sleeping apart, but I think it's better for them at this point. We'd have had to do it when they started rolling over, anyways. They are growing up!

Of course, this means we'll need to find a new place to set out the next day's outfits, store extra blankets, and hang up spit-up-upon bibs and burpcloths...

#3. The Woombie. You can see they are both in Woombies now. The Halo Swaddle Sleepsacks were great in newborn size, but Indigo managed to wriggle the wings up by his shoulders in the larger Small size, giving him way too much freedom with his arms. The Woombie is both more restrictive (keeps arms close to the body) and more intentionally freeing (allows them to move their arms, albeit slowly so as to not startle awake). I think this has definitely helped with their ability to fall asleep and stay asleep.

#4. Being remembered. I got coffee from the same coffee cart guy for about three years before realizing I could save hella money by using the Keurig machine at work and adding French Vanilla coffee creamer I bring from home. I ran out of creamer this week so I ended up buying from him again for the first time in at least a year. And he remembered me! "Where have you been, having babies?" was the first thing he says. So I tell him, actually, yeah. Kind of funny that's the first thing he thought of, and that he said "babies" not "a baby." Always nice to be remembered!

#5. Great Chinese food. When we lived in the city, we always got Chinese from this one place, China Fun. Their General Tso's Chicken was to die for. It was kind of an addiction. I work right near the place and somehow manage to not get it for lunch all the time. In fact, I hadn't had it for at least a year. I decided yesterday that enough was enough. I had it delivered to work in the afternoon and brought it home via subway, commuter rail, and my car. And it was delicious! So worth the hassle! And there's enough for leftovers for at least one more meal, if not two!

Little Things Thursdays, Week 6

#1 Getting to bed before midnight. Several nights in a row. Uh. May. Zing. That said, the kiddos are waking up a bit earlier for their early AM feeding (i.e., 3:30am instead of 4:30am) which is taking some adjusting. Although it IS nice to get two more hours of sleep after that feeding instead of just one. But let's not look at last night as an example. Periwinkle woke up around 2:30, I got her to go back to sleep for a half hour and then I changed her and fed her a 2oz bottle hoping that would conk her out for a while, seeing as Indigo was sound asleep. Well, her crying managed to wake him up for once, so we gave up and fed them both. So then she calmed down and went back to sleep but then he was ornery, I think because he had a slightly raised temp. Baby Vicks and a smidge of baby ibupofen finally got him zen enough to go to sleep. The entire ordeal was about two hours. Next time maybe we'll just feed them at 2:30 instead of fighting them on it. Once their new bedtime is fully established then we can work on the middle-of-the-night feeding I guess. Live and learn.

#2. Coffee. Thank god for coffee. Especially today.

#3. Blue filling our Dr. Brown's pitcher before bed so I'm not making a new one in the middle of the night. He can do the proper maths when there are a few ounces in the pitcher already. I'm too paranoid I'm going to mess it up and put in too much formula powder or something, so I wait until it's empty before making a new one. Which had been happening for the middle-of-the-night feeding an awful lot lately. So, yay for hubby for being awesomely on the ball about that.

#4 The swing. It's this one:

Graco Sweetpeace Soothing Swing: Elefanta

And they are usually totally chill when they are in it. They are high enough up so they can see what is going on around them, so they are happier. Only downside is the real estate it takes up, but it's worth it!

#5 Avocados. I'm planning on buying one to go with the margarita chicken, black beans and mexican rice I'm making for dinner. Such an easy meal to make (marinate chicken in margarita mix for two hours; grill or bake) and soooo delicious. And avocado is like icing on the cake! I'm also buying an extra one in case we are feeling adventurous this weekend and want to introduce the babies to their first solid food. We'll see. They ARE 18 weeks old now. Wow. How did that happen?

What's kind of fun is that when I was pregnant, at 16 weeks they were the size of avocados. So long ago...

Little Things Thursday, Week 4? 5?

I've lost track. And it's Friday again. Whoopsies!

#1. Both kiddos seem to be getting over their colds, which makes me happy. They were sounding rather miserable.

#2. I keep getting freelance editing work, which is great. Extra income is always nice! What's more difficult is finding the time to do it!

#3. Omlettes. Had one for breakfast and it was delish. I mixed things up by putting bacon in it. Yum!

Not my omlette. I ate mine before I thought to take a photo.

#4. Indigo and Periwinkle can sit up pretty well on the couch. Last night he was being moody but settled right down when I put him next to me while I ate dinner.

He did insist on having control of the remote, though. Typical man!

#5. This makes me laugh.

I have a weird obsession with T-Rexes lately and I don't know why. Beginning to think Indigo is going to end up with a dino bedroom one of these days. When he has his own room, of course.

It's kind of weird -- boys are less fun to clothes shop for, but way more fun to plan bedrooms for. Dinosaurs, trains, pirates, or space? I love all of these things. I'm just not a girly girl when it comes to things like that, so I have no idea what we'll do for Periwinkle's room. Nothing princessy or kitties or any of that. I guess we'll just have to see what she likes, though.

Little Things Thursdays: Week 4

Okay, so it's Friday. And I missed a few weeks of these posts while we started up at daycare and got me sent off packing to work again. But I'm back.

#1. Fun Nailpolish. It just makes me happy.

It's from Essie. It might be a bit more pricey than your average Wet N Wild brand polish, but it lasts forever and comes in great colors. I'm usually pretty much a tomboy, so it's nice to get all girled up from time to time.

#2. Haircut and highlights. See above about feeling like a girl sometimes. Yay for getting a good deal via Groupon!

#3. New moccasins. I wore my old ones into the ground, so it was time.

minnetonka

#4. Coffee. It's what gets me through my day at work. Or the mornings, at least. I bought a fun new mug for going back to work.

#5. My Valentines. First off, I came home to the table set for a candlelight dinner, cooked by Blue. And homemade chocolate chip cookies. Good stuff. I also got to snuggle with these two for a while.

Doesn't get much better than that.

Little Things Thursdays: Week 3

#1 Warm socks. It is friggin' cold out there and I swear it's seeping into the house. Actually, it is -- you can feel the cold air coming in at the lightswitches. We really need to insulate them better. Anyways. Warm socks help me stay snuggly warm.

#2 Chinese food. I really need to stop eating it so much. Really, it's just pork fried rice and steamed dumplings. I could eat it every day, methinks. Nom nom.

#3 Bones. I've been watching on Netflix, from season 1, even though I've seen them all before. It's good background when I'm cleaning or blogging. I know I shouldn't have the tv on all day... but it actually quiets Periwinkle down, as she loves the light and colors. I've created a Bones addict. Daycare will break her of it, though. I hope.

#4 Six hours of continuous sleep. Babies went to sleep around 11 last night and woke up at 4:45am. Love it!

#5 Grandma. Mine, not the babies'. She bought us some extra blankets so we're all set for those for daycare!

The Little Things Thursdays: Week 2

So it's Friday. Whoops. I kind of lost track of the days of the week this week. It happens.

#1. The Today Show. Blue always asks "How can you watch this crap?" but it amuses me. It's cheesy and full of "stories" that are cutesy but I like it. So there. Especially Kathy Lee and Hoda. Anyone who has a drinky name for every day of the week is okay in my book.

#2. Resolve. It hasn't gotten all of the pukey kitty presents out of the carpet but it certainly helps. I'll try again today, after I take the cats to the vet. It's almost time to wrangle them into their carriers. Luckily they like the carriers, until they remember the next step is going in the car.

#3. The vacuum. Like I said yesterday, it apparently knocks the kiddos into napland. Awesomesauce.

#4. Feeling organized and clean. The babies and I went to Bed Bath and Beyond yesterday and I bought some nice containers to keep in the living room to corral the babies' books and toys. I realize as the kids get bigger so will their toys, and then these containers won't be as useful, but for now it's nice to have a place to throw everything so the living room isn't strewn with rattles and stuffed animals 24/7. I have to enjoy this organized and clean feeling as much as I can over the next two weeks because once I'm back at work I imagine my house will devolve into chaos again.

#5. Hershey's Kisses. They were $1 a bag at the grocery store because the bags had holiday prints on them, and I bought two. I've been enjoying them all week. Probably not helping my weight... we'll find out tomorrow!

Feel free to share YOUR little things in the comments! What made this week good for you?

The Little Things Thursdays: Week 1

Inspired by Rebecca of A Beautiful Ruckus, I'm going to try to start posting about the little things each week that bring me happiness. So often it's not the big events in life that add up to feeling happy (although vacations to Europe and winning the lottery would be welcomed if you're offering), but the small things. When I was younger, I used to absolutely love running out to get the mail. Heck, it's still an exciting part of my day, especially when I actually get real mail. Sadly, no mail for us today. I checked four times. Each time, so full of hope and anticipation!

So, in that spirit, here are five little things that made me happy this week.

#1. Indigo smiling more often. I can't get over how much his face changes and just how happy he looks. When he's happy, I'm happy. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to capture this smile on "film" yet, so no photo of this little thing.

#2. Feeling healthy. I've been doing Jillian Michaels' 30 Day Shred, and as much as it hurts, it feels great! I missed feeling active, instead of just a blob of pregnant lady. We'll see if it's helping when I weigh in at Weight Watchers on Saturday. I've also been eating better and tracking everything again. Just knowing I have to input it into my phone makes me think twice. In fact, I discovered a great new meal at Chili's: Margarita Chicken! I need to learn how to make it at home!

Not sure I'll end up looking this good, but I'll take what I can get!

#3 People telling me how cute my kids are. I think they are, but it's nice to have that validated by other people.

We went for a walk yesterday, and they were actually awake for once!

#4 Hot showers. Need I say more?

#5 New recipes. Always good to mix things up! We've tried a few from Our Life in the Kitchen, a blog I'm going to need to follow more closely, methinks! Tonight I made Pork and Rigatoni with Onions. I wasn't sure as I was making it, but it turned out amazing and is definitely being added to our roster of meals to choose from. Next time I will probably reduce the butter to make it a bit healthier, and I didn't put cheese on it, as Blue doesn't like cheese (I know, I know, weirdo). Here's a picture of the version on the blog:

ourlifeinthekitchen.com

Feel free to share your little things in the comments!

A fun side note: Baby farts sound really funny when they are in the Ergo.