Sleep

   Sleep has always been a struggle in our home. My kids just don't need a lot of it. I have heard tons of well meaning advice, and we have tried countless things. My kids fall asleep wonderfully, they wake up easily and happily. The older ones rarely wake through the night, Alex still wakes 50% of the time to eat.
   As Alex has gotten older, his body tries to combine his two daily naps into one. Some days this works, other days it is still very apparent he needs two naps. Almost over night, his little body was telling me I need longer "awake" stretches. He was falling asleep at 8:30 beautifully, however he was waking up at 3:30-4:30 in the morning, wide awake ready to play. This was exhausting!!
   After trying several different ideas on how to get him to quit waking up wanting to play. I paused and remembered when his older siblings did this. They weren't confused, or being naughty. Their little bodies were just fully rested after 8-9 hours of sleep and they are still like this today. So, the following morning when Alex woke at 7 am, I kept him awake longer. Yes, he did get cranky the first couple days. I moved his nap from 10 am to 11-11:30 am. Then his evening nap from 3pm to 4:30-5pm. He still naps two times a day for an average of 2 hours a time, but he goes to bed a bit later and is back to sleeping beautifully.

  For the first two, I struggled with insecurities about my children's sleep. everyone else made it seem so easy. My kids were very sensitive to physical activities and a rainy day inside would effect what time they would fall asleep. I felt like a bad mom, like I was doing something wrong. I stressed myself out, my husband and my kids. Trying so hard to make them fit a mold of what I thought was normal. Of what everyone else was trying to convince me was normal.

   Now, I don't care. Not every kid sleeps the same way. Not every kid needs the same amount of sleep. My kids need very little. We have found what works for us, for the whole family to get the sleep they need to be healthy and happy.

  For the parents of a child who needs very little sleep, it can be tiring and frustrating. Remember you are not alone.

Lack of Sleep...

   Alex has begun waking in the middle of the night and wanting to play. He squirms, squeals, laughs and babbles. I have tried laying with him, nursing him, tucking him back in bed and leaving, I don't turn on the lights, I don't engage him. I have tried keeping him up longer in the evening, I don't know what else to do. It's a phase and this too shall pass.

  In the meantime, I am exhausted.

Thank the Lord for caffeine!

Ordinary days worth Celebrating

    "One key to enjoying each day of our lives is to understand that most of life consists of a routine, unremarkable series of events that take place day after day"  ~ Joyce Meyer


   I often focus too much on the damn daily's. Life does have a routine, everyday there are a series of tasks I must complete. However, I want my kids to learn to find true inner peace. I want my kids to learn to be content with what they have and to enjoy life in the moment. Not spending their whole lives wanting "things" and never feeling satisfied. Feeling restless and bored unless something exciting is happening.

   Today we are celebrating the tooth that has finally popped through, and how Tiny is back to sleeping soundly, hugging his blankie. 

Cloth Diapering Updated

 Months into cloth diapering. I feel like I have this down, my confidence has grown. The things I have learned are enormous. I have found a wonderful blend of cloth and disposable that works great for my family.
 I am a self-declared part time clother. Part time because I don't have enough diapers to have some while my covers are air-drying. Part time because, sometimes I feel over whelmed. Part time because when we go out for the day I don't want to always carry used diapers. Cloth at home and on the 5 hour or less outings are best for us. Why? Because cloth diapering doesn't have to be an all or nothing. Anytime you use cloth vs. disposable you are bettering the environment.

 Things I wish I knew when I first started:
  1) You don't have to buy expensive detergents. I use All free and clear, no problems on the diapers or my wallet.
 2) Never underestimated the amount of diapers you will need. Expect 12+ a day for the first 2 months then down to 10 a day and as follows. As you are finding your grove, you will make mistakes resulting in leaks.
3) Cost doesn't always mean better quality.
4) Bio-degradable liners LIFESAVER!!!

  The biggest thing I have decided is that I LOVE the Go Green Pocket Diapers. If I could do over I would only have these. I find myself grabbing these more so then others in my collection. They are a one size pocket diaper. You can find more info here.

Reasons the are awesome;

1) They are NOT bunchy, very fitted. The bigger Alex gets the better they fit.

2) They are amazingly waterproof. We have only had the rare leak at night when I forgot to double stuff.

3) Adorable prints!

4) One size fits all.

5) Easy to use, easy to launder.

  I want to add, anyone that lives close enough to me and wants to come check out my cloth diapers are more then welcome to, just message me. I wish I had had the opportunity to visually see how they worked before buying them.

Learning through experience

  One of the best things about homeschooling is learning through experience. In history we have been learning about nomads and how they hunted. Traveling where the food was. We talked about what a difficult way this was to live. Coincidentally, about this same time my husband got a deer during archery season. C.J. was able to see just how time consuming and messy it is to dress out a deer, and how much meat you actually got. We talked about how the nomads would have done it without a refrigerator. It was very eye opening for him and I loved watching him draw his own conclusions.
  The next day, my husband was heading to the DOW office to get the head tested, a precautionary step to make sure the meat is healthy, we went along. Surprisingly the DOW office was set up like a small museum. We got to see a ton of native stuffed birds and animals up close. We read about what they ate, where they lived and other interesting facts. It was very hands on, they had awesome magnet boards where the kids put the animals in their proper environment. The other board had them match outdoor activities such as hiking,rafting, bird watching to their proper place mountains, river and so forth.They learned about different bird sounds, how to pack a hiking backpack with things you need, matched tracks to the animals, and why we don't feed the wild life. They got to touch different furs and antlers. While we were there a lady brought in wild ducks that needed to be relocated, the forest ranger talked about how they were going to help the ducks stay safe.
  One evening my husband also brought home a gold panning device that sinks the dirt but allows the gold to rise. The kids each took time panning through sand then running it through the machine. They learned how tedious this was, and dirty. We talked about how in the old days they didn't have machines to help and most of it was done by hand. They observed how cold and wrinkly the water made their fingers. Sadly, we didn't find any gold. C.J. concluded after he saw how hard we worked and didn't find any gold that the miners must have been poor. He also concluded they must be hungry, because if they spent all their time panning, when did they farm or go hunting?

  What a wonderful way to learn, by doing and having fun.