Funny Nap Time Story

Mondays are always hard at our house.  The weekend seriously throws off our schedule, especially Sundays because Kevin seldom gets the nap he needs because we are at church during nap time.

However, yesterday was going pretty well.  Kevin and I woke up at 7:30 a.m.  That was actually sad because I meant to wake up at 3 with Grig, but I couldn't fall asleep Sunday night until after 11.  I have this problem where I can't shut my brain down at night, especially if I'm excited.

I finished our tax returns on Saturday and we found out how much money we were going to get. We realized that with that money we were going to be able to pay off most of our school debt!  We also realized that I could finally buy the computer that I've been saving up for.  That means a vast improvement on our videos and I can actually do some of the family history projects I've been meaning to do.  Also, I've been looking at new animating software besides flash (because it's super expensive and I can't afford it yet) and I was excited to get started on making my movie that I've been planning for ages.

All of these things combined made it so I couldn't sleep.  Creativity is very hard to shut off for me. If it isn't my movie I was thinking about, I think about story plots for my books, or things that I'm going to work on the next day.  I'm getting better and picturing blackness and trying to fade into it to go to sleep, but it is very difficult when I'm excited to make things.

Anyway, we woke up at a good time and we got a lot done in the morning.  Then, Kevin fell asleep. It was a good nap where I worked on creating some things that I wanted to work on. I am trying to improve my landscapes.  Here's what I made yesterday:

Yes, the tree is upside down.  It's meant to be.  I'm experimenting with a word where the roots stick up in the air and the foliage comes up from the ground like grass.  I'm learning to use the programs I already have as well.  I drew this particular one on Photoshop Elements.  Still needs work, but I liked the final product.

So, I'm working on my art, and suddenly I hear this strange sound. It sounds familiar, but I can't place what it is.  I stop what I'm doing and listen. 

Suddenly, I realized what the sound was! It was a little stormtrooper toy we have.  When you push the buttons on the back it says catchy things like, "All units make for that shuttle!" or "Your orders, sir?"  I realized that the last time I had seen that toy, it had been on the bed with the sleeping Kevin.  I quickly walked into the bedroom to see Kevin still sitting on the bed pushing the buttons.

It was pretty funny. That was the only reason I even knew he had woken up.

Also, here is a cute Kevin/Dakota picture for you, just because the two of them are adorable and they are such good friends.

Another funny story for you.  We've recently discovered that Kevin LOVES Puff Cheetos.  The other night, we were having ham sandwiches for dinner, and we were sharing our food (as we always do) with Kevin.  He had a mouth full of ham when he spotted the bag of Cheetos and pointing to it, began to make the noise he makes when he wants something.  I told him, "You can have one after you finish what's in your mouth."

So, Kevin pulled the ham out of his mouth, walked over to Dakota and gave it to her.  She happily ate it and we started laughing because he is such a smart boy!  Then, he came back over and asked for some Cheetos again.  Technically he had finished what was in his mouth, so we gave him one.  It was pretty funny.

Have you had any funny stories with your kids/nieces/nephews/grandchildren?

A Hidden Blessing

So, yesterday I discovered that I had accidentally accomplished something amazing with my NaNoWriMo goal. 

It was nap time.  I put Kevin down for a nap and I quietly left the room.  I found myself automatically going to my computer and sitting down to work on my story.

I was surprised.  I realized that I had gained a hidden blessing from having a goal last month. 

I had established a habit.

There is a saying.  It goes something like this: "It takes 21 days to establish a habit, and one day to break it."  Okay, so, maybe that part about breaking it isn't part of the quote, but it sounds about right.

I became curious about where the origin of the "21 day quote" was from, and I discovered the following source:

Busting the 21 Day Habit Formation Myth

This article was very interesting.  It said that this quote originally came from a man named Dr Maxwell Maltz, who was a plastic surgeon turned psychologist.  He told his readers that it generally took 21 days for people to change their self-image in regard to their newly modified features.  Then, he said, ‘Our self-image and our habits tend to go together. Change one and you will automatically change the other.’ (p108)

Thus, the 21 day habit formation myth was born.  According to this article, they did some more research on how long establishing a habit takes and found that association with another event in your day can speed up the creation of a habit.  Some people could develop one in as few as 18 days, while it took others up to 84 days. 

Basically, it depends on you.  They said when you correlate a new habit with an already existing activity (putting the baby to bed) it is much easier to develop a habit.  So, as long as I keep working on my story while Kevin is sleeping, I will continue to make progress. 

Aren't hidden blessings wonderful?

Why Won't my Baby Take his Naps!?

Kevin playing in the dog's bed

Yesterday was so frustrating!  Kevin just wouldn't take his naps!

Normally, Kevin and I have a pretty good schedule.  Usually, I get up at 4:00 a.m. with Grig, help him get off to work, and then I have a couple of hours to blog, work on books I'm writing, and work on video editing.  Then, around 7:30 a.m., Kevin wakes up.  We play together for a few hours and I usually get some household things done, and a couple hours after he wakes up he takes his first nap.  He usually sleeps between an hour and a half and two hours.

After he wakes up, we usually go on a walk outside, check the mail, and enjoy the warmth (though it is getting colder).  Then, we come back inside and I usually try to get a few more things done.

Around 2:00, he takes a second nap, and I spend that time writing, reading, or sometimes just relaxing.  Then, Grig gets home around 4:00, which is when Kevin usually wakes up, and we do various things for the rest of the night.

It's a great schedule!  I love it, and Kevin is so happy when he gets his naps.

However, the last two days, Kevin has absolutely refused to take a nap. Kevin would tell me that he was tired like he normally would, and we went in the bedroom to lay down.  He would almost close his eyes numerous times, and then he would sit up or start singing.  It was very cute at first, but then he started getting grumpy.  I'd try to help him lay down and he'd fight with me. I'm not very good at holding still when there is nothing to do, so yesterday, after laying down with Kevin for over two hours, I was starting to get a little cranky.  Which is totally not something I would normally do.

So, eventually I said, "If you don't want to sleep on the bed, let's try your crib again."  (We've been trying to gradually help him be crib-trained recently.) I put him in his crib, and he was happy for about five minutes.  Then, he began to scream.  I waited as long as I could to see if he would calm down and go to sleep.  I even took the shower I'd been needing all day.  When I finished, he was still standing up and screaming, so I took him out of his crib.

He was so tired, but he absolutely refused to go to bed. 

After he recovered from the traumatic crib experience, he was happy to play for a little while, and eventually, he fell asleep on my chest around 12:30 p.m.  Happy, I put him in his crib and sat down to unwind.

An hour later, he woke up screaming.

He didn't sleep for the rest of the afternoon.  His eyes were all red from exhaustion and I couldn't figure out what was going on.

Finally, it hit me.  He was in pain from teething!  His nose had been running the last few days, and so Grig and I decided to try some baby Tylenol before bed.  Half an hour after we gave it to him, my happy little boy was back!  An hour later, we went to bed and he slept well the whole night.

If only I had realized that he was in pain hours before, our day may have been far less stressful.

You live and learn, I guess.

Poor guy.  Teething is hard.