Tuesday, August 29, 2006

Sweet Salvation

Well my salvation tonight came in the form of Grandma Linda. When Mike got home for work I managed to sneak away from the kids for a shower and a nap. Both the girls and I ended up camping out in the living room last night. I had finally got Maya to sleep and in her bed when Abby woke up calling for me. Next thing you know she's throwing up all over her bedroom. Now the hysterical crying goes hand in hand with the vomitting and before you know it Maya's awake again too. *Sigh* Luckily once Abby was settled on the couch she went right back to sleep and I didn't hear from her again until morning. Poor Maya's stuffy nose kept her from sleeping laying down, so she slept in her car seat last night. She was not happy with her restrictive sleeping arrangements and was up pretty regularly to voice her displeasure. So I caught sleep in little batches last night.

Abby and Maya were both much better today. Maya spent great chunks of her awake time today traveling around the living room floor. She can cover a lot of ground with a combination of barrell rolling and dragging. I, somehow managed to stagger through the day, but I was at a distinct disadvantage. Now on the weekend Michael and I purchased the Sleep Solutions for your baby, toddler and preschooler book by Ann Douglas. I have her Mother of all Pregnancy book and I loved it. So I was fairly confident Ms. Douglas could help me out in the sleep department. I have to say it's a great book, one I highly recommend for every mother or better yet every mother to be. Seriously, it would be an awesome baby shower gift. It covers all manner of "sleep training" plus has very informative chapters on how to cope with sleep deprivation (including survival tips), the science of sleep (what you can realistically expect from your child) and sleep tools including a sleep log (which I promptly photocopied and taped to the fridge). So the book says that according to research losing one night of sleep causes a 30% drop in cognitive performance. That's likely why I got sucked into this;

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Abby: Mom, let's play makeover.
Me: No thanks honey.
Abby: Aww come on Mom. I wanna play makeover.
Me: Mommy really doesn't feel like playing makeover.
Abby: Come on Mom, play makeover. I'll give you a dollar.

Yeah so I admit it, I caved for a dollar. (Later on she offered me another dollar to let her stay up past her bed time. She then proceeded to ask Mike to give me two dollars. Smart kid.) So she did a good job eh? Very tasteful. Oh sorry you can't see me rolling my eyes.

The whole day was a bit much for all of us so this afternoon found Abby sprawled out on the oh so comfortable tile floor with a teddy bear for a pillow and a Polly Pocket firmly grasped in her grubby little paw and a towel for a blanket. I might mention her Dora pillow is clearly visible in this picture and just out of frame is her pint sized pull out Dora couch. She slept like that for at least 90 minutes. I can't imagine how.

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After dinner Grandma Linda and offered to take Miss Maya off my hands. Then Mike offered to take Abby with him for set up at the school fair building. There was a catch though..... I had to take a nap. So I promised that I would and instead I cleaned the house, folded some laundry and watched Big Brother. Mike was a little annoyed with me, but I explained that I couldn't relax when the house looked like we had goats living in here with us. So maybe I didn't nap, but I still felt relaxed in a cleaner house. A thousand thanks yous to Grandma Linda. By the time everyone got home I was actually happy to see them. But how could I not be when they're as cute as this?

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2 comments:

Ann D said...

I'm a bit late to the party, but I looooove that picture of you in a sleep deprived haze. :-) Too funny!

Micky said...

About 3 years ago I dropped into a black hole – four months of absolute terror. I wanted to end my life, but somehow [Holy Spirit], I reached out to a friend who took me to hospital. I had three visits [hospital] in four months – I actually thought I was in hell. I imagine I was going through some sort of metamorphosis [mental, physical & spiritual]. I had been seeing a therapist [1994] on a regular basis, up until this point in time. I actually thought I would be locked away – but the hospital staffs were very supportive [I had no control over my process]. I was released from hospital 16th September 1994, but my fear, pain & shame had only subsided a little. I remember this particular morning waking up [home] & my process would start up again [fear, pain, & shame]. No one could help me, not even my therapist [I was terrified]. I asked Jesus Christ to have mercy on me & forgive me my sins. Slowly, all my fear has dissipated & I believe Jesus delivered me from my “psychological prison.” I am a practicing Catholic & the Holy Spirit is my friend & strength; every day since then has been a joy & blessing. I deserve to go to hell for the life I have led, but Jesus through His sacrifice on the cross, delivered me from my inequities. John 3: 8, John 15: 26, are verses I can relate to, organically. He’s a real person who is with me all the time. I have so much joy & peace in my life, today, after a childhood spent in orphanages [England & Australia]. God LOVES me so much. Fear, pain, & shame, are no longer my constant companions. I just wanted to share my experience with you [Luke 8: 16 – 17].

Peace Be With You
Micky