Wednesday, December 5, 2012

It Happened Overnight

For all those who struggle putting their kids to bed at night, who need a testimony booster, or who could solve more problems by spending quality time with their family more often.

They say people can't change overnight.
Sydney did.
It not only changed her nights and days, but ours as well.

Remember that short little blog I posted more than a month ago about our struggle with Sydney and bedtime? It was really a struggle, I may have even cried to Scott about it a time or two.
You better take a refresher- it's a very short post. click HERE

Ok, welllllllll, I think it's been long enough to report that an impressive 37 days has gone by since that night and NOT ONE TEAR AT BEDTIME. Not even a fight! It would take me sometimes 2 hours to finally get her down. Ridiculous, and draining; emotionally and physically.

Here's what we did,
specific to our little Sydney. 
This is what she needed. 

FHE = Family Home Evening- one night in a week dedicated to being together and strengthening our family relationships.

1. We decided FHE would be an excellent tool for helping us with Sydney's going to bed issue. And this proved to be true. Though it only took the one FHE lesson, we still do numbers 2. and 3. every day since that night when everything changed. :)

To make it totally understandable for Sydney, Scott drew pictures of what he was talking about as he talked about them with her, in a way any young child could understand. He gave a great lesson on the good things that come from sleeping. He emphasized things Sydney would think were the best outcomes. Then, we did the normal bedtime routine and Sydney got in her bed- the point where we'd say goodnight and the nightmare would normally begin.
BUT, we stayed.
 We sat next to her in her bed, and invested a few minutes more of our evening with her. We reviewed what we learned for FHE. We re-emphasized the "good" things or what was most important to her- like 1. becoming a "BIG girl," bigger and bigger, every day because of sleeping (and eating), and 2. being happy.



These next two things, are what we continue to do daily/nightly, since that night:

2. She enjoyed this little chatting time we had sitting on her bed, after reading at least 3 books already, and her normal bedtime routine.
So we turned this time, right after books and prayer into a time to talk with her about her day. Talk about what we did and ask her questions about it. We listen for her responses.

Now, every night she excitedly climbs into bed and says "Momma talk [to] Sydney?!" and then she starts the conversation out as I used to when we first started this... "So? How's [was] [your] day? ... " She loves it- and it's definitely one of my favorite times of the day too. :)
It's really a precious opportunity that I know won't last for ever.

3. When I get up to leave her room and close the door behind me, this is not my final "Good night." I think she was feeling stranded and alone when we'd leave her room, before. We'd always end up back in her room by default of her crying/screaming and there were many "Good nights" in one evening, against our will. This new, second goodnight, is planned and promised to Sydney. Before I walk out, now I let her know that

"Mommy's going to come back and check on you in 5 minutes, Ok?" 
And then I do. 

There is comfort in knowing I'm close by, close enough to come back and check on her after I walk out. When I come back in, she stays quiet and lets me kiss her on the cheek. Then I say "I love you" once more and walk out for the rest of the night.

We were blessed to discover this 'new way' because we were seeking help from the Lord and made it a point to have FHE on this particular night about this particular issue, and were inspired to do these particular things.
As a family- 
we all are finally on the same page,
when going to bed each night- 
not just Scott and I.

Just think of how our family could benefit if we had FHE every week, like we are instructed!
What are other issues, stuggles, or problems that we can solve, simply by finding and spending quality time as a family to discuss and resolve, to learn and to grow, and to love and strengthen each of our relationships as a family?

What a blessing that one night of FHE was and still is to us.

She signed her name, and changed,
overnight. 

Tuesday, December 4, 2012

Sydney's Prayer

Just moments ago...

"Dear Father, thank for 'dis day. 
Thank Sydney watch Ipad. 
Thank Sydney cry, now Sydney happy. 
Thank for Sydney's drinky (point). 
Thank for baby. 
Donkey EEE AWW EEE AWW. 
Thank for balloon (point),
thank Momma Dadda. 
Thank for baby Jesus.
Thank Sydney's room. 
Thank for baby. 
In, name, Jesus Christ, 
Amen." 

Thursday, November 29, 2012

Around Town AGAIN ;)

I'll just quote myself from the original post these pictures were supposed to be in. Hence, the title, "Around Town, AGAIN ;)."

"I can't write about anything else until I catch up on what's been goin' down with us here in G-town the last month or so- There's so much going on! And I want to remember it all...

It's been fun/hectic, with s'more roasting parties, caramel apple parties (there were some SERIOUS apples), surprise birthday parties with super fun themes (no pics of the former 3, sorry [just got s'more pics!]), sailboat races overtaking the ocean where we swim, motorcycle's rallies overtaking the streets where we drive, free concerts, light festivals, out door movie nights here and BINGO nights there- there's so much fun to be had this time of year and it's only getting started!!

I'm just gonna throw some lots of pictures out there and be done with it, so next post I can focus on one thing again! ENJOY! :)"

Events during 
mid. September - end November
2012

Bonfire at the beach
..Mid September






 Harvest Moon Regatta Sailboat Race
Hundreds of sailboats!






Free Concert the night of
the Tanger Outlets grand opening. 
I think it was Chris Allen- Am. Idol winner




Military medical dinner party at a UTMB 
doctors house...got to go kayaking. :)





Outdoor movie night at UTMB -
"Brave"




2012 Lonestar (Bike) Rally
in yours truly, Galveston, TX
-There were motorcycles and other cool bikes EVERYWHERE!!! 
The city is literally overtaken with them for about 4 days, every year.   

 Here were some of our favorites...
that were still enough to take pictures of!!



A motorcycle hearse! Awesome!









 2012 lighting at the 
Moody Gardens Festival of Lights!




 I couldn't look any more like a mom in this picture.
I think it's time for some new pants.

Instead of walking the path of the light festival, we decided on a
 4-D movie- The Polar Express!
It was much less crowded inside.



Marshmallow roasting party at our good friend Ashlee's house :)
It was actually cold enough to have a fire, too!
Must have been a cold front. 
It's almost December first and today is almost 70 degrees!


 BINGO night at UTMB!
I won a round and got a $25 Visa gift card!!!

They had this fun photo booth and dress up stuff 
out in the hall by all the loads of catered Chic-fil-a. Mmmm :P

Welp, now that my photo storage space is probably out again ;). jk... kinda.

Thanksgiving was great this year. We decided kind of last minute to do the Dallas drive and be with Scott's family again so we could meet Scott's little brother's new fiance'. We're super excited to have her in the fam in a few weeks :). 

The only souvenir picture I got from the quick trip was Sydney's fractured leg.
Other than that I'll do my best to describe the trip in words- we ate lots of food, and played lots of games. :) 
I bet we're not the only ones who do that on Thanksgiving so I'll spare you the details. 

We did take Scott's friend, Shawn along with us for the ride bc he wasn't going home for the holiday--  The first day in town Scott double bounced him on the trampoline and put him in crutches the whole break. His ankle was swollen like a golf ball! Ouch! Then, of course, Syd got hurt on the trampoline at her cousins house the day after Thanksgiving, which put her in a cast (a few days later). Half of our road-trip crew were gimps by the end of the trip! Nonetheless, it was a fun 2-day Thanksgiving break in Dallas with the awesome Walton family and cousins. :)

PS: I added a page to my blog called "My PROJECTS" that just shows some of the....projects I've been up to. For my family/friends who this gets emailed to, you have to actually go to my blog itself to view it, but I'll make it easy for you. Just click here.  It's mostly crafty/home improvement type stuff. I have like a million projects going on right now, (well, maybe 6 or 7...) which only means be prepared for some cool projects- whenever I finish them upload pictures and post them. 

Surprise!!

Question of the day:
How do you keep a 2-year old from walking/running around for around for 3 whole weeks straight?!

There were a few surprises in the last couple days. 
 
Blogger issues: Out of free photo storage space.
To start out with, I found out that I do NOT have to stop my blog due to storage space restraints, thanks to some helpful friends and their advice. :) This post is proof that I got around that issue. Yay! That was a little depressing at first, and definitely surprising. 

If you don't care about how I got around the issue, skip down to "2nd, Syd's "BIG band aid."
For any other bloggers who've run into the same issue, here is the advice (from my post on FB) I found very useful to solve this issue without paying a monthly fee to post more pictures:  
  
*From my friend Kristin: "you can create a new gmail account and then add yourself as an author to your blog. You'll get a fresh amount of free storage space :). 

*From my friend Ashlee: "I ran into this same problem and in reading up on it, found that if you resize your pictures to 800 pixels or less, befor uploading them, they don't count towards your space. I did this and have had no problems since...and I upload a ton of stuff. Also, video doesn't count towards your space either. I think this is the easiest way to go...because you should never run into the problem again. Let me know if you need help doing this. I just helped someone else fix the same problem 2 days ago...guess we are all reaching our space limit!" :) 

2nd, Syd's "BIG band aid"
We weren't expecting this when we went to the doctor, 5 days after the fact;
especially 5 days including many walks and trips to the park to run around and climb on things.

Yes, she had a limp, but it seemed to be much less, if not undetectable by the 5th day.
Who woulda thought that she had a fracture and needed a full leg cast?! 
Good thing we kept the appointment!
 I was sure it wasn't going to be worth the 40 min. drive to see the specialist.

Sydney seriously enjoys going to the Dr..
She asked if she could "Go see doctor" after she got hurt.
She's had enough experiences (febrile seizure and stitches)
(this year alone!), to know- doctors help make you feel better.


She seemed very excited about her "BIG, pink baindaid" at first,

but after 3 weeks I'm sure she'll feel more like this:
maybe she already does.. :(
(day 2)

*Her leg got hurt the day after Thanksgiving. She was jumping on the big trampoline and a couple of bigger kids got on and double bounced her or something and she did a little flip and landed weird I guess. I didn't see it happen, but that's what her little cousins said. 

It gave her a "minimal buckle fracture" of her Tibia---just below her knee cap.
She should be as good as new in a bout 3 week's time :)

Until then, I'm looking forward to getting really, really strong carrying here literally everywhere! She's no baby anymore, and I swear that cast weighs at least half of what she does.

And 3rd, a surprise birthday dinner for my friend Teri who turned a year older yesterday--pretty much as soon as we got home from getting Syd's unexpected cast put on. :) 
She dropped Berlin off at our house (see 2 pics above) thinking she was going to on a date with her husband, but by the time they arrived to the restaurant, we were all there to surprise her :). 
  we switched kids for half the night ;) 
As far as those pictures I promised last post but couldn't b/c blogger made me think my blogging days were over- I will still post them! Maybe today even if Sydney doesn't wake up from her nap too soon!

Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Around Town

I can't write about anything else until I catch up on what's been goin' down with us here in G-town the last month or so- There's so much going on! And I want to remember it all...

It's been fun/hectic, with s'more roasting parties, caramel apple parties (there were some SERIOUS apples), surprise birthday parties with super fun themes (no pics of the former 3, sorry), sailboat races overtaking the ocean where we swim, motorcycle's rallies overtaking the streets where we drive, free concerts, light festivals, out door movie nights here and BINGO nights there- there's so much fun to be had this time of year and it's only getting started!!

I'm just gonna throw some lots of pictures out there and be done with it, so next post I can focus on one thing again! ENJOY! :)

WHAT?!?! Never mind, I guess..!?! blogger is saying I've used up all my photo storage space. I'm not about to pay a monthly fee to store more photos...soooo until I figure something else out...no more pictures! How depressing. Who knew you eventually had to pay for your blog? lame. Let me know if anyone knows any way around this- if there is no way, I'll have to journal another way and it may not be "shareable". :(


HELP!!




Saturday, November 10, 2012

Dead or Alive?!!

Am I justified in being a tiny bit creeped out as I walked past my daughter's room during her nap today?

Of course, nothing was really creepy about it, she was clearly just laying, peacefully dead!!! asleep on the other side of her door.

Only 2 words came to mind, and if Scott were home or anyone who knows me best, you'll know what I would have said to you in a somewhat english accent, with a hint of old-time movie in my voice, pointing dramatically, eyes wide open with the bottom lids raised, head cocked slightly back diagonally, peering at the fingers laying lifeless under the door after one last hope of escape:

"MU(silent r)DER SCENE!!!!"

REE! REE! REE! REE!!
(Screechie violin sound...You know what I'm talkin' about)
Sydney, give me a break!
Halloween is over!
or as you would say it,
"Happyween, bye-bye."

Just so ya'll know, she has Scott's fingernails. :)

Thursday, November 1, 2012

In The Spirit of Halloween


In the spirit of Halloween,
which is gone for another year,
I post all the pictures from October that I meant to post before 
the month ended, yesterday.

On a positive note, however,
this post will now include pictures from last night--
Halloween itself!!!
:)

Some Halloween Projects...to start off with...
Made these blocks last year, but didn't have a blog yet ;)
They are so fun :)
yarn dipped in a bowl of watered-down glue
and positioned like a spider web


To make it more permanent I tied each intersection with some thread
and left the threads dangling-it added to the spider webby look!
Adding the lights made things look a bit messy

Step 1 of making a Halloween tree...spraying a branch black

Sydney was a good helper



I love Halloween trees! And it was so fun to make


Zoo Boo at the Houston Zoo...
You like our Mommy-Stroller brigade?
You can't even see all the mommies and strollers
in this pic, though I tried to get us all...
even Syd barely made the shot ;)



She called it "BABY pumpkin,"
and held it like one, too. :)



Ha, I love random animals standing in random places. 

Our carpool buddies and good friends Liza and Ashlee!
Who also hosted the Halloween party you are about to see pictures of...
Pumpkin Carving...
The boys.
I didn't get a picture, but they even whipped out a small power drill
to assist them in their carving. 

Shannon, the lovely host
and all-time group-get-together-er


Syd's pumpkin. She supervised as I carved.
Good job, Syd :)

These definitely rotted about a week before Halloween
Note to self: Carve your pumpkins the day of or day before Halloween, not 2 1/2 weeks prior
so the humidity can leave rotting pumpkin stains on your front porch.
Oh well, we don't get trick-or-treaters at an apartment complex anyway.

Trunk-or-Treat...in Dallas (in case you missed last post)



Baking Halloween Cookies!
Syd's first cookie cutting/decorating experience
though, she was in bed for the decorating part.
We started them late, the night before Halloween, and sent them to school
with Scott on Halloween for his groups and friends. 

HALLOWEEEEEEN NIGHT!!! ...
Cute group of kiddos,
I mean monsters and princesses, eh?






Sydney did a really good job, she knew
just how high to hold her bag up and we've been practicing
the phrase "trick-or-treat" all month long.
She thought it was so fun that mommy had a kitten face and ears. 

Family :)
That's it! Until next year, 
HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!
YESTERDAY ;)
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