You guys, my child had the worst night ever last night... thus, mama and papa had the worst night ever. She's been handling the sleeping in her own bed thing all night long better and better, although Chris might disagree. But since our move about 2 1/2 weeks ago she's just been in a funk when it comes to going to bed at night. In her crib.
I'm sure she's having to adjust to a new space too. And she has a stuffy nose, cough, allergy thing right now. And her seventh and eighth teeth just popped through yesterday- and today she has a low-grade fever, but I am ready for her to be in her crib 100% of the night. No sneaking in at 3:00 or 4:00...Even if she is going to wake at night- I need my own bed.
Last night she was not having it. After sleeping from 7-9:15pm she would not go back down in her bed. Oh yes, I could rock her to sleep, but upon laying her down- heavens no. You'd have thought I was pulling her limbs off. Of course this is when Chris came home from praise team rehearsal, which made the screaming and yelling that much worse. Til 10:00pm. We were all in tears. Again. And it's been a year.
So, of course today I am trying to purchase, borrow, or download every parenting book recommended to me, in the hopes of learning how to deal with these meltdowns. I say that jokingly- sort of. I know there is only so much one can glean from a parenting book. And I know there are good books and bad books and books by those who are less than professionals on the subject.
Even though I'd like to buy all these books, our budget is pretty tight... so Camille and I just went to the local library. The Tyler, Texas library. It is still as terrible as it was ten years ago when I was in college here. Horrible. And I've wondered this before, but I'll pose the question again here: Why are libraries in the Northeast so much more cared for and updated and lovely than libraries here??
When we lived in upstate NY I truly enjoyed my library time. Some of the libraries were small and quaint. My favorite one in Glens Falls was amazing. Simply amazing. In Manhattan I often visited several of the libraries and even in Queens, but I won't even factor those into the equation, because, I know, it's New York...
The libraries in East Texas house the oldest books. I just went to the parenting section (lest I waste time searching for specific titles) and walked away with four books published before I was born. These are old books! Perhaps the newer titles never make it to the shelves and are forever on reserve and always in circulation... I don't know. But the building is smelly and the carpet is old and the people who work there are odd. Like, they haven't come out of that library since they walked in in 1989.
Anyway, I'm off to read, study, meditate and further learn how to parent this little girl well.
Seriously. If anyone can stay married to the same man, while parenting a child and no-one is killed or seriously harmed- it's nothing short of a miracle.
Thursday, October 2, 2014
Wednesday, October 1, 2014
October, Here I Come
Another month and a half, and no word from Stefani... Sorry about that.
I'll blame it on the moving. And the one-year-old I take care of 24/7. And the fact that I just pulled out my laptop today and was able to connect to the internet after looking for my wall charger for only about ten minutes.
As much as I hate moving we sure seem to do it alot. We found a duplex in Tyler that we have been living in almost three weeks. We enjoy the location: near Chris' current school, two parks within walking distance and pretty much centrally located in Tyler.
Camille and I go walking (you know, she in her stroller) almost every morning. We are near the Azalea district with its brick streets, huge homes and incredible landscaping- it makes for good walking. Our place is much smaller- feels like luxurious NYC to me. Cramped, but not too too cramped. Like a $2,000 rental in Queens or Brooklyn. Even though we are not even paying half of that here, it still seems like a lot of money when we haven't paid rent in quite some time.
I have been diligently trying to drop some weight (30 days til NYC) and have lost 15 pounds. But this week I've gotten prideful - or maybe finally went to the grocery store- and can't seem to stay on the weight loss train. The huge blueberry muffins I made yesterday for Chris' breakfasts have derailed me. That and the Halloween candy I found at Target...
Although we've taken this step, it feels very much like we are still in limbo, still transitioning and waiting for direction. Always. Maybe this is just life, or our faith, or maybe The Chambers are just too nomadic and restless to every feel settled. But we know there is more. And Chris still finds himself desperately longing for a job that he takes pleasure in.
Right now Camille is growing up right before my very eyes. She is a little sneaky girl and loves to get a laugh- what a ham! She got two baby dolls for her birthday that she cuddles and hugs often. She can stack and unstack her stacking rings. She puts everything in- then takes everything out. She still likes dogs "pup-pup" and being outside but still loathes her car-seat and when the lady at the dry-cleaners opens the backdoor to put in the laundry. Maybe she thinks someone is coming in the car to get her... I don't know, but she looses her head when we go through the drive-thru cleaners.
Her new ($300- gulp) cars seat is supposed to arrive today. Not that she will like it any more than her current seat, as I am keeping her rear facing. For at least another year. Poor kid... This seat should stay with her five more years though, so it's an investment, and we drive a lot here in Texas, I want her safe... But, the temptation to turn her around is AWFULLY tempting. She has now added wriggling back at forth and trying to wedge her arms under the straps to her fussing in the back seat routine. It kills me. I'm forever, "It's okay Camille." "We are almost home, Camille." "Camille, look out the window." "Camille, lets sing a song..." Exhausting.
We are now one. Twenty-one pounds. Thirty inches tall. (71% for both) and 18 1/2" noggin (80%)
Love that girl. Love teaching her about the world around her and seeing her take it all in.
I'll blame it on the moving. And the one-year-old I take care of 24/7. And the fact that I just pulled out my laptop today and was able to connect to the internet after looking for my wall charger for only about ten minutes.
As much as I hate moving we sure seem to do it alot. We found a duplex in Tyler that we have been living in almost three weeks. We enjoy the location: near Chris' current school, two parks within walking distance and pretty much centrally located in Tyler.
Camille and I go walking (you know, she in her stroller) almost every morning. We are near the Azalea district with its brick streets, huge homes and incredible landscaping- it makes for good walking. Our place is much smaller- feels like luxurious NYC to me. Cramped, but not too too cramped. Like a $2,000 rental in Queens or Brooklyn. Even though we are not even paying half of that here, it still seems like a lot of money when we haven't paid rent in quite some time.
I have been diligently trying to drop some weight (30 days til NYC) and have lost 15 pounds. But this week I've gotten prideful - or maybe finally went to the grocery store- and can't seem to stay on the weight loss train. The huge blueberry muffins I made yesterday for Chris' breakfasts have derailed me. That and the Halloween candy I found at Target...
Although we've taken this step, it feels very much like we are still in limbo, still transitioning and waiting for direction. Always. Maybe this is just life, or our faith, or maybe The Chambers are just too nomadic and restless to every feel settled. But we know there is more. And Chris still finds himself desperately longing for a job that he takes pleasure in.
Right now Camille is growing up right before my very eyes. She is a little sneaky girl and loves to get a laugh- what a ham! She got two baby dolls for her birthday that she cuddles and hugs often. She can stack and unstack her stacking rings. She puts everything in- then takes everything out. She still likes dogs "pup-pup" and being outside but still loathes her car-seat and when the lady at the dry-cleaners opens the backdoor to put in the laundry. Maybe she thinks someone is coming in the car to get her... I don't know, but she looses her head when we go through the drive-thru cleaners.
Her new ($300- gulp) cars seat is supposed to arrive today. Not that she will like it any more than her current seat, as I am keeping her rear facing. For at least another year. Poor kid... This seat should stay with her five more years though, so it's an investment, and we drive a lot here in Texas, I want her safe... But, the temptation to turn her around is AWFULLY tempting. She has now added wriggling back at forth and trying to wedge her arms under the straps to her fussing in the back seat routine. It kills me. I'm forever, "It's okay Camille." "We are almost home, Camille." "Camille, look out the window." "Camille, lets sing a song..." Exhausting.
We are now one. Twenty-one pounds. Thirty inches tall. (71% for both) and 18 1/2" noggin (80%)
Love that girl. Love teaching her about the world around her and seeing her take it all in.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)