On the homefront

It seems like life has been extra busy around here lately. It's just the usual stuff - work, housework, fun with friends, etc.  I guess both kids are going through some new phases right now that are requiring some extra energy and training on our part, so I think that's leading to some of the extra tiredness we're feeling at the end of the day.

Brielle is starting to act like a two year old!  Imagine that!  She now has an opinion and definitely makes it known when she doesn't like something. We're trying to nip in the bud her new habits of screaming when she doesn't get her way, whining, and throwing a fit.  The other day she started throwing her first temper tantrum (which I was ignoring) and in the process ran right into the couch and got a little boo-boo.  It worked out perfectly because she got distracted from the temper tantrum, I was able to comfort her, and we all moved on.  She is a clumsy little thing, but at least this once it worked out to everyone's advantage!

Joshua has been working on potty-training, which anyone who's been through it can attest to how exhausting that is.  It's been a long haul with him...he's definitely capable, but that strong will of his gets in the way sometimes, and he'd just rather play than pee.  Ugh!  He's also entered the "why" phase.  I know this is normal, but Josh seems to have taken it to an extreme!  We sometimes think it's literally going to drive us insane!  It is non-stop and often after we give a command (unacceptable) or at a time when "why?" doesn't make any sense and there's just no answer to it (nor does he really care about our answer).  So, we're wrestling with how to encourage his curiosity, but preserve our sanity and make sure that he's not questioning our authority...oh, life as a parent, somehow, I don't think it really gets any easier as they get older...

Daniel fried up a big platter of fish he'd caught!  Yum-yum!

We've been feeling a little out of sorts because we've never taken our kids camping, and it was such a big part of what we did before kids.  At the same time, we were skeptical that it would work because both kids are still in cribs and just seemed too active...but, other people with toddlers do it, so we figured we'd give it a shot...in the safety of our backyard, that is.

 

Testing out Brielle's sleeping bag

We bought the kids fun sleeping bags, ate dinner outside, set up the tent, built a fire in the chiminea - everything was going relatively smoothly.  Then it was bedtime.  We got our PJs on inside the tent, read a bedtime story with flashlights, and did our nighttime prayers and songs. As soon as we tried to get Brielle to lay down she started crying and saying, "Hold you, mommy."  She wouldn't calm down until I stood up holding her and got upset again if I tried to sit down.  Joshua was doing okay, but obviously, not asleep with all that going on around him.  We decided it just wasn't going to work for Brielle, that we had nothing to prove, and it would be better to get a good night's sleep and enjoy our Saturday together rather than all be cranky and tired.  So, I went to take Brielle inside to sleep in her crib.  We gave Josh the option to stay outside or inside, but he wanted to be with me, so we all wound up in the house, in our own beds.

While it didn't go as we'd hoped, it went pretty much as expected, and definitely answered any notions we had about attempting to camp anytime in the near future...so, overall, I'd say it was success!  Thank the Lord we weren't at a campground far from home and that the kids went right to sleep once they were in their own beds.  (I guess that's the downfall of sleep training your kids to fall asleep on their own...once and a while it sure would be convenient if they would fall asleep in your arms or laying next to you, but it's a small price to pay for the many, many, many nights of uninterrupted sleep we've enjoyed these past three years!)