S.O.S.

(as you can see...i'm not the only one stressed about this situation.)

is there anyone out there that knows how to get a baby to nap. here's the situation. this little darlin doesn't take naps. i have successfully followed the eat, wake, sleep schedule with 3 out of my 4 sugar plums, but sweet puddin has gotten the best of me so far. here is what we do:

i feed her.

she is awake until she gives me a sleep cue. (usually she yawns and rubs her eyes.)

i put her down for a nap.

she cries.

at this point it could go one of two ways. she may not go to sleep at all and then she is beside herself for hours, OR she cries for 15 minutes or so and falls asleep.

if she falls asleep, she will only sleep for 20 minutes at a time. i have tried letting her cry, hoping she will go back to sleep, but she never does. 20 minutes is all she will nap. and let's face it...that is NOT a nap. plus...when she wakes up, she is still tired. she is usually so tired that she falls asleep at her next feeding. by 4 or 5:00, she is beyond cranky and then by after her bath, she is down right pissed! (and i don't use that term lightly.)

here is my question to all of you who have successfully "trained" a baby to nap:

how do i get her to nap for more than 20 minutes? is this too much to ask from a 6 month old? she is tired and i know she needs to take good naps so that she won't be so fussy in the evenings, but i don't know how to make that happen. any advice?

HELPING THE CHI'S BRING HOME THE BABIES!!

after years of waiting and praying, george and ginger chi have been chosen to foster 4 month old twin boys. the twins will be arriving on their doorstep from child protective services on this coming thursday...march 25th. the chi's have desired children for many years and have been faithful to follow God's plan for them, even when it was painful and required a patience that, at times seemed unbearable. they, along with their family and friends praise God for His perfect timing and provision. their time has come...and we couldn't be happier for them. in thanksgiving and celebration, we would like to help them obtain what they need to care for these two, sweet baby boys. the twins have a 2 year old brother and almost 4 year old sister that are currently in foster care with another family. they will be coming to see their baby brothers on a regular basis and spending some of their weekends with the chi's. following is a list of needs that are needed for the children and contact information if you are able to help supply this Godly family with what they will need for, not just one baby...but TWO, and their brother and sister.

FOR TWINS:

1 white dresser
1 excersaucer
1 pack and play
1 crib mattress
2 bumbo seats
1 play gym (mat with hanging toys)

FOR SIBLINGS:

2 cozy coop cars
1 wagon with high sides
boy toys (appropriate for 2 yr old)
girl toys (appropriate for 4 yr old)

*gift cards to target or babies r us would be greatly appreciated.

donation contact: sixchi@gmail.com

scream...

it's what annslee is doing right now and what i want to do. this child fights sleep like none of the others. i thought i had things under control. she was faking me. babywise...baby whisperer...james dobson...dr. sears...they can all kiss my tired..........(did i just have that thought?)

naps have been a no go. and now, it takes several hours to get her to sleep at night. once she finally goes to sleep, she sleeps all night, but good grief, it takes forever. tongiht, i'm at a point that i don't really know what to do. i have fed her...twice. i have rocked her. i have walked her around the house. we have swayed. we have lullubied. we have bounced. now she is just screaming herself to sleep. only she is just screaming and not falling asleep. what to do...what to do? do i go get her? do i not? it's almost 11 and we've been at this since 8. i just need for someone to tell me.



it's 11:26 and she is sleeping like a baby. i went in, layed down next to her, put her pappy back in her mouth and rubbed her head for 2 minutes. she's happy...and asleep. ahhhhhhhh.

ice skating...part 1

so sunday was my very first ice skating lesson ever. the night before i dreamt that i showed up in one of those ice skating skirt outfit things with the flesh colored hose and white skates. the outfit was aqua. i'm not sure what that dream was about, other than i do remember wanting to wear one of those outfits really bad when i was little. anyways...i did not wear that to my lesson, if anyone was wondering. instead i opted for jeans and a hooded sweatshirt, which was not even close to being warm enough for the frigid temperatures of the ice rink. i made a mental note never to wear one of those little skirt outfits as soon as i took the ice. i just don't think those are even practical. they need to be in ski outfits instead. they keep the rink at about 50 degrees. after the lesson, i was thinking about how when i was little, the positives always outweighed the negatives and i wondered when that changed. the negatives where louder to me than the positives at my first lesson. like i said, i was cold. my hands where cold and my ears where cold. actually, my ears where more than cold. they were freezing to the point of wanting to wear earmuffs....(which says something, because that would definitely put a damper on my ice skating fashion.) but i didn't even care because they hurt so bad it was making my whole head hurt. i kept on covering them with my sweatshirt covered hands which would make me sort of lose my balance. the next negative was the rental skates. they hurt my feet really bad. i don't wear shoes other than flips very often, so these skates are going to take some getting used to. the instructor said that we should get our own skates because they are way more comfortable and have sharper blades so that you can actually do the moves better. (the rentals have to be dull to avoid people cutting themselves...but dull blades don't grip the ice very well.) i told chad about this little "glitch" in the whole ice skating experience. to which he replied, "we are not spending $150 on ice skates mindy." i did a huffy breath at that response. i'm not sure he's taking this seriously. i did really enjoy skating though...putting aside the freezing and aching feet. we learned to "swizzle" going forward and backward; change direction; glide on one foot; and how to hold our arms (that was my favorite part!) at one point, i found myself thinking, "just think...at some point, michelle kwan was learning this very thing." then i also thought, "too bad she was probably 2 at the time." i did find myself getting a tiny bit distracted by the little girls in the outfits, with their own white skates doing spins and jumps in the middle of the rink. i wonder when i will advance to the middle of the rink?? the highlight of the lesson was when the instructor told me that i was not a beginner 1...but could be in the level 2 class! and that was while i was skating with my hands over my ears!! i'm really excited for my next lesson. i'm going to have to figure out something to do about my ears, and think about a way to talk chad into my very own skates. i mean...we need to think about this logically. you don't see people making it to the olympics with rental skates!!

wait...

our conversation at dinner tonight revolved around blood. probably not the most appetizing of all conversations...but none the less...

it was really about giving blood. i have given blood numerous times. the first time i did it, i didn't eat soon enough after and passed out. that was fun. but that has been the only time that happened. anyhow, at dinner i asked the kids a question. here is how that went:

ME: "would you guys give your blood to me if i needed it?"

AIDEN & COLTON: "YES!!!"

COLTON: "i would totally give blood for you if you needed it. how do i do it?"

ME: "they stick a big needle in your arm and take some of your blood out."

AIDEN (wide eyed): "wait. no. i wouldn't. i wouldn't give blood. no."

COLTON (very thinkingly): "how big is the needle?"

ME: "it's actually pretty big."

COLTON: "i would mom."

AIDEN (yelling): "NO COLTON!!!! DON'T DO IT!!!! THEY WOULD STICK A NOODLE IN YOU!!!"

CHASE (i'm thinking he will be strong and tell me he would give me blood if i needed it): "can i have dessert?"