And the Award Goes to....

....Evan.

What award is that, you ask?

Why it's the "Crappiest Sleeper in America" award.

I know I whined about it before, but it has gotten so much worse the last couple of nights. We have no idea what is going on with him, but he just will not go to sleep. Or stay asleep.

There's the screaming. Nothing calms him down and he screams. And screams. And then screams some more. Saturday night/Sunday morning, he screamed for an entire hour. It didn't just seem like an hour, it was an hour - I watched the clock. He didn't have a fever, he wasn't gassy and I can't feel any little teeth buds along his little gums so we have no idea what was going on.

And he insists on touching either our faces or hands while he's sleeping; as long as there is skin to skin contact then he'll snooze until he's hungry (which is still every 3-4 hours at night). Ryan wound up sleeping on the couch last night so that Evan could sleep with me. I pretty much had a baby's hand on my face all night long. It sounds cute, but it's a little hard to sleep that way. That just may be me, though. You might be able to sleep with someone's hand on your face and if you can, please share with me how that doesn't make you feel a bit claustrophobic.

We're pretty much at our wits' end with the kid. He was baptized yesterday (pictures coming soon once my camera cooperates) and I briefly thought last night, "It would not look good for me to smother my baby after I just promised in front of God and the entire church to protect him his entire life." (And before you call Child Protective Service, I would never, ever, ever do this.) So, he's still alive, but I'm about to drop over dead from the sleep deprivation.

Anyway, I just needed to whine some more. I keep telling myself that I just have to get through this and reminding myself that he will eventually sleep through the night. Until then, I'll just have to find happiness in something other than sleeping. In fact, I think I'll do that right now by eating one of the cupcakes left over from Liam's birthday party. I might even eat two of them. I think I deserve it at this point.

The Big Two

Today my sweet baby boy turns two years old. At exactly 1 pm on November 9, 2006, he entered this world screaming his head off, all 5 pounds and 11 ounces of him.

Today he's a rough and tumble toddler of a boy who doesn't hesitate to let you know when he's not happy. But he loves to give out kisses and hugs and flirts shamelessly with every little old lady we meet. His smile makes my day and when he says "mama" my heart just melts. He has brought an endless joy to our lives and I cannot imagine life without him.

So, Happy Birthday, Bud. We love you.


*Pictures of the big Blue's Clues day will be posted once our camera decides to let go of the pictures that are on it.

Don't Bother

I'm sure that Ryan and I were two of the last people on the planet to see the latest Indiana Jones movie, but if you haven't seen it, can I just say....do not waste your time. It was terrible. Thank goodness we didn't spend money to see it.

When we moved to The Land of Fruit, the welcome wagon people (also known as the local chamber of commerce), sent us some coupons for local businesses. One of them was for three free movie/game rentals at a local store and so I took advantage of the coupon last week by renting Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, Sex and the City and the the Wii Music game. Luckily, the other two choices were great, because the Indiana Jones movie stunk.

***Spoilers below***

It should have been titled " 'Stargate' + "The Mummy' + 'National Treasure' + the Other Three 'Indiana Jones' Movies" because it was very unoriginal and contained almost every adventure movie cliche:

* Long, silly title? Check!
* Angry, half naked native people? Check!
* Female foe with a strong accent? Check!
* Drawn out chase/fist fight scene? Check!
* Friend that turns out to be a traitor? Check!
* Character that dies due to greed? Check!
* Foe that gets what he/she wants and then dies? Check!
* Large temple full of treasure? Check!
* Temple that is actually a space ship? Check!

I had such high hopes for this movie. I adore the first and third ones of the series (sorry, Kate Capshaw, not a big fan of all the screaming in #2). And I thought that since the third one was so good (my favorite, actually), the fourth one was bound to be at least amusing. Wrong.

It took us two nights to finish it because I kept falling asleep and that right there should have been a sign that it was not worth it (that and the fact that they kept mentioning the Mayans in South America - gah!). But we finished it anyway and then looked at each other and immediately agreed that it was a big old stinker.

The one thing I did like about the movie was the fact that there was no helpless, screaming love interest. Karen Allen (Marion) revised her role and I loved her character. But other than that, total waste of time.

However, I do give two big thumbs up to "Sex and the City" and Wii Music game. Those two are definitely worth the money if you loved the HBO series or have a Wii console. I would pay to rent those again, and that means a lot from someone as cheap frugal as me.

Postcrossing

Let me first say thank you to everyone for your tips and sympathy regarding our little non-sleeper. Sometimes I forget that we're not the only ones who are going/have gone through sleep deprivation. We will be trying some of your tips and with any luck, I'll have some good news to report back to you in a week or two.

**************

A few months ago, I read about Postcrossing in this post by Swistle. I was immediately intrigued by the concept.

Here's a quick rundown: register with the site, request addresses, send postcards to random people around the world, they update the site saying they got your postcard, wait, you get postcards from around the world (or the US if that's an option you chose on the site).

As a former geography teacher, I am loving it. I've sent postcards to Finland, Italy, Spain, Taiwan, Japan, New Zealand and Germany.

I've received postcards from Australia, Germany, Italy, Finland, Estonia, Lithuania and Spain. I'd show you pictures of them but my camera is acting up. But trust me, they're beautiful and I love the little messages that the senders have written on them.

I love opening up the mailbox and seeing a postcard from a surprise location. And since the economy is tanking and traveling is pretty much not an option for us, I feel like I'm still getting to see other parts of the world.

And the best part is that it's cheap, albeit nerdy, entertainment. I found Texas-y postcards for a quarter apiece and the international stamps cost 90 cents each.

Of course, it's also educational, which I LOVE. I show Sydney each card that I get and we've even pulled out her globe to locate the countries on them.

So, two huge thumbs up. Happy postcrossing!

Running on Empty

I am tired. Not just "Hey, I could use a nap" tired, but "If I don't get some real sleep soon, I'm not going to make it" tired. I don't think I've ever been this tired in my entire 30 something years of life.

At nearly six months old, Evan is still not sleeping through the night. We've tried reinserting the pacifier when he wakes up in the middle of the night and that works for say 20 minutes and then he's awake again. And he doesn't just whimper; he wails. Loudly. The boy has a great pair of lungs.

We've tried the cry it out method and he just won't stop wailing. After several nights of what seemed like hours of angry screaming on his part (although I was pretty close to screaming, too), we gave up and I just went back to feeding him when he woke up. We can't just put him in his room and let him go until he wears himself out because he'll wake up the other two. And heaven knows we don't need all three of them awake in the middle of the night.

I've tried focusing on his naps because according to the experts, "good sleep begets more good sleep" in the infant population. But, thanks to the schedules of the other two kids, the poor kid just can't get regular naps. He naps for twenty minutes and then I have to get him up to take Liam to Mother's Day Out or to go meet Sydney at the bus stop. I've tried keeping him awake until after we've done drop-off/pick-up, but he either falls asleep in the car or gets overtired and then can't go to sleep at all. I'm at a loss for what to do and we're all suffering the consequences.

Ryan is so tired that he dozed off at a stop sign the other morning. Thank heavens he was stopped and not on the freeway.

The circles under my eyes are becoming permanent. Makeup doesn't even cover them anymore.

Use any cliche you want and I probably fit it: I look like death warmed over, like the walking dead, like something the cat dragged in, like something the cat threw up and then dragged in.

And even worse, I am grumpy. Actually, grumpy is an understatement. I am one of those people who has to have sleep. I function best when I get nine hours of good sleep (Ryan thinks this is ridiculous, but I know myself and I'm sticking to it). The last time I saw nine hours of uninterrupted sleep was March of 2006. Two and half years of sleep deprivation is enough to make anyone crazy. Come to think of it, isn't sleep deprivation a form of torture in some countries?

If ever there was a reason to not have any more kids, lack of sleep is it (at least for me). Yes, kids are expensive and yes, we're out of rooms for them to occupy, but those are things that we could deal with. But I absolutely cannot deal with the sleep deprivation that comes along with babies anymore. I don't know how the Duggars do it. Maybe they're those lucky people I hate envy whose kids sleep through the night at six weeks. Or maybe they just function better than I do on no sleep. Who knows.

So, any tips on how to get the little man to sleep better? I "top him off" at 10 pm or so and he has started eating solids (although I pretty much have to force it down him) so those two things should help, but I'm not noticing much of a difference. Any other ideas?

Well, Duh....

You Are a Moderate Mama

You're not overly political, and your views fall more with the American mainstream. In fact, it may be difficult for you to decide who to vote for at times! Your approach to politics is reasoned and well though out.

Are You a Liberal Lady or a Conservative Chick?

I Voted, Did You?

Have you voted? If not, put down the computer and go right now. Seriously...go right now. All of your e-mail and blogs will still be there when you get back.

OK, now that you're back.....

My all important "I Voted" sticker has a skull next to it because I voted early last Friday. And because I voted on Halloween, I got to vote next to an Indiana Jones look alike. I bet no one else can say that!

I took all three kids with me because what else am I going to do with them I want them to learn how important voting is. And true to form, we had some Sydney-isms.

As we were walking in, she asked if I had to raise my hand to vote. The man passing us on the sidewalk chuckled. I explained that too many people were voting to do that so I was going to use a machine and punch some buttons instead.

As we were leaving, she declared in a very loud voice, "I hope Barack Obama wins!" (She's seen him on TV - Ryan and I don't discuss politics in front of her). The man walking in to the polling location thought that was rather funny.

And she told me yesterday that her school has a mock election and that she voted for John McCain and Sarah Palin. She didn't really tell me why, but I think it's because she liked the SNL Sarah Palin skit that she caught a glimpse of on the news. The little boy that gets off at the same bus stop as Sydney told me he used the "Eeny Meeny Miney Moe" method to decide. I have a feeling he's not the only one who uses that approach.

Anyway, I hope you vote/voted. And I hope your "I Voted" sticker is just as cute as mine.