The Best of Rooms (and other little things)
(Thank you to my friend Sarah for inspiring me to write about the little things that have made my week special and wonderful!)
My friends... I think I have figured out "the best of rooms" for my kiddos. And I'm listening to Randall Thompson's beautiful music in celebration:
I'll back up to the beginning of the story.
When we first moved into our house six weeks ago, we didn't spare ourselves much time or energy to plan who would be sleeping where. N and C ended up sharing a room, and it was the room that was furthest from the master bedroom where I was sleeping. Silly, you say? Well, yes, it was. I was getting up multiple times every night, walking the entire length of the house, and nursing C back to sleep to keep her from disturbing N.
About two weeks ago, I reached my point of desperation. In a teary, sleep-deprived rage, I demanded to M that we figure out a better solution. (I think that must have been the same day that L, playing with her magic wand toy, waved it at me and said, "The spell is broken. Now you're not a grumpy Mama. I turned you into a new Mama.")
So we moved the beds around. N and L got the big master bedroom on one end of the house. Mommy and Daddy moved into the medium-sized bedroom that was right next to C's smallest bedroom.
(... and the darling hubby agreed to take over night-time duties, since we both knew that at 9 months of age baby no longer physically needs to be eating during the night. For C, Mommy = Milk, so sending the non-lactating parent in seems to be working pretty well to break her of the midnight snacking habit.)
This is really the best arrangement. The BEST. Sleep is SOOOO wonderful. It may seem like a little thing... weeelll... okay, so sleep is actually a really big, really important thing. I'm seeing the world through rose colored glasses once again, thanks to my wonderful husband-- and my kids are benefiting from a more patient, more coherent, less grumpy Mama. Thank you thank you honey!!!
Since L did pretty well in a "big girl bed" in our vacation cottage at Storyland, we decided to try it out again at home. (We had had a couple of failed attempts in the past.)
What better way to get her excited about sleeping (and staying) in her big girl bed than to get her a new bedspread?
(And since N's was looking stained and ratty, we decided to get her one as well.)
The girls chose from a variety of economical options offered by Ikea. N chose the owls and L chose the numbers spread.
Yes, their area rug doesn't match the decor now, but this is a post about the little things. Rug replacement is another little thing for another day.
Amidst many busy and overwhelming things, I'm glad I can feel happy about some "little things" this week.
Thing #1: SLEEP (and how I'm getting it)
My friends... I think I have figured out "the best of rooms" for my kiddos. And I'm listening to Randall Thompson's beautiful music in celebration:
I'll back up to the beginning of the story.
When we first moved into our house six weeks ago, we didn't spare ourselves much time or energy to plan who would be sleeping where. N and C ended up sharing a room, and it was the room that was furthest from the master bedroom where I was sleeping. Silly, you say? Well, yes, it was. I was getting up multiple times every night, walking the entire length of the house, and nursing C back to sleep to keep her from disturbing N.
About two weeks ago, I reached my point of desperation. In a teary, sleep-deprived rage, I demanded to M that we figure out a better solution. (I think that must have been the same day that L, playing with her magic wand toy, waved it at me and said, "The spell is broken. Now you're not a grumpy Mama. I turned you into a new Mama.")
So we moved the beds around. N and L got the big master bedroom on one end of the house. Mommy and Daddy moved into the medium-sized bedroom that was right next to C's smallest bedroom.
(... and the darling hubby agreed to take over night-time duties, since we both knew that at 9 months of age baby no longer physically needs to be eating during the night. For C, Mommy = Milk, so sending the non-lactating parent in seems to be working pretty well to break her of the midnight snacking habit.)
This is really the best arrangement. The BEST. Sleep is SOOOO wonderful. It may seem like a little thing... weeelll... okay, so sleep is actually a really big, really important thing. I'm seeing the world through rose colored glasses once again, thanks to my wonderful husband-- and my kids are benefiting from a more patient, more coherent, less grumpy Mama. Thank you thank you honey!!!
Thing #2: New Bedspreads
Since L did pretty well in a "big girl bed" in our vacation cottage at Storyland, we decided to try it out again at home. (We had had a couple of failed attempts in the past.)
What better way to get her excited about sleeping (and staying) in her big girl bed than to get her a new bedspread?
(And since N's was looking stained and ratty, we decided to get her one as well.)
The girls chose from a variety of economical options offered by Ikea. N chose the owls and L chose the numbers spread.
 |
Our first two days of big girl bed for L have gone remarkably well. It's amazing how a little thing like a cozy duvet and cover (and a few more months of being grown-up) have helped L turn the corner from toddler "my room is a playground" mindset to the more big girl: "staying in bed is fun"!
Thing #3: The Arts and Crafts Desk!
On our trip to Ikea to get the bedspreads, we also picked up a stool to go with my re-purposed kitchen cart that is now the girls' desk/arts-and-crafts station.
I had originally intended the desk for N, since she's been the one in our family who spends hours at artwork. With most of the toys downstairs in the playroom, I needed a space for N to "work" upstairs while the younger girls were napping and Mommy needed to complete other tasks such as dishes, cooking, or cleaning. We also just needed a single location to store the myriad of crafting supplies that we've accumulated. So we put the desk in the kitchen... now it just needed a stool high enough for her to reach the work surface. This one really did the trick.
The funny thing... this desk was intended for N, but the day after we got the stool for it, L spent most of her day sitting at the desk, crafting away. I think it will be a fun little place for both of them.
And all it took was a stool. Such a little thing.
I ventured a teensy bit into extreme coupon-ing and got N a brand new pair of snow pants at Target for $9.
The satisfaction of a good bargain is hard to beat.
Thing #4: Snow Pants
I ventured a teensy bit into extreme coupon-ing and got N a brand new pair of snow pants at Target for $9.
The satisfaction of a good bargain is hard to beat.
Amidst many busy and overwhelming things, I'm glad I can feel happy about some "little things" this week.
we have a similar kitchen cart... I love how you repurposed that as an arts and crafts desk! What a great idea.
ReplyDelete