WONDERFUL MORNING

It was like there was some nice air that blew through my house and then surrounded us for the rest of the morning.  I can't remember a specific example, but my boys were so good.  Benjamin was especially nice and was just such a treat.  Benjamin and I have been struggling long and hard on sleep issues so it was so nice to enjoy him and smile with him.  My favorite thing about Benjamin is his smile.  My favorite thing about Judah is his passion.  

We went after a lovely breakfast to get paper plates for Thanksgiving.  I don't have enough real plates for everyone, and really I don't want to do that many dishes.  The boys were perfect while I picked out cute plates and then everything else to match.  The owner blew them up balloons which are always a treat.  We then got to get two free cars due to Fred Meyer's reward coupon for $2 off any toy purchase.  Thank you Fred Meyer.

We then ventured out on a walk to the library.  We took our time and enjoyed the sights.  Then the boys played with their train set, while I searched for books.  They also went in and enjoyed story time.  We walked to yellow basket and got to have a special lunch and Daddy even came!  

We enjoyed our walk home discussing all the happenings of the day.  Judah did fall like 100 feet before we got to the house.  Luckily all he got was a fat lip.  That was probably the only negative thing that happened all day!  Then we enjoyed three books we got from the library.  I put the boys down for their nap and something amazing happened:  they went to sleep!!!!!!!!!

The sleep battle has been a very heated and strong one.  Judah started joining Benjamin's side protesting.  I have been praying and racking my brain for answers.  Then after a miraculous morning of no whining, thank yous, pleases and just nice little boys it came to me.  First of all for active kids, possibly more so for boys, you have to do something physical.  I don't always like this requirement, but I see that a lot of the days it is needed.  Second, for me I struggle with a somewhat long bedtime routine.  I mean three books is the most I ever read before sleep.  I always want to get them down and finally relax.  What I have learned from this is those extra couple books really make it so you don't have to battle it out.  I am not saying this will work every time.  But, I think it will make it less likely for a struggle.  I also realized how important bath is.  My boys really understand after bath means sleep.  And I also am finding help in kind of a warning system...like after such and such it will be time to sleep.  That seems to prepare them mentally so there isn't so much trouble.  I will mention even though they did go to sleep, Ben did say no to going upstairs.  So the problem isn't gone, but I think I have a better plan of how to deal with it.  

SUCKO

Sucko is a word David, Christina and I invented during attack uno.  You typically said it when the machine spit a ton of cards at you or when someone else won.  It helped Christina be OK with loosing because you got to throw your cards in frustration.  It has now become the word we say when bad things happen.

It feels like a lot of little bad things have been happening and this week are all culminating together.  Last night Judah burned his fingers.  Little blisters formed on his little fingers and he was hurting.  Throughout the night Ben woke up so many times the last time my body was like "it must be time to wake up because I have been woken up so much" -- it was 3 a.m.  David has been having bad luck I guess you could call it and has had one sickness or hurt something for a month now.  Today he woke up with a bad cough and a headache.  I have been in pain and it keeps ratcheting up.  So it is just a SUCKO time right now.  I haven't figured out who to throw my cards and yell that at yet.

I am trying to focus on the good.  I think we are making progress on life without the binki for Ben.  I just had to go in tell him it was OK and he would go back to sleep.  After I bandaged Judah's fingers he was ecstatic that he got what he calls a "special napkin."  David being sick or hurting has reminded me how I need to pray for him more.  And my pain I always remember that it definitely could be worse.  Lord help me find joy even in the difficulties.

SO FAR SO GOOD

Yesterday both nap and night time went well.  They fell asleep and slept well.  They both woke up last night, but very briefly and then they went back to sleep.  So we will see.

LONGING FOR FULL NIGHTS' SLEEP

It has been a week and two days since the historic binki removal.  There have been numerous problems, but I thought we were getting through.  Benjamin has had the hardest time, while Judah had one bad day and that was pretty much it.  That all changed last night when Judah woke up.  He said he had an ouch and a couple hours later I still couldn't get him down.  I caved thinking he was uncomfortable and let him have a binki for probably 30 minutes.  He didn't ask for it, but I knew it probably would help.  Benjamin woke up last night before Judah.  I am starting to wonder if they are ready for all this, but is there really a better time?  They don't complain about losing their binki because they haven't really figured that is the problem.  

The main issues are calming them down to fall asleep and then when they wake up teaching them how to calm down and be comfortable.  We have a nighttime routine with book reading and bath and such and we have kept that.  They have tigers and blankets for a comfort object.  It seems I need something new.  For the first few times I gave Benjamin something different to play with when he woke up in the night.  This distracted him and it wasn't really a toy so it helped him settle down.  I am still trying things to get them to sleep they are just so crazy and so I tell them the rules and it has been getting better but still more work.  Ultimately the objective is to get them to sleep without binkis, but also to establish good sleeping skills.  Like falling asleep and being able to fall back asleep after waking up.  

Anyway if anyone has advice I would love to hear it.

ARE WE THERE YET?

I think I wrote the same headline back when I was potty training.  The boys are fine with their binkis gone, but sometimes I consider giving them back.  The boys are having a hard time falling asleep.  So nap and bedtime are a battle for them to settle down.  This has happened before with their binkis where they were just having a hard time obeying sleep time, but it is more difficult.  They are so cranky.  Thankfully they sleep through the night, but I am tired.  Today it took only an hour to get them down for nap, down from two hours the last couple of days.  Trust me they still need a nap they just want to be crazy and won't settle in.  But, for tonight it only took a short while and they went right to sleep.  I hope that we are coming to the end.

I CAN'T DO IT

So yesterday we gave all the binkis to the babies.  Judah didn't sleep for his nap, but stayed in bed so it wasn't a success in transitioning him, but not that big of a deal.  Benjamin slept for his nap, but had a difficult time falling asleep for the night.  I heard him call "I don't want to go to sleep anymore."  I went in and he was crying and starting to melt down.  I tried a variety of things to calm him and help him fall asleep.  At one point he lost it and said "I can't do it" over and over again.  My mama heart was breaking, but at the same time I knew he could do it.  I know exactly how he was feeling.  I mean to never have lived without a binki and now to face life without it is a big deal when you are three.  It reminded me of myself and God.  Sometimes I have never faced something before and think I can't do it.  But God looks at it, just as I did with Ben, and sees that it is more than possible.  For Benjamin it just means a bad night or maybe two, but next week he might not even remember this happening.  For me it may mean a difficult season, but God will be there to help and comfort me through it.

I am very impressed with how well the boys have done.  After Benjamin fell asleep last night that was it.  They both were out for the night, which since I have been doing a number of binki finding missions each night, it was my first full night of sleep for a while.  Although it is going well, we will see how nap and tonight go.  I will hope for the best but prepare for another tough time.  By the way I calmed Benjamin down by giving him two of my bracelets.  He just needed something to play with to calm down and help him get his mind off of things.  Don't tell anyone though that our boy likes bracelets. 

BINKIS FOR BABIES

I have finally done it.  I told the boys binkis are for babies and that we needed to give theirs away for the babies to take.  They went down for nap and the babies took the binkis and now they are gone.  I have to say I am terrified for what the night will hold without binkis.  I was very unsure about using binkis in the first place and tried to eliminate them early on.  Then I decided that I have twins and I need binkis.  I knew the day would come to take them away and to move on.  After three nights in a row of getting up several times to locate missing binkis I decided it was time.  I hope I am right.  We will all know tomorrow.  So far the boys understand it perfectly and are totally on board, which was surprising in itself as they love their binkis.  So we are off to a good start.  If they will still be on board in the middle of the night is still unseen.  I remember Christina, who we used the same tactic on, asked for them to bring her binkis back.  Wish me luck and more importantly PRAY!!!

TWO GREAT PLACES

So I have very difficult hair.  It used to be curly but has gotten straighter as I get older.  It however has the famous frizz issues still and I also have tons of hair.  My sister and I affectionately call our problem becoming Froena.  So I went to get my hair cut as it helps to keep Froena away and I tried out Precision Hair Design on McAndrews.  It is part of that new strip mall that has McAndrews Grill and such.  Anyway was I so shocked and surprised by the service and more importantly the genius of the owner who cut my hair.  It was like she understood my plight and then she helped me.  I absolutely love my hair and have deemed this the best hair cut ever.  Also, the owner is a woman at Table Rock Fellowship and such a lovely believer.  I enjoyed talking to her as well. 

The second of my two great places is a restaurant.  David and I are always looking for new places to have fun and enjoy food.  So we tried something different and went to 4 daughters irish pub.  What an interesting place.  Such a nice atmosphere and such.  I was worried because I don't like different food, but they have a large selection besides only irish food.  We tried this raspberry beer that the bartender suggested and it was so good.  If you don't like beer you will like this.  We also played darts and David won, but I think we will be back for a rematch.

TOO CONVICTING!

Our sermon was on the tongue.   I recently had done a study on this and thought I would be prepared for the things I usually get convicted about.  Boy was I wrong!  He said things that have challenged more than anything else on this topic.  I know that this is an issue for me, that isn't a secret, but Pastor Tom put it into a whole new view.  

He started by saying if it won't contribute by speaking life and encouragement then say nothing.  After that comment I turned to my husband and said I think that is impossible.  I am not saying he is wrong I am saying I doubt I can do that at all.  I mean I have been helped greatly by God to hold my tongue and more importantly still to think positively and not critical about everything and everyone, but only life and encouragement.  That seems very difficult.  I guess that is why the Bible says no one can tame the tongue (except Christ).

Then he discussed verbosity which he defined as talking too much and saying little.  Oh man that made me think of all the empty words I speak.  I may not say anything hurtful, but am I really saying anything?  Wow another gut shot.

Then he talked about cultivating the art of listening and said we never learn anything when we are talking.  I mean I was just getting punched over and over.  I mean if I want to learn, which I do I need to shut my mouth.  It makes so much sense because whatever I speak I already know so I might as well listen and actually gain something!

He did talk about gossip, which I don't struggle with as much but still need reminding.  He said gossip is talking about a situation with someone who is not a part of the problem or the solution.  Wow that is very clear and makes you realize who you really should be talking to about problems as well.

Finally, he mentioned again that no one can tame the tongue and to pray that God would give you control over my tongue.  I am purposing to be praying about that very thing and I am going to try to be mindful and more importantly just try to not say it.  If I really must say it I will have time, but I want to wait before I speak.

FIRST HALLOWEEN

This year we decided to celebrate halloween with the boys.  It was such a blast and they were so cute.  We went to downtown Medford and trick or treated at all the various stores.  It was a great way to do it and we all had such a great time.

If you want to see a video of them after trick or treating here is the link http://www.youtube.com/user/choatecrew