Forgive the mess!

Just picked up Blogging for Bliss! Trying to make some sense out of the mess that's become a hodge podge of years and years! Hopefully we'll be back soon with something interesting looking! In the meantime, why not check out a blog on my sidebar!

Is there anyone other than Dawn actually reading anyway? Let's see you!

Weekending



As I meander through our newly rearranged house, I find myself enjoying my house a lot more. I see little things like this that make me smile and feel warm inside. Isn't this just sweet?

The Only Bad Decision was not Doing This Sooner!



When we moved into this little house we call home 7 years ago, we set everything up pretty much the way the previous owners had theirs set up. Bedrooms the same...office the same...TV room the same..."sitting room" the same...and recently, I started questioning why. I'm not sure why we did it. It just seemed to work. With Patrick and all the things that come with him, we've found recently that it wasn't working so well for us anymore. I'd been running the idea through my head, how to set things up in the front room, where to put things in our old living room, what would it look like, how would it work, all those questions that go along with such a big move.



When I was a kid, we never moved rooms...save for when my grandfather passed away and my brother got the great room, and I got his room as the other half of mine...but still, I never actually moved rooms, my room just grew in size. The very idea of switching up rooms bewilders me, even though so many people do it all the time.



Tonight, we took it upon ourselves to manifest this big old move. I borrowed the good drill from Neighbor Carl, along with a big old drill bit, and did the deed: A new hole for the cable - right through our floor! There was no turning back. Joe helped me move everything, cleaning in between all those crevices that never get cleaned. Two and a half hours later, we've swapped up our rooms!

It feels weird..but interesting! I think tomorrow morning, when Patrick gets up, this whole set up is just about going to blow his little mind! In the meantime, my tired bones are headed to bed!

I thought I was winning!

Three nights ago, Patrick slept through the night. He did the same the following night. Of course, I didn't get excited after the first, but after the second, I thought, perhaps, it was a ray of hope. Could it be? Could he possibly be sleeping through the night again? Any mama will tell you, after 17 months of not sleeping through the night (with a brief hiatus in July/August/September, for two whole months), it really is high time he starts. Unfortunately, I wasn't as lucky last night. 1:30 came with wreckless abandon. That familiar cry over the baby monitor filled my room and I found myself right back where I've been spending half my nights for the last two months - on the futon snuggled up next to a fuzzy blonde head and a warm squiggly body. Perhaps tonight will be better.

Why the hell do we even own this?

Have you ever wondered where something even CAME from in your home? As teachers, Joe and I acquire many odd belongings. Christmas and the end of the year leave us very lucky people. Unfortunately, it also brings us many unnecessary things as well. I mean, who really needs 50 cheap Christmas mugs? or random weird statue-like figures that have no purpose? We've kept many of these odd things over the years, allowing them to clutter our lives.

"How thoughtfelt!" we'd comment..and we'd find a place for it.

But this year, as I found myself putting away the holiday decorations, I was reminded of the constant January thinning of things, organizing, etc that all the magazines seem to highlight every year. I started a bag. It became the "Why the hell do we even OWN this?" bag. As I mindlessly began to let go of some of those things that have been hanging around, my shelves began to take on a new flavor. Things were looking crisp! New favorite views were formed.

The bag eventually filled up. I added another..and now we've got a box. I feel good that I've weeded these useless things out of my life. It feels good to begin the year with a clean slate. The palette (sans the toys) feels really good!

Anyone got any creative solutions for toy storage now? No..colorful bins that you might find in daycare just don't cut it. I'm looking more for the boxes and basket kind of thing!

Sleep



We've been battling sleep here in the Conroy household for quite some time. Patrick might very well be the most mild mannered child ever, but he's only briefly ever slept through the night from July through September. Then, it stopped. If I recall, it stopped right around Back to School Night. You'd think the kid had some kind of intuition! I'm absolutely convinced he's got intuition after last night. We'd said we were going to battle the sleep problems over break. But then break came, and it wasn't that bad. The doctor told us on the 28th that he might very well need those extra calories in the middle of the night, especially since we weren't seeing a time pattern. So we succumbed to the night waking..and over break, it really wasn't bad! It was once a night, and late, around 4-5:30ish. Then, last night, right before our return to work today, it was a disaster. It began at 12. I couldn't even put him back down in his crib. I brought him to the futon. I figured it wouldn't be so bad. After all, at least he was up and that would be it! Boy was I wrong! Several times later, I find myself exhausted by his night waking last night. I'm not sure what tipped him off, but it was like he really does know! Here's hoping tonight will be better!