Few and Far Between

It has been a very long time since I last wrote something. Heck, it’s been a long time since I’ve even climbed the stairs to my mancave to sit down at the computer. I get home from work and just want to be with my ladies and then I’m too tired in the morning to catch up on reading all my blog-friends.

I am settling in to my new digs. I have been assigned to a new hotel and have been promoted. Now, I’m just adjusting to the new surroundings, getting to know the hotel sales staff, cleaning this extremely messy office and evaluating the old gear and hopefully getting new gear. I cleaned out a desk file drawer the other day that had paperwork that went back TEN years! As I went through it all I got a little history lesson of the company I work for which was pretty cool. But one of the early directors of audio visual here kept everything.

Life with the new one (who shall be named ‘the Bobblehead’ until she gains some neck control) is going well. I have moved to the Young Extroverted One’s room and the Elder Extroverted Holy One and my room/bed has turned into the Girl’s Room. Whenever a diaper change needs to occur the EEHO to calls my cell phone from her cell phone and I go get the Bobblehead to change her diaper. It seems to work out well for we all (except for the YEO) get to share in the interrupted sleep patterns and the EEHO doesn’t have to wake up to feed the Bobblehead and change her diaper.

So much for co-sleeping. The only thing we’ve succeeded in was getting me my own bed.

Obligatory New Year’s Day Post

Not much going on here.  Just thought that I would drop a post to kick off 2008.

I don’t have much in the way of resolutions (other than to lose the gut that I’ve acquired) just a general sense of gratefulness. Grateful for surviving another year, grateful for the love of a wonderful woman, grateful for two beautiful daughters . . . basically, insert my Christmas post here. Or, just go back and read it.

Talking with the Elder Extroverted Holy One last night after the ball drop I was thinking out loud.  I figure Thanksgiving day would be more appropriate at the end of the year, during which a person looks back at the prior year (for better or worse) and looks ahead to the year to come.  I think that’s when one would be thankful and should celebrate with a big, fat meal to ring in the new year. At least, that’s the feeling I had last night as I looked over at my beautiful bride holding our second child as the Young Extroverted One slept in her bed (for the moment) . . . thankfulness.

Parental Angst

The Elder Extroverted Holy One and I are having our second child in a MONTH! Um, wow. Numero two-Oh. The parasite’s room isn’t even ready yet. Who are we kidding? That thing is probably going to sleep with us. I suppose it’s time to turn our room into one big mattress. Ooo, a padded room sounds even better! Geez, the EEHO doesn’t even have a real job. I sure don’t get paid like I have a real job. Where did I leave my Xanax? Maybe I’ll have to start making plasma donations on my way to work. There always seems to be a line there it must be somewhat profitable. That might have to be my second job, trading my precious bodily fluids for money. I don’t know how multiple child families do it when we can barely handle one very precocious, extroverted child. I think my head’s going to explode.  Where did I leave my beer?


Sleepin’ Triple in a Double Bed

Hi, we’re the Extrovert/Introvert family. We’re co-sleepers.

I was going to post earlier when the Young Extroverted One slept through the night in her own bed. But I’m glad I didn’t because it has been hit and miss the last couple of days.

We started co-sleeping with YEO when she was a newborn. Apparently, we were lazy parents and didn’t want to play the ‘it’s-your-turn-to-get-the-baby game.’ Hey, it was great. YEO cries for food the Elder Extroverted Holy One rolls over and pops it in and everyone goes back to sleep. It was system.

However, the transition to crib after the weening process did not go too well. For starters, I’m not a big fan of letting the kid cry and get over it. It kind of makes me sad. So, the YEO has been with us for 4 years.

When she got older we tried everything to make sleeping on her own appealing. My folks got her a Thomas the Tank Engine tent when she was into the Thomas schtick. No dice.

When my lovely ladies were working in Montreat for the summer I painted the extra room a cool green color (her favorite color at the time), put glow-in-the-dark stars (even made the constellations that are in the night sky on her birthday. Yup, I’m a geek) and got her her own ‘big girl bed.’ She no likey.

As we all grew, either in heighth or width, we stepped up to a queen sized bed. Finally! Then we figured that maybe she didn’t like the small bed and that she would prefer a full sized bed. So, we move the full sized bed into her room. Uh . . . as if .

Well, since the summer and the increased renovations on the house next door to us we’ve had increased incidents of brown recluse spiders . So, the whole big girl room/bed thing was way out of the question. So, one day while the YEO was at her grandma’s house EEHO and I carefully picked everything up out of her room and literally threw it out in the backyard. We killed several of the buggers in the process and I still feel creepy-crawly all over my skin. Ugh.  Our neighbor was wondering if threw the YEO out of the house. If I was going to do that her stuff would be in the front yard!

So, with her room cleaned out and her original big girl bed replaced and some different arrangements of the rest of the furniture she seems very excited about her new, exorcised room. Her first night in there she slept there all night! It took her awhile to get to sleep but when she did she passed out. It was great! And continues to be great. The other night she came back into bed with us and last night she did as well but said she was crowded and moved back into her room. I think we’ve turned a corner. Just in time to do it all over again with the new parasite. What is it the kids are saying/typing/texting these days? W00T? I have no idea what that means.

All I know is that I am very proud of my big girl for making transitions when she felt it was the right time. The EEHO and I have always been the organic-like parents. We never really stuck to a rigid bedtime. We don’t do the vocabulary/science/math flash cards . . . anymore. When she ate the second pack of cards and didn’t get any smarter we gave up on the osmosis theory and the cards. Just Kidding (or is it, JK?). I kid because I love. We never forced giving up the pacifier. When she sucked her favorite one so hard it tore she looked at it and then us and said, “Paci broken.” And then threw it away herself. Very nice.

Every once in awhile we get impatient and try to force something. Like the sleep-in-her-own-bed thing. But we are the ones who get frustrated. And then the YEO will just do whatever it is whenever she is ready. ‘Nuff said. If she is going to grow up into a fine young woman or gamma girl it will be when she’s darn ready to.