Grateful

I don't think I tell Scott enough how grateful I am for him. Since I started nannying this past week Scott has really helped me with all the things I haven't been able to do. Every night this last week he has done the dishes after dinner and made sure the kitchen was clean. I love waking up to a clean kitchen. I feel like that makes my day go so much smoother. He has changed almost all of Lacey's diapers when he is home. It is so nice to say, "Ewww, Lacey you stink" and then have him jump up and take care of it. He has helped me give Lacey baths. He has played with Lacey while I have done other things on my to-do list. He even helped me come up with our weekly meal plan so I wouldn't have to do it by myself. Tonight he cooked me dinner. I don't know what has gotten into him, maybe he made some new year resolutions. Whatever it is, I love it! I am so grateful for all of his extra help on top of all the things he always has done for me.

Resolutions

Before I left for Utah I had all these big plans about setting new goals for this year and getting organized. Do you want to know how many goals I have actually written down? None, haha. I had it planned out how I would organize my goals, I had written down the different categories that my goals would fall into, too bad all of that thought has gone to waste so far. 

I think I am still recovering from being on vacation, at least I hope that I am still just recovering. Then again, I might just be being lazy. That's much more likely, I'm sure that I'm just being lazy. Over the last year I have used my lack of sleep as an excuse not to be productive. In all honesty though, I am just as unproductive on days that I get an adequate amount of sleep. 

Maybe on Monday I will turn over a new leaf, write down some of my goals and make a game plan. Maybe on Monday I will have a productive day. Maybe on Monday I will get all of the laundry done that I have procrastinated doing since Utah. Maybe on Monday I will eat start eating healthier... it's a lot of maybes but for right now maybe is good enough for me. 

SLEEP

We have had a couple of really rough nights with Lacey. She has been waking up 3-4 times a night and it has been really difficult to get her back down.  She hasn't been a perfect sleeper, but ever since we stopped giving her cows milk throughout the day and before bed she has been a much better sleeper. I realized that the last few days we have been eating a lot of dairy during dinner. 

Last night we were super careful not to give Lacey anything with milk in it before bed. She slept ALL night. I was pretty tired so I went to bed at a reasonable hour and I got 9.5 hours of sleep. I was awesome! I'm too afraid to get my hopes up, but wouldn't it just be lovely if she made sleeping a habit?

It really isn't that hard

Right before we left to come to Utah I was offered a nannying job, actually two of them. It has been a long time since we have had an income and  I thought it was a great idea since it is something I can do with Lacey.

It has only been 3 days and I haven't even started the second job. I'm just not used to having to work around any schedule other than Lacey's nap schedule. Now I am trying to get everything done, get Lacey down for a nap, and make it to the school to pick up the kids I am watching. Writing it out makes me realize that it isn't really that much, but right now it's a little overwhelming. I'm sure that I will figure it all out eventually and it will become easier.

I just keep telling myself that I am lucky enough to be able to be with Lacey all day. It's true, I wouldn't want it any other way. I know that this is a wonderful opportunity for. I just have been spoiled over the last 14 months not needing to do anything other than hang out with Lacey and do the occasional grocery shopping (and food prep, and house cleaning).

Having the extra money will definitely be worth it, I just need to buck up and stop being lazy.

Adjusting

I feel like Lacey and I usually bounce right back into our groove when Scott goes back to school but for some reason this time we seem to be having a harder time adjusting. Before we went to Utah Lacey and I followed a pretty good schedule. I knew what time she would be ready for a nap, when she would want a snack and I feel like we are all over the place right now.

While we were in Utah, Lacey started sleeping through the night... which was AMAZING! I cannot tell you how much I missed having a good nights sleep over the last 14 months. She was on a one nap a day schedule (different than our two naps in Wisconsin), she took a great nap and woke up happy. Since being back to to Wisconsin, she has yet to sleep through the night or take a decent nap... what's up with that?

Hopefully in the next week or so I can figure out what the magic formula is so both Lacey and I can get the sleep we need. 

My little helper

Making dinner every night has become more and more difficult as Lacey has gotten older. Recently, she has decided that she is a momma's girl and if she knows that I am around then she doesn't want anyone else. Sometimes I love that she is a momma's girl. I get the most kisses and hugs, and I get snuggles when nobody else does.

While I am making dinner she wants nothing to do with Scott. She will stand at my feet crying and tugging on my pants until I pick her up. Depending on what I am making it isn't always an option to hold her while I make dinner. Just a couple days ago I decided to pull up a chair and let her play with a mixing bowl and spoon on the counter while I was chopping up vegetables. When I had something she could help me stir or mix she would happily do whatever she could. She loved it. She was so happy to be helping me with dinner. Dinner prep is a little more messy now, but it is less frustrating than a crying toddler pulling on my leg.

I have been planning on building some kind of stool for her to stand on that will keep her enclosed so she can't fall off, but I haven't done it yet. Until then, I guess I just have to watch her carefully while she helps me prepare dinner.

Missing Home

While we were out in Utah I was curious if Lacey missed being home. I am always curious about how much she understands and remembers. I wasn't sure if she would be happy about being back in our small apartment or sad that she didn't have the space to run around like she did at my in-laws house.

She was asleep when we got home from the airport and she didn't even flinch when I moved her from her carseat to her crib. When she woke up in the morning she was back in her own crib, in her own room, with her own toys. She was so excited to be back! She ran to her toy box and pulled out each of her toys and came to show them to me. Then she just went out into the living room and looked around for a while like she couldn't actually believe we were home.

Lacey is so observant of all the things going on around her. I should have known that she wouldn't forget her home.