Elektra's Sand Bath

I went to pick up the kids from daycare yesterday.  While DJ, Grace, and Elektra played happily in the sandbox, Eleanor took me inside to show me the damage DJ had done the day before with the Desitin.  As we were walking back outside, Eleanor and I see Grace standing up and pouring an entire cup of sand over Elektra's head.

"Well, DJ poured sand on Grace's head a few weeks ago... I guess it's payback," I thought.  It was all I could do to keep from laughing.  I mean, really, it was hilarious.

Elektra didn't even react.  I don't think she knew how to.

Meanwhile, Grace was saying that she was giving Elektra a bath.  And I'm 100% positive that in her mind, that's exactly what she was doing.  It just so happened to be that she was pretending that sand was water.

While Grace got a timeout, I did my best to get the sand out of Elektra's hair, clothes, body, etc.  And because Elektra was wearing a sleeveless top, I knew she had it down her shorts, diaper, onesie, etc.  I knew it was no use to think I was going to get away with no sand in my car (and her carseat).

I called Steve to give him the forewarning that we'd be giving baths before dinner.

When I got home, we dropped Elektra directly into the tub.  As Steve stripped her down, this is how much sand fell out of her clothes and diaper:

This is what sand baths can look like!

Needless to say, I had to rinse Elektra from head to toe multiple times before I could get 90% of the sand off of her.  Then I had to rinse the tub before I could let a very anxious DJ into it.  Then I spent the next 20 minutes working on getting it out of her hair with shampoo, conditioner, and a fine toothed comb!

I noticed today just how much sand her carseat has in it, and I will have to take it out of the car to shake it out, too!!

DJ's (mis)adventures

We don't know what's going other than the fact that it's clear that DJ is acting out... big time.  Why is he acting out?  No idea.  We've totally stopped any attempt at potty training so it can't be that.  Other than being on vacation last week, nothing else has changed.  ::clueless::

So what has he done?

At Eleanor's on Thursday, he climbed out of his crib during nap, and proceeded to get into things.  He reached onto the computer desk, grabbed the digital camera, the stamps (which he started to peel off... they're stickers, of course!), a rubber stamp (really good thing he didn't get that open...), and apparently, the scotch tape because he taped the rails of his crib. 

When he was done with what was on the computer desk, he went into the bathroom.  He found the tube of Desitin, and proceeded to squirt it into the sink, and then wipe it around like finger painting.  Then he took it into the playroom and squirted it onto the glass doors (and finger painted with it there, too).  And the kicker... he squirted into holes in the rug. 

Both Steve and I were speechless.  We don't even know where to start.  It turns out that we should have heeded the warning...

This morning I left early for my annual required service to the field hockey officials organization.  I left the door to our room open so Steve could hear the kids when they wake up.  He heard DJ when DJ started banging a pepper grinder onto a tuna can. 

Wait, what?

I received a text from Steve that said DJ had gotten into the pantry, and had poured sugar and breadcrumbs all over the rug.

DJ's pantry raid

It looks like DJ actually dumped the powdered creamer we had in case of the no-half-n-half-for-coffee-emergency as opposed to the full 5 pound bag of sugar (and matching flour) we have a few shelves up.  The reason Steve thought it was the sugar is because DJ said "the sugar tasted sweet" and the breadcrumbs "smelled good".  At least we know our boy has good taste; picked the Italian Breadcrumbs to dump onto our rug.

DJ also chose to pour the creamer into corners on the rug inside his room, next to his door hinges.

 The creamer was sprinkled next to the door hinges on the floor in DJ's room.

He also sprinkled some powdered creamer next to the corners where the gate latches and by the hinges in the rug, of course, and not, conveniently, on the tile.

More creamer in the corners

Because this just couldn't get any better, DJ took some of the breadcrumbs and sprinkled some of those in front of the hall bathroom on the rug, of course, and not, conveniently, on the tile.

The glass bottle was empty, so thankfully, he didn't pour any liquid out, else we'd probably be tearing up the rug today. 

A close-up view of the most damage.

As you can see, DJ played with his pile of breadcrumbs and creamer like a sandbox, having put the breadcrumb can in the middle of it.  Also evidenced here are the tools DJ used to wake up Steve, the pepper grinder (which was also empty), and the tuna cans which now have nice dents in them.

You can also see an empty Jello chocolate pudding box.  The actual bag of pudding mix is buried under the breadcrumb pile near the back (towards the empty breadcrumb can), and we found that it was unopened, thankfully.  That would have been one step closer to disaster.

But we were REALLY thankful that DJ did not open the bottle of the Light Corn Syrup.  I normally wouldn't worry about that because the bottle is made from pretty solid plastic and if unopened, has a foil safety topper stuck on the inside.  But because this bottle is partly used, all he would have had to do was flip open the top or twist off the top, and we most definitely would have been ripping up the carpet today.

Needless to say, Steve went to Walmart and bought more door knob covers!!!!  One for the pantry, one for the hall bathroom (he's been going in and turning on the sink), one for the basement (even though it has a lock, one for the outside of Elektra's room, and one for the utility closet.

Some more pictures from the beach

More pictures from the beach...

Papou, the Tickle Monster.  Elektra would then ask, "Again?"

Pure, unadulterated happiness!

DJ at the beach.

DJ playing in the "really, really big sandbox (and bucket)".

Elektra coming over to play with the bucket.

Elektra, the sun-kissed baby with Yiayia Elektra and Nouna Sophia.

Elektra and Sophia playing with an iPad.

DJ during dinner at the Oceanic Restaurant.

Elektra vs. The Greek Yogurt

A picture is a thousand words... taken while at Wrightsville Beach, August 10, 2010.

Beach Day 2

Today's beach adventure ended early for Elektra.  She just wanted no parts of the beach.  She dug in the sand for a few minutes, then wanted to sit on Daddy's lap on his beach chair.  I tried taking her out to the very shallow part of the ocean, and she freaked out.  She ran back up to Steve, and asked to watch Word World and Thomas.  Of course she could watch neither as we didn't have our iPads with us.  Then she asked to go home.  Yiouch.  So Steve took her home to the pool.  It turns out she not only had an early lunch but she was also down for a nap by 12:30.  She's having a rough day, I guess.

DJ, meanwhile, immediately started digging in the "really really big sandbox!"  He had a good time digging, and he'd take his watering can to the water and fill it without asking us for us to help him.  He'd just go down to the ocean, fill it, and come back.  Sometimes, he'd let the ocean "chase" him back towards the beach, laughing the whole way.  After a few rounds of that, he looked up looking for us, and realized he was farther away than he wanted to be.  He came over to us, and then went back down to the water. 

After Steve took Elektra back to the house, DJ and I walked down to the water, and then sat in it where the waves had to wash up to us.  He sat in between my legs, and the waves washed over us, and DJ was putting sand on my legs, in the bucket, picking up shells... he had a grand old time.  He sat there with me for over 45 minutes, and he didn't want to go home.  Though then when he realized he was hungry, he said he wanted to go get some "Yunch."

Home we went, showered off the sand and salt, and had a good lunch.  As a reward, DJ go to eat a Krispy Kreme for dessert.  He fell asleep for his nap in under 20 minutes... he was cooked.

Wrightsville Beach 2010

It's already past mid-week here at Wrightsville Beach.  Vacation is going to be over so fast!!

This year, we are staying in a new house, and it is spectacular.  We actually have an appropriate number of rooms for people!  We are staying in a room with 2 queens.  DJ is sleeping in one, and we are sleeping in the other.  He's been sleeping pretty well, though we aren't sure if it's because he's just that tuckered out, we're in the room with him, or if it's because he's in a big bed.  Whatever the case, he's doing a great job sleeping.  Elektra has her own room with the pack-n-play, and after the first day, has been a dream child... hanging out in her crib after she wakes up, and sleeping for many hours.


The house also has a really nice outdoor pool which we have been using extensively.  Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday, we took the kids to the pool in the morning because the tide has been high in the mornings and because the pool is completely in the shade (yay for no sunblock application!).  Elektra wants no parts of being carried out into the pool, though she was willing to sit on a raft with me on Tuesday.  She sits on the edge, fills her watering can, pours it out, and refills it.  She'll also kick her feet in the water ("kick kick kick!").  DJ didn't want to go out into the middle of the pool either until Tuesday, when after a raft ride with me, he asked to be carried out.  He kicked his feet like a big swimmer, and did a great job.  Otherwise, he's been thoroughly enjoying the $5 water cannon from Walmart and filling/refilling his watering can.

On Wednesday, we decided to take the kids to the beach in the morning.  It's quite the ordeal to get them (and us!) ready, but out we went.  DJ was excited to play in the really big sandbox, and he did take right to it.  Once he decided he wanted some water for his watering can, he went down to the ocean without really fussing, and filled his can!  Thio Steve and Spiro found lots of sand crabs to put in a bucket, and DJ played with those, too!  By the end of the day, I picked him up and carried him out into the waves.  He I explained what the waves were doing (breaking) when he asked what all the white bubbles were.  He would laugh every time a wave would break on us, and he genuinely had a great time... even said himself that it was fun!

Elektra took to the really big sandbox, too.  She took off running for the water and when the first wave splashed over her ankles, she WAILED.  We figured out that the lack of footing was really freaking her out, so we made sure that she was in some solid footing each time we took her to the water.  At the end of the day, Steve carried her out to where DJ and I were, but she had mixed feelings about it.  She would laugh because DJ was laughing, but she really wasn't thrilled about being in the middle of the water.  Refilling the watering can was always a good trick to get her to come in the water, though. 

The kids were exhausted by lunchtime, and were in bed for naps by 1pm.  They got up shortly before 5PM.  During nap, DJ was plastered up against me, and I saw him wake up a few times, look at me, and go back to sleep.  At one point, Steve and I switched spots and when DJ opened his eyes and realized I was not next to him, he quickly looked to see with whom he was cuddled.  As soon as he realized it was Daddy, he shut his eyes again and went back to sleep for another half an hour.

We went out for dinner that night, and the kids had enormous appetites.  DJ put away a metric ton of corn bread, popcorn shrimp, broccoli, sweet potato and homemade potato chips.  Elektra also put away a lot of corn bread and chicken strips.  Then they both helped us put away Rita's frozen custard treats.  :-)

Otherwise, the kids are having a ball playing with their cousins.  DJ really enjoys eating his meals with his cousins, and we think he's been eating better because of them.  One of his favorite vegetables this past week has been shredded carrots.  Elektra is still mostly boycotting vegetables, par usual. 

Both Steve and I have gotten some naps in (when the kids are napping), and it has been a fairly relaxing week overall.  I'll post pictures when I get them off of other people's cameras.

A Poopy Voicemail

Yesterday, I received a voicemail from DJ (with prompting from Eleanor and Sonny):

Begin voicemail.
"Go now.  Say, hi."
"Hiiii!"
"Tell her what you did."
"I poopied!"
"In the potty.  (pause...)  Tell her!"
"I poopied in the potty!  It was a big poop and a little poop."
"Alright, tell her you'll talk to her later.  (pause...)  Say, I'll to you later, Mommy!"
"I talk to you later, Mommy!"
"Bye."
"BYEEEE!"
End of voicemail.

Hilarious!!!

Strange Bedfellows ... Again

Thursday night, as I was saying goodnight to DJ, I asked him if he was going to come sleep with us. He said yes. At least he's honest!

At 12:30, I heard DJ open his door, but I was too tired to get out of bed and then I didn't hear anything until my alarm at 6:15. I crawled over a sleeping Steve and sure enough, there was DJ, sleeping on the floor next to Steve. He had brought his pillow, Tiger, and his blanket. It was so cute!

Friday night, Steve went to bed early, and closed our bedroom door (not latched) so he could have some quiet. When I came to bed around 12:30, I went to confirm the basement door was closed, and nearly tripped over DJ who was sleeping in the hall outside of Elektra's door. I guess he didn't want to come into our room since the door was closed.

It was so cute.....

He was solidly asleep, so I picked him up and put him back in his bed. He whined, and that woke up Steve, so then both of us were up consoling him. He went back to sleep, but woke up again around 5:30. At that point, I just let him come to bed with us.

::sigh::

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A Parenting Milestone

No one said potty training a boy would be easy. In fact, everyone says that potty training a boy is hard. DJ is no exception...he's the epitome!

He's doing great, though, especially if you can stay ahead of him. He has not had a pee accident in over a week, which we think is fantastic. He has even asked to go pee first thing in the morning, having held it all night and not going in his diaper!

Poo accidents, on the other hand, we've not been so lucky. His first true poo accident came on Sunday. The "damage" was minimal, and his underwear was washable. No problem! We were hoping that would be his be big moment where he figured it all out, but not so much, On Monday, he had a cleanable accident at Eleanor's during the morning. When I went to pick him up, we noticed he was squirming a little. So we asked if he needed to go potty, he said no, so we didn't argue it. He got into his car seat, I strapped in Elektra, and then I smelled it.

"DJ, did you got poopy in your underwear?"

"Yes."

Aw, $#!+.

Well...at least he was honest.

I take him back into Eleanor's to change him. It was every bit a grand mess. I thought about trying to salvage the underwear. Then I thought better of it.

With that decision, I officially reached a Parenting Milestone: I threw out the first (of likely many) pair of toddler underwear.

After cleaning him, I asked DJ what it felt like to have poopy in his underwear (and frankly, sit on it, but I didn't actually ask that).

"It felt like mud."

"This is good..." I think to myself.

"Did you like the way that felt?"

"No."

"Excellent! NOW maybe the lesson will sink in," I think.

Yeah, well, who am I kidding? This is a toddler we're talking about here.

Sure enough, DJ had another poopy accident in his underwear. This pair required soaking, so we will see if they are worth keeping.

It also sounds like I will need to buy stock in Oxyclean before this is all over!!

Wall Writing

I do not mean "the writing on the wall". I mean "wall writing", as in what human males do when they don't manage to urinate IN a toilet, on purpose or not.

DJ has officially joined the not-so-elite club of wall writers. I'm pretty sure it was an accident. But then I think about the circumstances, and I'm not so sure.

I had kids by myself last (Friday) night. I was in the process of cooking dinner when DJ came to me and said he needed to go potty. Naturally, this was right when I needed to take the food off of the stove. I dumped the pasta unceremoniously into the colander, and went to help DJ.

Meanwhile, Elektra had started to get mad a few minutes earlier because I told her Daddy wasn't home. So when she found herself on the other side of the gate from DJ, her full blown meltdown began. I quickly pulled down DJ's shorts and underwear, sat him on the potty, and went to address Elektra's meltdown figuring DJ can pee without my hovering over him because he's been doing such a good job with it this whole week.

Then the phone rang; caller ID said it was Eleanor. Elektra was still wailing, but I decided she was just having a tantrum and would ignore it. I went to answer the phone, and came right back to the bathroom while still exchanging greetings, expecting to find DJ still not having gone pee. Instead, when I arrived, DJ said, "I did it, Mommy!" That's when Eleanor heard, "Ohhhhhh.... Yes... you did do it."

DJ had not held his penis down when he started peeing. Ok, that usually results in a little mess on the floor just in front of the toilet; no big deal. But on top of that, he had to have pushed as hard as he could because the stream not only hit the rug in front of the toilet and part of the shower curtain beyond the rug, but he also hit the far wall of the bathroom, clearing the entire width of the bathtub. We are talking a good 4 - 5 feet!

Wall Writing. There it was, just as Steve had predicted shortly after DJ was born. I don't think the wall writing started intentionally but when he saw some pretty fun results, I have to think that he just kept on going!

I was still on the phone with Eleanor planning what would be today's (Saturday) activity when I told DJ to sit there one more minute. I ran to put Elektra in her high chair and give her milk hoping that it would calm her down (it didn't...she didn't calm down until she got her dinner to inhale). That's when I turned back around to go back to DJ, and saw, instead, DJ trying to run around in his room with both his underwear and shorts still around his ankles.

Two thoughts went through my head:
1. He didn't wait for me to come back. But being that I didn't say that explicitly, I couldn't be mad. Plus, was it more than a minute? To a toddler, the answer is "absolutely"!
2. Why didn't he pull up his underwear/shorts??? He knows how!! Needless to say, the sight was hysterical.

Shortly thereafter, dinner was served, and the world settled back to a normal pace.

Only then did I clean up Aisle 1.

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Accidents Happen

At home on Monday night and on Tuesday at daycare, DJ had an accident. He was just so engrossed in playing that he completely forgot that he needed to go potty.

In the case of Monday night, he'd just gone potty not half an hour before, so this surprised all of us. No rugs were harmed in the making of that potty training session.

On Tuesday at Eleanor's, he was having such a good time playing in the sandbox (and consequently, drizzling sand onto Grace's head/hair) that he didn't notice that he needed to go. It was completely immaterial that DJ (and Grace, for that matter) needed a bath because of his accident ... because was completely covered in sand!!!

But on the positive side, he has been coming to our room in the mornings and asking to go potty when he wakes up. And he goes successfully! He has been wearing diapers only for naps and bedtime. In fact, last night, he wanted no parts of underwear OR his diaper!!! So he ran around nekkid. :-)

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Potty Training

We have spent the last couple of weekends working on trying to potty train DJ via the no-diaper method. Most people's reaction to this method is, "Wow, that could get messy!" And while this is true, it's not like we don't already have not-so-house-trained-dogs that have marked the house when not watched like hawks....so what's a little human marking in the grand scheme of things?

Back in May, I got DJ some Cars underwear, and we tried on a pair one night after I thought DJ had successfully urinated in the toilet. To be fair, he had gone, but he just didn't go all the way, apparently. Ten minutes later, there was a nice puddle on the living room rug, and we had a very upset toddler on our hands. Steve cleaned up DJ, and I cleaned up the rug.

We gave potty training a rest for awhile, but still would talk about it with DJ and would still ask him if he needed to go. 99% of the time, DJ would say no, and every once in a blue moon, he'd say yes. His saying yes, however, was no guarantee of actual success.

Two weekends ago, however, I decided to try no diaper at all until he went on the potty, and then he'd get to wear underwear as a reward (along with getting to use toilet tissue, flushing the toilet, and getting star stickers). Every once in awhile, we would ask DJ if he needed to go on the potty (as a way to remind him to think about it), and he'd vehemently say "NO!" Then if he thought he needed to go, he'd then ask us to sit on the potty. But if he didn't have a bodily function immediately, he'd want off the toilet immediately. This resulted in going to sit on the potty 5-6 times in a 10 - 15 minute period before he'd actually accomplish going on the potty. But eventually he'd get it! Amazingly, we had only one very small accident, and a near bowel movement accident that Steve prevented. For having a bowel movement on the potty, he got a big Cars wall sticker! He was very excited about that!

What this exercise proved was that DJ could very much control his bodily functions, but either was trying to use potty training as a power play or he was just too busy to think about it.

This past weekend, we tried this technique again. DJ had no accidents during his waking hours, but the naptime and overnight diapers were full. Frankly, just that is a win that he did it two weekends in a row.

Because of our success and because his daycare girlfriend, Grace, is recently fully trained, Eleanor suggested we tell DJ that he's going to her house on Monday (today) with underwear on, and that he is to go potty on her potty all day, both #1 and #2. I also sent a number of changes of clothes in case of accidents, and apparently, DJ did great. Unfortunately, he had a full diaper after nap, but otherwise, he was clean all day! Plus, while he was in the bathtub tonight, he stopped playing and told me he needed to go, and he did!

We have lots more to do, but we're on our way! Cross your fingers for no setbacks!

So that's what sleeping through the night feels like!

Last night, I told DJ that although I know how much he likes sleeping in our bed, he should stay in his car bed until the sun wakes up.

Much to my enormous surprise, he did!! He must have heard me preparing my lunch in the kitchen this morning because that is when he opened his door and said, "I didn't get out my car bed until the sun woke up!"

Good boy, DJ!


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The strangest bedfellows... Continued

As expected, Friday night, DJ came to our room at around 2:30AM, pillow and Tiger in hand. In fact, he was so determined to sleep with us that although I got out of bed immediately upon hearing his door open to try and get to him to put him back in his own bed, he had apparently run to our room - in pitch black darkness - because I nearly ran him over before I even got to our bedroom threshold.

I decided not to fight it, and let him curl up in between us. He slept until about 7AM, and then played and whispered until about 8:00. He and I talked and interacted until 8:30 when we heard from the Other Country (Elektra).

At least we got to "sleep in", if you consider a little boy in bed with you truly restful (not).

Last night, at about 3AM, DJ woke up crying. This time, he was waiting at his door for me, and of course, asked for Daddy. When I told him Daddy was sleeping, he wailed even louder. But finally I got him calmed down, and he did go back to sleep. An hour and a half later, he was out his door, and down to our room in the blink of an eye, pillow and Tiger in hand.

It took him awhile to get settled this time, so he probably only slept another true hour. And like Saturday morning, he played and whispered to himself (and read a new Bearenstein Bear book about manners) until about 8:00.

When will I get to sleep through the night again??


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No storms make for not-so strange bedfellows, too

Last night, DJ was a little more hesistant than normal to go to bed by himself.  It wasn't storming outside at all; DJ just didn't want to go to sleep by himself.  In fact, as DJ was saying good night to Steve, he asked Steve if he was going to go to his bed, too.  We thought that was an odd question, but didn't really think anything of it.

I put DJ to bed, said goodnight, and left his room.  Two minutes later, we heard his door open.  I immediately went to put him back into bed, and I saw him walking down the hall towards our room with Tiger, his blanket, and his pillow in hand.  I took him back to bed, said goodnight, and left the room again.

About 10 minutes later, we heard DJ's door open again.  I was on the phone with my sister, but I went in there anyway.  He was pretty upset, as he really wanted Daddy.  My sister could hear him, and told me to suggest that Sophia and Spiro were already in bed, too.  DJ replied (of course), "Why?"  But it did serve to calm him down a little.  At that point, Steve came in, and spent 15 minutes in his room with DJ to help him fall asleep.

We went to bed around 11pm.  At 6:15 this morning, my alarm went off.  During the snooze cycle, Steve's phone, which was in the living room, beeped with a text notification.  I heard a text come in because we now leave our bedroom door open to listen for DJ and to let him come to our room when he wakes up in the mornings.  I nudged Steve to wake up and go get the text.  As he got out of bed, he swung his legs off of the bed, and paused.  Then he stepped onto the floor carefully, looked at me, and then amusingly pointed to the floor next to the bed.

Sure enough, there was DJ, asleep on the floor, curled up next to the bed with Tiger and his pillow.

We asked him later if he jad come into our room while the sun was still asleep, and he said yes.  We have no idea when he came in because truly, neither of us heard him.  He even shut his door which prevented me from hearing the drone of his humidifier which usually wakes me up.

Steve picked him up and put him on the bed with us.  Although he fussed at first, he settled down again when Steve lay down again.  I guess we'll have a nightly visitor for whom we'll have to listen!

Thunderstorms make for not-so strange bedfellows

A sure fire way to go have a little boy materialize in your bed is to have God send thunderstorms when said little boy isn't sleeping well.

First, Steve spent over an hour in the car bed with DJ last night to try to get him to sleep.  DJ doesn't really like to go to sleep by himself to begin with but when you throw in a good old fashioned thunderstorm, or even just a lightening (no thunder) storm, DJ really wants company then.

Around 1:30AM, the storm came back, and DJ woke up crying.  Steve went to get him, and that's when DJ came in to our room with his pillow and Tiger.  We put his pillow between ours, DJ crawled into bed, let us cover him with the blankets, and he settled right down.  He only wimpered a few more times when a couple of lightening flashes came through the windows, but otherwise, he slept great.  He really didn't move much at all, so I did get some sleep with him there.  And I think he would have kept sleeping if my alarm hadn't gone off!  Boo hoo for it not being a weekend so that we all could have slept in!

Croup update

DJ slept through the night pretty well last night, only waking up once at midnight.  His cough sounds wet and rough, but he's generally in a pretty good mood.  He also didn't have a fever all day yesterday, and doesn't have one today either.  I haven't seen him sneeze today, so maybe he's starting to beat this thing.

Elektra woke up only once at 11PM last night after her initial "vomit" incident.  Otherwise, she slept well, and hung out in her crib until after 8:30 this morning.  I haven't heard her cough yet, but I could hear her breathing was a little congested when I was changing her diaper.  She has a very mild fever (99.3) as compared to yesterday's 100 fever.  I didn't give her any Tylenol, so she seems to be beating that on her own.  She's also sneezing today which is what DJ was doing yesterday. 

All in all, despite going to bed at 10PM and getting woken up at 11 and midnight, I had a pretty good night's sleep until 6AM when DJ got out of bed... zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Elektra has the Croup

It's official.  Elektra now sounds like a barking seal. 

We put her to bed about an hour and a half ago, and then I heard her hacking up a lung to the point where she'd vomited (saliva, but I had to change her sheets nonetheless).

I've got the humidifier cranked in her room, and hoping she sleeps well tonight...

Man the kids have had a rough summer!  First strep, now this!

Co-Sleeping

DJ asked to go to bed before 8pm last night.  We were shocked.  So I got him ready for bed, read him a book, and wondered if he had a fever, which he did (~100).  Despite the early bedtime, he laid down in his car bed and went to sleep almost immediately, or so it seemed.

An hour later, we heard his door open.  It felt like his fever had worsened, so I gave him some Tylenol and his cup of water, and he seemed to be satiated enough to go back to sleep. 

An hour later, we heard his door open again.  This time, Steve went in and lay down with him.  20 minutes later, I heard the door open, I heard a small fuss, some rustling, and then Steve says to me, "DJ is sleeping in our bed tonight.  I'm going to bed.  Goodnight."

Oh.  Ok.

Sure enough, when I went to bed, DJ was plastered up against Steve, sound asleep.  He actually slept pretty well, only waking up 2-3 times to cough.  And similar to when dogs used to sleep in our bed with us, Steve and I both ended up on the edges of our king sized bed....

DJ slept in until 7:30 this morning, which is a whole lot better than the 6AM of late.  I think it helped that it's been overcast/raining today.  DJ even asked if the sun was awake he was so confused by the overcast.

We haven't had a kid sleep in our bed with since before Elektra was booted to her crib at 8 weeks old.  To be honest... it was kind of nice.  I'd better not get used to it.  :-)

Wrongfully Accused

Author's note: This post isn't directly about the kids, but it's about their (missing) socks.

I'm missing a sock!  Where did it go??

The answer is the same every time because I have no other reasonable explanation:  "The dryer ate it."

Ladies and Gentlemen, I'm here to declare that we, as a society, have wrongfully accused The Dryer for losing our socks, rendering pairs as singles and therefore, worthless.  I got so frustrated with the number of unmatched socks that I even went as far as putting the kids' socks in a lingerie bag to keep the dryer from eating them.

Despite my actions, I always had my doubts The Dryer was eating socks.  So for years, I kept the single socks, figuring I'd find them sometime. 

That time was last night.

For some reason, when I put Elektra's laundry into the washer, I felt the need to clean the rubber door seal inside the washer drum (which keeps the water from coming out of the washer's door).  When I pushed down on the rubber seal, I discovered that it's not actually attached to the washer drum, just the outside of wall of the washer.  This makes sense, if you think about it, because the drum needs to spin as it washes, and so the rubber can't be attached else it would rip.  But I never thought about this before, so I never looked.  When I looked last night, oh my, was I surprised.

Lo and behold, there were 10+ kid socks between the washer drum and washer's outside wall, underneath the rubber door seal.  I found socks from when DJ was a newborn that I thought were lost.  At the time, I'd do a load of laundry, come up with an unmatched sock, and think that I was going out of my mind due to the lack of sleep. 

No... no...The Washer was eating them. 

I just stood there, stunned at my discovery.  I found myself thinking that all this time, I've been wondering why our washer smelled a little moldy, and so I'd run a light load of whites with bleach to help with the stench.  Now I know why!!!

Meanwhile, I ran the socks through the laundry with a whole lot of soap and on a high cleaning cycle.  Unfortunately, some are permanently stained, but the more recent losses (now finds!) are just fine! 

So all you dryer-haters out there, it's NOT The Dryer's fault.  The Washer is the real culprit.  I'm going to go put The Washer in Timeout for letting The Dryer take the blame all this time and not fessing up instead!