My Sleeping Child

Brendan and I are on a mini vacation away from Ingrid this weekend.  My mom took her to her side of the state and I've been calling for daily updates.  As much as I love that I can leave Ingrid with her Gramma for a few days without worrying about her, it really does bug me that she's a perfect angel for my mom!!  Our sleeping patterns as of late have been her waking up at 6am, being ready to play play play or being crabby, either of which is hard to deal with before coffee.  She doesn't take a nap but acts crabby as all get out by 3pm.  She cries and screams when it's time to take a bath, even though two seconds into it she's having fun.  She goes to bed at 7 and I finally FINALLY get a break!

Talking to my mom today, though, it seems Little Miss Liddle is sleeping like an absolute champ for Gramma.  Which is good, don't get me wrong, but what the hell???  Taking hour long naps, going to bed at 7 with no problems, sleeping until 7:30 or 8am!!  Whose child is this, and why can't she come stay at our house??  My mom says it's because she's outside all the time (they're at the horse farm on the lake) and that it's quiet, but she could be outside all day long, and our house is not noisy by any means, and she'd still give me troubles with her sleeping...

I remember babysitting as a high schooler and the parents would be so surprised that their kids went to bed easily.  I always thought what?  What's the big deal?  You put a kid to bed and they go to sleep, right?  Now as a parent I realize kids know how to push your buttons...And we let them, because we're so damn tired we don't have it in us to fight them...

Well, at least I've gotten to take multiple naps this weekend.  And Ingrid has apparently caught up on all the sleep she usually misses.  So we'll be well rested when we see each other again, and we can get right back into our lovely pattern of not sleeping.  Dammit.

Why I Have Kids

A couple weeks ago a world traveling friend posted pictures of her latest adventure to New Zealand and Australia.  They were gorgeous and really got me thinking of how I had always wanted to be a traveler, but how I've ended up two hours away from my home town being a stay at home mom!  I had been having a bad day anyway, with Ingrid peeing all over the place and us both being crabby, and I thought to myself oh my god, why did I have kids???  I could be seeing the world and making all my mom friends envious of my freedom! 

Yesterday answered that question very nicely.  I know the answer is because kids are awesome.  They really can just melt your heart and make you love them more than you ever knew was possible.  They completely change your life and most of the time it is for the better.  But after weeks of wanting to sleep and have a break, I was starting to forget all that.  And then yesterday happened.  Ingrid and I were sitting on the front stoop enjoying the fallish weather.  I was flipping through a magazine and she was babbling away to herself next to me.  Then she leaned over and rubbed my back.  "We're best friends, Mama."  I said oh honey, yes we are!  And she hugged me and said "I love you so much!" 

Talk about melting the heart.  It was just what I needed.  I suddenly remembered that before kids I got a lot of sleep but had never felt the pure joy of something so simple as a small hug.  Or marveling at the dexterity of my 2yo as she built a block tower.  Or watching them be social at the park.  Being a mom is great.  Hard, but great.  And the world will still be there when Ingrid is off to college (and Otis, for that matter!)  Brendan and I will get our time to see the world, and until then we'll just have to enjoy what we have.  A sweet little girl that thinks I'm her best friend!

Berlin

On the side of my Facebook page there was an ad for Urban Apartments Berlin.  After looking at the website I am longing for an adventure!!

Brendan and I got engaged in Germany.  Our trip was awesome--we met a friend in Cologne, stayed with him and his family in Duesseldorf for a night, then we all drove to some small town where they were getting married.  After that we took the train to Berlin, where we stayed in a friend of a friend's apartment.  It was amazing--everything was so close by, we had an S-Bahn station right around the corner, and it was free.  We offered to pay money but were told a bottle of wine and a thank you would suffice.  After that we went to Prague and stayed at a hostel (we were definitely too old to enjoy it properly...) and then we went to Munich and stayed at another friend of a friend. 

The whole trip was amazing because, although I'd been to Germany a couple times before that, Brendan never had.  So we got to travel together and see things together.  And the other times I'd been there I didn't do much, just hung out with my friend Heike and her friends.  Not a lot of sightseeing was done!  This time we got to go to museums and churches and parks.  And it was so great that people that didn't even know us would let us stay at their apartments.  I thought that was the most amazing thing--they just opened up their houses to us.  And at the place in Munich we met some neighbors.  The woman was German and the man was from none other than Madison, Wisconsin!  It really is a small world!! 

Anyway, back to the apartments in Berlin.  I looked at some of them and recognized where some of them were.  And they aren't that expensive.  Suddenly the daydream of just jumping on a plane to Berlin and staying with Ingrid and Brendan in a little flat was in my head.  We'd suddenly remember our never used German skills, we'd get coffee and pastries for breakfast.  We'd buy cute German things for Ingrid.  We'd hop on and off the trams and trains like old pros.  We'd show Ingrid a different place and have a great time as a little family. 

Ahhhh, sounds awesome! 

But, alas, we have no money and have to think about moving soon.  I should be saving all our money instead of daydreaming away our savings on imaginary plane tickets and cute Berlin apartments.  Blah.  It's not fun being responsible sometimes...

Holidays are meant to be enjoyed.

I was just thinking about our Christmas plans and trying to decide a couple things.  We are in Michigan this year, the first time I've been sort of close to my family.  By close, I mean 2 1/2 hours away instead of 4, and we don't have to drive through Chicago to get there.  I haven't seen my family on the actual day of Christmas in years, so it's pretty exciting to be able to be there with them this year.  We will have our own family Christmas morning and then set out to my brother's house for an afternoon with the extended family--all of Ingrid's cousins and my brothers and sisters.  I love having Ingrid spend time with her cousins when she can because she has a lot of fun, and I know she won't really be very close to them growing up.  So...this year seems to be the year for spending lots of time with everyone.

However...not only is there my family's get together on Christmas, but my mom's side of the family, the WAY extended family, is getting together the day after.  And my grandparents are getting up there and this could be the last year for them (morbid but realistic...)  And it's the one year we live in Michigan!  So I feel like I should go, but it just seems to be too hard to plan it.  For one thing, it's another hour drive from my brother's house.  And that would mean we'd have to spend the night somewhere, which is never fun with Ingrid because she's a basket case.  And we'd have to find someone to watch our dog on Christmas, which isn't gonna happen.

So, after a bunch of going back and forth, I had to step back and realize I want my holidays to be fun and peaceful.  Last year we were living with Brendan's parents and didn't get to have our own holidays.  This year we are back in our own place, with our own tree, and we had money to get Ingrid presents, and I want to enjoy it!!  Brendan's actually taking time off, he'll get a four day weekend, so I really am looking forward to hanging out with him.  And thus, my decision is made--we're going to my brother's for the afternoon, but nothing else. 

I remember the family I used to nanny for had a three month old and they had a whirlwind holiday--driving an hour and a half for Christmas Eve, then coming home for Christmas morning, then driving two hours for one family gathering, and another hour for another one the next day.  It exhausted me just hearing about it!!  I always thought to myself how nice it was to not have family nearby, it just wasn't ever an issue.  So now that it is an issue, I just have to say forget it, I still want my peaceful holiday.  I want to sit around with the fireplace crackling, fresh cinnamon rolls in the oven, football on TV (most likely...) and Ingrid puttering around the house with her new toys.  Not driving with a screaming kid that hasn't had a nap or gotten a good night's sleep.  Again, just call me Scrooge, I'm such a party pooper!

Oh, Cloth, How I Missed You!

Last time we went on vacation I brought along all our cloth diapers and went to the laundromat and washed them every two days. It was not worth it at all. I ended up spending over $20 washing them, but because I ran out of quarters I couldn't do an extra rinse on them and all the diapers ended up smelling super bad. Gross.

So, this time when we went to Denver I bought disposables to take along. I got a pack of Earth's Best non-chlorine diapers. Also not worth it. They're paper, they leaked, and they gave her a rash. Rashes are not good, they do not make for happy babies.

When we got home the first thing I did was change Ingrid out of her disposable and into a cloth diaper. They seemed so cozy and soft!! I can't believe I ever used disposables. But there has got to be some compromise for vacations, doesn't there??

Off To Denver!

Bright and early tomorrow morning we are leaving for Denver, Colorado. It will be the first time Ingrid's been on a plane! How exciting, and utterly terrifying. She loves to wave at every plane that goes by in the sky (we live by an airport, so that is quite frequent.) I've been talking a lot about how we get to go on a plane and fly with the birds and go see Aunt Shell. I have toys and books and dvds and snacks. So I hope it goes well, but you just never know with Ingrid...

From the very start Brendan and I knew we'd continue to travel and do fun things, even with kids. We always hated when friends would say they couldn't go somewhere because of their baby. We were going to just have our baby live our already established lifestyle, within reason. It wasn't too hard for the most part. Ingrid came to the cottage with us at 6 days old, Brendan's college friends got together for a raucous party when she was four months, and she just slept in a pack and play throughout the whole ordeal. I took her to Holland for Tulip Time and she fell asleep in my arms while I was at a bonfire with friends. Sometimes she's really great!

Then there are the times when she's not. For example, the night we went to a friend's house to play Guitar Hero and she screamed bloody murder the entire time we were there. Or the time I was in a wedding and she screamed and cried the entire night before the wedding, until Brendan took her out to the car and slept with her on his chest. In the car, with the seat reclined. Or just a couple weeks ago when we tried to take her camping and she was up all night long. You just really never know with her!!

Even though we never know what we're going to get with her, I'm still glad we travel with her. Most of the time she's okay, and she always settles in the second day we're there, she just needs to get used to things. I want her to be okay with going places, I want her to be flexible. I just hope it gets a little easier as she gets older. So, off to Denver tomorrow, on a plane. I hope she's in a good mood and sleeps well at the hotel and we have a good time. Otherwise, I'm not sure Brendan will agree to go anywhere with her ever again...