The problem? He could go for hours and hours because there’s so! much! to do! And frankly, the crying and gnashing of teeth has been pretty hard on me lately. I only have so much fight in me. And struggling every single night at bedtime has taken its toll. I’m afraid we’re forming bad habits and we’ll have to start all over when we get home.

But when you’re staying with someone else, you have to make a few concessions. While I’d let him cry a little more at home, here I have to worry about it bothering my mom and dad. They say it doesn’t bother them, but would you want to sit and listen to your grandchild cry?

And he’s getting more willful. He fights everything right now, testing his boundaries. Crying when he doesn’t get what he wants. I don’t want to give in, yet I’m having a hard time distracting him from what’s making him upset. He can be so single-minded. I don’t have ANY idea where he gets it (*snort*).

Next week we’ll be back at home and I really hope we can get back into a good routine. One that incorporates the good parts of our time away with the structure we get when we’re home. I will have to find a way to build in much more outdoor time. We don’t have a yard where the kiddo can just run around. Here, at my parents’, we can just go out of the front or back doors. Back at home it requires more coordination.

If you don’t have a house with a yard, how do you build in lots of outdoor play time for your kids? I need to figure that one out.

image: sxc.hu

So I’m looking for a better Wordpress theme. If you know of any sites that offer 3-column, nice looking themes, please let me know. I’m hoping to update soon. I’ve been keeping an eye out for something I’d like, but isn’t too difficult to adapt. Thanks for any help!

It’s going to be a busy time. And I’d like to leave my house somewhat clean so we don’t have that to deal with when we get back.

I can’t believe it’s December already!

If the laundry didn’t get done today, it’s not the end of the world (especially if we all still have some clean underwear). A couple of dishes in the sink aren’t going to ruin my week. A messy desk (for now) will not kill me.

So tonight I went out to dinner with a bunch of incredible ladies. We had amazing food and great (and often hilarious) conversation. And I really needed that. Like I said, it helps me gain perspective. To remember that I need friendships like these to get me by.

There are more nights like this planned. I am looking forward to them. Building relationships with other women is so important to me and I’ve been letting it slide for far too long. We all need a support system. It’s about time for me to work on things for me. How about you?

And tomorrow marks two years since our son came into our lives. He’s an amazing kid and I love being his mom. I’ll of course have to talk about him on his birthday, right?

On my way, I stopped by the Goodwill bookstore (I love that place) and found some Dr. Seuss books for my son, a Jacquelyn Mitchard book for me, and Julie & Julia for my hubby (and me). Score!

And now, I’m watching Grey’s Anatomy. And having some pecan pie. And then kicking back before bed.

Because starting tomorrow, things start getting busy. We’ll pick up some friends from the airport. And Saturday I pick up our Thanksgiving box from a local co-op (more on that soon) and then have to plan next week’s meal. And figure out how we’re going to fit a table in here in case everyone shows up.

Have I mentioned this is the first time I’m cooking the holiday meal at our house? I can’t wait.

And even with going to bed that early, I didn’t get much sleep last night. I kept waking up to check on my son, who has a slight fever. Not that a small fever should be that big of a worry, but before he went to bed, he just wanted to lie down and cuddle. Which is so not like him.

So like any paranoid concerned mom, I wanted to check on him every so often. So in addition to his fever, he has this newish habit of making noise in his sleep. A LOT of noise. He’s not quite singing, not quite moaning. It’s just this ongoing uuhhhUHHHHHuuuuuUHUHuuu uuuuuhhhhhUHUHUHUUUUUHHHHHH up and down in volume. And accompanied by constant head turning. Back and forth. Back and forth. Against the side of the crib so it makes a banging noise.

Needless to say I didn’t get a lot of sleep with that racket combined with my brain being constantly “on call” to make sure he was okay.

Does it make me a bad mommy that I put my pillow over my head for a while? (Daddy was still right there, btw.)

Here’s hoping that tonight equals more rest. For all of us.

not sure when i’ll be back. i need a break.

sorry to leave things hanging. i just can’t talk at this point.