Grump-a-Lump and the Great Sleep Strike

Once upon a time there was a happy little girl who made her mommy very happy as well. Like her mommy, this happy little girl seemed to love a routine. She would eat, sleep, and play around the same time everyday. Even better, she would sleep for 6 1/2, 7 1/2, or sometimes even 9 hours at night--usually waking around 4:00 am for a little snack. Her mommy's favorite part of their day was when she would walk in after nap time and see the happy little girl looking around and smiling at the world.

One hot and steamy day, the happy little girl decided it was time to initiate The Great Sleep Strike. The happy little girl decided that she would take a morning nap, but after that no way! No afternoon nap, no early evening catnap, and worst of all...no more long stretches of sleep at night. This routine made the happy little girl so tired that she became...

The Grump-a-Lump

The Grump-a-Lump fell in love with tricking her mommy everyday into thinking the happy little girl had returned. She would go down for her morning nap without a fight. Sometimes she would even whisper sweet nothings to herself as she fell asleep. Then she would wake a little early from her morning nap, which didn't really bother her naive mommy all that much. But after she ate her lunch and played for a little while The Grump-a-Lump couldn't hide her true self any longer. She would allow her mommy to put her in her crib for an afternoon nap, but just as her mommy thought it was a "safe" time to make her own lunch The Grump-a-Lump would wake up and demand that she be taken out of the crib. This game would continue until it was time for the Grump-a-Lump's mid-afternoon snack and playtime. The Grumps would be a perfect little angel while she was eating because YUM, but as soon as snack time was over she would quickly recall the way in which to torture her mommy.
And so this is how her days and nights would play out. The Grump-a-Lump's mommy turned from a happy, energetic mommy to...

The Great Sleepy One

The Grump-a-Lump raged war in the house for three very long days. Each day The Great Sleepy One would wake up and hope that the happy little girl would return, but each day The Grump-a-Lump would show up instead. Finally on the fourth day, it seemed to The Great Sleepy One that the happy little girl had indeed returned! She took her naps, ate well, and played well all while brightening the world with her luscious smiles. While The Great Sleepy One resumed her roll as the happy mommy, she never forgot about The Grump-a-Lump. To this day, she continues to keep a close eye out for The Grumps to make sure she never returns so the happy little girl can live happily ever after.

Peanut Brittle

What do you do in the 15 minutes before the end of nap time?

I make peanut brittle!

You may be asking yourself, "Why would she choose to cook at the end of nap time?" Well, during every special occasion my dad expects to receive peanut brittle--especially on his birthday and father's day. We were celebrating father's day with him today and since I wasn't able to make any for his birthday (at that time we were still traveling back and forth to the hospital to visit G) I really had to make it today and it just so happens that the end of nap time was the only time I could do it.

So, what is the key to making quick peanut brittle? ORGANIZATION!

Here you can see that I actually got everything out and ready before beginning the cooking process. That is something I never did before Genevieve was born. Notice that the baby monitor is part of my cluster of ingredients/tools.



G rustled a little during this (crucial) stage. I thought I was going to have to scratch the whole thing, but I was able to sooth her back to sleep. Sorry the picture is blurry...I had a lot going on at that moment!



Here is the peanut brittle in the cooling phase. G woke up shortly after--bright-eyed and smiling...isn't that just the best thing in the world?



Here is the finished product. I know the presentation is lacking a bit (ok a lot), but guys don't care what it looks like as long as it tastes good, right?!

The Happiest Baby Whisperer on the Block is named Johnson

Alternate Title: It's official--I'm in love!

The Happiest Baby on the Block
Oh how I love thee!

I love that you gave me five ways to calm my baby that actually WORK!

The Secrets of the Baby Whisperer
Oh how I love thee!

I love that you taught me how to listen, understand, and communicate with my daughter.

Johnson's Bedtime Bath Clinically Proven to Help Baby Sleep Better
Oh how i love thee!

I love that you calmed our bedtime routine by releasing "NaturalCalm" essences.

These three products helped turn this:

Into this:

CHA-CHING!

Don't cry because it's over...

...smile because it happened.

The books have all been put away in a dark, musty bookroom. The desks have been cleaned and stacked on one side of the room. The walls have returned to their sparse, unadorned existence. Yet another school year has come to a close.

This year we grew into a family of lifelong learners. We became authors, studied the effects of magnetism, and generated our own algorithms. We learned to read as writers and write as readers. We laughed together, played together, and experienced our first earthquake. We grew to love each other. We were a family--"Mrs. Stark and her babies."

When I went on maternity leave, my 19 second graders were little troopers. They welcomed their new teacher into their world and accepted her from the beginning. While I was away, they prepared to become third graders with the help of Mrs. O. They met their AR goals and celebrated their accomplishments. They learned all about animals, making inferences, and multiplication. They continued to learn, laugh, and grow. They were a family--"Mrs. O and her babies."

When I visited, they were excited to see me and my new baby.

We hugged.

We laughed.

We cried.

We loved.

They accidentally called me Mrs. O.

OUCH.

I felt like a mom being called by the babysitter's name.

This year has come to an end. In a few short months I'll have another classroom full of strangers who will eventually become my "babies." We will learn together, laugh together, play together. But for now, I will look back fondly on the memories I have from this past year and I won't cry because it's over, but I will smile because it happened.