Life Day by Day

Well, today is Tim's first day of ALS (Airman Leadership School). It is a 6 week course that he has to go through before putting on staff sergeant, and it is not going to be much fun. They say to expect to work 12 hour days, plus study time, as well as "volunteer" activities on the weekends. This means he will be gone 6am-6pm all week, plus he needs to study on his off time, AND we don't get weekends to ourselves as he has to be out "volunteering". Not fun for any of us.

Cian is something of a high maintenance baby, as he does NOT like to be left to his own devices for more then a few minutes at a time and he doesn't take naps for longer then 20 minutes at a time all day unless I'm holding him. I'm really going to miss being able to pass him off to Tim for a bit when he gets off work so I can do thinks like take a shower, do dishes, etc.

Speaking of which, excuse me a moment while I go and get him out of his swing...

Okay, typing with one hand is tedious...

Anyway, my cold took a turn for the worse Sunday night. I had been starting to feel better, but Sunday my throat started to really hurt and I had a fever again. The fever lasted off and on all day Monday and my voice left, and by the evening I developed a cough. Poor Cian is fighting the same cold as I am, but honestly, he seems less effected by it. How babies can smile and be so happy when they must be feeling miserable is amazing. It is so nice though - his smile brightens my day.

Thing are not going well with Rain lately... It really has been a long time coming, but since Cian was born, she has really started to act up. The problem is two-fold - first, I can't exercise her as much as she needs since I have Cian to deal with too, so she only gets real exercise when I can fit it in. Second, Tim and I don't agree on how she should be treated and disciplined. We never really have, but I think that those seeds have suddenly bloomed and Rain is showing us the fruits of it. I am talking to a dog trainer who trains bully breeds and depending on how much she charges, we're going to try it out. If it doesn't work, or if Tim doesn't agree with or follow what the trainer says, we'll be finding Rain a new home. It is just too much stress and is a real bone of contention in Tim's and my relationship. I'm pretty upset about it, and am having a hard time not being bitter.

Man, this is a complainy blog...

Let me remember some of the good things: The fall trees are beautiful, Cian is wonderful and a joy, and we're secure and safe in this hard economic time. Ah, Cian just fell asleep nursing, all snuggled up to me. :)

It's time to finish up. I hope everyone has a good day.
<3

I was inspired by Kristi's blog to write what's been going on here. We, too, have been dealing with fussy nights and days. Poor Cian is still fighting off a cold. I have perpetually snotty shoulders and shirt as he thinks Momma is a great hanky. I don't know if this cold is the same one or a different one he has been fighting off for several weeks, but it is worse now...he is coughing and has a runny/stuffy nose, his eyes are red rimmed and he is very, very sleepy and grouchy. What makes it even less fun is I'm fighting off a cold as well. Sore throat, stuffy nose, etc. Sleep isn't something I've been getting much of lately.

I've decided to re-arrange our living room. I hope it works better the new way. Our house is a really odd shape so it makes it difficult to find a set up that is functional and doesn't feel claustrophobic.

The infant potty training has been going great. Cian hasn't pooed in his diaper for several days now, and he is getting faster and more predictable when he goes potty in the sink. He likes it too. He smiles and giggles as we look at each other in the mirror above the sink. Babies are so much smarter then we give them credit for. It's fun to see him "tell" me he needs to go, and then wait until I have his clothes and diaper off, have him positioned over the sink, and make our cue sound before he goes. :) The next step is when he can sit on his own he'll go on a little potty that is meant for infants when he needs to go instead of going in the sink. This will be nice so I don't have to clean the sinks all the time. :) I highly recommend that anyone who is even just interested in this read the book "Infant Potty Training" by Laurie Boucke. This is much easier then I thought it would be - definitely comparable to just diapering, and we are saving diapers and preventing diaper rash, as well as teaching him how to control his "potty muscles". This is supposed to help prevent wetting the bed as well as making potty training an easy step instead of the fight it can be with some children. I can't wait to see how it works through all the stages!

Well, Cian woke up from his nap so I gotta go.
<3

Well, it is 3am, Cian is swinging away in his swing and I'm waiting for him to get sleepy so we can go back to bed. We've been awake for about an hour and15 minutes so far and his eyes are still bright and alert so I don't have much hope for sleep soon. I'm not sure why he suddenly decided not to sleep tonight, but at least he's in a good mood. :)

I, on the other hand, am very tired. Today (well, yesterday actually) I did the normal stuff like laundry, vacuumed, dishes etc., but I also mowed the lawn. It was so nice to do it again! I haven't mowed, or done any work like that since I got pregnant and I missed it. It makes me feel more like "me" again. So nice.

Tomorrow, or rather today, I'm going to be going over to Josh and Amber's to spend some time with Grammy. It's fun to have her so close! It's good to see her get to know Cian. :)

Well, this is a rather short blog but Cian is getting wriggly and fussy so I better go entertain him.
Good night.