A better night

E is still having some sleep-related difficulties but last night went a lot better. For one thing, the older two stayed in bed after we said good night to them. R had good motivation because we had already removed her reading light for getting out of bed repeatedly - we explained that for every night she came out of bed even once she'd lose the light for yet another night. So, with any luck we can break that pattern soon. She needs to stay in bed for three nights running before she earns her light privledges back. This is a big deal to her right now because her reading has taken off incredibly and she is very much into reading to herself for a short time before going to sleep.

As for E, she went to sleep nicely after a short nursing session at about 8:15. She woke up an hour later and Rick was able to get her back to sleep by giving her back her pacifier but it only lasted a short 15 minutes or so. At that point it was about 9:30 so I decided to get ready for bed and just crawl into the bed in her room so that hopefully we could both get a decent night's sleep. Once I was in the room with her in the twin bed she calmed down immediately (this is why I think it's a case of separation anxiety!) and was able to lay down in her crib and stop the incessent screaming. She rolled around a bit and seemed to have some trouble falling asleep but she finally did at some point after 10:00. At 10:45, after dozing on and off and not really sleeping all that well (I just sleep better in my own bed) I decided to tempt fate and try to sneak out of her room. I figured I could always go back to the twin bed if she woke up, but I was secretly hoping she'd just sleep through the night at that point. And guess what? She did! I got to sleep in my very own bed from 10:45 until 6:15, when E woke up wanting to nurse again (ok, so there was also a short interruption at 5:15 when A needed to go pee and wanted company in the bathroom - one can't expect a perfectly calm, peaceful, uniterrupted night's sleep with three children in the house). So, a better night. We can only hope things will continue to improve!

I'm feeling very domestic (moreso than usual) these days. Last night Rick and I finally got around to making jam out of two large tupperware containers of blackberries that he and the girls picked a number of days ago. It was our second batch as we had already put up 8 small jars from a blackberry hunting expedition that the girls and I went on a couple of weeks ago. This batch yielded the same amount but we chose to put them in 4 larger jars since we seem to go through them quickly and that's all we had on hand anyway. Works for me. Then, this morning after dropping R off at camp I took A and E over to the grocery store and bought the stuff I needed to make some lasagna. I love lasagna and it's finally getting cool enough to think about eating something like that again! After we got back from running errands E went down for a nap and A was busy with a computer game (and then with eating lunch) so I took the time to make the lasagna so I don't have to do it tonight. I love when I have the time and the freedom (which with three kids underfoot and needing me for SOMETHING constantly is the harder of the two) to get stuff done like that and it makes for a much more relaxing time in the early evening - also known by many moms as the 'witching hour'! At dinnertime I can put the lasagna in the oven, throw together a salad, slice up the loaf of french bread and ~ voila! ~ dinnertime!

And then there's my sewing area - not that I've had time to use it, mind you - but I got the new sets of drawers that fit perfectly underneath the sewing desk and I moved the stuff from the big drawers into the two narrower sets of drawers. That area is shaping up nicely! I even have thoughts of acutally using it soon - I want to get started on a quilt for A's bed. So ambitious am I that I even asked my MIL for a gift certificate to my favorite quilt shop as a birthday present. I know - I'm insane to even think I'll get started any time soon! But a girl can dream, can't she?

A is practically dragging me off the computer chair in an earnest request to "play trains" so I guess I gotta go make some choo-choo noises for a while (apparenlty I've been given the parts of Ivo Hugh and Rusty....who?....yeah, she doesn't know who they are either, so that's why *I* get those choice trains).

Chug-Chug! Toot-Toot! Off I go!