Visitors and Ballerina Hopeful

I don't have any new pictures to post. Nothing exciting has happened. Well, Lila came down with another cold, it was rainy, we stayed inside a lot and had construction workers at our house, nearly everyday, making loud noises and screwing up my kids naps. Oh, and Matt was gone for a couple of days. But, he's back now and we spent the morning and part of the afternoon at a local fruit and vegetable market.

I'm not sure how much blogging I'll be doing during the next two weeks. Tomorrow morning, my cousin, her son and husband arrive. We are so excited! We were hoping that Matt's parents were going to come too, but, unfortunately, they weren't able to make it. We were really hoping to have everyone here over spring break and they will surely be missed!

Olivia's memory amazes me. A year and a half ago, Olivia and I paid a visit to Colorado and stayed with Lydia for over a week. Olivia, the dog-loving child that she is, fell in love with her dog. She was about 16-months-old at the time of the trip. So, Lydia and I were shocked when Olivia got on the phone the other day and asked Lydia about her dog. She asked if he was sleeping inside or outside and other related questions. How the heck does she remember that dog? Toddlers are amazing creatures!

Olivia is very excited about Lydia's arrival for one reason. Lydia taught ballet for many years. Olivia expects her to put her hair up in ponytails and teach her how to be a ballerina. Oh, and, if she knows gymnastics, that would be good too!

I'm just hoping no one else in our household comes down with a cold and passes it on to our visitors! We have a trip to Spain planned while they are here and hopefully everything goes fairly smoothly (three kids+travel=at least a little bit of chaos!).

Where Oh Where Has Nap Time Gone?

Olivia turned three last month. Since about that time, we've had minor nap issues.

Now, Olivia comes from a family of nappers. I napped everyday (willingly) until I went to school full time (that would make me six) and each summer, I took up daily naps again after long swimming sessions. Twenty-eight years after most kids stop napping, I still appreciate an afternoon nap. I, simply, never gave them up. Nor have my three sisters'. My DH's mother has told me that he used to ask to take a nap. To this day, he too appreciates a nap. On any Saturday or Sunday, it wouldn't be odd to find the whole family napping between 1:00pm and 3:30pm.

Therefore, I've always been confused when people tell me their child dropped all naps at age one, two or three, etc. I especially became perplexed after our pediatrician in Alaska explained naps to me something like this (when I asked her when I could expect Olivia to grow out of her nap):

"No one grows out of naps. Think about it. If you took a one hour nap in the afternoon, say between 1:00 and 2:00, would it really affect what time you went to bed at night or the quality of your sleep? For most people, not at all. Actually, you'd be better rested, happier and sick less often. Most adults could use a nap and all kids need naps. Whether you have to move it to a later time, earlier time or put a time limit on it, you should be able to figure out a way to keep your child napping until she goes to school full-time. And, if you can't, make sure she has quiet time in her room for a least one hour a day for your sanity and to teach her to appreciate alone time and learn to respect quiet time."

Olivia has always been a champion napper. But, after our doctor's advice, I was certain I'd never allow Olivia to give up a nap. Up until recently, it wasn't uncommon for her nap 1:30-4:30. I didn't anticipate any problems. I had it very good.

Oh, but lately, I am beginning to see what all my friends, who have kids who don't nap, are talking about (let's be honest folks, until it happens to you, it's very easy to be judgemental - even though we know it's wrong to be). Olivia has discovered the world of imagination and as the weeks go by, her "world" just gets more and more exciting. She spends many "naps" softly signing and talking to her babies. Her room is dark and the house is quiet. She'll lay down around 1:30 and often not fall asleep until 3:00. When she does fall asleep, she will sleep for two or three hours. Lately, up to two to three times a week, she comes out of her room around 3:30 or 4:00 not having napped at all.

On the no napping days, she cannot function as a human being beyond 5:00. I don't mean that she's a bit cranky, whiny and somewhat unbearable. I mean that she will have one or two complete break-downs, full of screaming at the top of her lungs, hyperventilating, gagging and falling on the floor because she can't see the ocean from where she's standing (and moving up the balcony to see it is out of the question) or the marker/crayon isn't the right color, size, etc. Calming her down can take over an hour. I'm not kidding folks. CANNOT function. Meaning I can't function either. I can't make dinner, often she'll make Lila start to cry and then I'll start to freak out myself. The house gets louder and louder and none of it is good! And, if she doesn't nap on swimming lesson evenings, she misbehaves in class and her instructor has been known to give her a time out! She's, very obviously, not ready to give up naps.

Part of this nap issue is because she often doesn't wake up in the morning until 8:30. A three-year-old can't wake up at 8:30 and then go down for a nap 1:30. Up at 7:00, down at 1:30 would be more realistic. And, she's certainly not going to nap well if I don't get her outside playing and running around for a couple of hours. She also has too many toys creeping back into her room that stimulate her too much. So, some of the problem is my fault. We haven't really been outside too much this week in the morning and I keep forgetting to empty out her room on a regular basis. Two dolls and her blanket are really all she needs. So, I have several, obvious, things I can do to get naps back on the right track.

However, I find myself thinking about a good back-up plan for a dropped nap. I can't force her to nap. I can, however, make her stay in her room for a least an hour. Since she's the type of child who enjoys alone time, I think this will work. I need an afternoon break. I'm not the most patient mother out there and I need a good hour to regroup in the afternoon and have time to myself. I'll have to keep you all posted. I don't sound the least bit stressed about this, do I?

Bottled Water = Scam and Eco-UNfriendly

I have two eco-friendly pet peeves. I'm peeved when I see people using plastic bags at the check-out counter. Really, it's so cheap to buy reusable bags. Come on people! Stop using plastic bags! It's a really bad practice! Heck, most stores sell them for a buck or two. Google reusable bags and you'll find reusable bags everywhere. From expensive designer grocery bags to extremely reasonably priced, plain bags (My good friend, Amie, over at her blog just posted about a reusable bag product rave. A pack of bags at a very reasonabl price). Even the commissary is beginning to sell them on many military installations for less than $2.00 each. If you are still using plastic bags, I'm peeved at you!

I'm am, however, even more peeved at people who continue to use bottled water!!!! Did you know that your bottled water is less regulated than tap water? I've said this before and I'll say it again: Buy reusable water bottles (such as a SIGG or KleanKanteen), a tap water filter and be done with bottled water! Here's what TreeHugger has to say about bottled water:

Stay off the bottle

By many measures, bottled water is a scam. In most first-world countries, the tap water is provided by a government utility and is tested regularly. (You can look up your water in the National Tap Water Quality Database) Taste tests have shown that in many municipalities, tap water actually tastes better. Bottled water is not as well regulated and studies have shown that it is not even particularly pure. A four-year study of bottled water in the U.S. conducted by NRDC found that one-fifth of the 103 water products tested contained synthetic organic chemicals such as the neurotoxin xylene and the possible carcinogen and neurotoxin styrene. (Grist) Much bottled water doesn’t come from a “Artesian springs” and is just tap water anyhow. (Coca-Cola adds salt to its Dasani water to make it taste better, just like fast food.) Not only is it more expensive per gallon than gasoline, bottled water incurs a huge carbon footprint from its transportation, and the discarded bottles are a blight. It’s no wonder that some people even think it’s a sin. If you want to carry your water with you, get a bottle and fill it. (Look here for some advise on durable, non-toxic container options.) If your water at home tastes funny, try an activated charcoal or ceramic filter. Here is a comparison of home-use water filters from Grist.

Go to Treehugger.com to find ways to further green up your life.

Potty Time and Princess Dresses

Update: I'm not making this up - Lila had a BM in the above toilet today! We are so excited! We still don't want to push her too much because she is much more sensitive than Olivia is (or was at that age), however, I'm going to start letting her run around more often in training pants. I think it'll be another year before she'll actually be fully trained. However, we're off to an early start, that's for sure!

Well, I'm not sure how serious Matt and I are going to get about this right now, but Lila is on the road to potty training. She used Olivia's "little potty" once yesterday and once today to pee. We all did a dance and congratulated her after. She just turned 16-months. So, there is no rush and she's absolutely not ready. Obviously, we won't push her. However, she loves to watch Olivia use the potty and, since she began to show an interest in using it herself, we decided to let her try it out. We put on big girl panties (Bummis Cloth Pull-ups) and BabyLegs for easy access, and she spent the morning getting on and off the potty. It was fun even when her clothes were on! Way to go Lila!

In other news, Olivia has decided that it is indeed fun to be a princess! She is seen here doubled-up in princess outfits. While dressing up used to be a rare treat, she's been doing it more and more often lately. Even her babies have turned into princesses! Now, if we could just get her to act a little bit more like a princess, life would be even more grand!