Another week in the virtual books

Another week down and no time to write up a post. This may be picture heavy, but it definitely captures the feel of these early summer days. (Going backwards from yesterday.)

They got out their swimsuits and hit up the sprinkler. It was on a timer so after 20 minutes, the water turned off and the girls didn't really know what to do. Then, the dreaded mosquitos came out and we ran inside as fast as we could. I so hope that we can find a way to be outside without being eaten alive.

This week, we got this large contraption up from the basement storage for miss Amelia. With a few blankets tucked behind her, she was able to sit up and watch everything going on around her, which just tickled her pink. (Is that an expression? maybe not.) 

We have had the hardest time with sleep around here. I spend way too much time and much needed energy getting the older two to take naps, only to have bedtime be a nightmare. I have been keeping Josie (almost 4 years old) up two out of three afternoons and it has seemed to be better for her, so I thought I'd try it with Audrey (2.7 years old) too. She fights it just as much, although I think she needs more sleep than her sister. The day we skipped the naps went great. I was able to keep them busy with books, puzzles, and general quiet time, but the next day was absolutely awful. You could tell that they were both tired and really feeding off of each other. I watched the clock all day just waiting for the time to put them to bed because it seemed that there was no redeeming it. 

I have no idea what we are going to do long term. We are so consistent with bedtime. Same routine, not too long but not too abrupt. I honestly don't know what else we as parents can do to improve it. Josie is a huge instigator with pushing buttons and finds everything simply hilarious which in turn riles up Audrey no matter what we do to prevent it. Audrey no longer responds to us giving verbal warnings (Get back in bed, stay in bed, etc) and is always roaming around the room with Josie encouraging her while she stays safe in her bed. Like I said, instigator to the maximum. Besides the consistency, my next plan of attack is to have Amelia and Audrey share a room temporarily. I suspect that we'll still have struggles with Audrey for a while, but without her big sister to egg her on there is a chance she might forget to be so intolerable and might go back to her old ways of falling asleep sweetly because she's genuinely tired. I don't know how it'll be with Amelia in there since she does need to get up to eat, but it's worth a shot.

I got a few tips on facebook like skipping naps every other day and cutting naps short so they'd be more tired at night. It's a good idea, but with the struggle it is to get them to sleep, I'm not very excited about the idea of waking them up a mere forty five minutes later. We'll see how their attitudes are for the next couple of days and go from there I suppose.

I had high hopes of planting flowers around the yard this spring, but we need to do more landscaping for weed control and haven't had time to do that. To our delight and surprise, these lovely purple flowers popped up amongst the weeds and have been showing off all week. Both girls loved them as purple is the favorite color around here. 

I also planted a hydrangea close by from these beauties, but it doesn't look promising. Maybe it'll surprise us next year and come up strong.

Last weekend, the girls went to the lake and hubby went to the farm to help with cattle. We don't think it's the best choice to have the girls out there when this happens since they'd be stuck inside (safety first) and underfoot when things need to get done. Instead, their high energy was released at the lake where they did the usual: played on the swingset, walked around the yard, had a campfire and s'mores, visited great grandma, went to church (went much much much better this time. I was more prepared with new activities and a seating arrangement that kept the older two far apart with a sleeping (!) Amelia in my arms.), and a little bit of fishing off the dock. It was cold cold cold for most of the weekend but it didn't slow us down too much. 

This weekend, we've fought the cranky attitudes and rainy weather by preparing new meals and running a few errands. Definitely not too exciting. 

On the plus side, Amelia decided she loves pacifiers and also thoroughly enjoys rolling around a bunch so she's like a new baby. Smiles galore and much less anxiety when I walk away. At least one of them is cooperating.