I noticed that blogger now has a way to post videos. So here is my first try at it. This is what I caught the girls doing the other day. Looks like fun!
Thursday, October 18, 2007
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
What's Going On
Here's an update on what's going on with us:
Girls are finally on some type of a sleep schedule now. Naps have disappeared completely. They usually go to bed around 7:30 or 8 at night. They are each sleeping in their own "big bed", but still in the same room. A gate at their bedroom doorway is what finally worked for us to keep the little night prowlers in their room. I'm sure they could climb over it if they wanted to, but they haven't attempted it yet.
We are also in the middle of potty training. Many hours of my day are spent in the bathroom. Lil H is getting the hang of it. I just have to watch her when she starts playing with her toys since she gets distracted easily and forgets that she doesn't have a diaper on anymore. Lil N is doing better than she was last week. But she isn't all excited about it like Lil H so she takes a lot more work on my part. But hopefully, they will both have the hang of it in the next week or two.
Mr. D was off work the last couple of days. We just got through Ramadan which is the holy month for the Muslims. During Ramadan, Muslims fast all day. So there are no food businesses open for us Westerners during the day -- bummer!! And we were warned to stay off the roads as it neared sunset because their fast breaks at sunset so everyone is driving real crazy because they haven't eaten all day and they are in a hurry to get home so they can eat. LOL. No problem for me... I don't like to be out on the road any way -- even when they haven't been fasting all day. So after Ramadan, comes Eid. That is the Islamic holiday after Ramadan celebrating the breaking of the fast. So Mr. D was off of work for that holiday -- well, he was off of "paid" work. He mentioned several times that staying home with the girls was definitely work and he thought he was ready to get back to "paid" work.
We went to the beach this past weekend with some friends. That is always a lot of fun. There were a lot of locals at the beach because of the holiday. Mr. D got to play cricket with them which he thought was a lot of fun. Here is a picture:
He was a natural at it of course. He got a great hit on his first at bat.
Girls are finally on some type of a sleep schedule now. Naps have disappeared completely. They usually go to bed around 7:30 or 8 at night. They are each sleeping in their own "big bed", but still in the same room. A gate at their bedroom doorway is what finally worked for us to keep the little night prowlers in their room. I'm sure they could climb over it if they wanted to, but they haven't attempted it yet.
We are also in the middle of potty training. Many hours of my day are spent in the bathroom. Lil H is getting the hang of it. I just have to watch her when she starts playing with her toys since she gets distracted easily and forgets that she doesn't have a diaper on anymore. Lil N is doing better than she was last week. But she isn't all excited about it like Lil H so she takes a lot more work on my part. But hopefully, they will both have the hang of it in the next week or two.
Mr. D was off work the last couple of days. We just got through Ramadan which is the holy month for the Muslims. During Ramadan, Muslims fast all day. So there are no food businesses open for us Westerners during the day -- bummer!! And we were warned to stay off the roads as it neared sunset because their fast breaks at sunset so everyone is driving real crazy because they haven't eaten all day and they are in a hurry to get home so they can eat. LOL. No problem for me... I don't like to be out on the road any way -- even when they haven't been fasting all day. So after Ramadan, comes Eid. That is the Islamic holiday after Ramadan celebrating the breaking of the fast. So Mr. D was off of work for that holiday -- well, he was off of "paid" work. He mentioned several times that staying home with the girls was definitely work and he thought he was ready to get back to "paid" work.
We went to the beach this past weekend with some friends. That is always a lot of fun. There were a lot of locals at the beach because of the holiday. Mr. D got to play cricket with them which he thought was a lot of fun. Here is a picture:
He was a natural at it of course. He got a great hit on his first at bat.
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
Surprising News!!
No, I'm not pregnant....
but I am married! (again)
Okay, legally we were still married, but other than the two kids and the adoring affection we show for each other all the time (yeah, right!) Mr. D's hand did not reflect the marriage.
But after 3 months of being lost, the wedding band has been found. Mr. D found it today at work in a box filled with computer equipment. He went looking for a monitor and came back with a wedding band instead.
Hooray!!
but I am married! (again)
Okay, legally we were still married, but other than the two kids and the adoring affection we show for each other all the time (yeah, right!) Mr. D's hand did not reflect the marriage.
But after 3 months of being lost, the wedding band has been found. Mr. D found it today at work in a box filled with computer equipment. He went looking for a monitor and came back with a wedding band instead.
Hooray!!
Sunday, September 16, 2007
And then there were two....
Just as we had gotten LilH on somewhat of a sleep schedule in the big bed, LilN decided she wanted out of her crib too. So after a few days of trying out different sleeping arrangements for the two (they don't seem to sleep well together in the big bed), LilH has decided she likes sleeping on her crib mattress on the floor, and LilN changes her mind between the big bed and her crib. Hopefully, LilN will make up her mind soon.
We also started potty training today. LilH has been the most interested and the most successful today -- which is surprising to me since LilN had gone poo twice in the potty before we left for Texas. But LilN doesn't seem to be interested in it anymore. Potty training one at a time might be easier anyway.
We also started potty training today. LilH has been the most interested and the most successful today -- which is surprising to me since LilN had gone poo twice in the potty before we left for Texas. But LilN doesn't seem to be interested in it anymore. Potty training one at a time might be easier anyway.
Monday, September 3, 2007
Crib Escapee -- Still At Large
So it's happened.... and probably at the worst possible time. LilH has discovered that she can crawl out of her crib. I say the worst possible time because we are still trying to get them back to sleeping during the Doha night, and not the Texas night.
I'm up for any suggestions. I followed my sleep habits book the first few nights: "gently" pick up the child, do not look at her, do not talk to her, and place her back in the crib. (I love how they use the word "gently" because they know how you really want to pick her up and put her back in there -- especially at midnight when its the umpteenth time that you've done it.) And let me just say, Mr. D and I have followed that advice for over 200 times. Still not working.
So yesterday I asked her if she wanted to sleep in the big bed. She said yes, so we fixed that all up for her. She slept in it for one nap. But then last night she wouldn't stay in the bed. Mr. D and I threw out the "gentle" approach, but that didn't work either. She roamed around upstairs to the wee hours of the night. Mr. D actually found her on the couch at midnight. And I just found her again walking around at 5:45 a.m.
We've bribed her. We've talked with her. But no luck...
So what do we do? She's not asking to come into bed with us -- not yet anyway --but she won't stay in her crib, the big bed or in her room. It totally freaks out LilN when she sees big sis leave the room. And it doesn't help that big sis closes the door behind her so LilN is in a closed-door room. Do we just let her roam and let her fall asleep wherever? Do we lock her in the room? What has worked for you?
I'm up for any suggestions. I followed my sleep habits book the first few nights: "gently" pick up the child, do not look at her, do not talk to her, and place her back in the crib. (I love how they use the word "gently" because they know how you really want to pick her up and put her back in there -- especially at midnight when its the umpteenth time that you've done it.) And let me just say, Mr. D and I have followed that advice for over 200 times. Still not working.
So yesterday I asked her if she wanted to sleep in the big bed. She said yes, so we fixed that all up for her. She slept in it for one nap. But then last night she wouldn't stay in the bed. Mr. D and I threw out the "gentle" approach, but that didn't work either. She roamed around upstairs to the wee hours of the night. Mr. D actually found her on the couch at midnight. And I just found her again walking around at 5:45 a.m.
We've bribed her. We've talked with her. But no luck...
So what do we do? She's not asking to come into bed with us -- not yet anyway --but she won't stay in her crib, the big bed or in her room. It totally freaks out LilN when she sees big sis leave the room. And it doesn't help that big sis closes the door behind her so LilN is in a closed-door room. Do we just let her roam and let her fall asleep wherever? Do we lock her in the room? What has worked for you?
Friday, August 31, 2007
Settling Back In
At the request of my mom, I'm blogging today to let everyone know that we are okay and "moving around." We are back in Doha, but our bodies still think we are in Texas. The time zone change coming back is brutal. It was so smooth and easy when we got back to Texas, I foolishly thought it would be somewhat easy when we came back.
For Mr. D and me, it could be easy.... just stay awake during the day and take some Tylenol PM if needed at night. But when you have little ones, you can't do that -- a Tylenol PM zombie state does you no good when they need you for something. The first night, I figured we were all exhausted so just do what it takes to get some sleep. We made several trips to the girls' room to rock them back to sleep and LilN ended up in bed with us. Poor Mr. D had to go to work the first day back, and the girls and I slept in until 12:30 p.m. Little did we know, that was the good night. Since then, the girls have gone to sleep between 8 - 9 p.m. only to wake up around 11 p.m. or midnight. They scream and cry until we come in there, and then play in their cribs when we do agree to sit in there with them, and then they fall asleep around 5 a.m. (hmmm... that would be 9 p.m. back in Texas -- pretty much the time they were going to bed back there) The first day, I pushed through the fatigue and woke them up at 8 a.m. I then put them down for a quick nap around 1 p.m. They cried unless I stayed in the room with them, so I sat on the bed until they fell asleep. But I accidentally fell asleep in the bed, and 3 1/2 hours later, I woke up. Apparently, I can't function well on a few hours of sleep either. So it has been hard getting on track since. Tonight we gave them a little benadryl to help them sleep. And if it works, I will be taking Tylenol PM tomorrow night. I'm writing this blog at 3 a.m. here so I'm obviously not on schedule yet either.
Hopefully soon, I will be able to post some pics from our trip back home. We had a lot of fun getting to see everyone.
For Mr. D and me, it could be easy.... just stay awake during the day and take some Tylenol PM if needed at night. But when you have little ones, you can't do that -- a Tylenol PM zombie state does you no good when they need you for something. The first night, I figured we were all exhausted so just do what it takes to get some sleep. We made several trips to the girls' room to rock them back to sleep and LilN ended up in bed with us. Poor Mr. D had to go to work the first day back, and the girls and I slept in until 12:30 p.m. Little did we know, that was the good night. Since then, the girls have gone to sleep between 8 - 9 p.m. only to wake up around 11 p.m. or midnight. They scream and cry until we come in there, and then play in their cribs when we do agree to sit in there with them, and then they fall asleep around 5 a.m. (hmmm... that would be 9 p.m. back in Texas -- pretty much the time they were going to bed back there) The first day, I pushed through the fatigue and woke them up at 8 a.m. I then put them down for a quick nap around 1 p.m. They cried unless I stayed in the room with them, so I sat on the bed until they fell asleep. But I accidentally fell asleep in the bed, and 3 1/2 hours later, I woke up. Apparently, I can't function well on a few hours of sleep either. So it has been hard getting on track since. Tonight we gave them a little benadryl to help them sleep. And if it works, I will be taking Tylenol PM tomorrow night. I'm writing this blog at 3 a.m. here so I'm obviously not on schedule yet either.
Hopefully soon, I will be able to post some pics from our trip back home. We had a lot of fun getting to see everyone.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
