Houses and mouses and sleep. Ok, mice. Screw up my rhyme!

In the big news of the day, our Albuquerque house is funded, closed, sold, and GONE! We are so relieved to not have that place weighing on us anymore.

We caught our fifth mouse on the patio today. Yuck! This guy was full and fat. He was on a sticky pad but who knows if he had been eating Decon. They gross me out so bad, with their awfully mousy crawling around and Hanta virus having. I'm not sure if I'll ever be comfortable with our patio again. Blech.

Gage is doing well with sleeping on the air mattress in his room. He is still pretty attached to me in the night though. We'll start working on that over the next few nights! Hopefully we'll continue to see progress. Still undecided about crib v. toddler bed; we're just kind of wingin' it right now.

I had a very nice, very long talk with the Editor-in-Chief of the mag today. I think we got some issues sorted out, on my end and his. I talk a good game about wanting to quit sometimes, but when it comes right down to it, I like being a part of the magazine and being a part of the car scene through it. It makes me happy, but I need to get back to putting my heart into it. And I need some help with that, and the EIC seems willing to help. Which is good, because we lost a few more advertisers and I got another pay cut. Not performance based but simply to help keep the mag afloat a little longer. I don't like it, I think it's my third or fourth pay cut since the economy started tanking, but I can live with it. It isn't about me.

I also got more done on the writing for Brian's uncle. I will make my self imposed deadline of tomorrow! I'm so glad to have been given the motivation I needed to get the project underway, and wrapped. If you're interested in learning more about Sox Place, check out www.soxplace.com. Believe me when I say it is an amazing, worthy ministry deserving of your prayers, if nothing else. Doyle (Sox) and crew really are doing great things for this world, and being the hands and feet of Jesus here on earth. They love the unlovable and reach the unreachable with their drop-in center for street youth in downtown Denver. I'm trying to put together basically a promotional packet so that potential investors have some info about the program all in one place. It is a ton of work, but it is finally coming together. I was asked to do it, of course, because of my writing background... Doyle believes in utilizing the talents that God has placed around him, and I fully agree with that!

So, it has been a big day for us! And tomorrow is Friday which is most excellent because this is Brian's weekend off. Most excellent reminds me of Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure and Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey. I loved those movies. Wonder if they've been redone in Bluray? I should check that out, or at least get them from Netflix. Quite possibly the only movies where the sequel was more excellent than the original, at least to me. Bogus Journey blew Excellent Adventure out of the water. Anyway, enough of that tangent.
We are no longer home owners! Hooray! Things I like Thursday will be back next week with some things I like. I just wasn't feeling it this week, too much extraneous stuff going on. Y'all have a good night, now, ya hear?

Sleep training + sickness/allergies

Last night Gage slept pretty well, except for when he woke up for a bit and vacantly lay there, staring off into space, around 3:30. He was pretty hot, and I figured he had a low grade fever. I got him back to sleep til later morning; when he awoke about 7:30 I took his temp. He had a VERY low grade fever of 99°. Nothing to worry about but he was pretty congested as well.

And so was I. I am super congested and have itchy sinuses with a lot of drainage. Maybe a little cold, maybe allergies. We'll see how we feel tomorrow. We have been pretty miserable today, and just laid low. We both took copious naps. And now I'm hoping he will sleep well tonight, with all his napping today. Seems he is getting used to sleeping in his room, on the air mattress at least. Soon I'll start taking my arm out from under him and edging away from him gradually. The hope there is that he'll start getting used to sleeping without SUPER close bodily contact, i.e. cuddled up against me. Once we get that under control, we will decide if we want to keep trying to get him into his crib, or if it would be easier to really childproof his room and convert his crib into a toddler bed. We shall see what the next week holds.

But I know one thing for sure - I miss my own bed. And going to sleep beside my husband. It is worth it if it works for Gage though!

Brief sleep update

Maybe you're wondering how last night's sleep training went. It didn't go great but it could've been worse. Gage did sleep mostly through the night; he woke up every hour or so and needed help to fall back asleep. I think he was cold though. I underestimated how cold his room gets and dressed him in short sleeved PJs. I got about 4 hours of sleep, myself, so it wasn't such a good night for me. Tonight, Gage has fleece PJs and socks, and I have an extra blanket. Gage refuses to sleep under blankets so he has to have sufficient sleepwear.

He refused naps all day. He slept about 45 minutes in the car, and I would've let him sleep for hours in there and just read in the car myself, but we had to meet maintainance at our apartment. And of course, by the time they were done working, Gage wouldn't go back to sleep.

But we persevere. Hopefully tonight will be a better night and our tomorrow should bring about our Albuquerque house's closing!

Sleep training, new method, part 1

Tonight is our first night trying what our pediatrician recommended, which is gradually transitioning Gage to sleeping in his own room by me sleeping with him in his room. So here we are, on an air mattress, trying that method. Tonight I plan to mainly work on him getting back to sleep in his own room, without breast feeding. The main moral of this method is to make me as lonely as possible.

Oh, I kid. The real point is getting Gage to understand that our room is not his room, and his room is just as comfy and safe. Well, as comfy as going from a memory foam to an air mattress can be, anyway. So while I will surely miss sleeping with my husband, this will hopefully be a means to an end. Besides, we created this behavior so it is up to us to break it. We made our bed, now we have to lie in it. Oh I couldn't resist. Sorry about that.

We had a nice, productive weekend. We got a lot of organizing done in our tiny kitchen that makes it much more bearable. Organizing a tiny kitchen, especially after downsizing, definitely takes some work. We got shelving to go inside of our cabinets, under shelf baskets for our pantry and an awesome hanging basket system for behind the pantry door. I also put up some Command hooks for my aprons. I am much happier in the kitchen now!

We also found out that the short sale on our Albuquerque house hit a little snag. Hopefully it'll be easily resolved; it doesn't seem to be a big issue, but we just can't wait for that house to be sold. Hopefully tomorrow. I can't express my appreciation of our realty team enough. If you're in Albuquerque and facing short sale, give Dawn and Brian Fossa of Coldwell Banker a call. They have been helpful, kind, friendly, and professional during what was otherwise a miserable time for us. When we discovered short sale was our only option, we didn't know where to begin, we got calls from scammy agents, and we were pretty nervous about how to proceed. Brian and Dawn have gone above and beyond, especially with us being out of state sellers. We couldn't have asked for more from a realty team.

I'm also feeling pleased for finally making good, honest progress on my writing for Brian's uncle. I've had a really hard time with it, but after much attempting to do it on my own, I lifted it up in prayer, and what do you know, now I'm getting somewhere. I've totally blown a couple of self imposed deadlines on it, so I'm really thankful that I will make it this time! I've given myself to the end of the week and that is 100% doable. Sox Place is a worthy ministry, and deserving of my best. I'm so glad that I can give that.

Well, Gage is sound asleep and I guess I'll try and catch a few Zs myself. Alone. On my air mattress. It'll all be worth it if Gage learns to sleep on his own! And if he doesn't, there will definitely be some crying. Gage might be a little upset, too. Wishing everyone a peaceful night's sleep, whatever you're sleeping on. And remember that the kids of Sox Place aren't sleeping on mattresses at all, many of them, and many may not even be under roofs. Please remember them in prayer.

Weekend update

I'm mainly just posting this today because I really wanted to try out SwiftKey on my Droid 2. It was today's featured application in the Amazon App Market so it was free.  So far I rather like it! It offers tactile feedback, which I had on my LG Dare before my Droid 1, and I loved it.  Still getting back used to it so we'll see. 

I had lunch with my friend Alecia today.  As always, we had a blast. It rocks to have her as a friend! But she already knows that.

I think I forgot to tell you last weekend, the Subie got a new clutch. You should've seen the old one. It was so torn up it was amazing how well the car still drove. Now I am basically learning how to drive it all over again. Sometimes I kill it and that is really embarrassing! I learned to drive in a stick shift so you'd think I'd know better but it really is very different. I miss working on my own car. But oh well; having Gage around is pretty awesome, which you know if you read yesterday's post. He is one cool guy and I wouldn't trade him for anything, even the time/flexibility to work on a car. 

I guess that's really all I have for today. There is nothing any more exciting than any of that. Haven't even seen any mice around recently, so hopefully they're gone. Hope you are having a terrific weekend!!

This is my 50th blog post!

So, in the great tradition of blogs and lists, I will tell you fifty things about Gage that I absolutely love.

1) Gage knows his name.

2) He knows the word for "doggie" but he says it more like "dad-gee." This is a step up from his previous saying of "gee" which was really cute.

3) He can show you his nose, ears, eyes, head, hair, fingers, hands, feet, toes, arms, and legs.

4) He can also show you where two other things are that aren't appropriate for me to tell you about on the internet.

5) He loves to eat by himself, so most of what he eats gets put into tiny, bite sized finger portions so he can feed himself.

6) But he really loves if you share what you're snacking on with him, even if it means you feed him with your spoon.

7) He knows the words for most of his stuff, even if he can't say it. If you ask where his truck or ball is, he'll go find them.

8) If he can't find what you're asking him about, he'll put his hands out and shrug his shoulders. Oh y'all, it is ADORABLE when he shrugs.

9) Gage has a very definite sense of humor. He'll do stuff he knows you don't want him to do just because thinks it's funny.

10) He cracks himself up doing ornery things.

11) He is SUCH a climber. He'll climb anything and is totally fearless.

12) He is totally over being carried. He wants to walk anywhere he can and will get very restless after a very short time of being carried.

13) Anything that isn't a toy is far more interesting to Gage than anything that is a toy.

14) He is still resisting sleeping in his own crib.

15) When he gets tired and cranky, he bangs his head on stuff while he tantrums. That is how we definitely know we missed the golden time for bedtime.

16) If you tell him it's time for breakfast/snack/lunch, he'll usually run right over to his high chair and wait for you to lift him up.

17) If Brian or I tell each other "chair him up" and he hears it, he'll usually run over to his high chair.

18) He can give awesome high fives.

19) But only if he knows you and isn't feeling overwhelmed by strangers.

20) He will not give strangers high fives (which is awesome.)

21) He will not perform on command; if you ask him to show you nose, mouth, etc. and he is, in any way, not feeling it, he will not do it.

22) He went through a phase where if you asked him where his hat went, he'd put his hands on top of his head. He doesn't do it anymore.

23) He went through another phase where he'd shout "GEE!!! GEEEE!!!!!" every time he saw a dog. He doesn't really do that anymore either, and I really miss that. He still does say "WOOF!" when asked what the doggies say.

24) He loves to mimick what adults do. He'll rub his hands together if he sees you putting on lotion, brush his hair with a hairbrush, etc. It is very cute.

25) He sure hates having his diapers changed, and fusses nearly every time he knows a diaper change is coming his way.

26) He knows how to give eskimo kisses, but he frequently won't do it with you. Just because he's like that.

27) He pretends to surf/snowboard on his tray from his high chair.

28) Throwing things onto hard surfaces makes Gage's day.

29) Making noise makes Gage's day.

30) Banging loud things together makes Gage's day.

31) Stomping also makes Gage's day.

32) Gage loves to chase Chevy. Chevy does not like being chased. We have to keep them seperated some of the time.

33) He loves to go for walks and see the world. As long as it isn't windy.

34) He hates the wind; it steals his breath.

35) He loves the DirecTv remote more than anything. If he so much as sees it, he goes crazy trying to get it.

36) You can totally tell if he is really upset or just mad when he fusses. If he's really upset, big fat tears roll out of his eyes. And you hate your life just then, until you figure out how to fix it.

37) If I cry, Gage cries too. Good thing I rarely cry.

38) He knows how to give good hugs. He'll put his head on you and squeeze you with his arms.

39) Gage has a fake laugh and a real laugh. Both are adorable, and both are happy. Just one doesn't really sound like actual laughter.

40) Gage has a way with people that I have never seen. Every one who meets him comes away with a smile on their face. I hope and pray that he stays that way because he'll make friends really easily if he stays that way. He could have such an impact on others if he remains so friendly.

41) He is SUCH a light sleeper, just about anything will wake him up. It is pretty difficult to keep him asleep. But this just means he is spirited and sensitive and I can live with both.

42) He is crazy stubborn.

43) He dances by jumping up and down, then he'll stop and wave his arm back and forth. It is silly and cute.

44) He claps his hands when he sees/hears others clapping.

45) Gage loves to crawl behind and around things.

46) If he knows you're going to do something with him he won't like, Gage will back away from you while you try to pick him up. It is hilarious and adorable.

47) Gage loves having a bath. He'll try to climb in while you're still putting water in, even if you're not ready for him yet.

48) He does NOT like to be washed in the bath. Just play.

49) When you put him in the car with socks and shoes on, he'll promptly remove both his left sock and left shoe. It is likely he'll leave the right sock and shoe on for the duration of the ride.

50) Gage's favorite food is mandarin oranges. Sometimes, they're the only thing he will eat.

Whew! Fifty things about Gage that are awesome. Ok so a couple of them aren't awesome per se, but just cool facts about Gage. For example, I would love it if he would sleep in his own bed. But he loves to cuddle, so that's just part of who he is right now. I also don't think it is awesome when he bangs his head, so you get the idea. I hope you enjoyed reading about them as much as I enjoyed writing about them. He is such a great, happy-go-lucky kid.

Tonight, we're having barbequed pork that will have cooked in the crock pot all day (8 hours) for maximum tenderness. I made barbeque sauce myself to cook the pork in, so hopefully it'll be extra delicious! We are really looking forward to some pulled pork sandwiches tonight.

Happy 50th blog post! Woohoo!

Things I like Thursday: I got nothin' edition

It is Thursday again, so here's another jaw-droppingly boring edition of Things I like thursday. I'm pretty tired from not being able to sleep last night so this may be a little shorter post than usual. So without further ado, let's get started! Edited to add: all views expressed in Things I like Thursday are my own. I am not employed, compensated, or paid by any of the companies I'm talking about here, just letting you know what I'm into right now.

1) The American Academy of Pediatrics. These guys have come out and said kids must rear face in their car seats until the age of 2, or have a 5x greater risk of things like internal decapitation. I will do anything to keep my little guy safe, but jeez, AAP, did you have to make this public such a short time after we joyously celebrated Gage being big enough to front face? He was so excited to have a seat with a view. But, safety wins every time. We turned his Air Protect back around to rear facing last night.

2) Pest control. I know, I know, this one is a total cop-out. But, c'mon, the mice are dominating my brain, along with my balcony. Seriously though, the guy they sent was friendly and helpful. He really liked Chevy and even tried to guess her breed. Haha, silly humans, she says! Her breeds are unknowable via guessing. I don't think anyone has ever accurately guessed what she is. She's a half-n-half! He put bait in our storage and water heater rooms. He didn't actually have a key to the water heater room so he just went ahead and picked the lock. He thought the mice were here when we moved in, so that's a big in-yo'-face to the maintenance guys who implied we brought the mice. Oh I really did just go there.

3) The Upside Down Show. Have you ever seen this nightmare on Nick Jr? It is on pretty late so probably not. Oh and late in my world is 9:30. Anyway. Gage doesn't watch very much TV at all, but from time to time we turn it on for him. He looooves this show. And I mean loves it. He laughs, he talks to it, he dances, etc. It is insanely cute to watch. I find the show to be grating, annoying, repetitive, and chronically unfunny. Guess I'm not in the target audience. But humorously enough, the show was a flop. They should've targeted young toddlers, not preschoolers. Anyway, leave me alone about Gage watching TV. He averages about 30-45 minutes a day, TOPS.

4) Hempz Pomegranite Sugar Scrub. Oh it is heavenly! It smells lovely and really does wonders for my skin. I love how soft it makes my skin. I use it every couple days on the rougher skinned areas, and it makes them soft and smooth.

5) The Oil Cleansing method. Have you heard of this? It is a method of facial cleansing that involves mixing sunflower oil with caster oil and massaging it into your skin for a minute once a day. Then you take a very warm washcloth and lay it on your face til it cools down, then rinse and repeat (the washcloth part) 2-3x. Supposedly the castor oil dissolves oils and dirt in your skin while the sunflower oil moisturizes. I have terrible skin so the thought of rubbing oil into my face made me nervous. But I finally worked up the courage to try it, and my skin is radiant! It is clearing up and is so smooth and soft and glow-y. I'm gonna keep at it and see if it keeps working. So far so good! And for fairness sake, I will tell you I (obviously) did not create this method, I have read about it at length on the interwebz. If I knew who to credit I would, but the best I can do for now is say it wasn't me!

That's all I've got for today. Hopefully you've enjoyed reading the happenings from around my house today. Tell me yours if you so desire... what things do you like this Thursday?