February So Far

So, I prayed and prayed when I was pregnant that I would get a chilled laid back baby that slept pretty good. And God answered that prayer. Charlie has been doing so good. He doesn't sleep through the night yet, but he can go 6 hours to sometimes 8 hours during his first stretch of sleep. Blessed momma right here. But God is laughing because now my pre-schooler is getting up multiple times a night. I.am.not.kidding.

He is scared of many things right now. And I struggle to figure out if he is really scared or just wants attention or to sleep in my bed. I always put him back in his bed. I am doing my best. But I am exhausted. He is scared of robots the majority of the time. So today I think I am going to take away anything that is "robotic." So, goodbye Transformers toys and clothes. And good by robot Leappad Game. Hello nap time.

I also am not sure if he is just overly tired and that is making his nighttime waking worse. Like he is half asleep with he wakes and "sees" something. He also has gotten an attitude which I'm sure some of it comes from his age, and some of it comes from the lack of sleep since he is up throughout the night. Hoping a nap with be helpful.

We are also trying positive reinforcement. Every night he stays in his bed and doesn't get up, he gets a sticker. Once he fills his sticker chart he gets to go to the Space Center in Huntsville. This kid is all about space right now, so it seems to be a good goal, but doesn't work every night.

Other than all the snow and ice scares we've been having, I've been busy working around the house to get it fixed up. Little projects here or there. I love this house and neighborhood, but sometimes I hate this house. LOL I am pretty sure the previous owners didn't bother to take care of it like they should have. In the short time we have lived here (5 months), we have already replaced the water heater and furnace. Both big purchases which ate into my remodel/redecorate fund. I try to remember that we are lucky to have a house and roof over our heads, but it gets really frustrating to be ready to start on a "fun" project but have to redirect funds to a necessary one.

When we moved in we purchased all new kitchen appliances with the intention of replace the counter tops with granite. I'm excited to say they are being installed next week!! I look forward to being about to paint and finish up the kitchen and have at least one room in the house done.

I've been repainting all of the trim and doors in the house. The old trim color was an off white, which worked well with the old colors in the house (I guess) as they were all kind of darker. But I want lighter and airier colors through the house and they needed a brighter trim color. So there are currently two different trim colors in my house depending on where you are. It is taking me a while to tape and paint with both kids around. I just do a little whenever I can.

Last weekend we started the face lift on our dining room. I got handy and measured and purchased everything I needed to install a chair rail. It looks great and in the next week or two I am going to add that picture frame wainscoting below and paint it all white. I've got my measurements taken and just need a chance to get to the hardware store (preferably alone!) to get my materials. But here is my progress so far.

And to finish up, here are some other photos off of my phone from this month.

This was at the hospital during the ice storm. He is way too big for that. It looks so funny.

I'm mean...and charge Colin for batteries now. I give him a battery allowance at the beginning of each month and he leaves his toys on and they run out. So now he has to buy additional if wants more. Like I said, mean. But I'm over him leaving on his toys and draining batteries.