This is my angel...

Yes, this is the little darling who has been the source of the sleep problem for everyone else in the house!!!

Do you think she's destined to be a scrapper? She always finds any ribbon I have (never let her play with it unsupervised, of course!) and loves to rip paper!

Today is a better day...

I decided that it was time to teach the baby how to fall asleep on her own so that everyone else in the house could finally get some sleep, too!!! She is 9 months old, and has never slept through the night!

It's been a difficult journey so far, but I am starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel. We started Thursday night. It took her 49 minutes to fall asleep in her crib, and my dh decided he needed to stay in her room with her for the second half of this process. She cried hysterically, made herself sick, and every time I checked on her, the crying got worse. After she finally went to sleep, she stayed asleep until 3:45. Of course, my dh had to rescue her. UGH!!! So it was like starting all over again to get her to sleep!!! It took another hour for her to fall asleep again. I put her back in her crib and patted her to sleep. She woke up again at 6ish.

Took her for her 9 month checkup Friday. The nurse practitioner told me to put her down, and don't go back in the room unless I know she is in serious distress. So, that's what we did. It took her an hour and 10 minutes to fall asleep, but that was on her own. She woke up at 4ish, but put herself back to sleep without too much difficulty.

This morning, I put her down for a nap when she began to rub her eyes and yawn.... she was asleep in 15 minutes, again without much difficulty.

And in addition, she didn't nurse in the middle of the night for 2 nights in a row!!! I hope this means the end of middle of the night feedings!!!

We have been especially blessed to have my older dd staying with my in-laws for the entire weekend so we could do this "training." She comes home during the day, and I took her out for lunch and flower shopping just the 2 of us yesterday... I want her to know that she's still special, you know?

I hope now I can get more than 3 hours of sleep on a routine basis!!!

Looks like I'm going!!!

To CHA!!! Yay!!!! I'll be going with both Tisha and Scrappinchicks. Now I just have to work on getting the baby weaned...

The last show I went to was Winter '05 in Atlanta. I had a blast! I went with the DT from Scrapncircle. I was also about 4 months pregnant!

The first day of the show in the first 5 minutes I met Donna D and Cathy Z! They were checking their coats!!! Both were SO NICE!!! I also met Faye Morrow Bell, Tim Coffey, Kathy P (from Sandylion), and Heidi Swapp! Very fun to meet scrapping celebs!

It was almost overstimulating to see all of those wonderful products in one place! And with any design ambitions I had in their infancy, it was a hugely valuable learning experience. I will never expect to make a living scrapbooking, but I would like to design for a manufacturer one day... but only one, really, because I don't think I would have time to devote to much more! I would want to give it my all, you know?

As far as my "real job" goes, I'm a little stressed out. I just started doing home health, and, let me tell you, it's a bit of medical knowledge and, at times, a TON of social work skills! I have a patient now who is in a horrible living situation. Not really cognitively intact enough to manage her basic needs, and between her physical problems and her husband's, they are truly unsafe to live on their own. I have done what I can, have referred the family to a social worker, have talked to a family member about how important it is that they find a more reasonable place to live (like an assisted living), and that's all I can do. The social worker decided that adult protective services should not be called. I pray that it was the right decision....

I'm managing 3 PRN PT positions right now. I think it may be time to drop one! I have my plate full between the nursing home and home health. I hate to give up working at the home, because so many of the residents there I care so much about.... I have been there for 3 years!!! And I never wanted to do long term care! And I think I'm starting to get the hang of home health. But, it's a lot of paperwork!

My other stress this week.... I had to take one of my cats to see the veterinary opthamologist. I didn't even know there was such a thing... but I am grateful there is! Tigger has an eye condition called eosinophilic conjuctivitis, which is an abnormal immune respose, causing the body to attack the cornea. We've been dealing with this for almost 2 months, off and on. The vet finally made the referral to the opthamologist. Looks like I will be giving Tigger steroid drops for 6 months! I also will give him oral steroids for almost a month. Poor kitty! He's been isolating himself for a while now from the pain/sensitivity to light. I hope this treatment works!

And, last but not least, this is the week we have chosen to Ferberize our 9 month old! We start Thursday night. It worked for her older sister, so we'll see how it goes! I hate to do this to her, but we MUST get some sleep in this house! Big sister is excited, because she gets to spend the weekend with Grandma! God bless my mother in law! She is a gem, indeed! Everyone should be so lucky to have such an amazing woman and friend in their lives!

Well, I guess that's all I have to say for now!

Is there a secret?

To dealing with a 4 year old? I knew about the terrible twos... which really wearn't so terrible... but no one warned me about the awful, horrible fours!!!!

Overnight, my dd has turned into a most disrespectful, bossy child... and she tries to hurt her baby sister!!! I have already taken two toys away today, given time outs, and I'm at my wits end!!!!

Please tell me this will end soon!!!

Feeling beachy...

Today is a blah, rainy day here... thought I would post a beachy layout to cheer me up!!! This was my very first published page... it appeared in the NYOBC Summertime book by Pinecone Press. Papers are by NRN designs, plus a couple from KI Memories. I had the papers for over a year before I used them... and I even bought them at the little scrapbook store on the Outer Banks, where the picture was taken!

Will my baby ever sleep?

I am so tired. I had about 4 hours (not continuous!) sleep last night, and about 3 hours the night before. My 9 month old simply will not sleep at night!!!

As much as I don't want to put her through it, I think it's time to try the Ferber method with her. It worked for her big sister, but we waited until she was almost 18 months old. I've got to do something, though!!

Anyone have any advice?

Just thought I'd post this...

This was my second ever pub'd layout. It appeared in the Feb/March issue of Scrapbook Answers, one of my favorite magazines! I loved how much space they gave my layout! It was a great experience working with them!

I made this layout because of a challenge from my mentor on 2peas, Corinne Dellis. Thanks, Corinne!

More Junkitz!

I love these papers and buttons! Still some of my favorite products, even if they didn't choose me for their DT!

Yes, I know I used the same photo for each of these projects! They are both displays for Scrap Artz, although the frame will come home with me!

Ugh!!!

I'm sick... again.

I just finished a round of antibiotics last week for bronchitis. I haven't been feeling well ever since I got sick with that, but I thought I was on the mend. Then Friday, my left ear started hurting. By yesterday, I thought I had an ear infection. Even had the speech therapist at work look in my ear... she thought it looked a little red.

So, I made an appointment to see my doctor for today. By the time I left work (at my second PT job...), I had a splitting headache and a fever of 100.0. I came home and went to bed.

This morning, I wake up, and I have the worst sore throat.... and still a fever. So, I called work... no home health visits for me today. Then I looked at my throat. My right tonsil is truly the worst thing I have ever seen! My doctor was sure I had strep, but was shocked to see the negative test results! So, I *simply* have tosillitis... and I will be out of work for the rest of the week.

Working PRN, I don't make money unless I work. But, I reallly don't want to make my patients sick, either!

Woo Hoo!!!!

I have a free download of digital papers I have created over on Scrapncircle. The collection is called Mango Tango.

Take a peek, download, and create!!!!

Want to hear something crazy?

Well, anyone who knows me will eventually hear about my crazy dreams. I have some that come true... Some that are flat out wacky.... And I even had the same dream as my best friend at the time on the same night as her in high school!!!

Anyway, I had a dream a couple of months ago that I won a scrapbooking contest. Not just any contest, but one where a scrapping celeb came to my home and hand delivered a check for 10,000 dollars. I won't say which celeb it was....

When she got to my house, I realized she had some need for physical therapy, and I started discussing her needs with her! (that's just like me to want to help someone with their functional limitations....)

Anyway, I thought it was crazy to dream something like that because 1. The chances of me winning a contest of that nature are next to none, 2. I was truly worried that my dream meant that scrapbooking has really consumed me, and 3. No such contest exists....

UNTIL NOW!!!

http://www.creatingkeepsakes.com/contests/files/contest.148.html

Why must I be tortured like this? LOL!!! I don't think I have enough energy to enter such a big contest again this year... but I will always wonder if that dream would come true!