Wednesday, August 25, 2010

I've Been...

On Vacation. Have you ever been gone so long, you forgot what your house looks like? We used to do it regularly (like every year) but this is the first time we've been gone for 15 days in over 5 years. We did a lot. MapQuest said that if we left our house and drove straight to Salmon, Idaho, then to Firth, Idaho, then to Orem, Utah, then St. George, Utah, then back to Orem, and then home again, with no extra places to go, it would be just over 2,000 miles. We went a few extra places and I didn't keep track of the exact mileage. I guess when your car has already turned over 100K miles, it doesn't matter any more :) I'll have to do a post on all we did...it was fun. Especially that Zion NP thing with just Jeff and I...it was great.

Canning. I think today finished it up...165 quarts of apricots, peaches, crabapple sauce, and pears and 25 pints of apricot-pineapple jam. That's just the last 10 days. I'm out of jars (and I bought 36 jars this week!) except for two pint-sized regular-mouth jars. They'll just have to stay empty until next year. I'm so done.

Dealing with a grumpy baby. If anyone has any advice, I'll take anything! Since we got home, David has refused to sleep in his bed. He will fall asleep in his high chair, in the car seat, in the baby carrier, on the living room floor, but he will not nap in his bed. On Monday, I determined that he just needed to wear himself out. I decided he would not leave that crib until he slept. After 4 hours (yes, four hours) of me checking on him every 30-45 minutes, he won. Unfortunately, nighttimes aren't much better. Luckily most nights we can sit next to the crib and rub his back until he calms down and finally falls asleep (this usually takes an hour). Twice this week, he has woken up and refused to go back to sleep. I'm done with the whole "bring the baby into bed with us" thing. Last night after 2 hours of trying to console him (from midnight to 2 a.m.) we gave up and let him cry. I had to get up and go to the bathroom at 4, and he was asleep then, so I guess he did finally give up. Maybe it's teeth, maybe he's sick. I'm about ready to take a trip to the Dr. to make sure he doesn't have an ear infection, but I really don't think so. As long as he is being held, he's happy. Yah, that made canning 165 jars nice and easy! Thank goodness for older girls. Couldn't have done it without them!

4 comments:

Angela E. said...

So glad to see you back.
On the sleep schedule, just try to regulate his daytime activities and his nighttime routine will fall into line. Keep consistent meal, naptime and playtime in a day. He'll get it. I know it's hard when you're losing so much sleep, but I promise everything will click into place one of these days.
Look forward to seeing you at the cliff dwellings.

RaeLyn said...

Thanks Angela!
Nights are MUCH better. It's just still those naps! I'm working for consistency, but could be better. I"m sure it's hard being the fourth child with other kids' schedules, lessons, and noise! We'll make it though. Thanks for the great advice!

Marsha said...

RaeLyn, you are amazing! I can't believe you canned 165 jars with a baby! I would never dream of doing it even without one! :) How old is your little guy? That sure makes things tough, I hope it gets better soon!

Natalie said...

canning queen! That is awesome. I hope David is back on track...trips take their toll on little ones in weird ways. No matter how fun or relaxed or awesome the trip - there is always payback when you get home. The memories of the fun family time are what make it all worth it :)