The Price of Sanity

This is a sponsored post - written by me, on behalf of White Cloud Diapers. All views and opinions are my own.

Little P strutting her stuff in her White Cloud Diapers

One of things I was told time and time again when I was pregnant was to stock up on diapers. And not just the newborn ones (although you do go through a truck load of those), but to also be prepared and have the next two sizes up.

I honestly thought people were joking. I mean, really, how many diapers can that little person go through in the first few months?

Was I in for a shock. 

It was insane the amount of diapers we were going through. And trust me, we tried multiple brands just trying to save a few cents here and there. But in the end, the cheaper, store brand versions just didn't cut it. The savings we made with the initial purchase were lost when we went through twice as many because they couldn't hold or prevent 'diaper blowouts' (and those are just fun, aren't they?).

So, when I was asked if I wanted to try out the Wal-Mart premium brand and attend an event to learn about them, I was a little hesitant. But, I figured 'why not?'. 

But I have to admit, I was pleasantly surprised. 

I received the diapers in the mail a few days before the event and figured I would take them for a 'test spin' so to speak. I liked the thickness of them, they had a cute little lion on the front and the tabs on the sides seemed to be pretty durable. And Little P definitely put them through the wringer on the first go out (if I didn't know better, I'd swear she had been saving all that pee up just for that moment). But they held, and held strong. She didn't get all 'wiggly' like she had with other store brands, and they didn't create 'droopy butt' as much some have.

Since we had a great test run, I was confident and ready for first blogger event.

How can you can say 'no' when greeted with a diaper wreath?

And what a hoot!! Aside from the fact that I got to meet some fellow 'Mommy Bloggers', we had a blast, trying to guess the baby food in the diaper (I got mine right, nan-nan-na), raced each other to try and drink 4 ounces of water from a baby bottle (that was hard. I wound up just taking the lid off. No need to injure myself over a bottle malfunction - that's my story and I'm sticking to it), and we got to learn about how Wal-Mart has responded to parents needs in regards to cost effective  premium diapers. Fun and educational - how can you beat that?

All sorts of fun

White Cloud Diapers have a wetness indicator on them in the newborn sizes (perfect for the first time parents), they are hypo-allergenic and fragrance free (which is a big plus when you have a new little one), and because they are a Wal-Mart product, you know you are going to get a good deal for your hard earned bucks.

Diapering can be one of the biggest expenses in a family’s weekly budget and a great performing diaper is a must-have for parents. In order to make this affordable, Wal-Mart has reintroduced their premium line of White Cloud diapers to address the needs of today’s busy parents.

White Cloud Diapers provide your baby the highest quality diaper with superior leakage protection, exceptional softness and great fit. White Cloud Diapers are available exclusively at Wal-Mart, where you can find low prices everyday on all your family’s needs

Check them out today!

So my fellow parents, if you are looking for a good alternative for those brand name diapers, give White Cloud Diapers a whirl - you might be pleasantly surpised.

K

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of #WhiteCloudDiapers. 

Bang! Bang! You're...

Wait. Lightsabers don't go 'bang bang'.

Little P is definitely our kid. If you ask her what does Darth Vader sound like, she'll put her hand up in a little fist over her mouth and breath heavy (it's frigging hilarious). Ask her what a Wookie sounds like and she'll 'howl' like Chewbacca. She knows who Yoda is, who Han and Luke are and even what the Millenium Falcon sounds like.

Little P doing her 'Darth Vader' impersonation.
Apparently the bowl from a salad spinner makes a good helmet.
Who knew?

All without ever having seen any of the movies (cause, she's too little for that kind of viewing). 

Most of it is due to M and I being big old geeks. We have Star Wars memorabilia all over the house (not a lot of it, but enough). And for Christmas last year, she got a 'Star Wars ABC' book, which is where most of her Star Wars knowledge comes from (that and the fact that M and I might quote it from time to time).

Recently, during a brief moment of cooperation as I was changing her, Little P had a chapstick and was holding it with both hands making a 'vvvmmm' sound (apparently that's the technical term for 'lightsaber noise'. Thank you Yahoo Answers.). She had me a little stumped there for a while, and then it clicked. 'Honey, is that a lightsaber?' She nods her head 'yes'. Well what do you know? That's on new one on me.

Naturally, I of course grabbed another chapstick and we spent the next ten minutes having a lightsaber duel, making noises, and with me, obviously, being dealt the death blow. If anyone had of been able to see us, they would have wondered what on earth we were doing.

Fast forward a couple of days later, and we are at the local park, when Little P picks up what looks like the handle of a plastic toy gun. For a moment, I'm a little freaked, as we don't play with 'guns' at home (she of course could have seen it at school) and was wondering if I should discourage this kind of play or let her just have at it, when she starts going 'vvmmm' again. Yay for lightsabers! That's one less conversation M and I have to have, for a little while at least.

I'm not saying that kids playing make believe with guns is a bad thing (heck, I used to do it all the time with my brother, although I think we used blasters - there's Star Wars again). It's just that, in this very charged environment about pro-guns / anit-guns, things are a little nuts (like the two little boys who got suspended for 'shooting' each other with their fingers. They are SIX!!). As a parent, you tend to feel, um, worried? Overprotective? Concerned? About how another parent might react to your little one running around going 'bang bang'. And seriously, there are so many more important things to be worrying about then whether or not Little Johnny’s parents are going to flip out if they see your little one ‘shooting’ him.

So, till next time dear readers, remember as Obi-Wan so eloquently puts it ‘Anyone can use a blaster or a fusioncutter – but to use a lightsaber well, was a mark of someone a cut above ordinary.’ (and really, who wants to be ordinary?)

K

Life Lessons from Disney

"My daughter is NEVER going to watch ANY Disney movie." 

A friend said this to me about a year ago. She was, shall we say, 'disgusted', at how badly typecast females were in their animated movies (granted, they are just animated versions of fairy tales that had been around for eons, but this little fact seemed to be wasted on her).

"There is no way I am going to let my little girl think that if she just sits around and does nothing, that her 'prince' will turn up and take her away to live happily ever after. Real life isn't like that.' And while I get what she is saying, I think she's missing two very important facts:

One: Each of these stories does have a moral and can teach kids (both boys and girls) something, and 

Two: It's a frigging fairy tale.

Fast forward to last week, and this same person is raving about how wonderful Disney's 'Brave' is. Now, I'll give her this much, Merida is a very strong female character, but I'd like to point out a few things here:

- She's a spoilt little girl who thinks everything needs to go her way and when it doesn't she puts a curse on her Mother and turns her into a bear.

- Eventually she learns her lesson, but in the process she's managed to turn her brothers in bears, had half the castle destroyed, scared the crap out of the servants and pushed her mother to almost exhaustion.

- It's a story.

Now don't get me wrong, I love me a good animated flick (I think we own every PIXAR movie ever made, including the shorts), but when people start saying that these things are a bad influence on our kids, I kind of switch off. Yes, I agree, that watching too much of these movies (or any film for that matter) and putting too much 'faith' in them can be bad for a kid's ideals - but as long as they aren't 20 something women who are still waiting for their Prince Charming to turn up, I really can't see the harm. I see them more as a chance to teach your little one something. And that goes for all of them, not just the ones with Princesses in them. There's 101 Dalmations, The Astriocats, Peter Pan, The Lion King, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Dumbo, Bambi.... the list goes on and on. I think at last count there are something like 52 animated films in the Disney repertoire.

Kids are going to believe a myriad of things (hello - Santa Claus, Easter Bunny, Tooth Fairy anyone?) and some of them are going to be helpful and teach them to work those brains of theirs and others are going to just be for fun (helping the imagination along). And there's nothing wrong with that. 

To each their own, I say.

Now you will have to excuse me, I am going to go and put on 'Alice in Wonderland' (now that movie is a trip).

K

Damn Spam

I've been trying to work out why a certain post has so many hits - then I found out that some dirty so and so has linked to my site from, of all things, a porn site!! Argh! I'm not sure if it's to do with the title of my blog (you know, the whole 'confessions' thing), or if this person isn't actually a person, but a computer searching the web for specific words attached to blogs and then it links to them, but it totally freaked me out.

Now, I'm in a dilemma. Do I change the name of my blog to prevent this from continuing to happen, or do I just ride it out and see what happens? Part of me wants to ride it out - it's kind of exciting to see that many hits on one of my posts - sad, I know, but what's a girl to do. It's nice to be noticed. But the other part of me thinks I should change the name just so some weird dude looking for 'new nuible girls waiting for you' doesn't decide to go trapsing through my blog and leave his dirty, filthy prints all over it. *sigh*

It's kind of funny though. Not funny 'ha ha', but funny 'weird', as I recently had a conversation with a friends daughter who wanted to know why I called it 'Confessions from the Play Room', when, as she so astutely points out 'there aren't any real confessions on it'. Well, no, there aren't. And as she again points out 'it's no Scary Mommy blog'. Again, you got me. But I think one Scary Mommy is plenty - heck, she's got two books, a video series and the confessions on the site are up in the 1,000's. Good for her. But that was never my intention. I was never looking for people to post on here with their deepest, darkest secrets (you can keep that for another blog), and really, the 'confession' part of it is just simply that we, as parents, aren't perfect. We make mistakes, we do stupid things, and constantly worry that we are making our children slightly dysfunctional because of it. That's what makes it a good read (at least, that's what makes it a good read for me), and essentially, what makes it funny.

Kids operate on a totally different level to grown ups. They see the world in a much broader, and infinitely more intersting way than we do. And because of that, weird stuff happens. Kids 'painting' with poop. Kids wearing their Mom's bra's as a hat because that's what they look like. Kids telling parents that 'Satan is coming to town, so you better be good'. It's stuff like this that makes doing this blog fun for me. I'm not looking for people to tell me that they hid in the bathroom with cookies because they don't want to share with their kids (although, that one is kind of funny), or that, the moment their little ones are asleep, the bottle of wine comes out and their night begins (actually, I've done that one a couple of times). Or even that they covet their little one's clothing because it's much more fashionable than theirs (hang on.... I've done that one too. Hmmm, seeing a pattern develop here).

If people want to tell me that they secretly pretend to be asleep because they just don't have the energy to be initimate with their partner, or that they would rather eat a pound cake than go out and play with their little ones, that's fine. It's just not what I am (or this blog) is about. But if people want to share with me the story about the day their little one told the next door neighbor that Daddy makes Mommy yell 'Stop. No don't stop', or that their 3 year old decided it was a good idea to put the car keys in the toilet and flush it, then I'll all down for that, and if they are okay with me sharing with you, then all the better.

Look, at the end of the day, being a parent is a hard, often confusing but most definitely very rewarding job. But there is one thing we must all try to remember - just as every child is different, so is every parent. While I might not agree with your tactics in getting your child to go to sleep, I'm going to be the last person to go 'tsk, tsk' about it. We all do our very best to try and raise our children to be better people, and while at times it might feel like we are dismal failures, I think for the most part, we are pretty successful at it.

So, till next time, just enjoy the ride - it will be over before you know it.

K

(and here's day 15 of Jimi)

Just hanging out with some 'snowy' buddies.

Base Camp - Mt. Impossible

I'm not sure exactly when it happened, I just know that one day, I looked at what I was carrying and realized all I needed was a furry hat and the backdrop of Mt. Everest and I would look exactly like a sherpa.

Yup - just like this
(Credit - Google)

I'm serious. The amount of stuff I was carrying, just to get out the door and get Little P in the car was mounting on the ridiculous. I had one diaper bag, which had the usual suspects in it (diapers, wipes, snacks etc.), a blanket (because apparently Little P had to have that with her), one Snoopy, one Minnie Mouse, one Mickey Mouse, one Violet and her two babies, Lulu and Sally. Not to mention the two jackets (one for me, one for her), my car keys, my wallet, my phone and a bottle of water for me. If I had anything else on me I think I would have fallen over not just from the weight of it all, but also from sheer exhaustion.

It's funny. People tell you that as your little ones get older, it gets easier to get them out and about. Well I call bullsh*t on that one. Big time. When Little P was just a wee baby, all I needed was her in the baby carrier and my diaper bag. That's it. Out the door and away we went. Now, you tell me how it's easier to get a moveable object, that a) insists on not moving, b) when it's ready to move will only do so under the strictest of conditions (that being Mommy has to carry all of the above mentioned items) and c) if these conditions are not met, you may as well give up the idea of going anywhere and go take a nap.

Trust me, I've tried to go out with just a few things in a bag, telling her that her 'friends' all needed to take a nap and that 'big girls don't need to take their blankets with them'. And what inevitably happens is that I get somewhere and realize that I'm either a) out of diapers (thankfully I keep a stash of those and wipes in the car these days - who says an old dog can't learn new tricks?), b) she wants the one snack I didn't bring or c) melt downs occur because the one friend I insisted that we leave at the house was the only thing that would have prevented said melt down.

Some may say I'm a 'push over'. That I 'give in too easily'. And that might be true. But I tell you what, when it comes down to having an enjoyable drive with a happy munchkin singing away to her little friends in the back seat, snacking on Gold Fish or Cheerios (or both) and telling me she's having a 'good day', I'll take being a push over any day over having a screaming child who thinks I'm subjecting her to cruel and unusual punishment.

So, you super Mommies out there that can get away with your tiny little bag when you go out with your little one, hat's off to you....but guess who is the first person you will come looking for when you need wipes, or hand santizer, or maybe a snack or two? That's right, me, Little Miss Push Over.

K

Turkey, Indians, Pilgrims and more...

Thanksgiving has always been one of those days that I never really fully understood. We don't have anything that compares to it in Australia (heck, we are always down for a day that involves food, drinking and taking a day off from work, so if we did have something like it, trust me, I'd know), so it's been something that I personally have had trouble wrapping my head around.

Which makes me wonder, how do I explain it to Little P as she gets older? I mean, I get the basics of it, but even Wikipedia seems a little 'all over the shop' about how it started, why it came about and what it really means.

Think about it. How would you describe it to someone who has never experienced it in person before. When all they have to go on is the cartoons and movies that they saw as kids (or even as adults). For me personally, what springs to mind first is the Addams Family. Yup, the second movie, where the Wednesday and Pugsly are sent to camp and are forced to perform a version of the 'first Thanksgiving' and where all hell breaks loose. Yup. That's what Thanksgiving brings to mind for me.

And then of course there's all the stories friends have told me about how the only reason they go home for Thanksgiving is to watch their dysfunctional family implode over turkey, stuffing and way too much alcohol.

I understand the modern day concept of being thankful. It's something we should do every day, not just on one specific day, but that's beside the point. And, honestly, the few times I've been able to be with M's family for Thanksgiving, it's been an awesome experience (perhaps a little too much food and wine consumed, but hey, comes with the holiday), but really, what does it mean?

Christmas is a little easier to explain - even the whole 'Jesus isn't Santa, Santa isn't Jesus' deal. But Thanksgiving? I just don't know. 

So, my wonderful readers, any suggestions? How do/did you explain it to your little ones? Do you take this route: Mommy Bog ; which I think is kind of how my conversation with Little P will go, or do you try to use books, movies or just hope their teachers at school cover it all? I know I have a little time, but forewarned is forearmed right?

Either way, Happy Thanksgiving to you beautiful people. Whether you take part in this tradition or not, take the time today to be thankful for all that you have.

From my family to yours, have a fabulous Turkey Day. Gobble Gobble!

K

Miss Matched

Do you remember all those funny little things you did before you had kids?

Like sleeping in on a Sunday, then staying in your PJ's all day, watching bad movies and eating nothing but ice cream and cookies? Or staying in bed because it was cold and rainy outside and all you wanted to do was read a book and sleep? Or wearing outfits that you really had no right to wear out in public, which in turn made you want to do it even more, so you did? Or having your knickers and bra's match (and yes, I said 'knickers'. To me, 'panties' are what little girls wear, not grown women - but that's just me). 

Yeah, that last one is a kicker, huh?

Having a conversation with a friend of mine a little while ago and she turns to me and says "I bought matching underwear for the first time in 20 years yesterday."
I wasn't quite sure how to respond to that, so all I said was "That so?"
"Yup." says she. "I showed Hubby what I had bought, and he looked at me with this look of complete and total panic. He says to me 'Did I forget something? Our anniversary? Your birthday? It's October, so it can't be Valentine's Day and Christmas is still two months away. So what's the special occasion?'"
By now, I'm starting to understand where she was going with this. "So, what did you say to him?"
"I said, 'No special occasion. I saw them and liked them and decided to buy them. Why? Don't you like them?'"
That's a loaded question if ever I heard one. "And what did he say?"
"He said they looked great and he was excited for me. What's that supposed to mean? It's not like they were even that fancy. Just a beige bra and panties that matched and had the bra had a little bow on it."

At this point, I can't tell if she's upset at his response, at the fact that she didn't buy something more fancy, or just at the simple fact that in the past 20 years, she hadn't bought matching underwear. I personally can't imagine not owning underwear that matches. Really. It's kind of an obsession with me. Before Little P came along, when I went underwear shopping, I would buy extra pairs of knickers with a bra just so I could always have a pair that matched it. Obviously, once Little P arrived, that kind of stopped - heck, in the beginning I was just impressed if I managed to get out of my PJ's let alone have on underwear.

But now I'm back into the swing of it, and I still can't imagine not matching my underwear. Sure, there will be days when they might not be the same color (you know, those days when you want to wear white pants and a black shirt) but they will be the same 'make and model'... so to speak.

My friend however, had never had a pair of underwear that were even made by the same company as her bra's. She had been just grabbing handfulls at the *gasp* discount bins and hadn't really been concerned about whether they matched any of her bra's (and sometimes she didn't even look at the size). Sure, she had some that were close in color - in the same 'family' of black or white. But that was pretty much it. 

I was kind of at a loss. I didn't know what to say. I know I'm weird when it comes to the whole underwear thing (I can't do bargain store ones for example. I tried, I really did, but the girls need their proper support and $10 bra's just don't cut it for me), and I know most women don't spend a whole lot of time thinking about their 'support garments'. But ladies, for the love of all that is wonderful about a woman's body, please, please, please, spend a little extra time when trying on underwear and bra's, and if you can afford it, a little extra cash. A great fitting bra and matching knickers can do wonders for you and how you feel.

Which is exactly what I told my friend. That she should be excited about this new phase in her life; both her kids are grown and out of the house. So, go crazy. Buy that bright purple lacy bra you saw in the store. Get the knickers that match. Why not even buy stockings?! Celebrate your body. Enjoy it for what it is - yours. Go on. You deserve it.

And while you are at it - get Hubby some new underwear. You know he probably needs it.

K

Hello. My name is Inigo Montayo

You killed my father. Prepare to die. 

It's an awesome (and often quoted) line from the Princess Bride. And it makes me think of a story I heard last week from a friend of mine.

She has a little boy, all of three years old, called Matthew. Matthew has recently learnt how to spell his name. 'M-A-T-T-H-E-W - that spells Matthew. That's me.' He's quite proud of himself (and rightly so). In fact, he will tell anyone who listens what his name is and how to spell it. But don't try to tell him he's 'cute'. Or 'handsome. Or a 'little boy'. He will quite emphatically argue this with you. 'I'm not cute. I'm Matthew.' 'But you are your Mommy's little boy.' 'No! I'm Matthew!'

No matter what his mother does, he will not accept the fact that he is indeed Matthew, and also a little boy. As far as he is concerned, you can't be both - you have to be one or other. And she's not alone in going through this phase. A lot of parents have a hard time trying to convince their little ones that yes, they are 'Sophie', but they are also their 'little girl', or 'Grandma's little princess'. For a little one, the concept of self is purely reliant on their idea of who they are.Yes, they may indeed by someone's little one, but as fair as they are concerned, their name is who they are.

Which explains them referring to themselves in the third person a lot. 'It's Jason's turn.' 'Sally wants to go play.' 'That's Toby's toy', and so on. Being able to define themselves by their name helps them to develop who they are among their peers.

But it goes the other way too. You can't be 'Mommy' (or 'Daddy') and be 'Joan' (or 'David'). You are one or the another. I'm not quite sure at what age they understand that a person can be many things to many people - heck, I know some adults who still don't get it - but it's certainly an interesting thing to watch.

So, till next time, just remember, Sybil may have had multiple personalities, but when you are a parent, you have multiple names and jobs (is it any wonder we are tired all the time?).

K

Here there be Monsters...

From ghoulies and ghosties

And long-leggedy beasties

And things that go bump in the night,

Good Lord, deliver us!

Halloween is here - when cute little boys and girls get dressed up as goblins and ghosts, Buzz Lightyear and Fancy Nancy. When getting candy from strangers is actually expected and being able to walk around an unknown neighborhood is par for the course.

Growing up in Australia, kids didn't really have 'Halloween' - it was more of a grown ups excuse to let loose, wear a costume and 'get down with your bad self'. Although, thinking back on it - we didn't really need a holiday to encourage us to do that, most people I know would put on a costume and go out drinking without any prompting. But that's beside the point.

Halloween was a little anti-climatic for me this year. I'm not sure if it's because we did so much stuff prior to the 31st, or the fact that I started working this week or if it's just because the whole 'Trick or Treating' deal doesn't really happen in our neighborhood, it was just kind of 'Oh, it's Halloween?'

Don't get me wrong - I'm a huge fan of Halloween. This year, it just didn't do it for me.

We had grand plans of going to Town Square after I finished work, but I finished late, got stuck in horrible traffic and by the time I picked up Little P from daycare, I was pretty much over driving. I then found out from a friend that it was crazy busy there anyway and they were leaving, so I pretty much just decided to head towards home and play it by ear.

Fortunately our neighbors had a prime spot out in their driveway, with chairs surrounded by carved pumpkins, so Little P and I helped hand out candy to the small amount of Trick or Treaters that came by. I have to admit, I was kind of surprised by a) the age of the kids (most seemed to be at least 11 or 12), b) the types  of costumes they were wearing and c) by the fact that every single one of them was carrying a pillow case as their 'bucket' - me thinks they had high hopes for a large amount of candy. Whatever was in the air tonight, it just didn't feel like Halloween to me.

I'm hoping come this time next year, that Little P will be more aware of what it is, that we will have more Trick or Treaters and that it feels a little more 'Halloween-y'. But now that it's over, bring on 'Turkey Day' (aka Thanksgiving). Cause after that, it's Christmas, the most wonderful time of the year, and even Little P knows who the big guy in the red suit is.

Till next time, eat, drink and be scary.

K

It's a Fine Art

Having a few friends who are expecting their first child, I have all of a sudden become 'the guru' that they are seeking answers from. I don't think it's because I am any better at being a Mom than anyone else, I just think they know I will tell them the truth - warts and all. So, when they ask me what they should be ready for, I tell them the stuff that most people (and books and websites) have already told them. Then I get down to the nitty gritty.

There are some things you know you will have to face when you have a little one. Being sleep deprived for months on end. Not being able to eat a full, hot meal... again, for months on end. Being a member of the walking dead because you are sleep deprived and haven't been able to eat a full meal for months on end. It's almost a right of passage. But one of the things people don't tell you is that you very quickly have to develop a skill for moving a sleeping babe from one place to another, keeping said babe asleep. 

And it's not a skill comes easily either. Some parents never master it and simply leave it to the other parent to do the 'maneuver'. 'No way. I'm not picking him up. I'll just wake him. You do it better.' And while this may be a fact, it's still a bit of a cop out - it's not something you can just do - it's a fine art that you have to practice at. And believe me, I know.

When you have a little one fall asleep in your arms, it's all sweetness and light - for about 30 seconds. Then you realize you have to either a) put them in their bassinet/crib or stay that way with them till they wake up or b) risk falling asleep with them in your arms only to wake up with either a sore neck and/or back or have your arm fall sleep and then try to do the weird one limbed shuffle to get them into their bed. Neither of which is a fun option. Been there, done that.

Little P was always pretty good at getting to sleep - it was the keeping her asleep that we sometimes had trouble with. So much so that when she was a baby, if she fell asleep in her swing, that's where we left her - tip-toeing around her while she slept. And falling asleep in the car - most days that was a piece of cake. Moving her from the car to the crib, that was the tricky part. Somedays we would just take the car seat up to her room, and let her sleep in it. I'm not saying that's a perfect scenario, but when you have a little one, you take what you can get when it comes to them sleeping.

As she got older, it became apparent that I would have to take her out of her car seat and get her into her crib to ensure that she would get a decent sleep. This is where the 'art of transference' came in. You have to get their straps off them, get your arms under them, move them into your arms, carry them into the house (and in our case, up stairs), get them into their room, and gently, ever so gently, ease them into their crib. Usually while holding your breath and trying not to step on anything that would make a noise.

And, if you were lucky, you would get them down, get out of their room, close the door and (praise the gods) they would still be asleep. If you weren't, then the minute you shut that door, the crying would start.

I won't lie - I have gotten pretty damn good at it. So much so, that if there's any doubt as to whether she will stay asleep, M will look at me and go 'She's all yours'. Thanks babe. There are of course, some days when I'll think I nailed it only to have her wake up the moment I put her in her crib. And the little bugger will then be wide awake till it's time for bed, regardless of how much time she slept in the car.

As she's getting older though, it's getting harder to maneuver her into her crib. She's longer and heavier, so it can take a lot of twisting and turning on my behalf to get her down without waking. Some days it's too easy - other days, like today, not so much. But, hey, that's what parenting is all about. Taking the good with the bad, and having the ability to still laugh about it at the end of the day, even if that day started at 3am.

So, till next time, flex those muscles, warm up those arms, because you are going to need all our strength for this one.

K