Dear Me at 3 am: An Open Letter for Sleep-Deprived Mothers

Dear me at 3am, 

First of all, I know where you are. I know you haven't felt rested in what feels like years. I know this is the 5th time you've put the baby down tonight and he's teething on you as he nurses. Ouch. I know you eat most meals standing up, and if you manage to sit you're probably feeding a baby at the same time and trying not to drop food on him in the process - all while trying to make sure your oldest doesn't feel ignored and knows how much he is loved. I know it feels like your children are abnormal in their ability to survive without sleep, and if one more website says the baby should be taking multiple 2-hour naps, you may need to replace your phone (plus whatever it hits when you throw it). I know you have exhausted yourself meeting the needs of those around you and you could really use a nap, a hug, a glass of wine, and a cookie.

But here's what you need to keep in mind ...

February-Themed Units for Toddlers

Welcome to What We're Leaning Wednesday!

I've been busy coming up with "exploration themes"to do with Z over 2016. First of all, I want to express that the goal is not for him to end the month with a complete knowledge of the themes we focus on.  The kid isn't 2 yet.  That said, his mind is growing like crazy and the best thing I can do for his development (academically speaking) is to put new things in front of him for him to explore, not memorize. I don't expect him to retain a good 90% of what we look at. I am just using these themes as a guide to help me come up with fresh, new activities for us to do together.

We'll explore each theme for one week, but I may leave some of the activities we make out for a while so that he can get a good mastery of them if he's so inclined. Hubs and I have a serious case of wanderlust (we met on a trip to Peru, after all) so I'd like to include a cultural exploration theme for each month. 

Our themes for February are:

02/08 - 02/12    China 

02/15 - 02/19    Valentine's Day   

02/22 - 02/26    Transportation

02/ 28 - 03/03   Teeth

I'm excited about the China theme for next week! We have a laminated map up in Z's play area now and I've outlined China with a dry erase marker to make it stand out a bit more. We will listen to Chinese music, look at pictures of the people, architecture, and food, eat some Chinese food at home, and complete a few Chinese New Year inspired crafts that I found on Pintrest. Check out these links for some inspiration!
Nurture Store: Chinese New Year Sensory Painting
Learning and Exploring Through Play: Chinese New Year Dragon Art for Toddlers
The Gingerbread House: Chinese lantern sun catcher

I'll keep you updated on how it goes! 

Z's New Play Area!

As soon as we discovered that we are going to have another baby, we started to consider if we need to move into a larger home.  Unfortunately, that just isn't a realistic option for us right now - so we've started to think more creatively about how to best use the space we have and rethink what we want or need to keep. One thing I really wanted was a defined play space for Z. He plays in his room, obviously, but I was hoping to find a place where I could see him playing while I prepped lunch or emptied the dishwasher. We found a great solution!

Z's play yard in its old spot. 

BEFORE
Before, Z had a play yard that basically just sat in the middle of our living room.  It was alright, but he hated it if I ever had to lock him in for a minute.  I honestly didn't blame him.  It was a small area and I had the keep the amount of toys down so that there was actually space to play. It also made our living room feel like it was constantly being hit by a toddler tornado, so it was a little hard to relax after Z had gone to bed.  I wanted a defined space for him to play, and a defined adult space that didn't feel too chaotic at the end of the day.



AFTER

Where is it?
Finally, inspiration struck.. Who says the dining area has to be a dining area? We moved the dining table over to the wall where the play yard had been, and raised the hanging light so that you could walk under it comfortably. Then we opened up the play yard in the back and used it to enclose the former dining area on two sides.  The result gives Z a ton of space to play and store toys, plus wall space to make the area more kid-friendly.  As a result, all of his toys can stay is his new play area (however chaotic it may be) and the living room feels like a room grown-ups want to be in again!




What's inside?
I'm blessed to be both daughter and daughter-in-law to two wonderful women who have a passion for education and a wealth of knowledge and experience in classrooms.  Of course, this also means that they have a wealth of charts, curriculum, books, etc. that they've saved over the years and passed along to me to use with Z. :)  I've got a few posters on the wall from them, as well as a calendar chart that I bought online for about $20. I also purchased a little 3-cubby storage unit on sale from target (about $15, I think) and an activity rug from Amazon for about $30.


We've lived with this arrangement for a few weeks now and we love it! Yes, the dinner table is in a kind of strange spot and it's up against a wall, so if we have company we have to pull it out a bit - but the trade off is well worth it!  I'm hoping this larger play area will be a big asset once the baby arrives and I need to know Z is playing safely while I change a diaper or but the baby down for a nap! We will see!

SAHM: Finding the rhythm

Switching to being a SAHM has definitely been an adjustment, especially while under the weather! I've fallen behind on the house maintenance routine, dinner last night never made it off the ground and we ended up ordering pizza, and Z has been taking some very short naps.  It's been the perfect storm for a overwhelming week, but I think things are starting to turn around.  I've decided to hold off on the more structured leaning units until we find our rhythm at home together. In the meantime, we are exploring the local parks, libraries, museums, etc and stepping up on our toy rotation.  Z also learned the word "noise" this week and he has been observing all sorts of noises - some that I don't even notice.  As a result, we had some fun with a metal mixing bowl this morning. He started out drumming on it.  Then we flipped it over and he hit the rim.  He was absolutely delighted at the different sound it made. I said something about it sounding like the bells in Spain and he lit up and said, "yeah!".

Hopefully we will find a good rhythm and resume the unit studies soon!

Stay at Home Mom: A Leap of Faith

This is an exciting and somewhat unsettling time for our family. I've turned in my resignation  in order to stay at home with my son!  It's a great part-time job that I've really enjoyed, but it just isn't working for our family anymore.  I've been pondering taking this step for a while, but something held me back from actually resigning.  Namely, I have no idea how I am going to bring in some extra income.  Granted, the income I'm giving up is part-time and non-profit - nothing that's going to change the world - but it helps!