Once again

That's right, I'm thankful again! I feel guilty that I let Thursdays fall by the wayside. Today I am especially grateful for:

Dr. Weissbluth and his awesome book

Some of you may have lately noticed me complaining about Kate's newly initiated Anti-Sleep Movement, or wandering around in a zombie-like state with dark shadows under my eyes, or napping rather than blogging. That sort of thing. The past couple of months (yep months) my perfect sleeper suddenly mutinied and decided it would be cool to stay up as late as physically possible (even if she's the ONLY ONE awake in the house) and, even better, refuse to take a nap during the day. (This one's absolutely unacceptable. I need a break!) It all came out of nowhere and I was stumped. Then one night I found this book in my room and desperately read it until nearly 1 a.m. WHO KNEW they had a whole chapter devoted to TODDLERS? Apparently this late late late show thing is really common for a 2 1/2-year-old! (seasoned mothers: insert snickers and eye-rolling here)

But the big surprise: the answer was not what I thought it was. In fact, one of the suggestions in the book that I thought was most ridiculous ended up being my golden ticket. He suggested writing a list of rules for bedtime, posting them on the wall, and every night she follows them, she puts a sticker on her chart in the morning. So simple. I thought this would not at all appeal to a 2-year-old. But one night during our pre-bed pep rally (the part where I try to convince her that going to bed is in fact a good idea) I found my bag of tricks empty, so I whipped out the rules. I listed them off for her, and she ate them up! Even weirder: I did not bribe her at first. The kid just inexplicably loves "rules." I didn't even realize that was the solution until the next morning. The first words out of her mouth were, "I sleep with the rules!" I said, "What? You slept with a rose?" I could not figure it out until she started listing off some of the rules to me. I was like, "You're kidding! You REMEMBER those? And you followed them ON PURPOSE?" So I quickly made up an official list (which she loves) and a sticker chart (which I always thought were kinda cheesy. Not anymore!) Final report? For the past three days she has taken a nap right away without a problem, and bedtime... well it's not as smooth as naps but definitely improving. HALLELUJAH!!!

THE RULES:

1. Stay in bed
2. Close your eyes
3. Stay quiet
4. Go to sleep

THAT'S IT!!!

Now to catch up on my sleep...

OTHER ITEMS OF THANKFUL WORTHINESS:
Cereal - last night I had 3 bowls
American Idol - I need a little down time
Did I mention NAPS?
9 AM church!!!!! I never thought I would say that. I will gladly wake up at 6:30 for this.
Brooklyn's toes
Kate's saucy attitude