One-Room-Quiet Acrobatics

The past few nights Ben hasn't slept well and so he tries to get as much sleep as possible in the morning. This worked fine when we had a two bedroom apartment, and a two bedroom carriage house bed and breakfast but it is much more challenging in a one room hotel room.

Yonah woke up at 6:41am, which is fine for me, but isn't good for Ben who needed the extra sleep. So I nursed Yonah, and then tried to keep him quiet, but that's among one of the most impossible things to do. Babies squeal and don't respond to "shhh!", so I let him talk, albeit as minimal as I could.

Then Naisa woke up and although she can be quiet while she's in her bed, normally waking up in the morning means getting to make noise. So naturally Ben was awake. Naisa started fussing for her milk, right while I was changing Yonah's diaper (which has become a wiggly process that takes longer than it used to), and tension rose some.

So I ended up getting Yonah bounced back to sleep at 8:00 and Naisa had a banana and some milk while in bed, and she's doing an okay job of being quiet. It's just a challenge because it makes Ben and me frustrated at each other. That's challenging for me because I want to spend time with Ben and enjoy that time, but instead either he's irritated at me or I'm irritated at him or I'm irritated because Yonah and Naisa has been driving me bonkers all day. And I just want some adult time and talk to an adult.

Now Naisa's diaper and pants (and bed) were wet so out of the bed she comes. It's 8:30 and Ben's alarm is going off and he's still not getting up, so I have to continue to keep her quiet (not an easy process with a two year old). I gave her a some almonds and some water. So far she's wuiet, but it's a limited moment. Soon she'll be loud though, because being out of her bed means she can make noise... and Yonah and Ben are still sleeping/trying to sleep.

This... is my morning.

And we're in! How things are going so far!

We are in our new space for the next month. It is a one room "efficiency" apartment with the only other room being the bathroom.

When we packed and moved our things into Ben's father's truck and located ValuePlace and got checked in by a kind and energetic host. And when we walked into the original room we were going to rent, it was just room for a bed, tv, half a dresser and a coat rack. It was the size of Ben's CA dorm room in college. So we upgraded to the room with the sofa, because it had more floor space and then I rearranged the room while Ben and his dad were loading up the cart to bring things up.

As they brought things, I went through the boxes and moved all the things I thought we might not need in the next month. Goodbye cornmeal, extra spoons, many books and toys, and a pink ball. There wasn't enough floor space or patience to keep a large garbage bag full of toys.

Naisa and Yonah's beds are stationed next to each other in the corner where the couch previously was. The couch is where the table used to be and the table is in front of the window. All our extra things that didn't need to be out and accessible were shoved under the very high bed frame.

We put the shoes and stroller in the bathroom, because there was more floorspace in there and not in the way.

There is no oven. It would be good to have a toaster oven or a crock pot, but there's no counter space, so I'm using the pressure cooker for things that are needing cooking and the other pans for quick heating.

Naptime and bedtime are going okay so far. I originally wanted to have a tent set up for Naisa to have her own space, but there definitely isn't enough space. Naisa and Yonah's beds are next to each other in the corner where the couch was originally. Naisa plays quietly in her bed for a couple hours, pretending to sleep when I check on her before peering over the edge of the crib and smiling at me. The problem is nap time is pushed very far back. Normally she would nap at two and now she's falling asleep at four. Yonah's napping is whenever and when Naisa is in her bed she stays quiet so I don't have trouble keeping Yonah asleep.

The fun part is doing things in the kitchen portion while the children sleep. I don't like being forced to be quiet but sleep is sacred. But I'm sure they will adjust to the noise as long as I'm not ridiculously noisy.

The first night of sleeping was really hard because Naisa, Ben, and I all went to bed at eleven and then Naisa spent an hour between 2 and 3 coughing intermittently and we were up with that and then Yonah got up at seven, bright and early so we were all tired.

The second night went much better. Everyone was so tired, Yonah slept from ten to six and I almost did also!. :)

Today we went to the grocery store.. I walked to Lifeway to get the car and then we went to Wegmans. Ben's job is now located within a quarter mile of our apartment and when he won't drive to work, he can walk and I'll have the car.

I'm going to post pictures later.

Transitioning from the bed n breakfast to a one room extended stay hotel

This weekend Ben, Naisa, Yonah, and I are moving from our cozy bed and breakfast two-bedroom-apartment to a one room extended stay hotel room for a month. Ben's training was originally supposed to be ending at the end of October, but there were several unforeseen occurances that extended the training--the first week of training, which was more of the manager trying to do hisi thing, and Ben trying to follow the instructions of the company and not much getting done, a week of training in Lynchburg, and a week of the Yearly Sales Meeting (a conference with all the managers in the company). So here we are, almost November, and Ben has a couple weeks to go still.

When I made the reservation for this place I didn't expect it to need to be extended, so we needed to move to another place for the rest of the training. I looked and LOOKED for another place via Airbnb.com, but nothing met our needs quite like this place (two bedrooms and a whole kitchen with all the things we needed!, and affordable.) I even looked at apartments in the area that were short leases with furnished options, but they were all so much MONEY. Even extended stays in the area were too far and too expensive. And KOAs weren't ideal either. So when I found this place, called Value Place, an extended stay place in the area with lower weekly rates, it looked like this was just what we needed, even though they didn't have any two room options that were affordable.

On Saturday, Ben's parents are helping us move into our room, which as a full sized fridge, two burners and some storage space, a table and two chairs, and a bed for Ben and I. Naisa and Yonah will sleep in their pack n plays. And i get to learn to parent in an even tinier place.

I know bedtimes, nap time, and after bedtime is going to be a challenge, because that's when Ben and I get to spend time together, and when I get my time to exercise, but it's very very close to where Ben works, so the car will be available to use.

I'm looking forward to the challenges and joys of living closer together. I'm also looking forward to finding out where we are going to be and READY to know that. 

Dad, then Mom visits, 7th heaven, and kust thinks

Mom has been here this week, which has been great, since Ben has been gone for a conference with his new job. Naisa is in full charge of a two year old behavior. Learning new words, and screaming when things aren't as she wants them! We went to Babies'R'Us yesterday and picked out a cute baby potty for Naisa. She picked out one and it's set up in the bathroom, and her babies (not her!) have peed and pooped on the potty. :)
We went to the park with Naisa on Monday. It's within a mile of our place, and we found it had a nice playground within a fenced area. There was another little boy Naisa's age with his dad. I'm still trying to figure out if I could handle Naisa having a fit at the park while I need to take care of Yonah. I figure that if she has a fit and won't recover, then we'll go home right away. And I'll try to figure out how to do that when Yonah needs to nurse at the same time. But I can handle it.
Tuesday we went to the library. We drove out, although it is in walking distance. There was a story time, and Naisa wanted to be held the whole time because Memaw was there. But it was fun and I think Naisa would continue to enjoy it, and they have a "pre-literacy" room with toys and puzzles. I met a girl who was an au pair for tow little boys that I might get together with. I think the library thing might work out.
Yesterday we got Naisa her potty and today we went for groceries. Mom went and got some Indian food and we had it for lunch. It was good! A nice change of pace.

I've been spending this week hanging out with mom, Naisa, Yonah (my nursing 'boss') and watching 7th heaven. HuluPlus has all eleven seasons, so I decided that I would purchase a month of Hulu plus and see how far we could get.

I like it because, unlike other TV shows, there is no marital infidelity, it doesn't scare or disturb me, I like the husband-wife relationship, it's like Gossip Girl with all the drama, but in a family setting (hahahahahahah). It's funny to me and makes the days go a little quicker until Ben comes home from work. :)

With Mom being here, I have had some of my people needs met, but I'm looking forward to gettting out of the house with both of the kids so that I can meet my extrovert sanity needs.

How was your week?

My Mommy Promise

I love you
I cherish you
I will keep you safe
I will protect you
I will keep you fed
I will keep you warm
I will let you nurse
I will help you sleep

I will take care of myself so I can take care of you
I love you