DIY Craft - Hanging Weekly Planner

I got this idea from pintrest.com, a new website I'm currently addicted to. If I had unlimited resources my house would be completely transformed. But since that's sadly not the case, I'll be happy doing some litle things around the house - like filling these empty walls we still have after almost living here 3 years, and finding new recipes.

I've ordered a few things on Amazon, not everything on pintrest is DIY, so those will come later once I've gotten them, but this DIY craft was something I really thought we could use, and I was in the mood for a craft night.

Thanks to Ryan for running around with Rogan while I was doing this, it is much appreciated. Sometimes a little bit of craftiness is all a girl needs to recharge.

Here are my supplies:

9 5x7 photo frame: $19.99
scrapbooking paper: $12.99 (expensive!! since i'm not a scrapbooker this was a surprise, but I used more than I thought I would, but have leftovers)
2 sheets of letters: $1.99 each
command strips for wall hanging: $3.50
dry-erase markers: $2.00

so if my math adds, that's a total of $42.50, not a steal, but not horrible. But if I would have purchased the same personalized end product, plus shipping, I'm guessing it would have been more than that. So for my first adventure, I'll take it.


To make the planner I cut 5x7 sheets from the scrapbook paper, used the letters to assign the days (I could have used a printer too, but the letters were sparkly!!).


Place the paper in the frames. the 2 extra squares I designated to groceries and a decoritive personal square in the middle. once it's finished and hung you use the dry erase marker on the glass to write your menu or upcoming events for that week.

Here is how it turned out!
Note: the command strip at the bottom right of the middle square is covering Baby #2's name... I tentatively put it on there, but not ready to commit or tell to the world.

Aren't Almost-2-Year-Olds Supposed to Sleep More Than This???

UUUGH.

last night Rogan crashed at 7:30. We were going to have a bath, he was terrible and resistant. Then his head was on my shoulder, then his eyes were closed. You get the picture.

So we went to bed. He is amazing at going to bed. No peeps, goes right down. But if he wakes up, watch out!!

He woke up at 8:30, crying. Nightmare? Stuck under the blankets? who knows, but he was up. I managed to put him back to sleep in his bed with little trouble. And being the sneaky mom I am, I wedged his large puppy he sleeps with between him and the crib with the puppy arm over him to simulate me sleeping next to him. (one of my smarter moves, I think).

Ryan slept in the guest room, convinced he'd wake up before too long, and was ready to intercept him. But he slept...

Ryan came back into bed around 3:45am, and Rogan woke up 10 minutes later. Just our luck. Ryan tried to get him to sleep with him in the guest room, but I could hear the wails down the hall. So I went in, he calmed down, and we started to rock in his room.

Then... in the darkness... he's pointing to something on the floor, saying "I want that one". No idea what it is, I can barely see!! a sippy? a blanket? a stuffed animal? no... it's a TOY. WHAT?!?! it is 4 in the morning?!?! but he really wanted to play with it. we sat in the dark and played (it's a box with the beads you wind through the metal maze like you find at Dr. offices). I told him it was 4am, but he didn't care. argh.

Then it was time to go downstairs to watch Yo Gabba Gabba. Seriously? I can sleep through a lot, but this show isn't one of them. So we sat, and we watched. At 5am I asked Ryan to switch with me since he was asleep, this would let me get a solid 30 minutes before my alarm! And he got up quickly, but Rogan was furious with the change. Screaming for me, which does no one any good. He's upset, Ryan's getting screamed at, and I can't sleep. So back down I went. And after a little time with both of us I snuck upstairs at 5:30, and decided I didn't need a shower, those 10 minutes were going towards laying in bed in the silence.

So I'm sleepy, Ryan is sleepy. I have to imagine Rogan is sleepy.

Bedtime Update

So it's been a little while since I gave an update about bedtime. Rogan still has his freedom. And that will definitely not change. He has done a great job, all things considered. Last week we had 5 straight nights of him not getting up in the middle of the night and sleeping past 5:30. Great! Then he caught some kind of bug, and was sick with a cough/mild fever for 2 nights. One he got up several times, the other he got up at 10pm and slept with us the whole night propped up so he didn't get as clogged up. But we don't want to make a habit of this. So last night he was back in his bed, and slept until 4:30am. not terrible, but he went to bed too early because he was recovering, so an early wake up was kind of expected. Yawn. He will be going to bed later tonight if things go the right way.

But he is a ROCKSTAR at bedtime. We no longer have to be in there until he falls asleep. Last night I was sure he was going to come bolting out the door. After I left he was asking for me playfully. "MOMMY!!!, where ARE YOU!!" was said several times, and we could hear him talking to himself. But he never got up! he went to bed on his own (after we brushed teeth, rocked, and I tucked him in, of course). So that part of the routine is great, now we just need to perfect the morning routine and we will be all set.

He's still in his crib mattress, but we want to switch him to the full bed and use the crib for baby #2. Still debating on the best time to bring the bed into his room. Maybe birthday time?

Hurray for Rogan!!

4 nights! 4 nights of uninterupted sleep. Sure there is the occasional whisper in the middle of the night as he rolls over and gets comfortable. But there has been no leaving the room, no coming to get mommy until "morning". Hurray for Rogan! By George I think he's got it!!

We now need to work on pushing his bedtime back a bit. Usually it's between 7 and 7:30, but I think we need to be thinking that 7:30 is the earliest from now on. Because he has been getting up before 6am since we took his crib down. (In the crib he would wake up but 4 out of 5 times go back to sleep for a bit)

This morning it was 5:35am, and I was in the shower. I had a little man waiting outside the shower glass for me to finish up. And he wasn't happy that I was wet and had to dry off before I could follow through with his "uppy!!" request.

So tonight will hopefully be a little later bedtime, but a good night again. Thursday nights we have tumbling class, 40 minutes of running and jumping, which is GREAT and it wears him out. Plus it doesn't get over until 7 so he automatically goes to bed a bit later that night.

Thank you Rogan for being such and awesome little boy and making the transition from your crib incredibly smoothe all things considered. I love you and am very proud of you!

Shh! Dont jinx it!

The last two nights have been perfect! Rogan went to bed easily, and didn't get up in the middle of the night. Night one he got up at 6:30am, which is awesome. This morning it was 5:40am, but right now I'm calling anything after 5:30 a successful night.

We still have the monitor in his room, so we know he woke il a few times, he would say that he wants mommy, the ipad, or elmo. But these were quiet whispers and he went back to sleep on his own, which I'm so proud of.

Rogan got lots of praise for his "good nite nights" and staying in his bed all night like a big boy. I think he knows he's doing a good job. He's waking up in a great mood. Love my big boy.

Night 4 update

A much better night tonight! Ryan put him to bed for the first time since the crib wall came off. Maybe it was that it was daddy, maybe he was super tired, maybe he just understood what was going on, but it was great.

It took about 20 minutes, and he did get back up once, went to the door, Ryan was waiting there and when it opened Rogan took his hand and led him back to him bed. So at least he wants to be there, he just doesn't want to be alone. I'll take that.

After a few more minutes of laying close to him Ryan left and shut the door. There was some whining. He called for mommy a few times, but didn't get up. I thought he would get up at any moment. I was preparing to start all over. But no! He went to sleep! That is huge in my book. Sometimes calling for mommy is so second nature to him he will say it even when he doesn't mean it, it's his go-to word. He does it in his sleep too.

Now he is sleeping quietly. Also, he got up at 5:22am this morning. So still early, but better. For me this wasn't too big of a deal since I get up at 5:30, but Ryan usually sleeps until almost 6, so it was an adjustment for him.

I think Ryan and I decided we can't go back to a crib now. And it's not like he's getting up a ton in the middle of the night, never! or even tht it takes a long time to go to bed. He's a really easy kid. At any age it will be an adjustment, so I think we will stick to it.

Ugh... That was a long bedtime.

Night #3 of Rogan having no crib wall, and I'm starting to doubt that this was a good idea.

Bedtime ritual from start to finish was over 30 minutes tonight.

Brush teeth

Nite nite and kisses for daddy

Then Rogan and I go to his room, turn on his music, and start to rock in the chair

We rock for 1 song, about 4 minutes, and then I usually lay him down.

For the past 3 nights I've been rocking him a little longer, but not much.

Now instead of laying down, saying I love you, and walking out, I have to lay next to him.

Which I did for a few mins, then walked out... But he got up and followed... This happened twice. Argh.

So we started over, rock rock... Lay down, this time me with my face covered at the foot of his bed so he can't see my face or touch me, but I'm there.

And after 5 mins of being folded in half on his mattress, he's out, and I sneak away.

Since this morning he was up at 4am, I'm hoping for 6am or later... If not that crib front might be going back up.

No More Crib!

Well, 3 of the 4 sides are still there. But he's no longer a caged little boy. He can get up when he wants. Most of me likes this thought. He's almost 2, he's very verbal, there is no reason he should be forced to stay in there longer than he wants. But the small part of me really enjoyed having that boundary. But it was time, we are not buying another crib, so before baby #2 comes, Rogan will be in a big bed.

We took off the front and put up a guard rail Sunday morning. Sunday nap was normal and great, Sunday bedtime took a little longer than normal to put down (maybe 20 minutes instead of 10) but still great and he slept until 6am, which is fine. When he woke up he opened his door himself and came down the hall and I met him at our bedroom door. (we still have the monitor in his room so I could hear him get up and leave)

Yesterday's nap (he was home with me sick) was again fine. Slept for an hour, can't complain, and last night he went to bed even better than the first. Maybe 15 minutes. And he wasn't totally asleep when I left...

BUT he decided to wake up at 4am. And instead of whining for a few minutes and going back to sleep like he would have done in a crib, he came and got me. Luckily he was still quite sleepy, but laying him back in his crib he just stared at me and thought it was really fun that Mommy and Rogan were having a sleepover. Rocking in the chair also wasn't working, he kept kicking his legs while we rocked, which is his "tell" when he's not asleep on my shoulder. Asleep = the kicking stops. So after almost an hour we moved to the guest bed, which will be his bed very soon and that will be a much better situation. After 15 minutes of rolling around he got comfortable enough using me as a pillow. He fell fast asleep, but then my alarm went off for work at 5:30am, and I woke up, and he woke up, which totally upset me since we could have kept sleeping since I went in late to work and he went late to daycare to make sure he was over his stomach bug. argh. yawn.

But he is such a cutie, and has my heart completely. waking up at 4am is worth it for the right guy.

Rogan helped change Brobie's diaper yesterday. He was quite proud of himself. Rogan has quite the imagination and likes to give Brobie drinks of his sippy and bites of his food. I'm going to use this to my advantage. Brobie is going to start sitting on the potty soon. hehehe.

Roganisms

He has quite a few "sayings" that he's picked up from various places. New ones this holiday season are "where are you?" usually referring to the cats or a parent. The other new One he started today is "gimme a minute", while holding up a hand with his fingers stretched like he's telling you to halt. I was curious about this one until I saw Ryan laughing. When Rogan asks for something he will keep asking for it in increasing severity until it is given (or he's told no), so to abate the constant pestering Ryan requently tells Rogan "ok, give me a minute" while holding out his hand just like Rogan did. Today we were in the family room playing all three of us, Rogan gets up, walks to the bathroom, turns, says "gimme a minute" and goes in the bathroom and shut the door. This obviously happened about 20 more times. Since we were smiling and saying "ok" to him each time. But I could tell he felt like such a big boy saying and acting just like Daddy. Very cute.

Another very sweet moment was when Rogan needed help with a new Cars iPad app. It's more of a Super Mario-like game with the cars. If you don't jump correctly you drive into water, and you collect coins, well they are actually car parts, along the way. Reminds me of my childhood. Rogan likes jumping, but needs assistance to get anywhere productive in it, which is fine. I was resting on the couch, and I could hear him start playing this game next to me. And every 20 seconds, an "oh no! Water!" came out of his mouth. Ryan hadn't seen the game yet, and I was laying down so I told Rogan to ask daddy to help him get past the water, which he did very nicely. Ryan helped him while Rogan looked on loving it. When they had finished the level (level 1, haha) Rogan was very excited and gave Ryan a huge hug! It was so cute. I wish I had it on video. He was so proud of what he and his dad did.... Ok well mostly dad. I think Ryan will play that game even without Rogan, it's pretty fun for all!