http://www.sparkpeople.com. Has lots of resources, videos, articles, forums, calorie and fitness trackers, and best of all, it’s FREE. Which is good. I heart sparkpeople.com. I have lost 24 lbs since April, and going strong.

We put the three littles (ages 16 months and 3 years old and 3 years old) down at 6:45/7:00. They wake up in the 6:00/6:30 range.

We have two 3-year-olds, and sometimes they eat like little horses and sometimes they eat nothing, and I don’t know what the hell so I just keep an eye on them to make sure they don’t seem too bony or listless, and if they’re not bony or listless I give them a daily multivitamin and try not to think about it.

Facebook is like Twitter, but more complicated. Like, you know how EVERYONE is CONSTANTLY saying, “But what IS Twitter? I don’t GET IT,” and then as soon as they’re on it for awhile it’s not an issue because the Meaning of Twitter, such as it is, sinks in? Facebook is the same but it takes longer to sink in. And even then, there is periodically something that will make you think, “Whuh?” And that is because Facebook is MOSTLY for single young people.

Oh, Facebook. I cannot STAND the animal petting requests and the whole sea garden thing set me off to the point where I updated my status saying so, and in the process, totally pissed off my sister in law, who was apparently the SOURCE of all of the sea gardening.

Our nearly 4 year old had a 6-6.30pm bedtime up until about 4 and a half then after that point we moved it to 7.00pm. Sometimes that varies depending on what else is going on but generally it remains the same. What doesn’t change too much is the time he wakes because of it. No matter what time we put him to bed, 5.30am is the standard “I’m wide awake” moment. Sometimes if he is PARTICULARLY worn out he might stay asleep till 6.15am tops but not often.

Food at 3 was a NIGHTMARE for us until we employed some tough love techniques. We were spending much energy and time trying to coerce the wee man into eating. Dinner times were long drawn out events equally fraught with pleading and frustration. UNTIL, we decided that if dinner was refused, we took it away and told him to hope down from the table. If he came back looking for food we would reoffer the same meal. If he refused we took it away again but the options didn’t change. A kid will not starve themselves. Eventually he would figure out that that was the only meal going and eat the whole lot. The other thing we did was make sure he didn’t drink anything but water inbetween meals and only snacked at proper snack times other wise the sugary/milky drinks filled him up, as did the snacks and dinner wasn’t quite so appealing. We also don’t ask him what he wants for dinner except on Sunday Games night where we all have something special for tea. Giving him the choice never works because they don’t really get that making the choice means we expect they will stick to it so it’s not necessarily a true reflection of what they actually want to eat and is bound to change on presentation of selected item.

Facebook? I spend a reasonable amount of time on there because I have friends overseas and I find it really easy to see what they are up to and get quick snippets of their lives without having to go to multiple sites like Flicker or Twitter.

SO ENVIOUS of all the commenters with sleep-through-the-nighters. My 6 month old girl goes down for a nap at 6:30-ish, up by 7:30, eat, play, bath and bed by 8:30. THEN she is up at 10:30/11:00 to eat, and more often than not, around 2:00 too. In the AM. Then she is up for the day between 6:30/7:30. She is a sweet, good-natured girlie, but this twice a night waking to eat or fuss is a little…trying.

When my daughter was a baby she went to bed at 6:30 for a while. And she slept through until 6 or 7 the next morning.
As far as what she ate when she was three – carbs, carbs, carbs. She would’ve eaten Cheerios for breakfast, lunch and dinner if she had it her way.
I feel old on Facebook.

Oh and as for facebook, I think maybe you are too smart for it! lol It is for us simple minded ones lol and I am addicted!

I put my kid to sleep whenever she was acting like she couldn’t keep her eyes open anymore. For awhile that was 5:30 in the evening. Sometimes it was 6 or 6:30 too. Regardless, she still slept until 7ish in the morning, her normal time to wake up. Actually, sometimes she woke up earlier if she went to bed too late. Now she’s on a normal 8 bedtime… but I say go with the flow and put him down whenever he needs to!

Bedtime! After fighting the early bedtime forever I have finally caved and started putting my eight month old to bed sometime between 6:15-6:45. She’s trying to get eighty teeth at once now so the wailing period takes a bit of time but she is definitely asleep before seven and girlfriend sleeps longer now. Like until 7:15. Babies make no sense at all.

Bedtime for 19mo for awhile now has been 6:30 – 7, and he sleeps for 12 hours (!)
He is the one that does not eat. Goldfish (they don’t have them here in AU, shit!) Crackers or grapes for the moment, and chicken nuggets & fries. Not one vegetable has hit his stomach since he was 6mo and eating jarred food.

Facebook – reconnect with old friends, say HI once and then just read their status updates, see pics of their life that you know nothing about, but still addictive anyway.

No fitness websites, sorry.

3, almost 4 yo son Still in the WHY stage, but more like “why are we stopping, why can’t we go, why does that guy have a baby in his belly, what is wrong with that lady’s head, why is daddy a better driver than you, etc etc etc.” FUN!

this book is what saved my sanity with all 3 kids:
http://www.amazon.com/Healthy-Sleep-Habits-Happy-Child/dp/0345486455/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1222921738&sr=8-1

key learnings for me: putting them to bed earlier may in fact help, they sleep better when they’re not overtired. AND, watch for their tired signals, and get them to bed before they get frantic, either for nap or bedtime.

3 kids later… still working on the food though. Just read the sneaky chef… and while I admire her ingenuity, I don’t want to resort to quite that much trickery. still…. maybe I’ll try some of it just to see what she’s smoking…

who said that facebook is just the digital version of the inside of a locker? teen toys. I don’t get it either.

Re: bedtime, for us it totally works the opposite way you’d expect- the earlier we put the baby down to sleep, the later he gets up. Bedtime at 7? Up at 6. Asleep at 5:30? Don’t hear from him until 7:30. I have no idea why it works, but it does. I doubt Dylan would wake up earlier, if at all, if you put him down by 6:30.

And yeah, I hear you on the kid noise and energy. I really wish babies came with a “wait 5 minutes” button.

1- Don’t ask. Right now it is not the time I would prefer, but I am working on it.

2- I am fairly certain that 3 is officially known as the Demon Spawn From Hell age. You can’t get them to do ANYTHING. I can tell you that 4 seems to be better though.

3- Um, no. But! I have plans to buy The DVD this weekend. You know which one I am refering to!!

4- Again with the no. I despise Facebook. I don’t think it’s fun. At all.

This is off-topic, but I don’t have Twitter.

This message board

http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=720732

is on the BBC airing of “My Fake Baby” and it looks like the first dozen or so pages are kind of a … GROUP LIVEBLOG. I read a bit of it and it’s pretty funny (I think).

Did you catch that Harry and his mom are both fine? I didn’t, at first. Not that it’s not still sad, but in more of a “I get why they moved halfway across the world” kind of way.

Facebook is wonky….decidedly addictive and ridiculously ill-designed…yet I can’t quit it! fuck.

We have a 7 month old who goes down sometime between 6:30-7:30pm…depending on that illusive late-day nap….which happens….sometimes. What I seem to have noticed though, is that he still *usually* wakes up at the same time – 6:15am (on the dot) to babble about the problems of the world and wage war on his blankets. Babies are weird….I too have noticed, as of late, that he’s ALOT more demanding….to quote the eloquent Sundry (and Patrick Swayze)…”No one puts baby in a corner”. Not sure what to do about that either. Fuck.

No suggestions for a fitness website…but I really enjoy almost ALL of the links on Elastic Waist. Sometimes they are about pop culture, sometimes food, sometimes about being overweight…sometimes they are just interesting.

Have a good one!

3 year olds eat nothing. I think all my kids ate crackers and mashed potatoes until they were 5. 1 & 3 are hard; 2 & $ are hard, too–in different ways. Some things are easier, but there are always new things to challenge you. I relate completely to your “whine”–I was in that exact place 8 years ago.

I am no help on the feeding/bedtime issues since I do not have children, and I never got into Facebook–sorry.

BUT I happen to love the Runner’s World website: http://www.runnersworld.com

They offer workout advice (speed workouts, race training, plyometrics, etc.), and even if you don’t run, the “Mammoth Core” workouts will leave your abs ripped and strong. Whenever I am feeling like a wuss and can’t get my butt out the door to run, I go to the Motivation portion and it gives me the extra push I need.

1) I have a 10 month old and sleep has gotten better at our house. She used to take a late evening nap (around 5:30 or 6:00) and then wouldn’t go to be around 9:00 or 9:30 and then wake up around 6:00 or 6:30. She has since cut out the late evening nap (on her own) and will start getting sleepy anywhere from 7:00 to 8:30. We follow her cues as for when to put her down and no matter when it is – she sleeps until 8:00! HEAVEN. So my advice would be to just follow Dylan’s cues – it may result in him sleeping later for you!

2) No 3 year old here – so no advice, just sympathy!

3) I recently signed up on sparkpeople.com. It’s free and easy, lots of resources – and you get points for stuff! I like it and think that you might too.

4) It took me a while to get the hang of facebook too. I’m not overly impressed but it does give me something to do if I’m bored at work so I keep up with it. Hopefully you’ll find your way soon!

I had the same problem around 8 months with bedtime. I finally started putting my son down around 7 but he didn’t get up any earlier. It was good because then I had some time with my then 3 yr old who was also an incessant talker. BTW, the 3 yr old is turning 7 tomorrow. Still talks. ALOT. And the questions are getting more complicated.

When my kid was a baby, he napped late (3-6ish) so I’d put him to bed around 8:30. When he gave up naps, I moved bedtime to 7:30. He is now 3, doesn’t nap and goes down between 7:30 and 8. He sleeps til about 7 or 7:30 most days. Seems now that no matter what time he goes to bed, he gets up about at the same time. Try an earlier bedtime and see what happens.

And no, he doesn’t eat. At least, he doesn’t eat much besides PB&J sandwiches. It’s killing me. I really need to get some vegetable matter into this kid.

Wow! This is the first time that I have commented here and I just have to say Amen sista! I love reading your blog and your writing is always spot on. I have never seen so many people reply with kids as close as my two. I have a 3yr old and a 21 mth old. Seriously Sundry, I think you should create a message board or something where we can all rant to our hearts content lol.

I hate mealtimes, I hate the why’s and I hate bedtime. Does that sum it up?

I am kidding tho it’s wonderful. Most of the time :)

This post cracked me up! I just recently likened a day with my 3 year old to hanging out with someone on an acid trip – the highs, the lows! One second it’s curling up on the ground with gushing tears that seem to dry instantaneously as he swings into mad laughter! It’s a lot to keep up with.

As far as food goes, I can rely pretty much on him eating beans. Beans and popsicles. I give him a daily vitamin and figure that between that and the “real fruit” popsicles he eats, he’s getting some nutritional value, right?

Lastly, I just recently got suckered into joining facebook and I’m desperately in need of a how-to guide…I’ve figured out how to poke someone and that’s about it.

My (almost) three year old eats eggos and oatmeal, with the occasional small bowl of macaroni or peanut butter and jelly sandwich. That’s it. I give her a vitamin and hope that makes up for all the veggies she’s not getting.

And this age combo (my son will be one this month and my daughter will be three next month) is awful/awesome. Awesome because now they can finally play together (sort of), awful because of all you’ve mentioned. Constantly distracting each other, phantom attacks on the other one, never being able to give them equal treatment or time, etc.

My almost 3-yr-old survives on nothing but crackers, peanut butter, and yogurt. THAT IS ALL. Oh, and chips or Cheetos when he sees his daddy eating them.

Have you checked out Skwigg’s website? http://skwigg.com/ It is AWESOME, the only fitness website you will ever need. She’s done it all and gives practical advice about how to stay lean and eat well. She even posts food pictures, which… well, I LOVE food pictures. :B Her approach to healthy eating and daily kickass workouts makes it seem like actual FUN.

When my daughter was 3 she rarely wanted to eat anythign that wasn’t junk. I think its a phase. She’s now 4 and while she is still pretty picky, she has started expanding some of the foods she likes…try things that maybe he can dip. Like I can get her to eat carrots and celery as long as she has some Ranch. I still serve her what we’re having and if she doesn’t eat it, oh well. Eventually when he gets hungry enough, he’ll eat.

I don’t know if you mean fitness as in exercise only or just healthy type websites. I’m assuming you mean healthy. You must check out http://www.greenlitebytes.com . This is a “cooking” type blog from Roni a girl who lost over 60 pounds. She has a personal blog too (www.ronisweigh.com). Anyway, her recipes are easy and fun and healthy, not too complicated with too many weird things. She is at her goal weight now and has been maintaining for 1 year or so.

My son is 6 and while he doesn’t “why”, he talks CONSTANTLY and half the time I have no clue what he is going on about. Just endless chatter. ARGH.

My daughter is a month older than Dylan, and we usually start the bath/bedtime routine around 6:45ish. Later if she is in a particularly sunny mood, but usually right around that time. She’s been waking up around 6 every morning, so I don’t know what that would mean for Dylan.

I can’t figure out the NEW version of Facebook. I liked it better before they switched over.

my 3 ten-month-olds (eight months adjusted age, though) go to bed at 7. sometimes if they’re really cranky, they go to bed at 6:30. they get up at 7. or i should say, we get them up at 7. they may wake up earlier, but we don’t even go into their room until 7. it works out well, they’ve gotten good at entertaining themselves until we go in there.

I’m probably going to be really unpopular here but babies sound like dogs.

It doesn’t matter whether the dog goes to bed at midnight because we’re having a BBQ and sausages are being dropped left right and center or 9pm because I’m reading in bed kinda early, she’s always up at the same time.

And she’s going through a not-eating phase so half her breakfast is still in her bowl by dinner time (she used to devour the same amount in a minute and a half).

Does this mean I’m ready for parenthood :-)

You always crack me up and make me more light-hearted about my 8-month old’s trials. Not that he has too many – he’s like Dylan though, wants constant something (food, entertainment, nappy change, don’t-care-just-want-it-NOW). He is a great sleeper, though. Ever since two weeks went down at 10 and slept ’til 10. We started a bath-kick-bed routine at about 4months and he now sleeps at 7 and wakes up at about 7 (unless he’s spurting and then it’s 5. Jesus, kid). He also takes a nap (anywhere between 1/2hour and three hours) after lunch. But he’s a really lazy boy – just like me, he loves his sleep and rest.

For Riley, I just spotted an article in the NYtimes: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/15/health/healthspecial2/15eat.html?_r=3&em=&oref=slogin&pagewanted=print&oref=slogin and thought of you – might be interesting to read but it doesn’t sound overly useful.

And FB – I don’t really do anything on there, I jut read everyone else’s updates. Those applications sure pee me the hell off, though. I just wish I could put a ban on them.

I think how you are describing Riley is how my mother described me at that age. And she likes me now. She says that I did claim a few times “you’re not listening to me”, so perfect the art of the interested expression.

For fitness I have just joined http://teambeachbody.com/findoutmore which I love. If you go to “play the game” you can see how it works.

I am liking FB more now that more of my friends are on it. I didn’t really see the point for a long time. It has occurred to me that I have become far too lazy to actually call folks and find out how their triathlon went this weekend. Instead I just read about it on FB.

Hmm… Baby’s bedtime. Same as yours. He is 6 months old, and will nap 2 times, sometimes 3 if I try hard enough a day. Otherwise we go for a walk to calm everyone down for 20 minutes, and that seems to work almost as good. I don’t think they get up any earlier if you put them down earlier, in fact, I think “they” say that babies will sleep better if put down earlier.
My 3 year doesn’t eat either. I have recently (yesterday) purchased some protein powder to start putting in her milkshakes (that she has once a day, which I have also just recently started).
Working out. Jillian Michaels is kicking. my. ass. everyday. I purchased the 30 day shred after so many of you have talked it up. Good Lord I hurt. I am only on day 4 and have yet to sit down on a toilet seat without wincing since starting.
Facebook. It takes time. I have been on it for a while now, and with all the new wacky changes I am finding it difficult and somewhat confusing. Blech.
Our lives are sometimes eerily similar.

My 7 month-old goes to bed between 6 and 7, which is the natural time she gets sleepy. I worried too that she’d wake up crazy early, but usually she sleeps until 6am (which in my house is on the late side, sadly!).

I’ve handled the eating thing with my 2 year-old by exposing him at each meal to a food that he’s not likely to eat (like broccoli), just in the off chance that he will. Sometimes it works and he eats it, most of the time he doesn’t, but at least it’s in front of him.

I have a two year old who doesn’t eat ANY meat product whatsoever.

He will, however, eat quesadillas, made with a simple tortilla and some shredded fiesta cheese. Also hits: pizza, applesauce, pre-packaged peanut butter crackers, and honey nut cheerios.

It might be boring, but at least I don’t ever have to pay for a meal in a restaurant, since I know he’ll never actually EAT it.

The constant talking and kids (and hubby) vying for attention doesn’t stop – just stop by my house at dinner time.

With regard to the eating questions……having had three boys, I can definitively say……everyone’s different! Boy #1 did and does try everything at least once. He would enthusiastically eat two-star phad thai at age three. To this day, when he comes home from school in Pullman (WSU – the black hole of decent food – except cheese and ice cream) he has to hit certain local restaurants for Indian, Thai, Persian, sushi or he’s unfulfilled. And during the holidays, there is the required trip to Ikea for Lutefisk.

Boy #2, used to be fairly adventureous – drank de-caf mochas and lutefisk (not at the same time, PLEEZE), and was even particular about where his mocha came from….”Starbucks, gack, Mommy.” Now at 17 he is less adventurous, but is slowly expanding, again.

Boy #3, was a challenge from day one. Did NOT breastfeed, his favorite veggie was peas, but would not eat any fruit that began with the letter “P” (peach, pears, pineapple). He could eat an entire batch of shepherd’s pie one week, but then eye it suspiciously two weeks later convinced I am trying to poison him. He actually accused me of that once when I subbed tuna salad for chicken salad in his sandwich. (He had been eating chix salad for a week before I told him it wasn’t tuna. He cried.) At 11, he has been getting better, slowly……..when all else fails, I feed him something that ends in the word “meatball.” Greek, Swedish, Italian, Persian……if it’s meatball, he’ll eat it.

Short answer….there is no short answer.

Good grief! I thought I was totally getting Facebook and then you all keep mentioning all these extra things that I didn’t know existed. I must be a complete Facebook Idiot, then.

As for kids: my little guy was going to sleep at 7:30 on the dot when he was Dylan’s age. I agree with the others that they don’t tend to get up earlier if you put them down when they fall asleep earlier. But, just in case, I would try it on the weekend.

Aaron is 20 months old and is some jerk hit the “terrible twos” switch a week ago. Now he’s hitting (and immediately saying “sy” — for “sorry”), he’s defiant, etc. and now you’re telling me he’ll stop eating?! Gah!

My 8 mo had been going to bed around 7-7:30, although, like you, I had been struggling to keep him up that long. Resisted earlier bedtime because he already wakes up between 6 & 6:30 (my other 2 would sleep till 8 or 9 at this age!). Last 2 nights I put him to bed ~6:30-6:40 & he slept till ~6:40 (with 2 night wakings – still not sleeping thru….but that’s another story!).

My 3yo boy eats chicken nuggets (either veggie or “real”) dipped in honey for 80% of his meals. He is a carb junkie. Doesn’t drink milk or eat cheese or like veggies or eat eggs or eat anything “mixed together”… only recently started eating hamburgers on a bun ie crabby patties, won’t eat sandwiches – other than the 2 times he ate PB & honey & loved it but then, no wait!, I actually don’t love it don’t make it again!…… you get the idea. I feel your pain. Also – for what it’s worth – I’m a registered dietitian eating crow for all the years I counseled moms with picky eaters & had NO IDEA what I was talking about!!!!!!!!

:)

Mine are 4 & 7 and I still get that feeling of being pulled apart that you’re describing, if I’m caring for them alone. Sometimes, of course, they play together joyfully in a way that makes me thrill to having two of them. But, at others, they’re playing some mental game of “who do you love best” measured in the size of apple slices that is craze inducing.

As you’ve said, nothing to do but deal. I suspect though, that another solution is that you need more adults around — perhaps invite a friend over when you’re alone, sans husband? Our situation is certainly being aggravated by spousal business.

(My kids don’t eat anything. I don’t get facebook, either, but then, I am a million years old. I don’t get text messaging, either.)

My 18 m/o goes to bed @7-7:30 with a 2 hour nap in the afternoon. She then sleeps to 7-8am. My 4 y/o goes to her room @8pm but usually stays awake in her room, refusing to go to sleep and making all sorts of demands until 10-11pm. Then wakes up at 7:30-8am.

My 4 y/o eats almost nothing. I actually got reamed out by her Dr at her last check up. Yesterday she ate an ego waffle, dry for breakfast. For lunch ate crackers and pretzel sticks. For dinner she had pizza crust and strawberry yogurt. My 18 m/o will eat anything, in copious amounts till she makes herself sick.

I just joined facebook so I am no help.

My 10 month old goes to bed at 8 (wakes up at 5:30 aah!)- but sometimes (like yesterday) he was tired at 6:30- and I fought to keep him awake because I didn’t want him to wake up EARLIER- so by the time bedtime rolled around at 8 he was all over-tired and we ended up having the first night in a while where he didn’t sleep through the night. UGH!

Fitness website: I LOVE MyYogaOnline.com. They have tons of yoga and pilates classes online and it’s only $9.99 a month. I cannot praise it enough. I alternate days between the SHRED (thanks to you) and pilates.

Facebook: Makes me feel old, and I am only 25. I cannot figure it out for the life of me.

We were awful at parenting our kids by the book at the younger ages and they turned out really well. (I now have 3 teenagers)
Bedtime until they were 4 was 7:30. Then it moved to 8. It never changed when they woke up.
They always ate what we were eating. At that time that meant a lot of pasta and rice because we were broke. Frozen veggies mixed in. The loved mac and cheese, corn, carrots, peas, chicken nuggets, potatoes and cheese. We never fixed special meals and they turned out very healthy.

Favorite exercise video for adults would be Denise Austin. I’ve heard that the shred is very good, but haven’t tried it.

No good at facebook whatsoever. My kids have given up on training me. They still laugh at me for it though.

I haven’t read all the comments so I’m sorry if this is repetitive but I would put him to bed when he’s tired. For my 9 month old it’s 6:30 at the latest and sometimes, if she misses her third nap, it’s 5:30. She never, ever wakes up earlier because I put her to bed earlier, she usually wakes up later. I know it is counter intuitive but I think sleep begets sleep. Once she starts to stay up later, I’m going to try to push through the third nap and get her to around 7:00.

My three year old likes green beans and has them once or twice a week, cheese sticks (only one kind) daily, turkey hot dogs (sometimes), Cheerios, bread (no crust), Healthy Choice Veg. Soup, The Water from the Green Beans, Water, Juice (rarity), “ice cream” (no sugar added frozen fruit pops), pancakes, grapes, apples, bananas. Sometimes. Sometimes he likes NOTHING. I try and balance it out over a week and not take it personally – I keep offering and offering and if he takes something one out of twenty times I consider myself lucky.

I like Erin Shea’s Lose the Buddha at ejshea.com.

I like Facebook, I love reading status updates and playing Scramble. I know lots of people don’t like the ‘new’ Facebook but for my needs it’s just fine.

i have a 20 month old and his bedtime has been between 6 and 6:30 since he was 6 months old and he sleeps until 7 or 7:30AM….if he goes to sleep later it will almost guarantee a 6AM or earlier (god help me) wake up. i have found that putting him down earlier has the exact opposite effect. he sleeps longer! it’s just one of those weird things.

and yeah, i’ve been sucked into facebook. kind of fun – but also weird who pops up from your past to “friend” you.

Hi, my name is Maria and I am a facebook addict.

I am personally responsible for sending hundreds (ok, maybe thousands) of virtual plants and karma. I have the ultimate Greater God status level for the Buffy The Vampire Slayer trivia game. I have played slot machine bandit over 8,000 times. I pimp fight (yes, I am also a gang member), I have a Mob, and I have 2 virtual houses that belong to a neighborhood and regularly do battle against other inferior pieces of cyber real estate. I am only slightly dismayed that my husband has more friends than I do, and rarely does a day go by that I don’t update my status letting the 76 friends I do have know exactly what is going on in my otherwise mediocre life.

Oh, my husband and I are also in constant battle over the Word Challenge throne…a battle that begins not long after we put our kids to bed.

In all seriousness, we have a lot of fun with it. It’s great connecting with people we haven’t talked to in ages, and also a great tool for keeping in touch with friends and family that are not close by to us in proximity. Don’t give up yet!

I know what you mean (times 3 boyz). I’m always shortchanging someone, always uttering the words: hang on, maybe later, not now, because I said so, no, ask daddy, etc.

Just joined the Facebook bandwagon. Climb on!

My vote is for the Sock Monkey for Dylan! I would buyit in a heart beat but my son is 20 mo and apparently to big for the costume.

Also, in my experience, an earlier bedtime does not mean an early wake up call. My son wakes up between 6-7 am no matter what time he goes down. I try to keep bedtime around 7ish for the sake of routine. However, his Father (my ex) will keep him up till 10 trying to get him to sleep in but “G” still wakes up around 6 or 7 am. Good Luck! :)

I am facebook’s bitch. For someone who resisted for so long, I’m now addicted to the “crackbook.” It does take a little time to get used to, but once you do, it can be a lot of fun with the games and wall posts and private messages. I love the security settings that will allow you to set your profile to “friends only,” meaning no one can actively search you out.

Oh, and all those garden requests? Click “ignore all invites” for the application OR for the person flooding you with ’em. ;)

Re: lobster costume- you could plunk him in a large stock pot and don a chef’s hat to complete the look! Or, or… RILEY could be the chef!

Hi,

I have never posted here before but I have a three and a half year old and I am feeling pretty overwhelmed with her right now. She eats but very few things. She doesnt “wike” meat and she says that constantly, but lately if I allow her to have ketchup she will eat breaded fish sticks, meatballs, pasta with chicken in it. It seems like there is a age 3 stage where eating goes out the window and things they like one day are refused the next.

On the sleep front, she wont sleep without me. We are at the point now where I sneak out of bed with her to go back to our bed, and within an hour or so she is in bed with us. Help!!! I am still waiting for a good stretch of continuous sleep.

We have discovered that our son will eat almost anything if we cut it into fun shapes. He used to never touch a sandwich; now if we cut it into triangles and then make a big deal about it (“Look, TRIANGLE sandwiches!!) he eats it up. He still has days where he doesn’t eat much, but my mother reminds me that “No child in the presence of adequate nutrition has ever starved to death.” As long as you offer him an array of healthy choices, he’ll be fine.

On the infant bedtime, when my son was Dylan’s age, it didn’t matter what time we put him to bed, he woke up at the same time. Once we discovered that he’d get up at 7 regardless of when we put him down, evenings were a lot easier! Not every child is so accommodating, however. Good luck!

Colin is about to turn 2 and we JUST moved his bedtime back. He was going to bed at 6pm, EVERY night. And would sleep until 630, sometimes 7. But lately he started getting up at 430 (NOT COOL). So, now his bedtime is 730-8pm and he gets up at 6-630am.
Whatever you do, it will change, so don’t get too attached to the schedule.