Friday Things
1. Dominic turned 18 months old this week! The time has absolutely flown by; he is a huge ball of energy and non-stop motion. Heโs silly, loves to make us laugh, and adores his big brother, copying everything that he does. Heโs on the verge of terrible two action; one of his favorite words is โnoโ and he can throw a massive fit if he doesnโt get what he wants, but he is still so much a mamaโs boy and I love his sloppy open-mouth kisses :)
One of Josephโs favorite things lately? Looking through my cookbooks (aka โrecipe booksโ). Heโll ask me to go get one, then points out all the food he knows, and asks me to read him the pages. IT. IS. ADORABLE.
2. Has the weather been 100% insane where you live? We had four inches of snow here on Monday morning, it was totally melted by dinnertime, then there were thunderstorms on Tuesday, and now itโs freezing again and itโs supposed to snow off and on for the better part of the next week. I love winter and snow, but Iโm officially ready for some warmer weather!
3. AMEN to the 7pm bedtime! We had some struggles getting Joseph to bed around the 4 to 6 month mark and after doing a lot of reading, we tried an earlier bedtime and it was MAGIC. It worked so well for him that we did it from the start with Dominic and heโs been a fantastic sleep. They have bedtime at the same time, and they are asleep almost every night by 7pm (there are rare exceptions like accidental late car naps, a family function, etc.). Itโs wonderful to have the rest of the evening to relax, and they sleep until close to 7am (sometimes even later) in the morning. We may have just lucked out with two great sleepers, but we totally swear by the early bedtime and nap schedules, even though most people think weโre crazy for putting our kids to bed so early!
4. Have you done Ebates? This was totally new to me, but a couple of weeks ago my aunt and mother-in-law were talking about how they signed up and my aunt shops a lot online and said she couldnโt believe the cash back. I signed up and put an extension in my Chrome browserโฆ Iโve only made one qualifying purchase so far (new pajamas for the boys from Hanna Andersson), but love the idea of getting cash back to shop where I would anyway!
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5. Thereโs a local HD radio station here that I get in my car and itโs basically a reinvention of the old pop station from the 90s, but I swear all I hear are songs like โBump & Grindโ, โKnockinโ Da Bootsโ, etc etc. And I still remember all of the words, and then Iโm like omg I was maybe like 11 years old when these songs were popular, how on earth did our parents let us listen to this?! Of course looking back, I was a totally naive kid and didnโt fully understand the lyrics AT ALL, BUT STILL. They are now permanently etched in my brain, apparently.
6. I couldnโt believe it when I saw that this is the 20th anniversary of Dawsonโs Creek, gahhhh. That means itโs been 20 years since I graduated from high school, my goodness. BUTโฆ man, I was so hooked on Dawsonโs during college and will forever be Team Pacey.
7. Ever since making the chocolate crinkle sprinkle cookies that I shared yesterday, I have been majorly craving a soft serve ice cream cone slathered in sprinkles. Maybe in a few weeks (hopefully itโll stop snowing by then, ugh!).
8. The Masters is this weekend! One of my favorite sporting events to watch, I love the tradition and pomp and circumstance.
9. Weโve been watching a new show! Well, not really new to anyone else, as Iโm sure weโre the last people to actually watch it, but we finally gave The Crown a second chance and got totally hooked. We didnโt make it through the first episode initially, but maybe we were just tired? In any event, weโre loving it, so fascinating! Other than that, just the usual rotation of Homeland, The Americans, and The Blacklist.
10. TGIF! Judith is very comfy here :)
How many naps does Dominic
take with a 7pm bedtime and how long is his nap? What about the older child? Thanks!
Hi Ria, Dominic takes 1 afternoon nap, usually around 2 hours or so, sometimes a little longer. Joseph only naps sporadically nowadays; if he does itโs usually around 1 โ 1.5 hours.
Early bedtimes rock!!! my daughter was in be by 7pm when she was a baby. Unfortunately we canโt do 7pm for my son (14 months) but we hit 7:30pm most nights! now I just wish I could get my eldest (7ys) to go to bed earlier than 8:30pm. Iโm worn out by then and donโt get much me time. Oh well, I shouldnโt complainโฆ my time for book reading and snuggling will be gone before I know it.
Loved Dawsonโs Creek (and Iโm much older than you). ย Couldnโt pick between Dawson and Pacey. ย Also love The Crown and Homeland. ย Youโve spurred me on to join eBates. ย And I am over winter too! ย So ready for spring and summer.
I assume that you are having your little GIRL! would recommend checking Top Cash Back as well as Ebates as they sometimes have a higher % back. They also frequently have FREE items for first time users (rebate, not free up front).
Uh oh! ย No Weekend Dish today must mean only one thing considering itโs April 7th . . . . . . waiting to hear good news . . . . .ย
Mom of a horrible sleeper over here, and may I just say, the 7 pm bedtime is everything. My son is up at the same time every morning whether he goes down early or late, so we might as well put him down early! (He was so sick today and went down at 6:40 โ couldnโt hang!) :)
Do not let anyone tell you that you are crazy because of an early bedtime. I am a firm believer thay kids need a ton of sleep to recharge their batteries and should wake up on their own when possible.
My kiddos are 8 and nearly 6 and are both in bed by 7, they are allowed to read for 30 minutes. No matter what they are definitely sleeping by 8 at the latest and they sleep right through to the morning. They wake up happy and refreshed. Plus, as you noted, it is nice for mom and dad to get some doen time :)
I joined Ebates & got a couple of small checks. Then I decided I didnโt want someone tracking my purchases, so I stopped using it. Think about giving someone information about what you buy โ itโs data they can sell to advertisers. Not worth it to me.
!. ย Joseph definitely looks like a big brother!
2. ย The weather here has also been insane. ย I think weโve had more snow since the beginning of spring than we did all winter long. ย
3. ย I like the idea of early bedtimes, but it definitely didnโt work in my family due to work schedules. ย If my kids had gone to bed by 7, they would have gone to bed without dinner. ย And it wasnโt just one parent, it was both of us. ย By the time I had a work schedule that would have accommodated early bedtimes, they were in high school! ย
Thinking of you and eagerly waiting for baby girl news!
oh ebates is great!! online AND in store purchases when you link a card. and if you refer/use a referral code (-> https://www.ebates.com/r/ROCKST269?eeid=28187) you both get a cash back bonus :-D
omgโJudith has her doggie smile onโฆ.and yes to someone else that likes to watch pro golfโcan watch it for hours on end. So good to have Tiger back in the golf mix. Canโt wait to see baby girl, and to find out what name you picked out. Many blessings to you and your family.
We have always done early bedtimes! They are really good for your kids and who cares that people think weโre crazy! It gets tough traveling/vacationing ย but we always get a suite if we have to stay in a hotel so we can still put them down early. ย
Best wishes for your growing family!ย
Our children (we have 5) have all had early bedtimes. It is the one aspect of sleep routines we did from almost Day 1 with all of them. Our youngest daughter is 15 months old and always goes to bed by 7:00pm. She has not been a good napper, but at least we can rely on the early bedtime. She has been super healthy, generally in a fun mood, and everyone else in the household remains sane. Iโm all for early bedtimes!! ๐๐
I am Minneapolis and the weather here has been insane! It snowed Monday evening into all day Tuesday and I believe we ended up with around 8 inches and more is coming Sunday! Right now itโs 16 degrees and feels like -6. SO over it!
I love ebates! We are going on a road trip this summer and I booked 2 houses through VRBO and got $20 back! Every little bit helps.
Happy Friday!
I am a huge proponent of napping and โearlyโ bedtimes for children. ย My 3 napped every afternoon until they went to afternoon kindergarten. ย And they were always in bed by 7:30, but as you say there were the rare occasions when it was later, but not by much. ย Children are expending so much energy growing and sleep is such an important part of that growing process. ย And I think due in part to getting the needed sleep, ย I had THE happiest children. ย Adults liked being around my children because they were not cranky messes. ย They were not overly tired and could deal with life well. ย So I say kudos to you and your husband for that wise decision.
I havenโt watched The Crown, but need to start. ย I hear great reviews of it. ย Plus I have a fascination with British life.
I am waiting for the ice cream stand in North Park to open. ย They have the best soft serve. ย Only Iโm a chocolate dip fan. ย LOVE their vanilla cones dipped in chocolate. ย Hereโs to sunnier, warmer days made for ice cream treats :) ย
Excited for the good news thatโll soon be coming. ย Will be thinking of you and praying for safe delivery for you and baby.
Iโve fallen out of the habit of commenting on your Friday Things posts, Michelle, but itโs one of my favorite things about Fridays!
1 โ Your boys are just the cutest. I love seeing their personalities develop through the anecdotes you share. I remember my daughter started her terrible 2โs stage at about 18 months as well. Sometimes I joke that sheโs still in it (sheโs 12!). Last night she was grouchy because I made her come to the dog park with me and our pup. She sulked, slammed the car door and refused to talk to me the whole way there. Once she got into the park with all the beautiful dogs, though, her smile returned!
2 โ Our weather has been a little nuts too. We had three snows in March. Itโs not unheard of for Virginia, but usually the snow would be at the beginning of the month. They were predicting snow for Saturday, but the forecast has changed to mostly rain.
3 โ I miss the 7pm bedtime! That was the best when my girl was little. I had enough time to workout, shower, relax and still get to bed on time. We are usually in bed between 8 and 9pm now. If we go on the early side we will read or talk for a bit first, but if we head up at 9pm itโs straight to bed for both of us!
7 โ I have been making a similar sprinkle cookie for several years, and we love them! They are my go-to when I want something fun and simple that will appeal to everyone. My recipe has two varieties โ a butter cookie with rainbow sprinkles and a chocolate variety with chocolate sprinkles.
9 โ LOVE The Crown! I waited a month or two to watch season 2, but I binged it so fast. Now we wait for the next seasonโฆI will miss Claire Foy so much!
Happy Friday!
I was a fanatic about a strict sleep schedule with my daughter and it did make life better for everyone.
And isnโt today THE day? :) Best wishes for an easy delivery, Michelle!
Heads up on a new show: ย Killing Eve on BBC America starring Sandra Oh. ย We watched the first episode (on demand) and weโre hooked. ย Itโs already been picked up for a second season. ย
I also want to watch Killing Eve. ย Did not realize it was already on. ย Thanks for the heads-up! ย Prayers and best wishes to you Michelle for the up-coming event. ย What a full house you are going to have! ย Love all of your recipes & they have all been a success!
I watched the first episode today after hearing about it on NPR. Iโm hooked and anxiously awaiting the next episode. On NPR they said the first 4 episodes were available but not where I am. (Tallahassee, FL). Sandra Oh was great.