the BIG BOY BED.

Oh, man. Where do I even start?

So my entire parenting life, I've had one philosophy: keep that kid in the crib for AS LONG AS HUMANLY POSSIBLE, but if he jumps out, it's time to switch to a big boy bed.

Well, guess whose toddler decides to jump out of his cage right when we brought a new baby home?

MINE!

And guess who completely forgot about the fact that training a toddler to stay in a big boy bed during nap time might be a difficult thing to do?

THIS LADY, RIGHT OVER HERE!

Oh, Lord.

Here's what went down in the battle commonly known around these parts as

THE CISNEROS CIVIL WAR: MOTHER AGAINST THE BIG BOY BED!

So it was a nice Saturday afternoon two-and-a-half-weeks ago when Chadly deconstructed the blessed crib which cradled our darling son for the past two years, and with it came a sense of excitement.

Here I was, completely blinded by new-mommy-memory-loss, actually thrilled about this new milestone. There was my son, lying between his new Cars sheets, atop such a large mattress! To think that boy was Kota's size at one point! 

Now thinking back on that moment, I feel like laughing hysterically. Maniacally. Freakishly.

{Okay, it's not that bad.}

{Not anymore, at least.}

Okay, so come Monday, Chad went to work, therefore leaving me ALONE with that thing. 1:00 rolled around, so it was time for a nap.

Ahh, yes, I naively thought, Now I can go take a nap with my daughter. Or maybe I should go read some blogs? Hmm...So many options!

Well, guess what, NICOLE! The BIG BOY BED had other plans for you!

Oh, it was hell.

Carter kept jumping out of bed, thinking the whole thing was a game.

Okay, no big deal, we'll try again tomorrow.

Tomorrow came, same thing.

Okay, the last few days have sucked, but that's okay, there's always tomorrow, and thank goodness for Supernanny. She always knows what to do!

Well, I didn't think about the fact that Carter actually ENJOYED me walking into his room every few minutes to place him back in that thing. The kids on Supernanny are crying their little eyes out like psychotic brats, wanting mommy and daddy to let them play! MISLEADING, I tell you! 

I tried it all: lying with him {"play?"}, sitting in his room without talking to him and scooting closer to the door every few minutes {HA! Not in my household!}, standing by the door and barging in every time I heard a peep {yeah, right}. 

NOTHING. WORKED. 

It was all one big, fat joke to him!

Anyway, this madness of Carter jumping out of bed and me throwing him back in it lasted up until just 3 days ago, and let me tell you, I melted down.

More than a few times.

Do you know what a napless toddler will do to a woman with a newborn? Not in the behavioral sense, but in the guess-what-mom?-you-won't-have-anymore-ME-time type of way.

I literally thought we made the biggest mistake of our parenting lives.

No joke.

For a good 10 days straight, every single time Chad called me from work, I told him that it was about time for us to put the crib back up and that we made a MAJOR mistake. Gone was my pride and my usual I-can-so-handle-this attitude. We were idiots. Who were we to go and do this to our family? How stupid were we? 

And he kept saying things like, "I know, babe, I'm so sorry, but I think we should just stick with the bed..."

At which point I would say something like, "For heavens sakes! This thing is HORRIBLE! Do you realize that Carter will probably never take another nap again, IN. HIS. LIFE?! We've gone and shot ourselves in the foot!" 

Oh, yeah. And that was more often than not through a tear-soaked face.

I was a wreck.

The mattress had completely broken me!

It's just not natural to take care of a newborn and wrestle a toddler for 2 hours a day, OVER A STUPID NAP!

I was ready to throw in the towel. 

Completely done, mentally and physically. It was so difficult picking that ball of muscles up and hauling him onto that tower of a bed for two hours straight! My back had had enough.

 I began to make peace with the fact that my barely-even-two-year-old child was done with naps, FFFOOORRREEEVVVEEERRR.

And it was all my fault.

Then the heavens opened up and the Lord shined down on me in the form of Carter going down for a nap within 10 minutes.

That was 3 days ago.

Then 2 days ago: Carter went down within 20 minutes.

Deep breaths, deep breaths, deep breaths...They were probably just flukes.

Then yesterday: 15 minutes.

No thrashing around for hours on end, no laughing when I threw him back down on his pillows.

Just saying, "baba?" and closing his eyes.

ALLELUIA, ALLELUIA, ALLELUIA, ALLELUIA!

{I would never have given him a baba in his crib, but I had to make a concession or two when dealing with this beast.} 

So what happened? How did my crazy tot relinquish his troublesome ways?

Well, I had to ditch the Supernanny technique and tell him {in a SUPER stern voice} that if he doesn't stay in bed, then he's going to TIME OUT.

So when he disobeyed once, off he went to do his time, pay his debt to society.

And after one round of that each day, he got the point.

{Okay, and I hate to say this, but there was a spank on the first day. ALRIGHT! I SAID IT! IT'S OUT THERE IN THE ETHER! I ADMIT: I RESORTED TO THE SPANK! But ever since then, he just knows.}

So all in all, I'm still a major believer in Supernanny, but when you already have a well-behaved little one who actually enjoys your company, you just have to get down to business and with a deep, manly voice, let him know who's boss. And now I know that my little babe does not consider me to be one of those women who just throws out empty threats! 

Looking back, it was a win-win-win :)

{Now let's just ALL pray that it lasts!}


linking up:

So overdue

Holy shiboly. It's been way too long. Here is what we've been up to around these parts:

And guess what, folks?

Your faulty memory stick is not the only thing between you and viewing your recent photos...Something I clued into about 48 hours ago.

Duh.

Sometimes I forget the most obvious things! I was telling my bro-in-law about how my stupid memory stick has gone on the fritz, and he just looked at me and said, "Well, ya know, your camera came with a chord you can just plug into your computer...It's really easy..."

Oh yeah, that's right.

Anyway, hence the lack of recent photos available around these parts.

Anyhoo!

I hope you enjoyed each and every one!
{All 25 of them, you lucky dog, you!}

P.S.: Did you catch that Big Boy bed?? Oh man. I have so much to say on the matter. Post coming soon, that's for darn sure.

Let's get this party started

Today I'm returning to civilization!

Ahh, I'm so excited!

Even though I've been feeling pretty fab for the last few weeks, I didn't want to overextend myself by taking class at the world's most awesome, butt-kickin' work out studio:

Purebarre!

But all went well at my 6 week check up, so it's time to return!

Seriously, wish me luck, my friend!

I say that strictly because Purebarre seriously kicks some major bootay.

And I'm not just saying that because I teach class there two days a week.

It seriously hurts.

But the good news is, when you walk out of that God forsaken class after 55 minutes of hell,

you feel ridiculously fabulous.

Fabulous, I tell you!

Anyway, if you need me, I will be plankin' it up, wanting to die.

Well, wanting to die in the best way possible!

Woohooo!

Happy V-Day, baby!

Oh, mi amore!

You're too sexy for your shirt,

too sexy for your shirt,

too sexxxxxy!

Happy Lover's Day!

An update

It's time for a family update.
Every so often it's just good to write about what we're all up to during a particular time of year, and since I haven't done this in a bajillion years, we're over due.
{Beware: this may only be interesting to me}

Chad.

- Working like a maniac, and getting recognized for all of it. Is there anything better than that? Anyway, my man was recently promoted, and has yet ANOTHER promotion on the horizon. Proud wife, over here!

- He's Carter's partner in crime. I have to say that one of the most awesome parts of bringing home a new baby is watching the relationship strengthen between daddy and the older one. The two of them have always been outrageously close, but this is a whole new level. So precious!

- The fellow is riding dirty in his sexy new car. Saturday evening, after work, Chad took a little drive over to the same Kia dealership we bought our Sorento from and slayed the dragon. He haggled like a freaking maniac, and got an OUTRAGEOUSLY AWESOME deal. The dude is driving a fully loaded Optima. I thought I knew the definition of "fully loaded," but after driving that little speed demon, I found out I was totally off. My new favorite thing: seat COOLERS! Not seat HEATERS, but rather the opposite! Who knew that even existed! My legs were all tingly after giving that a whirl. Love love love love love that thing!

- Last night Chad was so tired he went back to bed at 8:40. Chad is NEVER tired. Well, not that tired anyway. Apparently driving up to LA day after day in preparation for said promotion takes a lot out of you. Okay, I'm done bragging about his work awesomeness.

Me.

- I think I'm a baby woman. As in, I'm one of those women who just loves taking care of babies, so long as I have a break every once in awhile. This is probably true for every woman, but I just thought I'd say it because that's what I was thinking about last night, even after I wanted to shoot the bed my son is now napping upon.

- ...Which leads me to my next update: Carter's big boy bed! Honestly, this thing has eclipsed my attention from Day One of it's life in this here apartment. Up until yesterday, I sincerely hated this thing. It owns my life now. Nap time is no longer something I look forward to, but rather something I fear. It's a wrestling match, I tell you! Yesterday was a turning point, though: Chad called me after the world's longest day, and all I could do was complain about the damn bed! How ridiculous! It's not like I'm negotiating with terrorists at 1:00 everyday! I'm simply putting my son to bed! So what if it takes a little bit more effort than I'm used to! That's what being a parent is all about! Anyway, more on "THE BED" to come.

- Having two kids is my thang. They're so awesome, and they make me a stronger person because I'm ultra aware of what's going on at all times. The schedule is iron clad around here, and I love it.

- ...And speaking of schedules... I'm literally obsessed with maintaining Carter's schedule. It makes him feel secure, and since we brought home a new bambino {and she's here to stay, something I'm fairly certain he just discovered a few days ago}, that's a major priority of mine. So yes, that means I'm a little bit more restricted in the errand running-sector of life, but I couldn't be happier about the way {I think} the schedule has enabled him to transition into this new phase of his life: BIG BROTHERHOOD.

- I seriously have awesome friends. They all just need to move back to California pronto.

- Okay, this sucks, but guess what? Since my major weight LOSS, I've GAINED weight! What the hell??!! At one point I only had to lose 7 more pounds to be back at my pre-pregnancy weight, and now I need to lose 15! NOT.FAIR.

Carter.

- Little dude has shown little jealousy over Baby Sister, and that is AWESOME. I was so so so scared of this most natural of feelings to emerge from my big man, but luckily for us, he seems to be embracing the little lady with open arms. Cheers to that!

- Talk about a rise in energy level! Unless I run that little tot out for AT LEAST an hour-and-a-half in the blazing sun, he WILL NOT need a nap! I mean, he NEEDS the nap, but ever since this whole Big Boy bed transition, he will not take one unless he's outrageously exhausted. Anyway, I'm proud of my little soccer player/park-jungle-gym-climber-extraordinaire/baseball player/frisbee chaser/anything else that can be considered an active pass time!

-  Cars and choo-choos are still his favorite things in the whole wide world. It's so funny how instinctual kids are! Boys like blue and machinery, girls like princesses and dolls! How??! So cute!

- He is only experimental with food when with his grandparents. I always love when my mom tells me about how many scrambled eggs he charges through, when he gags at my eggs while at home! What the heck? Anyway, at least SOME PEOPLE are getting that boy to eat properly!

Kota.

- My little baby baby baby baby baby baby shnookums. LOVE.

- Let's see, let's see... What are some interesting updates??

- Well, she no longer poops EVERY SINGLE TIME I go to change her diaper! Woohooo! {Seriously, so awesome.}

- She loves her Moby Wrap, just like I knew she would!

- She has only been waking up ONCE a night for the past few nights! SUCCESS!

- Everytime she lies on daddy's chest, she falls asleep. So darn precious.

- The majority of her facial expressions and noises seem to indicate that something is wrong, ie. I need to eat, I need to poop, I want you to pick me up because I'm tired of lying here on my back, I want Big Brother to stop trying to take the attention away from me by being so darling... You know, normal baby things.

- She looks darling in pink. I know, I know, every mother of a girl thinks this, but seriously. Girlfriend's skin tone calls out for pretty pretty pinkness. 

Anyway, we are doing great at this moment.

I could not be more proud of my little unit, even though my posts lately have been DE to the PRESSING.

I'm one lucky lady, that's for darn sure.

:)

It has caught up with me..

Being tired is a funny thing.

Sometimes you're up, sometimes you're down, and there's no telling which way the pendulum will swing on any given day. 

Right now I'm not sleepy, I'm TIRED.

Tired of this ridiculous Big Boy bed.

Tired of this ridiculous Supernanny technique.

Tired of not taking a nap when my kids are sleeping {my body refuses to}.

Tired, tired, tired, tired, tired.

And you know what sort of sucks?
My family totally knows when I'm trying to fake being "not tired."

Isn't that the worst when someone just has to utter the simple words of "are you okay?" and then tears start pouring down your face? It totally is a bummer!

Apparently my poker face doesn't exist.

Or my mom is just being a mom and knows me well.

Anyway, even though I'm exhausted, I'm lucky to have people who understand me so easily {read: a husband who comes home after a long day of work and school and gives me a back massage because he can hear me trying to control the knot of hysteria on the phone}.

It's good to let people know what's going on with those darn emotions, even though you don't want to.

I just need to get my energy back, and luckily, that's easily done.

A morning or two of sleeping in will suffice, so I need not fret.

{But I'm so tired that fretting is not on my to do list, anyway. It's like I literally can't fret because I don't have the energy to do so.}

Okay, this post sounds super duper depressing.

I assure you, the majority of my time is not spent dwelling upon exhaustion.

I am just literally in the throes of getting my toddler down for bed, which is actually quite a physically demanding thing to do, and I decided I needed a break, so I sat down to write this post.

So no need to call the authorities, I am, in fact, totally fine and loving life.

Actually, speaking of getting that two-year-old down for bed, I haven't heard a peep from the kiddo's room the whole time I've been sitting here.

SUCCESS.

{Thanks, Supernanny! I'm a total believer.}

a Saturday night date

Those two sexy beasts will be on a date tonight.

a DATE!

Woohooo!

He is my favorite :)

It will be amazing amazing amazing amazing amazing AMAZING!

And I just KNOW that no matter how hard we TRY, the conversation will always return to how hilarious our two little bambinos are, and I wouldn't have it any other way.

It is, after all, the most titillating conversation I know of, anyway.

:)

You're jealous.