Which is a major issue for a few simple reasons.

She needs to rest.

And mom needs a break.

And that’s about it!

I could get the girl to fall asleep in my arms but getting her to her crib and laying her down was not working. She has a sixth sense about her bed. As soon as she gets horizontal, she immediately starts crying. Could be out cold… but would still wake up!

Mix this in with the temper tantrums that she was throwing and I was pretty sure that I was going to lose my mind. My poor mom got an earful of sobs from me one evening when Sloane hadn’t napped and cried basically all day because of not getting her way.

And after that, I knew we had to get this nap situation figured out.

The first step in solving nap problems is to first lay blame on why the child isn’t properly napping, in which I blamed myself and my husband. We had rocked Sloane to sleep for naps… since she started taking them way back when (I don’t even know when this really started which frightens me now that I have another one on the way  and I remember NOTHING!). That was the easiest thing for us to do because just going and laying her down in hopes that she would just calmly lie there and fall asleep wasn’t working. It never worked. But something had to give!

The second step is deciding if the child is ready to go from two naps to one. This is a hard thing to admit because though Sloane might have been ready for only one nap a day, I wasn’t ready! Two naps a day meant I got to take a shower in the mid-morning. Two naps a day meant I didn’t have to wake up earlier to jump in the shower before my husband who leaves for work before 7 am. One nap a day meant I was going to have to completely fix our schedule and routine.

Which is exactly what I had to do. Oh, how change and I clash!!!

But we did it. Because it had to be done. For the sanity of all parties!

So last Thursday, Operation: Sloane’s Nap kicked in to full gear.

I had noticed by 12:30, the girl was really in need of rest. So we had our normal lunch at noon, we went into her room, we read a book and rocked for a few minutes until she was sleepy but not asleep. I layed her down in her crib only for her to immediately roll over and start crying. I told her it would be OK, closed her door and waited.

Luckily, she was tired enough that after two minutes of crying, it got quiet.

And two and a half hours later, she was up and ready for the rest of the afternoon.

The next day, it was one minute of crying and three hours of sleep.

The last three days have been zero crying and two-three hours of quiet.

I don’t know if I should be really angry with myself for not trying this approach earlier or just be very thankful that we finally figured it out and she’s taking naps again!

Either way, I’ve only cried once since my tearful phone call to my mom … and it was over nothing. I’m allowed to cry over nothing. I’m pregnant!

So hooray for naps and routine and sound machines that play all day and all night long…

Oh, I forgot to mention the sound machine? OK, OK… so maybe I’m not entirely responsible for the wonderful naps she has been taking. But I am not ashamed to admit that I would have bought ANYTHING to get that girl to rest.

You know you haven’t posted a new blog in awhile when you login to write a new blog and EVERYTHING has changed! The way I even login has changed!

I’d apologize, but after awhile, people get tired of hearing apologies … and excuses … and numerous reasons as to why I haven’t done what I promised I’d do.

Which is blog more frequently.

And as always… I will blame one person and one person only.

My daughter.

Partially because it’s true and partially because the kid can’t stick up for herself just yet. So I’ll use this one for awhile!

But in all seriousness, I am sorry – to my aunt and best friend who are probably the ONLY ones who still check this thing! And for that, I must say…

HAPPY BIRTHDAY (yesterday) AUNT SALLY! You’re the best! 

Gosh… there has been alot that has gone on since my last post. I guess I should start with the most important, most shocking, and most exciting slash terrifying.

We might finally get our house sold!

OK, OK… that’s not really (at all) the most important, but it is happening (with fingers crossed and prayers said daily). If you’d like to join in on the prayers, we’d appreciate it!

What IS most important is that we are expecting baby Clark no. 2 in July!

Are we insane you ask? Ofcourse!

Are we ready? Never!

Do we know what prevents babies? Bloody hell, yes!

But what I have realized in my 29 years of living is that God works in very funny and very mysterious ways. And though this baby was as much of a surprise as my surprise birthday party in seventh grade with my favorite Madonna song blaring in the background as I walked in, it is an extreme blessing and one that we are thankful for!

If only I had blogged post telling Matt the news. Really, only pictures would have been able to describe that moment.

A photo of me with my hands on my face, tears flowing like a faucet. And Matt, grinning from ear to ear, with his hands on my shoulders, telling me everything will be just fine!

Anyway, baby two will be arriving around July 10, which means I only have six more months to try and figure out how to raise two children under the age of two (Sloane will be 21 months old when the baby is born). I know it can be done, as my cousin Megan’s first two babies are less than a year apart. God bless her.

What else has been going on … I mentioned the house being sold, but the correct term would be ‘under contract’. You’ll know it’s finally sold and out of our possession because you will be able to hear me screaming for joy (literally – all the way from Minnesota!) the day of closing – which is approximately March 15 … but we’re hoping sooner! We’ve had more than enough drama to last us a lifetime with this house… and the house is only five years old! It is now time for another family to take control of it!

Sloane is 15 months old and as busy as ever! She is crawling (quickly) all over the place and wants us to hold her hands so she can walk everywhere. I truly wish that she’d wake up tomorrow and just start walking on her own! I know most parents probably don’t wish for that, but obviously from my news above, I’m insane!

In my world, she is still a baby, but in the real world, she is a toddler (also in my husband’s world – who thinks we baby her too much… now who’s the insane one?). So she is doing toddler things. Such as throwing temper tantrums, our latest toddler thing to cross off our list! And it’s amazing timing too because I can’t get enough emails from every baby website I’ve ever signed up for telling me how to deal with temper tantrums. It’s even being discussed at our toddler/parent class we attend weekly. Our doctor said she is going through this stage a little earlier than others, but the good news is that she will probably grow out of it sooner. I hope so! Preferably before baby two arrives!

She really is a good baby (toddler) though! She loves people and kids and is very social, which is completely entertaining to watch! She makes Matt and I laugh daily and I can only hope that baby no. 2 will be as easy (KNOCK ON WOOD) as Sloane has been (for the most part)! We find out if baby is boy or girl (though we already have an idea from a previous ultrasound… but will hold off telling until …) on February 22.

Though we have lots of things going on in our lives, I find it important to note that 2012 is PACKED FULL of new babies! Five of the seven of us who lived together my senior year of college are pregnant – one was due yesterday (so baby will be here any day!), one is due in April , one in May, one in June, me in July, and one in August. Plus I have found out of atleast three other girls from my sorority – in the pledge class below mine – are also pregnant. My recommendation is for anyone and everyone who does not want to get pregnant any time soon to stay away from anyone involved with Kappa Kappa Gamma. We are a fertile bunch right now … it’s almost scary!

Lastly, one of my favorite people in the entire world, Trey Doty, got engaged over Christmas break. My brother, sister, Matt, Sloane and I had just been out to see the Doty clan one day over break and after we left, we got a text about two hours later, saying Trey was engaged! We were quite sad we weren’t there to witness it in person – staring out the window with the rest of the Doty clan! It only would have made it that more special!

We are SO excited for Trey and his fiance Ashley. I know she already knows this but she has landed herself a VERY good one! I just love him to death – he basically is my other brother! And speaking of that, my real brother is his best man … this best man speech will be a classic. And if I get it videotaped in October, I’ll be sure to post it!

And with that, I feel as though I should leave you to digest all of this information. My goal is to try and get back to my blog writing atleast once a week. But, as always, it is so much easier to say than do! But… one should always have some goals!

Everyone have a great week!

Juuuust right.

For myself, I felt like I had been able to accomplish everything I needed to do to prepare for the arrival of the baby and was as ready as I could be.

October 13 at 11 p.m. rolls around, contractions start, an hour before my actual due date.

And then fast forward 29 hours to 4 a.m. on October 15, which is where I left my former life and became a mom.

Those days following the arrival of Sloane seem like a blur but a blur that I can remember quite well. I remember sitting in the rocking chair in her room, feeding her for what seemed like the zillionth time that day, and wondering if there would come a time that I would enjoy feeding her… and if I could just fast forward to a month from that exact time so we could be in a routine.

I think back to that time and can’t believe that almost a year has passed since then.

My baby is no longer a baby.

She is a toddler.

Who does not want me to feed her… because she wants to do it herself.

Who does not want me to hold her… because she wants to crawl around on the floor and try and pull every AirWick air freshener that I have plugged in out.

Where the heck did the last year go? I’d give almost anything to go back, for even five minutes, to our first day at home when it just me and her trying to figure out our next steps.

And now, our next steps involve her TAKING steps. Literally.

GEEEZ!

Well, the only way to commemorate this momentous occasion of Sloane turning a year old and Matt and I completing a year of parenthood was to celebrate in Manhattan… with my winning football team (BOOM!).

So we loaded up Thursday evening after Matt got off work and drove to Topeka to stay with his mom for the night. We were up bright and early – that is the only time Sloane knows – to head to Manhattan because I had scheduled her one year and family photos with a photographer.

We wrapped those up by lunch time and then met my family for lunch. It was my mom’s birthday and I’m pretty sure if the only thing she got that day was seeing Sloane, she would have been perfectly happy!

Our afternoon consisted of naps, trips to the grocery store, and dinner at The Little Apple Brewery. Bed seemed like the greatest thing ever when my head hit the pillow at 10 p.m. that night.

After a morning nap for Sloane on Saturday, we headed to the football field for Sloane’s first tailgate birthday party! We had a great crowd and luckily, the rain stayed away right up to the conclusion of the party.

Sloane got lots of great gifts from everyone including numerous stuffed Elmo’s, books, pajamas (which seem to be what we are most excited for as of recently… one can never have enough pairs of pajamas!), puzzles, a baby doll and cradle, clothes and a fantastic K-State jacket! She also got her own personal cake that she enjoyed… I’m not sure if she actually got any cake in her mouth because she was too busy stuffing in the icing and squeezing it between her fingers.

Though she was getting sleepy, we decided to let her come in for some of the football game. It took her awhile to soak it in, but once she was there for a bit, she started clapping which is always a good sign!

She fell asleep at half time and grandma Patty took her back to the hotel so Matt and I could stay and enjoy the game… which we did!

I’d say the party was a success, thanks in large part to our families, who really helped put it all together!

This weekend we will have a smaller party with some of Sloane’s friends from play group. It will be Elmo themed since Elmo is where Sloane’s happiness lies at the moment.

To be continued…

Pictures from the Weekend

Sloane and Grandpa enjoying time together at Mr. Goodcents

Getting a nap in before the party!

Sloane loving on her first stuffed Elmo!

Elmo enjoying the party

I LOVE this place...

Sloane's first K-State football game

Out in Aggieville after the game with Jordan and Lauren... Another one of their fake fights...

Just want a picture together, people...

I find that if I just keep smiling, eventually we will get a good picture!

On the road again... with the greatest traveler!

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

AHHHHHHHHHHHH!

Really? It’s been a month and a half since I posted last?

Really?

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

Those are my screams – screams of self-pity that it has been almost a month and a half since my last post.

I should be kicked out of the blogging world for this. It’s sad that when you log in to write a new blog post, the template has changed on you and you can’t figure out how to even START a new post.

In the words of Bill Engvall… “There’s your sign.”

Well… better now than never.

Right?

Today let’s play catch-up. The “what has been going on in Allyson’s life that has kept her so busy she doesn’t even have to write on her blog” game.

Let’s see here…
Matt turned 30, which should probably be a post in itself. Thirty is quite the milestone in one’s life. It seems to be the birthday that you want the ‘pass’ card for and want no one to remember it. I don’t know if it’s because saying you’re 30 means that you have to grow up because you’re not in your twenties anymore. Or if saying you’re 30 means you’re that much closer to 50.

Not that 50 is bad. I know plenty of 50 year olds that are beyond fabulous.

But 50 is one of those scary numbers.

Anyway… he survived. He still has his looks, his hair (most of it) and his health. And a rockin’ kid. And a smokin’ wife.

Or just a rockin’ kid.
In other news, I have taken up running.

Yes, running.

The art of moving your feet quickly, while breathing heavily and forcing yourself to make it one more block so you can say you ran two blocks.

I loathe running. Running and I have never been friends, except when I was in seventh grade and had no chest.

More than 15 years, three sports bras and a baby later, I realized that walking wasn’t doing much for me. Though I love it a whole heck of alot more than running, the walking wasn’t taking my weight anywhere.

So, I decided to give in and run. And though I still detest it and the thought of it, I have to admit that it’s doing my body good. I don’t think I’ve lost much weight, but after I’m finished and I’ve done my ‘Rocky’ impression , I feel good.

Three times a week in the wee hours of the morning, I peel myself out of bed to the worst alarm sound ever, find my clothes and shoes, grab my phone and headphones and quietly sneak out the door, turn on my iPod and crank up Charlie Brown’s Holiday Hits (maybe that’s the secret to running – a little quiet jazz rather than Lady Gaga) and run… a mile.

Or almost a mile. Who cares. I’m running! That’s the main point of this story.

We’ve had LOTS of visitors through the month of September. Matt’s parents visited over Labor Day weekend.  My sister came up for a few days. Matt’s aunt and uncle drove up from Illinois to stay the weekend. And this weekend, Matt’s grandparents are coming up from Sedan.

I love visitors so I welcome everyone with open arms! To me, visitors mean extra help with Sloane so I will never turn anyone away.

Do you hear me? I NEVER turn anyone away!

Though now that I gave away my secret as to why I love visitors, you all probably won’t be beating down my door… because beautiful Sloane does not just sit and stare at you with a smile on her face anymore. Nope… that’s because …

Sloane is crawling!

She is a crawling fool! She is a quick one and all over the place… and into anything that she can get to! She pulls herself up to her knees to get a little height for those hard-to-reach items that mom has pushed to the back of the TV stand so she won’t get her hands on them… but when there’s a will, there’s a way. Sloane’s new motto.

She turns one on Oct. 15 and to say that this year has flown by is an understatement. Yesterday, I took Sloane to a story time at a local library. A group of mom’s with their babies, ages ranging from 3-6 weeks, decided to check out story time. I think it was just an excuse for them to get out of the house – understandably so! But as I was eavesdropping on their conversations (yes, I eavesdrop – don’t tell me you don’t do it!), I almost laughed out loud thinking, “MAN! I swear I was just asking my friends the same questions!” Even though in reality, it was 11 months ago.

We are definitely not ready for another baby, but seeing those teeny ones just made me realize the passing of time. And as I was staring at their babies, my baby was sitting in the middle of the floor, stealing toys from another kid.

MOM OF THE YEAR, FOLKS!
Lastly, we took a Clark family to the great state of New York. On my father in law’s bucket list, he wanted to go to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown. So Matt planned a trip to NYC and Cooperstown for all six of us.

Matt, Sloane and I went out a day before everyone else and stayed in the Tribeca area. We met up with everyone else the next day and drove to Cooperstown, spent two days there and then drove back to the city and flew back Sunday. While we were in the city the second-time around, we stayed in Times Square.

If you’ve been to Vegas, you’ve been to Times Square. I never feel the need to go back there. Ever again. At one point, we walked out of our hotel around 9 pm and it looked like morning. That’s how bright it was.

Anyway… we saw alot, including at K-State win over Miami, and exposed Sloane to yet another part of the country before her first birthday.

I plan on taking a girls trip with my mom and sister so we can take the Sex and the City bus tour and REALLY see the city the way the city ought to be seen!
The only part left in the month of September and is the greatest holiday of the year… my birthday!

I’m sure you all have been thinking about it and I hope that you’ll all be able to take off work and celebrate the day in Allyson fashion.

With a coke in hand and Sex and the City on the tube.

Welcome, Allyson, back to the world of blogging!

Goolash
Chicken and Noodles
Chili (with spaghetti noodles)
Spaghetti
Black bean pasta

These dishes are the only dishes in my repertoire that do not require a recipe in front of my eyes.

They are also my favorite things to eat. They are also why I will never be a size two. What can I say… I love my carbs!

But I recently came across this recipe on Pinterest after searching for something to make for my husband on the morning of our anniversary. It’s a doozy… it involves sugar, cinnamon, butter and dough.

What could be better in the morning?!

Click here for picture by picture, detail by detail recipe of ‘Scrumptious Baked Cinnamon Breakfast Bites’.

I set out all of the ingredients the night before and did step one and finished the rest in the morning. It was quite simple and they were delish when warm.

We still have a few left and though they are better straight from the oven, they are still good days later!

Enjoy!

It feels big… and heavy… and big during the summer months.

I had really hoped that my daughter would have the type of hair that you could do anything to – not too thick, not too thin, but juuuust right. But what I have realized in the short 10 months that she has been on this earth and the four months that her hair has really started to come in… is that my hope of not too think and not too thin is not going to happen for her.

A great example is this:

Matt got her up this morning and brought her into the kitchen and I thought to myself, “Hmmm… Sloane’s hair is sticking up. Let’s just pat that down.”

Nope. There will be no lying down for this hair today. It’s sticking STRAIGHT up!

How will mom solve this problem? I will put a hat on her, take her to the pool, give us an excuse for another bath and hair wash which will, in turn, make her hair lie flat.

Though I feel that if I took her out in public with her hair sticking straight up, people would still stop , smile, tell me how adorable a baby I have and say, “Oh, your little boy is so cute!”

Grrrrr……

Since it is our three year anniversary tomorrow.

Or two. So thinks my husband.

“Man, I can’t believe we’ve been married for two years!” “Yeah, me either… since it’s been three years.” “What?! Three years? Are you sure?”

Am I sure? Is he kidding?

Yes, three years! Three years since that gorgeous (literally – I wasn’t sweating from head to toe like I should have been on any other normal August day in Kansas) August day where all of our friends and family converged in one place for a day of happiness!

So much has happened since that day, which makes me question how Matt could even think that we could have fit all the things we have done in our lives since getting married into two short years.

We’ve moved, we’ve finished a basement, we’ve celebrated a Christmas away from Sedan, I got a job, Matt changed positions in his job, we moved, we had roommates (Lauren and Bob), we kicked those roommates out, Matt got a new job, we announced we were pregnant, we got a new car, I quit my job, we moved (again… and far away), we had a baby, we put 24,000 miles on that car and now here we are.

Living in Minnesota with a baby, a new car, alotta houses (anyone interested in buying in Wichita?!), a dog that does nothing but lay in the garage all day long, and three years of marriage under our belts.

We’ve done quite a lot and been through many ups and downs as many married couples have, but have experienced so much joy in such a short period of time that I don’t even want to mention it in fear of something messing that up.

It has definitely been three years of marriage, not two, but three great years that included starting our family. And if this girl doesn’t bring joy into your life… nothing will!

Happy anniversary to the love of my life! Thank you for giving me so much, including our beautiful baby! Cheers to three years and many, many more!

For those that REALLY want to relive that day… here’s the prequel video our videographers at Fat Cat created.

]]> http://lifeslittleals.wordpress.com/2011/08/15/three-or-two-years-later/feed/ 2 Allyson sloaneswing Picture 15 http://lifeslittleals.wordpress.com/2011/08/05/pic-of-the-week-3/ http://lifeslittleals.wordpress.com/2011/08/05/pic-of-the-week-3/#comments Fri, 05 Aug 2011 13:50:18 +0000 Allyson http://lifeslittleals.wordpress.com/?p=1911 Continue reading →]]> Sorry for my blog departure… July has been a crazy busy month for us! I went out to Colorado for a girls weekend, came home, my brother flew up to visit and drove back home to Kansas with Sloane and I, we were home for a week and then drove back to Minne with my best pal Jenna. She was here for the week and then we dropped her off at the airport on Friday, loaded the car up and drove to Chicago to visit family. Geez… Sorry for the run-on sentence, mom!

Anywho, I promise to return to my blogging ways soon!

But to end your week properly, here’s my favorite picture of the week!

It’s of daddy and his girl… Matt was flying out of town for a few days so got to stay and work from home that morning. Sloane highly enjoyed it!

Have a good weekend everyone!

Matt reminded me that I need this weekend, she needs this weekend and he needs this weekend. Not away from me (so I think) but so he and he little one can have a chance to hang out, just the two of them.

He’s right… but I will still need a beer once I arrive at my destination to calm myself.

But this picture helps… It was taken on our camping adventure and she had just woken up from a morning nap. And was quite sweaty.

Hence the mohawk.

My two babies...

Sidenote: As I sat down to upload this picture, I remembered that I forgot to do yesterday’s Etsy post. Like I said, I hope you weren’t holding your breath!