Today feels like Mother’s Day to me because Matthew has napped TWICE in his crib, for over an hour each time!  He’s napping now!  YAY!  Now – this does not mean he goes down for naps easily.  Oh no.  I nurse him to a drowsy state, lay him down, pat his back, sigh as he starts to howl, and then… this morning… I decided to walk out.  I decided today that this baby needs to learn to fall asleep without nursing, because in 1.5 months (sniff, sniff), he won’t be nursing anymore.  I don’t want him to have to adjust to too many changes at once, so I just decided on a whim today that I’m done holding him for his naps.

I was spending 2-3 hours a day in the glider in the nursery – and that just wasn’t good for anyone.  The house was always a mess because I had no time alone to clean it up, I was becoming resentful of having no time (not even 30 minutes) to myself, and Matthew was not sleeping soundly in my arms – he would wake up several times.  He used to transfer to his crib so easily – it was ridiculous how easy it was and it was working.  But he got a cold two weeks ago and he’s only been napping in my arms since.

So anyway – I walked out today and he howled and screamed – this was true “crying it out,” but I refused to give in.  I texted my dear friend about it and she reassured me that I was doing the right thing.  After 35 minutes (holy hell!), I went in, laid him down, rubbed his back and nose, and watched him drift to sleep.  I did the same thing for his afternoon nap but after only 10 minutes of howling – and he’s been asleep for an hour and 25 minutes so far.  He’s even woken up twice in this nap and put himself back to sleep without any visits from me.

Finally – some time to myself!  I’ve caught up on laundry, dishes, etc.  And now I’m reading all of my friends’ blogs on a real computer and not just my phone – while eating home-made spiced nuts made by my wonderful husband.  How fantastic this feels!

So Mother’s Day.  Holy smokes – B went ALL out this year!  Last year was a let-down because I didn’t even get a card, despite being almost 8 months pregnant.  I was not a happy mother-to-be.  But this year?  Oh you guys! I didn’t get a Mother’s Day – I got a Mother’s Weekend!

On Saturday around 2:30, I was working on Matthew’s birthday banner when my friend, Denise, came over with her daughter.  This surprised me because she was scheduled to come over at 5:00 to take photos of Matthew for his birthday invitations.  It took me a minute to figure out what was going on, but B had booked pedicures for the three of us girls for Mother’s Day!  How nice (I really needed one!)!  As we were walking out, he put cash in my pocket and said to stop at the frozen yogurt place afterwards and then handed me a gift bag saying to open it with the girls when we got there.

So we’re waiting for our pedicures and I opened the bag, and there was a gift for each of us.  B had picked out a special book for each of us and they were all very fitting to our unique personalities and our current life situations.  How nice is that?  We loved our pedicures and then went for frozen yogurt as advised to do (this is not a paleo/primal snack) before heading home.  B was making a huge dinner for the three of us!  We took Matthew out for his photo shoot while he finished up our dinner.  It was the best dinner I’ve had in a long time!

On Sunday, the fun had not stopped.  I woke up to find a card on the pillow next to me.  It was from Jackson, our boy cat who sleeps up by my face every night.  An hour later, out on the kitchen table, there was another card – this time it was from Janie, our youngest kitty (she thinks the table’s her special sitting place).  A while later, there was a card on the vanity from Lily, my precious cat who’s pulled me through some rough times.  I brush her every single day up on the vanity, so that’s why her card was there.  I went to get dressed and there was a new dress hanging in the closet from my hubby.  And finally, at one point when I went into Matthew’s room, there was a card waiting for me in the rocker – the card from my sweet boy!

B gave me his card on Monday morning.  So I truly had a full weekend of love and appreciation!  B and I write long notes in our cards to each other – and this weekend was no exception.  He wrote me a heart-felt note from each of the three cats, Matthew, and himself.  That’s a lot of sentiment to write for one holiday!

It was a wonderful day – and weekend!  The only regret is that we did not get one single picture of Matthew and me together.  Oh well – we have some from the day before!  Because I don’t have Mother’s Day photos to share, I’ll share some fun random ones from the last few days!

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