Life goes on...

I haven't posted for a while, so here's a little random glimpse of what's being going on in our lives...

• I've been sleeping better.  However, that's thanks to the wonderful melatonin pills that I got a week ago.  I didn't really like how the sleeping pills my doctor prescribed made me feel (and I was really scared of getting "hooked" on them, even though they say that's only likely with long-term use), so I gave the melatonin pills a try.  I've been taking them for the past week, and been feeling a lot better (except on the days when I know it's time to reduce the dosage - I've had a few groggy mornings).  I started out taking 2 5mg pills, then went down to 1 5mg pill, and now I'm just taking 1/2 a pill (2.5mg).  By the weekend I'm going to try sleeping without any pills.  Hopefully the melatonin will have helped to "reset" my system, and I'll be able to sleep well again.
• Annika is enjoying preschool.  Despite her initial good start, she's had a really rough time adjusting to school this year (which really stressed me out and contributed to my initial insomnia).  I think she was expecting it to be just like last year, and while there are many things that are still the same, there are also many things that are different.  However, I think we've passed that hurdle, and now school is a happy time for all of us.
• We've had a set-back with "Operation: Dry Bed."  You may recall from earlier in summer that Annika recently started (or rather re-started) staying dry at night, and she's regressed since starting school (it started at exactly the same time as going back to school, so I tend to think that's the cause, rather than a growth spurt or something else).  However, she had a few dry nights this past week (I actually put her back in Pull-Ups for the past week, despite her complaints, just so I could get a few good night's of uninterrupted sleep), and with the school situation improving, I'm hoping that she will soon get back to staying dry.
• Annika is loving her swimming lessons.  Yesterday was swimming lessons (she's in Sea Otter now for the 4th time), and I think she was having the most fun that I've ever seen her having in the pool.  She really likes her teacher (a sweet young lady that Annika feels far more comfortable with compared to the man who was her teacher last time), and she's starting to get a lot braver in the water.  She puts her face in the water more often (although she still looks like a drowned cat each time she comes up for air), she's gone completely underwater (a first) and she will often volunteer to be first to do whatever they're doing.  The other kids in her class are also Sea Otter "repeaters", so the teacher is focusing more on building their swimming skills, rather than spending time playing games and singing songs, so that's also a plus.  And this time her class is at 4:30, so hopefully with it being before supper we won't encounter as many pool closures as last time (last session we went after supper, and the pool was closed 4 times due to "foulings" - aka kids throwing up in the pool.  Yuck).
• Annika is also loving her ballet class.  Her class is at 4:15 on Saturdays, which is actually nice, so we don't have another thing during the week.
• Last Saturday was my Y Neighbours Used Kids' clothing and toy sale.  I didn't get much for the kids, but I bought Emmett a pair of boots for $3, a pair of skates for Annika for $10, and this dress for $3.  She absolutely loves it (yay for me!).  So far, she wore it on Saturday afternoon to dance class, and then for the evening, all day Sunday, Monday I managed to get it into the washer, then she wore it all day yesterday and today.  I think she's got her own "October Dress Project" going on. :)

•  Emmett's been enjoying the "mom and baby" library class we've been going to.  I'm not quite as into it, since the class is for babies 0-24 months, and at 22 months, Emmett is the oldest (and biggest) one there.  So it's a little strange doing tickle rhymes and trying to lift him in the air with all the other moms and their little babies, but we're managing.  The thing that Emmett seems to enjoy the most is the tub of books afterwards.  After the "official" part of the class is done, the librarian brings out a big tub of books for the moms to read with their babies.  Most of the moms use this time to chat, however, I haven't really connected with anyone in the class (partly because I'm not really there to make mommy connections - I have those already - I'm there to be with Emmett).  Emmett brings me book after book and we sit together and read them, which is really sweet, because he doesn't sit still for long at home.  So, the class isn't quite what I had expected, but we're still having a good time, and it's nice to spend some one-on-one time with Emmett.
• I helped out with a baby shower at our church last night.  I was in charge of decorations and the games, and I picked "storybooks" as the theme.  A friend helped me with decorating, and we kept it simple, but still got lots of compliments (take that, Pinterest!).  We just put up children's books around the room, with some candles and a few balloons and streamers.  I had also printed off a few book-related quotes and put them up on the walls.  We made a banner using book pages and put the guest of honor's name on it.  For a guest book, I bought the book "Oh the places you'll go!" by Dr. Seuss, and we had everyone sign inside the book, which we then gave to the guest of honor.  For games, I picked 12 "classic" children's book titles and scrambled up the letters and people had to unscramble the titles.  Then I read the first few lines from each story, and everyone had to match up the title with the story.  I gave prizes (bookmarks) to the 3 people who got all the answers correct.

So that's what's been keeping us busy lately.  It seems like October has just been flying by!