*Bedtime Battles, Car Seats, School Pictures, Wish, Amazon Prime*

So, if you know anything about my life, you know about Giulietta’s battles with bedtime. I always see those parents that have it so easy to get their kids in bed by 7 pm. I wish it was that practical for us. The main problem for us is my insane work schedule. She will accommodate her hours of sleep to mine, which was not an issue when she wasn’t in school. We do our very best to ensure that she is in bed by at least 10 p.m. Since we started doing that, she is usually getting sleepy around that time. I have been on maternity leave for the past 2 1/2 months, so it hasn’t been a battle. I was able to accompany her to sleep, which made it all ideal. Friday, I go back to work, so this will be the last week of our average routine. It is going to be a nightmare for her father to have her asleep. The only reason I know this is because she isn’t comfortable going to bed without both of us in the house. The struggle is our reality. She will fight until the last minute. She even talks to avoid sleep. We have tried leaving her in the room and “letting her cry it out.” It doesn’t work for us because it sounds like someone is murdering her. We simply cannot do it. My husband is a “saint,” but he can’t cope with her “threenager” meltdowns as well as I do. I know he is going to have it rough when I’m at work. I work nights and he works days. We decided it was best to do this, so we wouldn’t have to hire a babysitter. We started this routine when Giulietta was 9 months old. At first, Joey could not handle it at all. He sent me countless texts begging me to quit my job. So, now that I have had another baby, it’s going to be interesting to see what my husband’s reaction will be. When you breastfeed, baby usually acclimates to your regular routines. So, Joey’s life was a bit difficult when Giulietta didn’t want to go to sleep, but my life was easy because she slept in with me when I worked until 3 a.m. No one likes to work, but we sure like the paper trail. ** Lets talk about car seats. Why do my kids have to have a hate/love relationship with them. It breaks my heart to hear the baby scream at the top of his lungs because he despises his car seat. It’s not a bad car seat either! I wish I could crawl into his chair. It’s a beautiful Graco seat with black and white cushioned interior. Everyone tells me to try a pacifier in the car. It works for maybe two seconds. Giulietta never liked the pacifier and it seems like Giovanni doesn’t either. Today was a jolly day. We went to the pediatrician to get the second to last vaccine and he was a trooper. I wish there was something I could do to entertain him. I can not pull over every two minutes to check if he is okay. So, I have to hear his screechy screams almost all the way home. I wish I was that strong mom, the one who lets her children cry it out, but I can’t. It feels like someone is grabbing my throat from the inside and twisting it. My lungs fill with air and it makes me want to throw up. There’s nothing I can do. At this point, I am helpless. Every time we try to find a common ground excuse. "Maybe it’s because he’s hungry? Maybe he has gas? Nope that’s not it!!" He tries to manipulate us and he definitely wins. I am being sarcastic, if you haven’t noticed all ready. On a positive note, he explosively pooped today, which fulfilled my heart! One serious question, does anyone else’s kids get mysterious scratches on their bodies? Giovanni has one on his eyelid and forehead. I am not really sure if big sister could have done it. I know that it wasn’t the cat. He was nowhere near him. ** Are you ever so exhausted and want five minutes of peace? Every mother wants some time to themselves and barely gets it. If your husband is anything like mine, you will ask him to hold baby while you shower and five minutes later I somehow have the kids again. Every time this happens, I can't help, but think I cannot wait to receive those "begging" text messages again at work. ** Argh, I just finished feeding him for the trillionth time today and he finally closes his eyes. I put him down and he is awake again. This time I am not picking him up right away. As soon as I mention anything, he is sucking on his hand. I swear he knows this bothers me. I am compelled to feed him again. My bones literally ache. He is obviously going through a growth spurt. Daddy picks him up and he starts squealing. Mommy is the only one that makes him smile. It's extremely tiring, but I thoroughly enjoy being a mother. I love my children and there was nothing more that I wanted in life than someone to call me, "mommy." One of the most beautiful and rewarding statements of all time! **Giulietta was super excited today! Not only did her school pictures come in, but she received some of the clothes that I ordered on the wish app as well! Have you ever ordered from there? I ordered 11 things for her (ten of them being clothing and I only spent $125. The clothing quality is beautiful! I am so pleased with what we received. She certainly needed new clothes for school. ** It never fails! Everywhere I go I receive compliments on my baby wrap. People are so amazed, but believe it or not, baby wraps have been around since the 1970's and probably even before that. My "plain Jane" wrap was purchased on Amazon for $25. I got a wonderful deal on it 3 years ago. Amazon Prime is certainly a wonderful thing to have. You receive your packages in two days and usually don't have to pay shipping! **I know that this post is completely unsequenced, but when do people ever gather their real thoughts in order? The answer is, when they right papers or publish a novel. I was supposed to publish this post last night, but Giovanni was super cranky and clingy. He screamed at the top of his lungs for an hour straight. I attempted to bring the computer up to bed with me and even that failed. I will post more later tonight. Hopefully. Farewell for now! Here are some pictures of our day: