Sleep is Overrated

So, we've been dealing with sleep issues again.

Issues as in...Levi just isn't interesting in participating in the activity.

I feel like possibly there is some systemic issue going on (alot of people have suggested allergies), but we just can't pinpoint anything. The other three kids spent the weekend with my parents and we thought it would be a good opportunity to let Levi cry it out...which he did most of Saturday night. Then it seemed that there was improvement from there. Tuesday night he slept from 9pm to 6am without waking up.

But yesterday he only took a 45 minute nap and tonight we are pulling another all-nighter. I've tried tylenol, orajel, gas drops, diet alterations, snacks, drinks, walking with him, laying down with him. He just doesn't want to sleep. Period.

I'm not quite sure how I can keep putting in 17 to 20 hour days with no break (since the other kids don't nap) on 3-4 hours of sleep.

Any suggestions??

Enjoying Summer

We continue to enjoy our summer, as might be evidenced by my lack of posting. I'm beginning to wonder whether it's even worth it for me to keep blogging!?!? Will I ever really come back and read all this stuff? Is anyone else even reading it? Most of my posts lately have been... well...on the boring side, I suppose. I've had a few "deeper" things on my mind lately, but I'm such a slow thought processor, that it takes me way to long to get a post put together. I've been packing a lot of activity into my days, and there's been next to no room for quiet thinking time. If I get quiet time, it's while I'm running and, unfortunately, I'm just not "super-woman" enough to run and type blog posts at the same time :O).

Here is some of what's been filling up our days:

Following/Chasing/Protecting Levi. The kid is a maniac. He's been scaling the bannister of our staircase, rendering the gate we normally use to keep him downstairs useless. He plays in toilets and trash cans. He balances on tricycle seats. He puts small objects in his mouth. He eats handfuls of sand and chunks of sidewalk chalk...repeatedly. He thinks he is a WWF/ultimate fight contestant. He enjoys throwing hard objects at people. Ummm, yah...he's a maniac.

Watching a meteor shower cuddled under blankets on the trampoline. 4 of the many we saw left huge tails across the sky.

Big smiles and little slugs.

Swimming at Uncle Daniel's.

Celebrating some early birthdays at Grandma and Grandpa's.

Reaping our harvest and some other "domestic" things. We planted some veggies at Mark's parents' house, which have produced ridiculous amounts of zucchini and cucumbers. I've lost count of how many loaves of zucchini bread/muffins I've made. There are 6 loaves in my freezer and a few batches in our tummies :O). We've enjoyed homegrown salad. I've canned pickles and salsa. I've frozen zucchini, blueberries, corn, green beans, broccoli, strawberries, and strawberry jam.

Painting our own set of wooden blocks.

Running another family oriented 5k/1 mile fun run. The kids did great. Karis even ran the whole mile without walking!! Ethan ran right around 8 1/2 minutes and Karis 9 1/2 minutes.

Checking out the new splash park in our area.

Indian Bear Lodge. Each summer my mom's side of the family gets together for a few days somewhere in central Ohio/Hocking Hills. This year the group was small, but we returned to one of our favorite spots a bit south of Mt. Vernon. IBL is great place in the middle of nowhere. We usually spend our days eating WAY too much food, hanging out by the pond, and riding on the Kokosing bike trail.

Outer Banks: Beach Walks

Walking on the beach in the evenings might have actually been my favorite part of this vacation. I loved going down and walking the mostly empty beach as the tide was coming in. The kids loved seeing how deep they could make their footprints in the wet sand. It was just a nice, relaxing way to walk off dinner and wind down for the day. Here are some of our beach walk pics.

A couple of the nights we went back down to the beach after dark to look for crabs. They were scrambling all over the beach in and out of the waves and the little holes they dig in the sand. I wasn't fast enough to catch...mostly cuz I wasn't sure I really wanted to grab one!?!? Ethan, with his quick reflexes, was able to scoop one up in the bucket. Pretty cute!