JUST GO TO SLEEP ALREADY. Don't make me break out Samuel L. Jackson.......

Ugh.  Last night stunk.  Delano was up for three straight hours in the middle of the night for no obvious reason.  I tried letting him cry it out, I tried rocking him, I tried letting him lie on my chest in bed......nothing seemed to work.  And he wasn't having any sleeping in our bed, either.  I've never brought him into our bed to sleep (I personally never wanted to introduce the habit) but he was just as upset about that as he was about being in his own bed.  He wanted me to hold him - period.  And I knew he was absolutely exhausted, but he just couldn't seem to get to sleep, even while lying on me.  The reason I didn't just let him cry it out from the get-go (or at least after I checked on him to make sure he was alright) is because we're in Nashville at the in-laws' house and therefore he's sleeping in a Pack N' Play next to our bed with my brother-in-law sleeping (or trying to sleep) in the next room and the parents sleeping directly under us downstairs.  Not exactly ideal for an hour-long (or longer) cry-fest, nor the best scenario for him to successfully fall asleep.  If I had been able to fall asleep in the rocking chair (or bed) with him on my chest, I totally would have.  But neither were comfortable enough for that.  So Mama was ALSO up for three hours straight last night.  I felt like this:

I was really hoping I'd get up this morning to find another tooth in Delano's mouth, but alas, there was no such thing.  It's possible that a tooth could show up in a few days to explain the difficulty of sleeping, but it's more likely that it's simply because we're out of town, he's not in his own bed and he's not on his regular schedule.  He's always been super adaptable to travel and a change of schedule, but these last two Nashville trips have just been rough for whatever reason.  The last time we came home from being in Nashville, he slept like a ROCK for 13 hours straight.

Daddy got a little more sleep than Mommy, but not a whole lot more!

So needless to say, I am TIRED today.  Not overwhelmingly tired....my body just feels a little like melted butter.  And I have felt like doing jack crap.  Which has been successful so far.  :)  The brother-in-law managed to get a nap in earlier today.  Lucas, on the other hand, has been up-and-at'em all day building his garage roof.  I'm just dreading tonight.  I REALLY hope it's not a repeat of last night.  I'm hoping to get the baby down for the night a little earlier this evening, but since Lucas and his Dad are working on the roof all day and then we're going out to eat tonight, I doubt that will happen.  So maybe Delano and I will head downstairs and sleep in the living room recliner if we end up having a repeat performance!

My husband has built this entire garage himself, with help from his dad when he's been available.  He's just slightly handy to have around.

Speaking of that man of mine, his birthday's coming up in a couple of weeks!  Lucas and I have never been ones to do gifts on our birthdays (or even Christmas).  When we first started dating, we decided to nix them - one of my favorite parts about my birthday has always been going out for a fancy dinner anyway.  So I told him that he just always had to get me a card and treat me to a snazzy dinner, which is what I do for him as well.  And if we're able to get out of town on our birthdays, we do.  One year we went to Asheville and toured the Biltmore Estate for my birthday.  Last year we spent Lucas's birthday weekend at a cabin with friends.  We were in Philly over my birthday one year, and in Nashville at the Beer, BBQ and Bourbon Festival for Lucas's another.  As for Christmas, it just REALLY takes the pressure off of gift-giving since we don't have to worry about it for each other!  And even Christmas shopping for my family has gotten way less stressful over the last several years, as the siblings do ridiculous stockings (with a $50 cap) and my parents made us promise to simply provide a framed photo every year (either as a group or separately).  My mom just decided she was tired of buying things just to "buy things", and we all totally agreed.

I DO really enjoy picking a name or two from the Angel Tree and buying for children who need it, and I hope to pass on the excitement of that to my children as well.  The local Humane Society also has their own Angel Tree, where you can pick an animal and sponsor their adoption fee to aide in them finding their forever home (if you can't adopt yourself).  I hope that my children will want to do that every year, too!

Everybody should do this!!  Some kids just really need clothes.

With all that being said......having a child makes it a bit more difficult to plan a couple's retreat birthday weekend, and at the very least it changes the type of trip we might normally plan.  We've always been big fans of B&Bs.....those are totally out with a baby.  So are museums, or at least some of the ones we would have hit up pre-baby.  Plus, with me working mostly as a stay-at-home mom, I can't exactly "surprise" Lucas with a preplanned getaway without him being included on the happenings.  We've also already mapped out our travels for the rest of the year.  So this year, I've got some little ideas planned to go down throughout the day and dinner (of course) planned for the evening.  And my brother's birthday is the very next day, which I've already bought the gift for.  So I guess I'm set for now!

Well, I've got apples steaming in the baby food maker and a toddler trying to hijack my laptop, so I guess I'll wrap things up for now.  P.S.  I STILL haven't taken my 28 weeks belly pic.  Poor Baby #2, already getting the shaft!  :)