Wednesday, August 27, 2008

You Like Me, You Really Like Me

A couple of days ago, the wonderful Christy of Heavy on the Caffeine bestowed upon me this fabulous award:

Kick Ass Blogger Award

Although she couldn't possibly have known it, because I generally veer clear of the heavy stuff around the Land of Bean, it couldn't have come at a better time. Ever since returning from our trip to Kansas, Sophie's sleep has been unpredictable. Her formerly regular naps, are no longer regular, she's waking up two to three times a night (usually just as I fall asleep) AND she's teething her molars. Put all this together and you've got one very sleep deprived and therefore stressed out mommy. Not to mention, the cracked skull she gave me the other day. She hasn't been her usual happy self either, so where normally her waking hours are a relatively enjoyable experience, now they are marked by extended crying jags. Her cries are little daggers in my heart, part painful, part annoying, they cut through me. I've been trying to get out of the house in the morning, when I am the most tired and cranky, leading to a lot of walking and our trip to the Fair the other day. However, at some point you have to come home.

Everything came to a head this afternoon, when after the third day of less than 4 hours of sleep and weeks of not much more, I was mentally and physically done. Neil called to check in, and as I sat on the floor holding the baby, both of us crying, I begged him to come home and watch her so I could get a couple of hours of uninterrupted sleep. The kind of sleep I can only get when he's around, because when I'm alone I'm only half asleep, listening for the baby. I felt like a failure for not being able to cope with one cranky baby, for needing help, but I was stretched too far. To his enormous credit, he left within minutes of that conversation and was home shortly to relieve me.

And I slept. Three sweet, healing hours of unconsciousness. There were no dreams. I awoke to the sound of silence.

Back to that award. As you can see, I needed a pick me up and somebody thinking that I'm special, and not just special, but KICK ASS, was a salve on my shredded psyche. So, thank you again, Christy. You don't know how much I appreciate this. Per the custom, I am to pass this along to 5 bloggers that I think are great. This was a tough decision because I know so many great bloggers, but choose I must. In no particular order, they are:

MEP - My first "blog" friend, MEP is smart, insightful and funny, NTB. We seem to be living parallel lives, not sure if that makes her very unlucky or super cool.

Maternal Mirth - M&M never fails to bring a smile to my face. Her "Why I'm Cranky Post" is still one of my all time favorites. I go back and read it whenever I need a good laugh.

Merecat - One of the best writers around, she tackles life with twin toddlers with grace and humor. Her post on the effect of kids on your brain is beautiful and touching.

Lula - Sweet, charming southern gal. All obvious descriptors, but she's also quirky and funny with a hint of a dark side. She also has a little bit of a thing for Jason Statham and Twilight. I love reading her posts everyday.

Damselfly - She's been something of an award magnet recently, but she's a wonderful writer and her son has the cutest blond curls EVER. I love all of her posts, but her "What I'd Wear Wednesday" is always so much fun.

Thanks to each of these ladies for providing me and many others with interesting and entertaining reading and for all of the support and kind words you've given me.

19 comments:

  1. Sleep deprivation is a form of torture. Good for you asking for help and good for him coming home.

    Isn't it amazing what a little sleep can do?

    I remember the molars.. my son was a wreck. A usually happy baby turned hellion.

    Wishing you lots of sleep!!!

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  2. Congratulations on the award!!! I hope you get some rest!

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  3. You are indeed Kick Ass! And I usually don't say ass. ;)

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  4. Aw! Thank you so much! Who knew my son's hair would one day make me an "award magnet?" Sniff, sniff. ;)

    You deserve the award, and I'm so blown away you passed it on to me.

    You totally did the right thing, asking your husband to come and relieve you. It's a strong person who knows when to admit she needs help because that can be a hard thing for a strong person to do. I hope the Bean gets back to a good sleeping schedule soon!

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  5. First off, you are a kick-ass blogger.

    And, dare I say, a kick-ass mom. These rough patches when little ones stop following the patterns we count on for our sanity and sense of confidence in our parenting always come along. I have had many a day when the Bub and I were both in tears (and a few moments recently, when Bub, Little Bit, and I were all in tears). Just when I have turned my brain inside out trying to figure out how to adjust the schedule, improve the situation, etc, things change again and usually for the better. What a sweet husband you have to come home and let you sleep!

    Thank you so much for the award (appropriate b/c I do say "ass" a lot, though not in the blog) and for being such a great supporter of NTB. A few months ago, when you left your first comment, I was so gratified to realize that people I don't know may actually be reading. Your comments always brighten my day.

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  6. One more thing, I'm going to want to display the award on NTB and figure out how to pass it on to others, but with my limited tech-savvy, that will likely take me days to figure out!

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  7. Congrats on the award. Well deserved. Your hubby is a good egg for coming home to lend a hand. Way to go Neil! Setting the bar high for the rest of us Dads :)

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  8. I'm glad that the award gave you a little pick-me-up! You deserve it b/c you're terrific! I remember the sleep deprivation days...will it make you feel better if I tell you that it DOES get better? In the meantime, you have a great hubby to take care of you when you need it.

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  9. I'd like to thank my morning cup of coffee, Stephenie Meyer for getting me addicted to yet another vampire, Jason Statham for being a beautiful badass, JJ Abrams for creating Lost (the best show ever), Muse & Linkin Park for making me want to sweat to their hard-rockin' tunes, my parents for conceiving me in the south, my husband & girls for putting up with my blog frenzy, and Cara for rocking my world.

    Whew...I could never win an Oscar...that darn orchestra would be trying to play me off the stage, but I'd be, "NO WAIT--I still have to thank that girl I sat next to in 7th grade..."

    Thanks for the award...you have completely made my day, no foolin'.

    And I'm praying Sophie begins sleeping better VERY SOON. We've all been there--and it's HARD. I feel your pain. Oh, and your husband deserves an award for letting you sleep. Truly awesome!

    p.s. As if I haven't said enough...but really, you should read Twilight. It's a good distraction, promise.

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  10. Tiffany - Perhaps just writing this has made things turn, we've only just woken up from a rather restorative nap and armed with several bottles of Baby Tylenol, I'm optimistic we're headed in the right direction.

    Dawn - Thank you!

    Kristi - I'm a little shy about the cursing myself, but I feel this warrants it. :)

    Damselfly - Its WAY more about your writing, but that adorable boy sure is great eye candy!

    MEP - You're the kick ass mom! I actually thought of you when I was writing this because you are dealing with a newborn AND a toddler. If I'm struggling now, I'm going to be in deep doody if/when we have another one.

    John - He plays the part of the mild mannered Clark Kent to a T, but he really is my superman! Can't wait to see you all on Saturday.

    Christy - Thank you again! Neil and I were talking about it yesterday, that at some point in the not to distant future we will look back on this time and say, it wasn't so bad, let's have another one. And then I will give myself the V8 head bump.

    Lula - Actually, I just finished New Dawn and am awaiting my copy of Eclipse from the library. I am very much enjoying them!

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  11. In the words of my daughter, 'Oh wow cooooool!" Thanks, Carabee! What a thoughtful compliment! I'll get my bling and pass it on soon!

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  12. I'm smart; I'll have more kids! Now I just have to figure out who to have them with...

    (and I bet this looks weird to someone who didn't see what you wrote on my blog!)

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  13. Oh mama, I'm sorry to hear you've had a not-so-great last few days. What a great man you have! I still have those days and sometimes sleep is the best medicine! Well that along with the Kick Ass Award!!

    Thanks for stopping by my place today! Glad to hear someone else thinks napping IS a recognized physical activity!!

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  14. Sleep deprevation is absolutely horrible. Good for you both for recognising the sitution and tackling it head on. My oldest son, a generally delightful baby, was miserable when getting his molars and I felt all of the feelings you've described.
    I can say that they grow out of it, but we still don't get pre-baby sleep around here.
    Congratulations on the award!

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  15. I can only promise you for that as endless as these sleep-deprived days seem right now, before you know it they'll be gone and little Bean can veg out in front of the Backyardigans while you take a long nap on the couch ;)!

    Hang in there and CONGRATS on the awasrd!

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  16. Hang in there girl! We have all been there. Your hubby sounds like an awesome guy to come home like that.

    Yes, I do always make the FDOS signs. Once we had a couple kids in the mix and thousands of pictures..I could already tell, I'd need a little help remembering the date and grade.

    Hope you have a great weekend!

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  17. Congrats on the award. Always nice to know someone enjoys your blog! Wanted to thank you for stopping by from BATW on Tuesday! Wishing you more uninterupted sleep.

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  18. Congratulations on your award!! Go on with your bad assed self!! I'm sorry that you've had a hard week...kuddos to the hubby for coming home to relieve you so that you could get some sweet relief sleep!! Hope things get re-adjusted soon!!

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  19. *sniffle* aaaawww, back atcha sista!

    *hugs*

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Give me some sugar, baby!