problem solved

What does this picture mean, you ask? Well, to the Carroll household, it means precious SLEEP! It has literally changed our lives since Porter moved to his big boy bed! We were having a very difficult time getting Porter to understand when it was time to sleep and when it was time to get up. Since he had the freedom to get up and down whenever he wanted, every time he woke up during the night, he thought it was morning and time to get up! It felt like we had a newborn again. And after one month of sleepless nights, we knew something had to change. So as usual, I started reading and researching and came across this cool "Tot Clock". When I read the testimonial section on their website, I noticed one of the statements was from my neighbor who also has a son that had difficulty sleeping! She said it changed her life too, so I knew I had to give it a try. What could we loose? Well, the clock did not disappoint. I have to admit, I was skeptical at first, but the color-coded faces made sense to Porter and after about 4 or 5 nights telling him "blue means bed" and "yellow means awake", he got it! Now, he is back to sleeping 11-12 hours straight and Mommy and Daddy have some sense about themselves again. Ha! We even hear him in the middle of the night saying to himself "stilllll blue"!

Tot Clock, we love you! Now we have a well-rested toddler who looks like this:

What more could you ask for? :)

Now, I have to share the cutest book EVER. It's called "Jake Stays Awake" When we were going through this crazy sleep stage, I came across this adorable book at the library with Porter. We checked it out, and he loved the story! We would both laugh and laugh when we read it. I think you have to see the illustrations when you read it to really "get" the full picture, but I thought I would share the story with you so maybe you will get a laugh out of it too.

So for all the parents who jump through crazy hoops for your kids (that's everyone!)......

JAKE STAYS AWAKE

by Michael Wright

There was a little boy whose name was Jake and every night he’d stay awake

“Unless I can sleep with my parents, “ he said, ‘I won’t close my eyes, and I won’t go to bed!”

So every night around ten forty-four, he’d wander on up to his mom and dad’s door, and stand there and knock, till they finally said,

“All right, all right, Jake! You can sleep in our bed.”

This drove his poor parents straight up a tree-they had a bed made for two, not a bed made for three.

“We love you, dear Jake, but we can’t even doze. How can we sleep with your toes up our nose?”

But night after night, for a moment of rest, they let Jake climb in. They thought it was best.

And that’s when they knew something had to be done. Their sleeping arrangements were no longer fun.

So his mother and father thought hard and thought long, and came up with a plan that just couldn't go wrong.

“We’ll sleep with you, son, just not in our bed.” “Is there some other place we could try out instead?”

Jake considered their offer a second or two, then, smiling he said, “I know just what to do!” He headed outside and pointed straight up. “Uh-oh,” thought he parents. “No way!” thought his pup.

Then they climbed to the roof and attempted to sleep, but sleep’s pretty tricky on something so steep.

Then nervously Jake said, “Perhaps we should try finding some other spot that’s not quite so high.”

Jake climbed the stairs and said, “Let’s all sleep here!” But that turned out to be a big pain in the rear.

Jake jumped in the bathtub with his rubber duck, then in popped his parents and they all got stuck.

He thought that the kitchen might be a good place, but it’s tough to sleep when you’re feeding your face.

The garbage cans seemed a great idea at first, till things started stinking like old liverwurst.

The car was as boring as boring could be, like taking a long drive with nothing to see.

AS he lay there and listened to his parents snore, Jake thought of the one place he hadn’t before. Instead of the roof, or the stairs, or the bath, instead of the kitchen, the car, or the trash, Jake thought that his bed didn’t sound quite so bad, so he whispered, “Good night” to his mom and his dad.

Jake walked himself back to bed in his room, where he slept without moving till quarter to noon.

His parents are happy again with their son, and everyone’s realized it’s not always fun

to have kids sleep with parents night after night.

But ever once in a while? Well,that’s quite all right!