HELP!

I am desperate for some advice! This sweet little son of mine is having some serious sleep issues that I can't handle any more.

I guess I was pretty spoiled when Camden started sleeping 12 hours a night at just 2 months old. So why can't he continue this pattern now? His(more like my) recent sleeping troubles got worse about a month ago when he decided he didn't want to take afternoon naps. Well, whats wrong with that you ask, lots of children won't take naps? Let me give you a run down of a typical day at our house.

-5am-Camden is awake and whining in his crib for someone to come get him
-6am-I give in, get him out of his crib, we eat breakfast
-630am-We, mostly he(I am half asleep still) plays with toys
-8am-Camden is starting to get ornery and we head off to the gym(the daycare doesn't open until now)
-930am-Camden is exhausted and falls asleep on the ride home
-11am-He is wide awake and done with his nap
-1130am-1200-lunch time
Don't ask me what gets done during this time other than keeping my child alive
230pm-Camden is whining and wanting to be held and crying "mama mama", we attempt a nap
330pm-Camden is still crying in his crib, attempting to take a nap
345pm-I give in and get him up from his "nap"
From this time until he goes to bed all he does is whine and rub his eyes!
730pm-Bedtime, he goes right down!

I have tried everything I can think of, good and bad. I tried getting up with him at 5am to start the day. I tried giving him a bottle in bed. I tried putting him in bed with me. I tried keeping him awake to take 1 nap during the middle of the day. I tried keeping him up later at night. No matter what happens during the day, how late or early he goes to bed, he is up at the same time. It is the same fight everyday! HELP, I don't know what else to try. Is this normal(whatever that means) behavior?

I love my son dearly and I understand many parents have worse things to worry about, but I'm sure many of you have been where I am now. And when you are in the middle of it, nothing is worse. Camden really is a good kid, other than he is exhausted every afternoon and I can't do a darn thing about it, or can I?

TAG #2

What was I doing 10 years ago?
finishing the Jr. High scrapbook(I was the student body historian, don't ask me why)
5 things on today's "to-do" list:
get to the gym(pretend to work out)
shower(shaving my legs will have to wait until next week)
buy a new lock for front door(don't ask me how the darn thing broke)
laundry(this is on my never ending list)
call Cassi to make a hair appointment(long over due)
5 snacks I enjoy:
can someone please define "snack", I love all food. Does it count if I had 5 butterfingers today?
5 things I'd do if I were a billionaire:
I wish I could say I'd do the same things I'm doing now, but let's be real..I'd go way over the top!
travel(first class style of course, in my own private jet)
hire a live in chef
hire a live in maid
see my husband more(once you're that rich, do you really even go to work?)
buy those shoes, pants, swim suit, sun glasses, that I've had my eye on(one in every color of course)
5 bad habits:
eating just to eat(who doesn't, food is SO good)
bad words that find there way out of my mouth(it's the craziest thing, I'm not sure how they get in my mouth in the first place)
popping my gum(and driving everyone else crazy)
bouncing my legs(my mom used to make me stand at the dinner table because I would do it so much and shake the whole table, although I learned it from her in the first place)
being an impatient driver
5 places I've lived:
my mother's womb
Layton, Utah
Provo, Utah
Salt Lake City, Utah
Mesa, Arizona(I really branched out, eh?)
5 jobs I've had:
newspaper girl(until I was a Junior in high school, embarrassing huh?)
Patient Care Tech(glorified butt wiper)
Health Unit Coordinator(glorified secretary)
Travel Nurse Coordinator(a slave to my boss, recruiting travel nurses)
maid, cook, doctor, accountant, you name it, I've been it...or can pretend to be.

Enough about me, let's hear about you!

Date Night

Dan and I have really been trying to make a point of going out on a date once a week. Usually those dates consist of going to dinner and fighting with Camden the entire time. But every now and again we splurge and get a babysitter so we can do grown up things!

This weeks date was the BEST! We got to go golfing with Spencer and Tiffani. I know, I know..how fun can golfing be? Well when you are married to a golf pro and the $150 per player isn't coming from your own pocket, you don't have to take it as serious! And believe me we didn't! Tiffani and I had a blast goofing off and I think the guys secretly enjoyed the lack of knowledge we had for the game!
Afterwords we fought off all the prom date crowds and got reservations at Benihana's.
Josem, our cook, was a little new but his skills were amazing nonetheless. Both the guys decided they wanted one off those grills in our homes and us girls decided we wanted to cook like that!
The four of us always have such a good time, can't wait to do it again!

TAG...I'M IT

1. Each player lists 6 facts/habits about themselves.

2. At the end of the post, the player then tags 6 people and post their names; then goes to their blog, leaves them a comment by letting them know that they have been tagged and invites them to read your blog.

Okay okay, my sister in law tagged me so here it goes:

• I am a MANIAC when it comes to cleaning my house. My friend Tiffani tells me I clean like I am moving. For example; when I clean my kitchen I have to take everything including the kitchen table out in order to begin the cleaning process. I know, I'm a freak but at least I get a good workout in during the process.
• I HATE shaving my ARMPITS(I know this is is getting personal, if you don't like it...stop reading). So instead I make my husband wax them for me, he is such a good sport. Waxing gets them smoother, no stubble, and you can go longer without any maintenance.
• I am 8 years younger than Dan. I love teasing him about being SO old.
• I absolutely hate running and I'm NO good at it, but dream of running a marathon someday. Don't ask me why!
• I would BAKE something new everyday if I didn't want to eat it after. I love trying new recipes but what's the fun in making it if you can't eat the entire thing after, right?.
• I could eat ice cream at EVERY meal, and must admit I have before. I can't really say I have one favorite kind because I love them all. As of late, I am a HUGE fan of pretzels and caramel in vanilla ice cream. Mmmm...to die for!

I tag whoever is brave enough to attempt this one!

First Timer

So today was a BIG day for Dan, he played in his first PGA tournament and rocked it! Thanks to Tiffani for watching Camden, I was lucky enough to go watch for a few holes and capture some fun pictures. The entire time I was snapping photos I wanted to ask people to pose and do fun shots, but I was scared because everyone was acting so serious. I guess when money is on the line things are a little different. Oh wait, that's how people always are when they play golf:)
This is Dan checking in with the other two guys he played with. Notice the guy in the pink is wearing a white belt, I was glad to see it wasn't just my husband! I was dying laughing at some of the guys outfits(once again I was scared to snap a photo, I didn't want my husband to look bad at his first tournament). Because they played in a three-some(I think that's what it's called) I was able to ride in the cart with Dan instead of walking.
The wind would not let up and made for a rough day. I was surprised the wind didn't knock the ball off the tee it was that bad! I'm pretty sure this putt made it in and also made Tiger jealous.
I love this picture! It was fun to go watch him and be out in the sun for a while! Just because he didn't win any money this time around doesn't mean he won't strike gold on Monday(he is playing in another one).

Good job Dan!

10 Months, Holy Cow!

Camden is now ten months old, holy cow! When I sit back and think about my life I chuckle that I really do have a ten month old, weird! I have the hardest time not calling him Caleb(my little bro). I am not sure if it's because both names start with a "C", or because I feel like it was yesterday that my brother was this age..but it's true, Camden is ALL mine.

This stage is SO much fun. Camden is much more interactive and his intense little personality is really starting to come out. He has mastered the art of crawling up the stairs and darts up them every chance he gets. Now going down the stairs is another story, we will have to start working on that.
Whatever we are doing, he wants to be part of it. Every time I try and fold the laundry, empty the dishwasher, clean the floors, you name it..he is right there in on it. I am really learning patience as well as many distraction techniques. Let's just hope he wants to be this involved when he is older and can fold the clothes himself, yeah right!
Clapping is his latest and greatest accomplishment. He was sitting in his highchair eating lunch when he started to clap and I freaked out. I immediately grabbed the camera and got so excited when Dan said, "yeah, I taught him that yesterday in like five minutes". WHAT! I have been showing him how to clap for 2 months now and Dan teaches him in five minutes. I am convinced it was all my hard work and practice with him. Nonetheless, he claps all the time now and it is so adorable.
Wherever we go he flirts up a storm with anyone willing to look his direction. He always gets compliments on his big smile and beautiful eyes! He is quite the charmer(like his dad) and loves the attention(like his mom).

He is drinking from a sippy cup and loves to feed himself. He still loves his bottle and every time he sees us make one for him, he freaks out! Anything with wheels catches his attention and anything outside calms him down. Most recently I have noticed him playing with my hair. Anytime I hold him he reaches one hand back and runs his fingers through my hair(luckily he does it soft, it actually feels good).

He loves to talk on the phone and lights up every time we let him. Our favorite daily activity is calling Dad at work and letting him talk. He can talk up quite a storm and loves to hear his own voice.

Award Please

You know how some days are better than others? Today has been one of those "other" days.

For the last little while Camden has been waking up earlier than normal. I have tried everything(including parenting no-no's that I would regret later in life but seemed necessary at the moment) to correct this non-sense and nothing is working. So needless to say when Camden woke up at 6:30 this morning it was not a sign my day was headed for the dumps.

Trying to be a good mom and wife I headed back to the gym after being in a week long rut. The daycare doesn't open until 8am so Camden and I spent some quality time together until then(he played on the floor while I lay on the couch watching the news). Being the good mother I am; I knew he would be ready for a nap around 9am, so we arrived at the gym as soon as the daycare opened in order to be home around nap time. I worked out for one hour then went to pick Camden up. Careful not to let the term, "worked out" fool you. I merely made my presence on the tread mill, and lifted the lightest weights the gym had available. Anyway...on with my story...when I walked in the daycare room they had him in the crib(he was sitting up) and they proceeded to tell me he was hungry and exhausted. As sweet as they are, meaning nothing other than the simple truth, I took it as an insult to my parenting skills and how dare I work out during my kids nap time.

So we come home, he goes down for a nap and I get in the shower. By the time he woke up I still hadn't managed to get myself dressed, my hair was wet, and I had no make-up on. For some reason(I didn't eat before I "worked out") I didn't feel very good. After I fed him lunch and put some toys in front of him I decided I had better go make myself presentable. As I was doing so I heard him screaming, not whining for my attention, but really crying as if something was seriously wrong. So I ran downstairs and saw him sitting next to the couch clenching his fists together and crying. There was no blood to be found, no poop in his diaper, he had just eaten. I tried to play with him and show him just how cool his toys were, but the crying didn't stop. I picked him up and held him, I sang to him, nothing seemed to work. So I sat him on my lap and tried talking to him face to face, when all of a sudden I saw something black in his mouth(because it is wide open as he is crying). No joking, it was a BEE! Yes people, my son had a bee in his mouth. The poor kid was probably being stung, and crying for my help and I had no idea. As I pulled it out and started gagging, this only added to my insecurities of being the world's greatest mother.

After things had calmed down a bit I decided to go back upstairs and make myself presentable. So I put on my "fat" pants(you know the ones you wear when you feel terrible, and they make you look even worse than you feel, but they are comfy), threw on a huge shirt that is obviously stretched out from wearing it during my ninth month of pregnancy, when I noticed NO sound coming from downstairs. Every mom knows complete silence is never a good thing, so once again I darted downstairs to see what was going on NOW. Yep, to my dismay I forgot to close the door to the bathroom containing the dog's food and water. Camden was sitting in the water bowl, dog food was all over the floor, and he was enjoying one handful of dog food to himself and sharing the other handful with the dog.

Needless to say I still have no make-up on, dinner hasn't been thought of, but my son is alive and I will be able to laugh at this story in ten years from now because I took the time to document it.

Seriously, just hand me the Mother Of The Year award right now.