a weekend away

I spent the weekend in the mountains with my dear friends (two of whom aren't pictured, but at least their babies are...) and all our youngest babies. It was glorious, though not much sleep was had by any of us. It didn't matter, though; we ate like royals and never ran out of things to say.  Mostly, we laughed about our younger, more awkward days (prairie dresses, anyone??), and talked about our families now and plans for the future (what instruments should our children play? Should they be allowed to have sleep-overs? What does a Charlotte Mason education really look like before age six? And everything else).

I was inspired to sleep-train Alethea after seeing how all those other babies in the cabin just went to sleep on their own. Yes, I rock Alethea to sleep every night and every nap time. But, no more! Not that there's anything wrong with rocking-- it's sweet, and I'll miss it. But it doesn't work with three- and two-year-old boys in the house. I can't tell you how many times I've finally rocked her to sleep only to have one of them yell or come ask me a question or make some really loud crash, which never means anything good. And then she wakes up, and then I have to start over. I'd taken to letting the boys watch Thomas the Tank Engine, but I really don't want them watching something every time baby girl needs to sleep.

I'd like to say sleep-training is going well, but as I type this, she's crying in her crib. It's stressful, but it hasn't been lasting long.

My only regret from the weekend: not finding a random person to take a group picture of us all.