What a Long Day

Sigh. It's been a long day, y'all. The good news is that Micah slept for 11 and a half hours last night. The bad news is that I did not. I didn't go back to sleep during Micah's morning nap, either. I've been productive today, adding new invitations and cards to Senojal Designs and filling orders. All of that's good, but it sure does wear me out. And I don't feel like cooking supper. But I didn't feel like cooking supper last night either, so tonight, I really ought to cook something, even if it's just hot dogs. But wait, we're out of hot dogs. Cheese & crackers, anyone?

Do you ever have days like these? Days where you get all sorts of things accomplished, but you're so worn out by the end of them that you can't enjoy your work.

That's today for me.

Which is why this post is so short and pointless. I am fulfilling my duty to post, per the challenge, but this time, I just lack meaningful content.

Sorry about that.

Until next time, grace and peace.

Everyone Needs Their Beauty Sleep

Parenting is such a difficult job. We always try to do what's best for Micah, but sometimes what's best is no fun at all. Micah slept through the night at two months old. By the time she was three months old, she slept between 11 and 12 hours every night. Without fail. It was glorious. Then she turned four months old and started getting restless. Then she hit a growth spurt and I nursed her twice during the night. Then she started sleeping again. That lasted for about two weeks. Then she got her first tooth. And the night waking began again. It's not good for those of us who like to sleep for more than a few hours at a time. Over the weekend, we began Operation Cry It Out {OCIO}, and it was purely awful. The first night, Micah woke up at 11:32 p.m. and cried until 12:23 a.m. She woke up twice more before 6 a.m. and cried for about 30 minutes each time. The next night, Micah woke up at 1:31 a.m. and cried until just after 2 a.m. Last night, we also began weaning Micah from the swaddle that she loves so dearly. When I wrapped her up for the night, I left one arm out. It's a dangerous move, because she's fully capable of removing the pacifier from her mouth, but she's not yet mastered the art of reinserting it. She fell asleep without any problems, and we rejoiced {silently, of course} in the den. She slept well - only waking up once around 4:30 a.m. But apparently her free hand did some damage during the night; her little eye has a scratch underneath it. Poor thing.

My point in all of this is that I know we're not alone. Parents everywhere finally resort to letting their child cry it out. It's a painful step to take. Heartwrenching, even, when your child cries and you don't answer.

But let me just say this.

My body appreciates the sleep. I think Micah's does too. Everyone needs their beauty sleep, right? And let's face it: everyone has to learn how to put themselves back to sleep sometime. Now is Micah's time. Next step? Releasing her other arm from the swaddle. We'll see how it goes.

Small Business Stuff :: Mileage, Bookkeeping, & Links

It's been a crazy week. Senojal Designs has been fairly busy, which is good, but it also means that Micah and I went to the post office three times this week, and I went again this morning while Dennis kept the little lady. The post office is a 6-mile roundtrip outing from our house. Did you know that if you're self-employed, you can write off little business trips to the post office and bank? Six miles doesn't sound like much, but going 3 to 4 times a week adds up to 18 to 24 miles, which (using the mileage rate for 2010 taxes) adds up to $9 to $12 a week I can write off on next year's taxes. To continue the math, $9 a week for 52 weeks adds up to $468 a year. That's a tax deduction I'll take, thank you very much. If you're self-employed and keeping your own books, you should look into an online service like outright.com. It has lots of good features for keeping up with expenses and income, and it even has a mileage calculator to help you keep up with all of those little trips. It has been a great help to me.

Another site that I've found helpful and interesting is smaller box. Every week, smaller box posts a list of the most valuable small business articles of the week. I've found helpful input and good ideas from all of these links.

And finally, if you're a fellow etsy seller, you really should subscribe to the Storque and keep up with all the latest etsy happenings there. The Storque frequently posts tips and tutorials to help our little businesses succeed. You should check it out.

That's all I've got for now. It's time to hop in the shower while Micah naps. If I'm fast, I'll be able to get completely ready before she stirs. We'll see how it goes.

Until next time, grace and peace.