December!

So, the main problem I have with keeping up with writing in this blog is I'll start a post and intend to finish it later, and by the time I get back to it I hate the draft so then I start over and the cycle continues. So here we go, I'll start and finish this one within 30 mins and just be done with it! Haha! Here's a summary of three things going on with us!

1 - Kids have (mostly) graduated from their cribs for good!

We did try toddler beds earlier in the summer and it did not go well. Zoe would not stay in bed for anything and kept repeating "baby sad, baby sad" when John gently tucked her in. That was her first two-word phrase - BABY SAD! Ugh, is that not horrible? So obviously they were not ready for the big girl beds yet.

Fast forward a few months and we decided to try again. They are way more ready now. Our method from day one (round two) of big girl beds has been the same:

Step 1 - at 7:00 do bedtime rutine of brushing teeth, getting pj's on, and singing/reading
Step 2 - Tuck the girls into their beds, dim the lights, say good night and SHUT THE DOOR
Step 3 - Grown ups relax, watch netflix, eat dinner, and monitor the kids via baby monitor
Step 4 - After 30 mins or so, check on kids, re-tuck into bed - dim lights furhter. Repeat tuck in one more time after 30 more minutes if they still are not sleeping.

And that's it, normally they are sleeping by 8:00 or so. The boundary we set is that they need to stay in their room, but they can (and do) play for a bit before falling asleep.

The one odd thing is that Zoe keeps getting into Val's bed! It happens every night! Then Val goes to the vacant bed, and before long Zoe follows. It's weird! Also afternoon nap time is not perfect, Zoe sleeps in the spare room in her old crib while Val gets to sleep in her room. We decided that it's best to keep them separate for nap time for now.

2 - Trying to grow a winter garden

Growing a winter garden in AZ can be awesome I've heard, but I've not had a lot of luck. Mostly I just don't have a good set up, like the chickens peck my plants to death or I get pests that eat my crops. I started in early November with several things, but the only plants that are doing ok are some kale/lettuces that I have behind the pool fence (safe from chickens) and I have some baby tomato plans that I started from seed. I'll be setting up some kind of greenhouse or something for the tomato plans to get them to survive the winter.

3 - Etsy biz

So I've actually gotten a few sales on Etsy, not a lot, but a few (25 pairs of pasties sold so far). The money I get is not worth the time/effort it takes to make my products, but it's still fun so I'll keep doing it. Maybe if I recoup my startup costs I'll invest in a di-cutter so I don't have to cut everything by hand, that will save a ton of time. There is more I could do to get more views/sales, but I've been pretty busy with other projects that just fulfilling the few orders I do get is enough for right now. Maybe after the holidays I'll spend some time on it.

So yeah, all's well here with the Sam Graham Fam. We are very excited for Christmas, I think the kids can tell it's a special time of year. I can't wait to do a Christmas post <3