Tell me how... to phase out a nap

Alright friends, I could use some advice.  My struggles with Jordan being a terrible sleeper are well documented, thanks to me ranting on facebook.  But... now we've got another problem.  Spencer turned 3 in April and he's decided he's done with naptime.  It really depresses me, but at 3, I guess he's lasted longer than some.  But... he's turned into an afternoon NIGHTMARE.  He throws tantrums (which is unusual for him).  Cries like a diva (also unusual).  Turns into a bully with Jordan and is intentionally mean to him (and he's normally so sweet with Jordan).  By 4:00-5:00, I'm so done and ready to put him in his bed and leave him there.

Now... I'm sure I'm not the only parent to have gone thru this.  I remember the transition from 2 naps to 1 was fairly rough for a while.  So it only makes sense the transition from 1 to 0 would be rough too... but jeez.  Did I mention he's a nightmare?  By 7:00, he's usually thrown into bed 'cause I can't take it anymore.  And neither can Jordan.  There's only so many times Jordan can take golf ball thrown at his forehead from only 1 foot away before he's gonna have problems.

So... how do I transition Spencer from 1 nap to none?  Keep putting him to bed earlier than normal until he levels out a bit?  Keep early bedtime forever?  (ha, part of me would love kids bedtime at 7:00, but it's kind of impractical if you ever want to do anything)  Make bedtime early for a few weeks and then slowly move the time back to normal bedtime (which was 8:00-8:30)?  Maybe just sell him?  (I'm kidding... kinda)

And what do I do with him now that he doesn't nap?  I need that time in the afternoon when they were both asleep to accomplish stuff.  Household stuff.  Work from home stuff.  Sometimes just catch up on a 45 minute show (pretty soon my DVR is gonna stop recording stuff cause it's so full).  I know it may sound selfish to some, but I miss that small break I used to have in the afternoons.  It *almost* kept me sane.  Now Spencer's always there.  And before you suggest that I make him play quietly in his room... he and Jordan share a room, so he can't play quietly in there since Jordan is in there napping.  So he's in the living room with me, begging me to play with him (even though I spent all morning when Jordan was napping playing with him).

If you've got any advice, anything that worked for you, please share.  I'm desperate :)  

Tell Me How... To Buy a Car Seat

These "tell me how posts" haven't been quite as frequent as I originally intended... but I could really use some opinions on this one.  I know how to buy a car seat... but advice on which one to buy would be appreciated.

Spencer's current car seat is rated to 35 lbs. and 35 inches.  Given that, and the most current recommendation that babies should stay rear-facing 'til they're 2... and he's still in a rear-facing car seat (and no, it's not a convertible car seat- strictly rear-facing).  He's nowhere near 35 lbs (haha, thank you 5th weight percentile) but he's about 34 inches tall... meaning we need a new car seat.  Soooo... what to buy?

When we got Spencer's, we just got a rear-facing one, figuring that by the time he out-grew it, it would be used for the next kid (and yeah, baby #2 will make his appearance in less than 4 months).  But now I'm not sure what to get for Spencer.  We don't technically need a convertible one... so it seems to me that it would be best to just get a booster seat.  It's just that some of the booster seats seem so big (most are rated 30-100 lbs) and Spencer's not quite there yet.  So do we get a convertible seat?  All he needs is 5 more lbs and he'll be big enough for a booster seat.  I dunno.  So many choices...

So tell me... what have you done for your kids?  Any recommendations?  Ones you've bought that you loved?  Hated?  I'm all ears :)

Tell Me How ... To Transition to One Nap

I'm long overdue for another "tell me how" post. This time, I need you to tell me how to transition Spencer from two daily naps to one. He's such a good napper... well, was a good napper. He'd go down at 10, sleep for 1.5 hours, wake up so happy and pleasant. Then he'd go down around 2, sleep for another 1.5 hours, and wake up happy and pleasant. I loved the pattern of our days. This past week has been a whole 'nother story. He's driving me crazy.

I got sick and then he got sick, too, so in fairness, the week was crappy to begin with. When he gets sick, he doesn't sleep. Won't nap, and wakes up frequently at night. So it was a long week. He seems to be getting over his cold, but he still won't nap. He won't go down for a morning nap, but by 12 or so, he's super tired and ornery (and so am I!) I put him down and he sleeps for 1.5 hours but wakes up still tired and ornery. He's used to getting 3 hours of sleep during the day, and now will only sleep 1.5. By 5 in the afternoon, I'm frustrated and ready to sell him, cause he's tired and cranky and clingy and all other fun things. I'm sure this rhetoric sounds familiar to many of you...

So... what do I do? All the stupid "help" books say when you make the switch to one nap, they'll sleep longer to make up for only taking one, instead of two. HA! I'd love him to continue to take 2 naps, since we had such a nice pattern to our days. Now it's chaos. Maybe he'll go back to taking 2 when he's feeling all the way better, but probably not. He's 14 months, so close to the average that kids transition to one nap (it's 15 months, according to some sleep expert dude).

What time(s) do your kids nap? One or two? How long do they sleep? How did you know it was time to make the switch to just one nap? I realize that all kids are different... blah, blah, blah... but please help anyway. Your own personal experiences are welcome. Or if you don't have advice, feel free to bid. Like I said, he's driving me crazy... :) Good thing he's so adorable and I love him like mad... otherwise I really might sell him.

Tell Me How... To Get My 10-Month Old to Stop Throwing Food

Ok, so it's not a very "Valentines-y" post, but we could use the advice. Today's question is:

Tell Me How... To Get My 10-Month Old to Stop Throwing Food.

Spencer is 10 months. And he's in a throwing phase (at least I hope it's a phase!!) He throws food, his sippy cup, silverware, toys... pretty much whatever he's holding. He loves throwing his toys and chasing them all over the house. It's not so much a problem with throwing toys and the like... but when we put food in front of him, he chucks it onto the floor. I'd love to make the rule that if you throw food, then you're done eating. But I don't think he's old enough to "get" it yet. Obviously, we're not going to starve him, and he throws food at the very beginning of the meal (not just at the end, to indicate he's done). So tell me how to teach him not to throw food. Is this just a phase? He used to be so good at eating whatever we put in front of him, and now he just throws it. Can he be taught? Do we just need to wait it out?

Advice from all you experienced parents would be much appreciated.

Tell Me How...

My friend Jade has this great series she does on her blog she calls "Tell Me How...". She posts all sorts of questions and her friends give such awesome answers. I always read all the comments, since her friends always have such good suggestions. Recently, she's done "Tell me how... to deal with dust" and "Tell me how... to unpack." I've always thought that a blog is the perfect platform for something like that... what better place to get advice than from all your friends?

So I'm going to start my own "tell me how..." series. My first question: Tell me how... to date my husband (when we have no money and a 9-month old).

I'm pretty sure that many of you are in a similar situation. We're trying to grow Cory's practice, so disposable income is pretty sparse. Add to that the fact that Spencer goes to bed between 7:30-8:00... so we don't "go out" much. We don't have a lot of money for movies, dinner out, or mini-golf (things we used to do). Plus with Spencer in bed, it's not like we can go anywhere. Now yes, we have family nearby who are always willing to babysit... and we do take advantage of that. But I'm talking about stuff Cory & I can do at the house, for free/cheap (besides watch a movie). What do the rest of you do when the kids are in bed? (aside from crawl, exhausted, into bed yourselves). What are some good dating ideas? How do you keep your relationship strong? (cheesy, I know, but still a valid question).

And Jade, if you're reading this (and I know you're a little busy), feel free to post on your blog.

Let the commenting begin... :)