What would Supernanny do?

It's always interesting, after a move, to witness how the children handle their new environments. And when I say interesting, I mean excruciating. This move is no exception, and we are all trying to adjust.

DAMON-Got his "summer buzz," and is trying to enjoy his summer.


He has always been resistant to change, and will usually stay close by me, no matter where I am. There is a little boy on our street in Damon's primary class, and Damon will go over and see if he wants to play (that is a BIG step for him). Usually, Damon ends up watching him play XBox for an hour or so and then coming home (Kobe is autistic and the boys are still "getting used to each other"). He gets a little bored, especially when I tell him he has watched enough tv, but we always try to get out and do something outside. He really wanted me to take this picture of him on top of the playground.

KYLA-Gets no pictures of her by herself. I guess we haven't taken any of her lately. She didn't get a summer haircut, maybe that's why. She is doing well. She is so friendly and unafraid of people, that she has had no problems with a new ward, new neighbors and new parks (where moms don't yet know what kind of parent I am). This is from Allie's second day of preschool (we forgot to take on yesterday).

ALLIE-Yep, you guessed it. She is having the hardest time adjusting to the new place. She started preschool at BYU for the summer, so we got her haircut on Friday. I have been threatening her with a haircut for months, but I told her that we needed to do it before summer. She agreed (amazingly). She and I both went in and cut our hair off (I am going to send mine in to Beautiful Lengths, a company sponsored by Pantene that makes wigs for cancer patients. Sorry, no pics yet of me. Maybe later.). I think she looks so cute.

Plus, it is much less tangly, which makes us all happy. But she has suddenly developed a crippling fear that someone is going to come into our house. It started about a week ago, when she woke up at 4 am, certain she had seen a face in her closet. For two days, she was terrified of any closets and bathrooms, and made me go in with her when she needed to go potty. And while we have mostly been able to convince her that no one is here, and that she is just seeing shadows, at night she completely freaks out. Jeff and I are really struggling with her, and not knowing what to do. We let her sleep on our floor one night, but don't want her to get into the habit of doing that. We have started our nightly routine earlier, so that we can do stories, talking, telling of things that make us happy, etc. for a good half hour before she gets in bed. We let her have the light on and music playing. We have given her a flashlight so she can check out any shadows. But no matter what we do, she always wants more. She wants me to lay by her until she falls asleep. She wants her door open (which can't happen, because Kyla won't stay in bed). She wants me to tell MORE stories and read MORE books. And when we refuse, she completely melts down, screaming at the top of her lungs that she is scared. Last night she screamed (ear-piercingly) for 20 minutes before finally tiring herself out.

And I just don't know what to do with her. I am trying so hard to be understanding and to help her feel that she is safe and can let go of all the scared feelings before bed. But I feel that she is constantly taking advantage of us and pushing us for more and more. Most nights, she doesn't fall asleep before 9:30 (which means Kyla doesn't fall asleep), even if we start getting in bed at 8:00. She needs sleep (and we need the quiet!), and we don't know what else we can do. I wish we could borrow Supernanny for a night, and see what she would say about it. I don't want to be mean and insensitive, but seriously. The girl just pushes and pushes and pushes until I finally break. And then she ends up alone, in her room, with the door locked. Any suggestions? Did any of your kids have problems with night time fears?

Okay, enough of that. You asked to see my kitchen. I didn't post any pictures of it before because it's hard to get a good angle. It is a very interesting kitchen to say the least. I wasn't crazy about it when we first walked through the house. I thought it was too small and too boxed in, with no place for barstools. It has these interesting windows that I have never seen before (taken from the family room, dining area off to the right).

But since we have been here, I have been pleasantly surprised at how functional everything is. It is much bigger than I thought originally, and there is TONS of storage. I actually really like it. I may eventually have counter tops put over the wood ledges, so that I can have barstools, but for now, I am just enjoying this unique design I would have never picked for myself.