I knew going into the day it was going to be tough. I was hoping Little Girl would nap going to or coming from the birthday — a good 30 minute drive from our house. But it wasn’t to be. She was too excited on the way there. She kept talking about how she was going to sing Happy Birthday to her friend. She was too excited on the way home, too. She knew she was going to see our friends’ daughter, who she loves like a sister.

So we get to their house and Little Girl is a lunatic. She’s climbing and sliding and tossing puzzles. She’s playing chase around the house with her little friend. She’s not listening. And then she slid off the couch yet again when I had already told her several times to stop. Thunk! Right into my head. I was so angry. I picked her up and put her on a time out. I wasn’t really angry at her. (Well, maybe a little.) I was mostly mad at myself.

I should have skipped the dinner. I should have stayed home with the baby and let her go to sleep. Or I should have, when I got a birthday invitation for 3 p.m. — right in the middle of our usual 2 until 5 p.m. naptime — declined with an explanation and thanks. Or I should have begged off of the boat earlier in the day and put her in for a noon nap. I could have done several smart things. But instead I went with the stupid option: Do everything and the heck with the nap. I had to have it all. I had to push it. And the result was a toddler and a mommy who were both just DONE.

After the head bonking accident, I chased Little Girl around for a few more minutes until I realized that I was just not having fun. She was into everything. She was clumsy and falling into things. It was time to leave. So I picked up Little Girl and left my husband and Big Girl there. My friend graciously offered to drive both of them home. She was asleep in her carseat by the time we rounded their corner. She transferred beautifully into the crib — she was THAT tired. She woke up briefly as I changed her into her jammies, but went right back to sleep. I think that’s where I am headed, too…

How do you handle packed weekends? What would you have done with so many invitations in one day? Any suggestions?

Boom Boom Cards: Cards that help you pay it forward.

It’s been a while since I’ve written a true cool things-focused Favorite Things Friday, so I figured I’d go back to my roots. For all my new readers — and there are a bunch of you these days — Favorite Things Friday is my opportunity to write about things I have seen and liked recently. Sometimes I profile Web sites. Sometimes I profile food. Sometimes I profile stuff. Enjoy!

Boom Boom! Cards: I got an e-mail about this and loved it. We’re a week away from Valentine’s Day so I had to include. The premise is simple: You get a pack of cards that ask the recipient to do a random act of kindness. The cards all have tracking numbers so the people who get them can post about their kindness online for everyone to see. Great concept. Love the whole random acts of kindness thing. And if you’re going to buy paper valentines anyway, why not buy some that make the world a better place. (Just remember to recycle them!)

Sliquid Organics: Whether you’re young or old, sometimes the nether regions need a little help. (Something a wise friend once told me — of course, she said it a lot differently!) However, the whole mucus membrane thing makes it very scary to me. It’s not a place you want to put chemicals or carcinogens. These personal lubricants are made from organic, all natural ingredients, and come in a 100% recyclable packaging. The labels are even printed on 75% recycled paper stock. Sliquid Organics Natural, a water-based lubricant would be my choice, because of the company’s claim that it will “never cause UTI’s or yeast infections.” Good to know.

Organic sheets. We spend 1/3 of our life in bed, and yet most of us have traditional cotton bedding. When a place like Target is selling 250-thread count king-size organic cotton sheet sets for $89.99, you know it’s time to make a move. Don’t understand why you’d want to buy organic cotton? There’s a great primer about it from the Organic Trade Association here. The most important reason: 25 percent of the world’s pesticides are used in cotton production. Like food, residue remains. Then we sweat and those residues are transferred to our bodies. Not convinced? California Pesticide Use Reporting data shows that traditional cotton growers use 2.13 pounds of chemicals per acre when growing cotton. Scary.

Organic lipstick. Here’s the thing: Study after study keeps finding lead in traditional lipsticks. In September the U.S. Food and Drug Administration — a pretty good source — came out with a study that found lead in all 20 of the lipsticks it tested. According the the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics: “The FDA noted that three manufacturers had the highest levels of lead, but they did not name those brands. In 2007, the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics report also found that a few brands had consistently higher lead levels, including L’Oreal, Maybelline and Cover Girl.” The scariest part: The FDA study found an average level of lead in lipsticks of 1.07 ppm – more than 10 times higher than its own standard for lead in candy. FDA’s standard for candy is based on the lowest lead level that can be achieved. A similar standard should be applied to lipstick. So my suggestion? Get out that candy red lipstick. Just make sure it’s organic. You can even buy organic lipstick at a place such as Sephora.

Soy-based candles. I love burning candles. Love it. But when I saw the multiple studies about the dangers associated with this fun escape, I had a pause. At the September National Meeting of the American Chemical Society (ACS) — again, a pretty solid source of information — scientists explained burning traditional paraffin candles “is an unrecognized source of exposure to indoor air pollution, including the known human carcinogens…In the study, R. Massoudi Ph.D., and Amid Hamidi said that that candles made from bee’s wax or soy, although more expensive, apparently are healthier. They do not release potentially harmful amounts of indoor air pollutants while retaining all of the warmth, ambiance and fragrance of paraffin candles (which are made from petroleum).” I can’t really suggest a specific candle, but if you Google “soy candles” or “bee’s wax candles” there are a ton of options.

I am writing this post today instead of next week so you can get ready for the most made-up holiday in the world — next to Mother’s Day and Father’s Day, of course. There’s no reason that you can’t have a phenomenal, romantic heart day as long as you make it a healthy one. Have you ever considered the above tips? Have any more healthy romantic options? I’d love to hear about them!

Some of this sleepiness is genetic, I’m sure. My husband can sleep anywhere. Before we had kids he would sleep in on Saturdays until 2 or 3 p.m. I’d go out, do a cardio class, take yoga or Pilates, hit a karate class, go food shopping and come home and wake him up for the day. Thank goodness the kids take after Daddy. If they took after me — someone who stays up until 1 or 2 every night, I’d be losing my mind. Genetics aside, there are some things we do to keep them on these amazing schedules. I’m going to skip the tips you always hear — setting a routine, playing soft music, making their tummies full and warm — and concentrate on the things you may have missed.

1. Get rid of the monitor. When I had Katelyn, we had a monitor. It drove us nuts. We’d hear every sniff and snuffle. I’d go in to see if she was okay, and I’d wake her in the process. Once I got rid of the monitor, she slept much better. Made perfect sense. All of us — babies included — wake up several times each night as we pass from stage to stage of sleep. By running when the baby made a little noise, or even let out a cry or two, we weren’t letting her learn how to soothe herself back to sleep.
2. Keep it dark. Light helps our bodies awaken us. It’s one of the reasons we are awake during the day and sleep at night. You can help babies sleep longer and go down for naps easier by installing blackout shades, which will bring evening dusk into your nursery even at 11 a.m.
3. Nap them — even if they don’t want to nap. My very sage pediatrician Dr. Ilyse Nayor once told me that every child needs to learn to be alone. And I should put my daughter in for a nap even if she didn’t want to sleep. We followed her advice, and to this day I can tell Katelyn to go into her room and take some quiet time. There’s good research that says daytime naps help children learn, and since all babies need up to 16 hours of sleep each day, if you put them in regularly, eventually, they are going to fall asleep.
   
4. Don’t let them sleep in your bed. I know there is a very strong co-sleeping contingent online, however when I look at the research I am convinced that co-sleeping isn’t in anyone’s best interest. Safety aside (the American Academy of Pediatrics has come out against co-sleeping), babies who sleep with parents get less sleep than their peers, and the affects of co-sleeping stay with them until they are school age, according to one study.
5. Avoid caffeine. This might seem like a crazy tip. Who would give a baby or a child caffeine, right? But well-meaning parents who let kids have a chocolate bar, chocolate ice cream or cookies or a sip of soda or hot cocoa are setting their kids up for potential sleep issues. All of the above have caffeine. And while a cup of cocoa might not bother a 135-pound mommy, it’s going to affect a 25-pound toddler. You can also inadvertently give your infant caffeine via breast milk and, since small babies can’t clear it from their systems all that well, it builds up over time keeping them awake. Bottom line: keep caffeine to a minimum to help your baby drift off to sleep better.
6. Keep things cool — but not too cool. When we fall asleep, our bodies cool down. If the room is too warm — warmer than 68 degrees — it takes our bodies longer to cool, and it takes us longer to fall asleep. Babies have it tougher because they can’t self-regulate temperature when they are small, so we need to be careful that they are not too cold or too warm when we put them into their cribs.
7. Don’t smoke — or let kids breathe second-hand smoke. The nicotine in cigarette smoke disrupts babies’ sleeping habits. And yes, it will get to your child through your breast milk, so if you’re still smoking, please stop.
8. Keep the sleep location consistent. If you let your baby sleep in the car — or pack-and-play or stroller — during the day, they may not sleep as well at night in their crib, according to a study. Don’t get crazy if you can’t put your baby down in her crib every day, but whenever possible, let her sleep where she’s used to sleeping at night.

Do you have a sleep strategy that I’ve missed? How long did it take you to sleep train your child? Are you a fan of crying it out? (We are…) Tell me about it.

The gist of the story: People who sleep more are less likely to get colds. But, according to my research, colds are just the tip of the iceberg. A study released last week out of the Washington University School of Medicine found that mice who slept less had more Alzheimer’s brain plaques that appeared earlier. The researchers are considering a study that will gauge whether young and middle-aged people who get less sleep are more likely to get Alzheimer’s.

Another study that came out mid-month explored a link between sleep and memory. Sleep, it seems, helps our brains commit things to long-term memory. Yet another September study out of the University of Montreal found that those who suffer from insomnia have higher nighttime blood pressure, which may lead to heart problems. The list goes on and on. As someone who has struggle to sleep all my life — it’s only within the last five or so years that I can actually lie down and go right to sleep — these studies are upsetting. I hereby make a vow that I am going to try and sleep more. (Unless I have an assignment due the next day, or a call scheduled with a source overseas.) I will get more shut-eye by employing the following strategies:

• Less Facebook Time. Actually, less computer time. Televisions, PCs, bright reading lights — all these things mimic the bright light associated with the sunrise. Our body’s circadian rhythm is thrown off, and we’re not tired. I find myself very awake, actually, after spending time in front of my large monitor. I’m going to try and do that less often.
• Less chocolate. I am super-sensitive to caffeine, so of course I avoid all coffee and tea after 3 p.m. But I’m not as stringent with my chocolate avoidance. Since chocolate can have as much caffeine as a cup of coffee, I’m making a big mistake.
• Less food. I am a night snacker. I don’t eat much during the day, but something about the evening makes me hungry. And yet when my belly feels full, I just can’t sleep.
• More meditation. A few weeks ago I attended a four-week meditation class at The Little Yoga House. It was incredible. I came away from the experience, which ended every Monday night at 10 p.m., feeling like I could run a marathon. Then I got into bed and slept like a baby. Seriously. I did some research and — you guessed it — scientists say that meditation may help those suffering from insomnia.
• Less couch time. Once the kids are in bed my husband and I love watching TV together. About half the time I fall asleep while watching whatever we’ve TiVoed. But those mini naps aren’t good. Ever seen a tired baby fall asleep in the car? Once she gets that little snooze, there’s no way you’re getting her back down for her regular nap. The same applies to adults. Unless we’re bone tired, we’re going to be up for a few minutes. So from now on I’ll be moving to the bed if I feel tired.

Do you get enough sleep? What’s stopping you if you’re not? I’d love to hear your thoughts.