Update: Cleaning Kick

So far so good! I have missed a chore or two but I've been really good about fitting it in on another day. Being on a cleaning schedule is keeping me thinking about how to better manage my time and keep a cleaner house. The biggest challenge, and I'm sure you can relate, is the clutter. You put it away and then it comes back! Sneaky clutter. Its only been a couple of weeks though so hopefully I can keep it going. Wish me luck!

A Fish Called Stella

Last summer Stella was just a few months old so she wasn't such a big fan of the water. But this summer, I think she sprouted fins! We had a play date today with our friends Susan and Karly who have a pool and Stella had an absolute blast. She just loves water! We splashed, kicked, blew bubbles ( well, really she drank the pool water), Stella even went under water twice. She was so happy, smiling and laughing, it was fun to see. I looked into swimming lessons and I think I better sign my little fishy up. Its the most fun we've had in weeks!

One of my kicks

So I've been known to get on what you might call a "kick". I get all psyched about something, talk about it, research it on the Internet, and become quite obsessed for about a week maybe two. Am I flaky, or easily bored? Call it what you will but that is just how I roll. So this leads to my latest kick: cleaning. Not a bad kick to be on huh? I am just really fed up with the state of my household, its a never ending battle. My life seems to be on instant replay when it comes to cleaning up, if you have a little one you know exactly what I mean! I am so tired of cleaning up the same mess over and over and I am so busy doing that that I never get any cleaning done. So in order to bring some sanity back to my life I am trying to stick to a cleaning schedule that I made. I printed out a blank template from the Internet and filled in the tasks to complete on specific days. So far I only missed one thing, sweeping and mopping. I meant to do it the next day but decided to just wait until next week so I didn't get behind on my other scheduled tasks. So not bad for my first week, I just hope this sticks because it really would make my life much more manageable. I really am more of a binge cleaner, I work fast and get it all done in a few hours. I never have a few hours in a row to clean anymore so I have to change my plan of action. I must admit I did a much better job closing at work tonight. Maybe my cleaning kick will sneak into other aspects of my life and I will just become a wonderfully clean an organized person! I wouldn't hold your breath.

UPDATE: My house is still a mess and there is no cleaning schedule in place. Raise your hand if you saw that one coming.

My little Vampire

I just let out a big sigh because, yes, I still have a biter!!! I am holding on to my patience by a very thin thread. Almost every time I take something from Stella or or tell her no she tries to bite me! It takes all I have to keep from losing it completely. I quit trying to squeeze her hand because that was a joke to her. I advanced to squeezing her fat little cheeks hoping she might make the connection but nooooooo. She actually tries to bite me again after I squeeze her cheeks; its so exhausting. I still don't feel right about biting her back, even though so many say it works, I'm not ready to give up. She will learn dang it, I will teach her! My next move is the time out. She doesn't really get it yet but I am not giving up. The most frustrating thing is that she doesn't really bite Mike. He walked hand in hand with her down the sidewalk and there was no biting. Why does she feel the need to bite me? Ugh, the saga continues.

I'm back!!

I know I haven't posted in awhile, I hear about it from my mom like every other day! This week I have been trying to get organized after a fun but crazy weekend. We went to Half Moon Bay for my cousins wedding, she was stunning. I was a bridesmaid so I was on duty the majority of the trip. I was really hoping to have somewhat of a weekend getaway but it didn't really work out like that. In fact I really couldn't tell you anything about the town because all I really saw was the highway and the hotel. All said and done though it was a great weekend. I got to see a lot of my family and my husband was on daddy duty all weekend, thanks honey! Seriously, he was a super trooper the whole time! When we drove into town I was supposed to be at the hotel for the rehearsal dinner so he dropped me off and took Stella to check into our hotel. We didn't stay in the fancy hotel, it was all about the luxurious Comfort Inn for us. After he dropped me off we pretty much swapped our normal roles for the entire weekend. It wasn't as if I was really free though, like I said, bridesmaid duty.

It was a little overwhelming to travel with a toddler, they need a lot of stuff. Its ridiculous how much you have to pack for one tiny person. You have to be Kate Gosselin prepared. And if you forget anything its usually stuff for yourself. Like my jacket for example, here we are heading to the coast for a rainy cold weekend and I was so frazzled about Stella's stuff I didn't even remember my own jacket.

Overall Stella did pretty good on the trip but it was no easy feat. The car ride down was fine but in true Stella fashion she fell asleep for about the last twenty minutes of the care ride. The worst part was having only one room for all of us to sleep in. If I can advise anyone traveling with a young child, especially a toddler, it is almost crucial to have a sweet with two adjoining rooms. Unless you just don't plan on sleeping. Our first night in the hotel ended in tears for Stella and I. We didn't get her to sleep until 10 pm, which is very late for her. At about 1 am someone accidentally called our room and woke Stella out of a dead sleep, screaming. She did not return to sleep until 5 am! Its really hard to get your child to go back to sleep when she can just stand up in her pac-n-play and stare right at you. It was like going back to when Stella was a newborn, tears and all. Luckily the next night she was so exhausted that she slept till 9:30 am the next morning. Praise God for that because that was sleep I desperately needed.

So, now we are back home in our own comfy beds and private rooms. Home is the best. I want to say thank you again to my fabulous husband, he is one awesome dad.