Project 365 Writing/Photography Challenge; Post #12

Dear Faithful Reader,

I meant very sincerely to post this last night, but when it came down to it, I finished my sewing project at 10:30pm and my hands hurt. Hand-hemming cuffs always kills my hands; but I didn't have the right thread for top stitching with the machine so I had to blind-stitch it by hand. Anyway, I baked cookies yesterday afternoon with Small Boy. First we made the peanut butter, then the chocolate. However, the chocolate were low carb, with soy flour, almond flour, gluten, and Splenda. Disgusting. The very light colored ones are sugar cookies, but are low carb made with almond flour and Splenda. Very tasty! Yay! (You can find the recipe here. I should note that I followed the other reviews and only used 1/2 cup Splenda.) I was so excited when hubby said he likes them that I almost jumped up and down and clapped my hands; except I was feeding Boy dinner and my jumping/clapping would have put his dinner all over the floor. He does that well enough on his own without my help... This is not my first low carb baking session, but it is my first one that actually ended in success. I was especially thrilled considering the cost of the little bag of almond flour-- $10.99--Yikes! However if the recipe turns out good, it is still cheaper than buying Atkins treats/desserts. I also found this morning that you cannot store these cookies sealed in a plastic container; they turn a bit soggy, just like if you  cover the donut box with plastic wrap...so I'm setting them out on the cooling rack again to see if they firm back up. Then I'm putting a good old fashioned cookie jar on my thrift store shopping list. So that is my thrilling story for today, I may take a break tomorrow but I will be back on Monday. Have a great weekend, and go make some thrilling memories!

xoxo,
BakingQueen

Project 365 Writing/Photography Challenge; Post #11

This little shelf is something I look at many, many times each day. It is one of only two decorative shelves that I have up. Really, two is plenty in our little space, but I grew up in a home in which my Mom loves to collect pretty china/glassware and has many shelves and several hutches filled with her beautiful conquests. My shelves, at present, are a little different than your average collection showcase. They do not strike you at first as being valuable or important, but each thing has meaning to me. My mom found me this shelf years ago, shortly after we were married, so on top of it's uniqueness, it has been with us long enough that it has sentimental value. I have always loved the color green, ever since I can remember. I remember telling my little brother that green was a girl color and blue was a boy color, so he couldn't have anything that was green! The little green bowl is depression glass, I got it from Mom long ago; the little green vase is just pretty. The little dried rosebud in the bowl is from the top of my birthday cake this year; hubby got me the most amazing delicious little cake with carnations on top! The little tea tin I got recently in a box of tea, and I have always loved the picture (and the flavor) of this particular tea. The pink pitcher was in my hubby's mother's collection, so it is of course special. (She went to be with Jesus on October 31, 2005--a little over a year after we were married). The little violin my Mom got me because I am a violinist (again, violin is something I have loved ever since I was very young); I think it is a little dish meant to hold jewelry on one's dressing table, but I have always just displayed it. And I'm not sure where I got the bell, I think it was also from hubby's mom.
So you see, each little piece has meaning to me, making the whole a very comforting cheerful spot in my kitchen. That is me, my decorative style--things I love and that have meaning to me. I will probably never be that person who has the perfectly styled home according to the fashion at the time. I enjoy those homes, but those just aren't me. I have read more and more often in some of the recent home decorating magazines, that if you are trying to make a space you truly love, don't worry about things "matching". Take your time, and decorate with those little "mismatched" things you see from time to time that you absolutely love; take them home and they will go together! So as you decorate your own home, don't drive yourself crazy and frustrated looking at all the beautiful room designs from magazines etc. that you think are pretty but just can't afford or can't make them mesh with your home. Just wing it; go with your heart. If you love it, it belongs; if you don't, it doesn't!

Project 365 Writing/Photography Challenge; Post #10

Okay there's a reason I called this a "Writing/Photography Challenge"; and that reason is that there isn't necessarily going to be a reason to take a picture every day. Most days there is photographic material, but this morning was what you might call a brain lapse and this afternoon was just flat busy. I got all the dishes washed and had lots of fun playing with Small Boy. Then I got pork chops in the crockpot with low carb BBQ sauce, then headed to the dentist (where I worked yesterday, but today was me in the hot seat).  And wha-la, $9somethinghundred later, I have a post&core buildup and am awaiting my new crown in three weeks. Oh ya, so much fun I tell ya! (Not photographic material that you would want to see...) Maybe I should also add that I am a much better hygienist than a patient. Yup, a couple shots and an hour plus with the bumpy drill in my mouth doesn't thrill me. So then I got home and was almost ready to leave again when Boy came up and gave me an impromptu snuggle and begged to be picked up again. Wonderful snuggles were had, then I headed back out the door to a job interview. I feel like it went well, so I guess we'll see. Then I headed to the liquor store and rewarded my bravery today with Irish Cream. Anyway, I spent the last hour cross-stitching on the stocking; actually half of my time was spent removing the stitching I did a few nights ago, because I discovered I did it all in the wrong color! :(
So I will say goodbye for now, because I need to finish redoing that area in white thread instead of the cream. Picture tomorrow!

Project 365 Writing/Photography Challenge; Post #9

Yes, it's scrambled eggs. I make eggs every morning, usually scrambled with cheese, sometimes sunny side up. It depends on what meat we are having; if bacon, then scrambled, if sausage, then sunny side up. The logic behind that is infallible--you can't soak up egg yolks with bacon, but you can with sausage. (I really can't take credit for that, I learned it from hubby.)

Anyway, I figured since I am documenting the details of my life this year, I should really not miss these basic daily details.  :)  Such as, I stock up on eggs when they are on sale for $.49/doz at Albertson's. Did you know the "limit 2" is per transaction? Yep, grab as many as you want and then annoy the clerk and all the people in line behind you by ringing up as many transactions as you want. Actually, I doubt the clerk would mind, being as I learned that little trick from a particularly helpful clerk.
Anyway, I will quit rambling now and get back in the kitchen, because I just remembered tomorrow morning is gonna be busy and I should make life easier on myself and cook the bacon tonight while I wash dishes.

Project 365 Writing/Photography Challenge; Post #8

This project is my very dearest. It is a Christmas stocking that I purchased the kit for and started on when I was pregnant, before we even knew whether we were having a Small Boy or a Small Girl. (It is a Dimentions kit, I think I got it from JoAnn's.) But then life got busy and crazy and I really have to be in the right mood to work on cross stitch. So here we are, Small Boy is 26 months old, and I am picking it up for the second or third time this year, thinking that maybe, just maybe, I might finish it before Christmas. I think I will occasionally post pictures of it just as an incentive for me to keep making progress on it.  :)  I know that if I just worked on it 15-30 minutes every evening, I would finish it. I also know that if I attempt it when I am too tired, I just end up taking out all my work the next night because I counted one or two stitches off and that entirely messed up the design. So now I am going to close my computer and cross stitch, before I get too tired.
I would also like to add, that I finally got caught up on dishes for the first time in at least 8 days. I should also admit, that while I got caught up on some tailoring projects for hubby today, I did not get the ironing done that I was going to do. I did leave the ironing board out as an incentive, but just ended up using it as a stand to take the photo of my cross stitch. Okay, enough rambling for now, I better get busy!

Project 365 Writing/Photography Challenge; Post #7

Alright, today's picture is a mental one for you. You see, my small, busy snuggle of a boy did not take a nap today. Instead, after an hour of attempting naptime, he had a stinky diaper, so I gave him a fresh diaper and that was the end of naptime. I then spent the next hour snuggled on the sofa with him, watching Max & Ruby. He was cuddled right up close, and I had my arms wrapped around him, with his legs over my hands. He likes his legs curled up when he is sitting in the couch. Sometimes he was holding my hand, his little fingers clasping my not-petite hand, and sometimes he was using his little hand to squeeze my arm, and sometimes doing both. His little head was snuggled up against my shoulder and I was the happiest Mama on earth. I wanted a picture of that little hand holding mine, but neither my camera nor my phone were anywhere near, and I was not about to disrupt my Snugglebutton. So that is my picture for you today. If you are a parent, I know you have that same picture of you in your mind with your precious little one(s). And if not, I hope you don't think I am just skipping out on photography today; I hope you understand that sometimes the best photographs are moments which will never be captured, but always remembered and treasured.


I'm Linking up today with

                                                

Project 365 Writing/Photography Challenge; Post #6

 Okay, so this little cutie decided he wanted to paint today. And I was finally smart enough to take his shirt off first. These shots are after he was done, right before I dropped him in the bath.

He painted his chest first off, then ended his session by planting both hands on his face :) 

And yes he was so proud of his work! 

So that's it for today, folks. Now go make a mess with your kiddos and have a wonderful day!
Xoxo,
PrettyPaint-CoveredMama

Project 365 Writing/Photography Challenge; Post #5!!!

Finally, I have returned! No, I did not actually "leave", but life never goes as planned, i.e. I did not intend to disappear for almost 5 days from my little blog. I have greatly missed writing, but frankly, was too exhausted the first three days of the week to write anything. Yesterday, hubs and I watched a movie in the evening, and I had stomach cramps. Oh, and Boy didn't nap either. Today, I made a Walmart and Costco run, paid bills, and took Boy to the indoor play area in the mall. (Too hot outside for the last couple days to take him to the park...)  Tonight, I began catching up in the kitchen and finally got my shelf returned to it's rightful place on my counter! It is definitely not the color I intended, but I had a coupon for a free sample for a summer line of paint, and as they did not have red, I went for this as it is still bright and cheery--the green and yellow options were just too dull. So I am calling this color "terra cotta" as my kitchen is definitely not orange! Then this fall when my Real Simple magazine (hopefully) has another coupon for a free paint sample can, I will get a different color. Until then, I will enjoy this one. As you can see, I have more orange in my kitchen than I thought, and it really does blend nicely and add the needed pop of color. And yes, my new 2014 Ikea catalogue came in the mail a few days ago, which reminds me I also have a new Real Simple which is dying to be read while I finish my glass of wine. So adios for today; I will, Lord-willing, see you all tomorrow!

Project 365 Writing/Photography Challenge; Post #4

Well, no picture today after all. Today was only mildly crazy, except that I did just get back from the grocery store. I started painting a shelf that is in my kitchen, and it is not done yet--outside drying and it is too dark to take a picture now. I might take the day off tomorrow, as we have a family reunion to go to and I don't know how late we will get home. I definitely make no promises as to my capabilities of coherence after I have spent the afternoon chatting with a bunch of people I have only ever seen once, while trying to keep track of Small Boy. Anyway, I'm going to eat a small snack and head towards bed now; I should bake some more cookies tomorrow morning to take in addition to the oatmeal raisin. So I'm signing off now, and will see you all in a day or maybe two.  Pictures of the shelf will be forthcoming.  :)

Project 365 Writing/Photography Challenge; Post #3

Okay, so I'm watching the season premiere of Duck Dynasty and listening to Small Boy on the monitor not napping.  So to answer the obvious question, yes I'm watching it at 1:30pm the day after on A&E's website, my son is not napping at 10pm. And I still don't know what to say, except that it is now 2pm and Small Boy is still awake. He (and therefore I, because I accidentally turned my alarm off instead of hitting snooze) slept in till 8 this morning, and I heard him awake for quite a while around 5am, so I think his schedule is completely off. I just ate breakfast at 1pm today, as it was already a busy morning. I got up feeling behind, made breakfast for hubby and Boy, then Boy and I ran to Costco before hubby went to work. Now I need to plan the rest of the shopping that I need to do at Freddy's tomorrow. And I am thinking that Boy may actually be falling asleep after all. Nope, just heard him talk again. I also am really wanting some cookies, so I guess that means I ought to get up and make them, and quite rambling here. After debating on showing you the box of diapers I picked up at Costco (we are now stocked up for a month, yay! But yes I know that is kinda blah for a photo...) or the sink full of dirty dishes (I know, not pretty), I have settled on this one as the nice part of today :)

And now I gotta go get Small Boy up 'cause I'm pretty sure if he ever does fall asleep for a nap, that he won't go to bed tonight till 11, and that won't make for a well-rested easy-goin' Mama tomorrow.

Project 365 Writing/Photography Challenge; Post #2

Well I didn't promise to post no pictures of my kiddo, I only promised they wouldn't be all him! This picture actually contains two things I am very happy to have, the boy and the KitchenAid mixer! I have been wanting this mixer for years, and my old one finally went AWOL when we moved, so hubby bought me this one :) :) :)
We made oatmeal raisin cookies together, and as you can see, Small Boy is busily helping. He also insisted that the coffee maker be on; if anything has buttons that make lights come on, they will be pushed and the lights will remain on! Yes, that is a knife in the mixer, and he can work the power switch. Fortunately, he cannot plug the mixer in! Whenever I needed to mix, I plugged it in, turned it on, and then carefully kept his hands away, then immediately unplugged it as soon as said mixing was done. Then he busily put in the measuring cups and spoons and tried to remove some of the batter, and of course tried to remove the coffee pot and dump it out.  So let's see-- I creamed the butter and sugar, then beat in the eggs, then mixed in the flour, then mixed in the oats and raisins. That makes at least four of the plug-in-mix-unplug session. It was all worth the extra work, though, he had so much fun! And wouldn't you know it, he still has not actually eaten one of those cookies; he is a very picky child and decided the texture was gross to bite into. He did not actually taste the cookie. I refrigerated most of the dough, so maybe they will cook up different and be a little more moist when I bake the rest up. I am not giving up, these really are tasty healthy cookies and he should learn to like them (after all, he likes the "Grandma's" oatmeal raisin cookies that you can buy in 2-packs at DariMart!).  Next we will do peanut butter cookies; maybe after I uncover my kitchen from the pile of dirty dishes that is burying it!

Project 365 Writing/Photography Challenge; Post #1

Project 365 Writing/Photography Challenge
Post #1

One thing you should definitely know about me is that I love reading magazines. Paper magazines. Yes, I have a beautiful Kindle Fire and can get (and do have) most of my magazine subscriptions also in Kindle format. That is a wonderful thing when you are out and about, or lounging on the couch wishing your next issue would hurry up and arrive in the mail! If we are talking about books, I much prefer to read them on my Kindle. But there is something about holding a paper magazine, reading it front to back, and being able to tear out the pages I want to keep. Now, I usually just keep the whole magazine, but there are some magazines that only have one or two things that I think I will reference again, so I just tear them out and put them in a binder. A few months ago I tore out a couple recipe pages and table setting decoration ideas from my Martha Stewart Living and put them in my recipe binder. (By the way, my recipe binder is an awesome scrapbook style binder that my husby got me for Christmas a few years ago! <3 )
Pre-kiddo, I would sit on the porch with my cup of coffee on a beautiful Midwest summer morning, or on that same porch in the evening with hubby, and peruse my latest magazine, dreaming of visiting the exotic places in my Afar subscription. I now have at least 4 different subscriptions, and I think I will always be a paper magazine person. If nothing else, for the nostalgia; so when my grandkids come over they will see me reading a magazine and say "What's that? Why is it made out of paper? Why isn't it on your Kindle? You mean you can actually get those things in paper still?" (Yes, of course I know it won't be a kindle in 20 years, it will probably be some virtual screen that you can beam from the ceiling onto the palm of your hand! :p )

Resolutions

Well, now you know what I had for lunch today! Yep, I finished off that bag of donuts and had that mug full of coffee! The coffee had Splenda in it, you know, to offset the sugar in the donuts. And I am sure I will get a lecture from my hubby on taking better care of myself when he sees this. :)

I have been thinking that I want to write more, and I know you all don't just want to read about me doing dishes and vacuuming and picking up toys and making beds and going grocery shopping. Not that those things aren't occasionally interesting, and they will always (for the next 18-30 years, at least in the toys arena!) be a part of my life. I also know this blog would get pretty boring after a while if that's all I talked about. So here goes. I am going to try something along the lines of a 365 photo project; but I am also going to challenge myself to write each day about my photo subject, not just post pictures. I am excited to see where this project will take my writing and photography skills in the next year, and I do hope you come along for the ride! I will do my best to have a variety of photo subjects and interesting tidbits about everyday life, and I promise not to just post pictures of my adorable kiddo every day. :)

Kiddo is up now from his nap so I am signing off for now. Please join me tomorrow as I start my Project 365!

Applesauce, sticks, and learning...

It's been a busy last few days, although they haven't been terribly eventful; just the normals of laundry, dishes, cooking, and keeping up with a busy Small Boy. Also, that Boy skipped napping for three days in a row; and that always puts a damper on my creativity here on the computer. He thinks it is incredibly funny to either hit the power button or shut the lid of my computer; ya that means it's time for Mom to just give up and get down on the floor and play.
I did manage to get some applesauce made; and mmmm it is tasty! Boy loves it; and I agree, it is much better than the store-bought.  The apples in the pan above are about 4" deep in a 12" round pot. I ended up dumping them into a deeper pot before boiling. Add about 2 cups water and boil until soft, about 25 minutes.

Pour into a big bowl, then sprinkle on about 2 Tbsp cinnamon and 1/4 cup sugar, and stir!
He also got his first haircut! Below's picture is obviously pre-haircut; but he still has his curls! Yes, even his hair is just like Daddy's. We have been to visit Great-Grandma twice, the first day was sunny and we picked apples and small boy played with sticks and water.

A big stick and a tub full of water = happy boy!

So very busy!

Yesterday's visit was off and on rainy so we mostly visited indoors and Boy got to empty her Tupperware cupboard. Today, he finally took a nap! So I got some much-needed ironing and such done.

I have also been mulling over the idea of what age he will start school. There has been some talk lately in the mommy blogosphere lately on that topic, and it wasn't something I had much considered until now.  Five vs. six, and some Mamas are starting theirs at four! Of course it also makes a difference as to whether you are doing public/private school, or homeschooling. I for one am of the opinion that whether you are technically homeschooling or not, you are still homeschooling them for the first five years of their lives anyway--think about it: we teach them how to get dressed, how to go on the toilet on their own, how to wash their hands, how to tell time, names of colors, etc. You see my point. So while at this point I am a bit undecided on the whole idea of conventional schooling or not (leaning towards private Christian school), I still feel no matter exactly when/whether I "send" my kids to school, I have still been initially and will continue to school them at home. Anyway, I think we have always planned on him starting kindergarten when he turned five; he has a June birthday though, so he might be a "young" five in his class...Then again, at the rate he is progressing right now, learning his numbers and recognizing his letters, I am pretty sure he will be ready at five. So we shall see, lots of time to decide yet. :)

Now for the kitchen clean-up; I did quite a bit of baking/cooking today, including a dinner that hubby LOVED! Yes, a "new" creation of lettuce-wrapped chicken fajitas are heaven when you are on a boring low-carb diet and your wife has been cooking you the same thing for months on end. :)  They actually did turn out pretty enough for pictures, I just didn't think of it till it was too late...

 

I Can Do It!

Ahhh, what coffee and apple fritters can do for a Mommy's morale is amazing! It's been a rough day and it's only 2 o'clock; I don't know why, other than that I feel lousy. I did get almost 8 hours of sleep last night and Small Boy has been sleeping through the night for months, so my exhaustion is a bit baffling to me. Or maybe it's normal for Moms of 2 year olds? I don't know. I did get a few winks of a nap, hiding my head under my covers and closing my eyes, trying to pretend that I wasn't hearing Small Boy in his bed over the monitor not napping. He did get a good nap yesterday so apparently doesn't think one is necessary today. He has turned into such a big boy--he got his first haircut yesterday and looks like much more little boy and much less baby, except when I see him squatting in the corner doing business in his diaper. He just finished unlocking the front door and now he is surveying the kitchen to see what sort of mischief he can get into.

Now I am sitting down again; he just dragged my by the hand into the kitchen to show me that he dumped all over the floor the bag of apples that I need to turn into applesauce. He is now watching Kipper on my Kindle. My hat off to the moms who do/did it without cartoons; maybe they just have more toys to keep the littles occupied, or maybe they just never sit down. I can personally say that I rarely ever saw my Mom sit until I was in my late teens; and then it was only in the early morning reading her Bible before everyone else was up. I am really having the most fun right now; Boy is still learning to talk and is talking more every day. Right now he is copying about every other sentence on his show or describing what he sees. "'s kite! 's back! 's stuck!" and "opps!" when a stick falls out of the tree and hits Tiger on the head.

I was just reading an article that talked about how moms of "bigger" families "do it". You know, maintain their sanity and still raise 4 or 5 or more children. She very wisely pointed us back to the fact that 1 or 2 is not "easier"; that we are always maxed out to capacity with the number we have, and that if God sees fit to give us more tiny ones, He will also give us the grace and strength and wisdom to raise them. We have to ask God for his help, not just try to do it all on our own! It also reminded me of my and hubby's conversation last night; it has been nearly a year since our miscarriage but still no more babies. I tend to worry a lot wondering if we will be able to have more and then in the middle of that thought comes the self-doubt that I can't handle more because my oldest little treasure already keeps me so busy. Hubby reminded me that all these things are in God's hands, that each one of our children will come at the perfect timing in God's perfect plan. SO  TRUE!!!! I forget so quickly that it's not up to me, it's up to God! Yes, it's good to be an independent, "I can do it all by myself" sort of a person; those are the people who run the world, who are the glue to society, the problem solvers, the business owners, etc. We cannot forget though, if it weren't for God, we couldn't do anything; we would be nothing! It is through Him that we have any abilities at all. How quickly we tire when we try to do it all on our own; the burden becomes huge and seemingly impossible to carry! When we remember that "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me", tranquility returns to our hearts and the world and our part in it no longer seems so hugely frightening. We can remind ourselves that it is not all up to us; that we are to do each task each day as it comes to us and rely on God to help us actually accomplish it. God never gives us a job that He doesn't also give us the strength to do! Isn't that freeing?

And now my little boy presses his face against mine and giggles, and all my exhaustion seems so insignificant because all I can think is how much I love being his mommy and that I am so thankful to God for giving me this little treasure who calls me "Mama"!

Sleep (Haha! More like lack thereof!)

I love this picture; it's a year old but I love it!
So Small Boy skipped his nap today; he has been falling asleep later at night the last week or so, but of course tonight he went to bed early so I'm hoping to be back on schedule tomorrow! In case you haven't noticed, a sleep schedule is extremely important to me (well, our household)! We waited 5.5 months before we instituted a sleep schedule and then never looked back. That's not to say that it hasn't changed and evolved; if there's one thing I've learned to expect, it's that I never expect things to remain the same for very long! There are basic sleep patterns children should adhere to, based on their age, that generally produce the most happiness if they are followed. Notice I said "generally"; some children quit naps altogether when they turn 1.5 years, and others take 2 naps per day till they are 2 years old. However, in my experience, our son is happiest if he is well rested due to an adequate amount of sleep at the proper intervals in his day. Which makes perfect sense; I am a bit grumpy when I'm tired too. (Of course, Moms have to learn to be cheerful even on little sleep, I know. It's in the name "Mom"---definition is "sleep deprived around-the-clock do-it-all service"!) Anyway, 5.5 months was way too long to wait and we will definitely start sooner with the next one. If you are a first-time Mommy, just remember: you will make mistakes with this child and that's okay!!! With the second one, (in my estimation, not having a second one yet) you can't make many of those mistakes, say, sleeping on the couch holding the baby all night, because you have another one to look after who will get up and keep you in gear. (The hours of sitting on the couch with a newborn watching daytime television and nursing every hour-and-a-half just aren't going to happen with my second one because my firstborn is so busy there's no way I'll get to sit and nurse very often. I will probably get very good at nursing while walking/running to see what Small Boy is up to!)
But seriously, I don't know how we would survive without our sleep schedule!

Well, I'm not sure there's much use in me fighting my headache much longer by ignoring it. I think it's time for me to get up and take some Tylenol and eat dinner. I'm still sitting here because I really want something chocolate and I haven't decided what to make yet. I'm out of flour tortillas so it won't be a chocolate chip quesedilla. Maybe I'll just have to make a chocolate chip cookie in a mug. And then finish washing dishes. And then find some more low-carb recipes for hubby, because the poor guy has had some boring food lately...and by boring I mean I'm even getting bored of cooking it!

Cleaning, watering, and kiddos

My kitchen floor got swept and mopped this morning. I do not normally do housework on Sunday, and I even avoid doing the dishes on Sunday, mostly because I very much dislike dishes and I view the day of rest as a good excuse to not do dishes. Of course, I always pay on Monday! :(  First, Small Boy dumped his Honey Nut Cheerios all over the floor; no milk, just the cheerios that were left after he decided he was full. I personally can eat a LOT of those things before I'm full, I love 'em! Second, a couple hours later, he found a mostly-empty cup to dump on the floor--it had some red fruit punch left in it (yes I'm behind on yesterday's dishes). So then I got down on my hands and knees and gave the floor a thorough scrub, which it needed anyway.

And now it is naptime, which I had myself convinced earlier today was going to be my time to finish the dishes and maybe give the bathroom a swish and swipe. But I am so tired that I think I will take a nap instead. Boy and I spent about 5 hours at Grandma's house yesterday, during which I sat for maybe a total of 5 minutes because the rest of the time I was chasing him around trying to keep him out of trouble. Except when we were in the backyard, then I was also watering Grandma's plants and flowers. And we may go to the park this afternoon. So I'm going to lie down and attempt to make my brain shut off long enough to get in a nap. Then make lunch/dinner for hubby and whatever else my slightly workaholic self finds to do.

Maybe it's partly the workaholic in my that runs in my family that makes me want more kids? Last night when we were going to bed well after midnight, I asked hubby if I am crazy for wanting more kids. He responded no, that's what we were put on the earth to do, is be fruitful and multiply; but that I am also signing up for about a year of no sleep every time I have another baby. And yep, I still want another one...
Okay, bye for now!

Forgetting

So I just realized this morning that I forgot to write a post last night. I realized it in the middle of unloading/putting away groceries, frying bacon and scrambled eggs, and trying to get Small Boy to eat his Cream of Wheat. Which reminds me I forgot to buy Cream of Wheat at the store this morning; one more good reason why hubby instituted a new list system this morning when I got home from the store--without doggie poo baggies, again. (Being as we live in the middle of the city in an apartment, and being as we live in a city that has made it illegal for grocery stores to give their customers plastic grocery bags, we not only have to pick up doggie's business, we also have to buy bags for it. Bleh.) I know having children makes you forgetful, (pregnancy hormones are apparently permanently destructive to the memory region of the brain) but I wonder sometimes if I am worse than average?!

So our new list system consists of my list pad pinned on top of the calendar in the living room. Everything goes on that list (hubby is supposed to write on it too, being as if he asks me to do it, I will likely forget!) and then when I am getting ready to go to the store, I will copy it onto my appropriate Cozi lists in my phone. I don't use Cozi for anything else, but I do like using the lists on my phone in the store--it reduces the chances that I will make it to the store without my list, because I always have my phone. Notice I said "reduces"--unfortunately there isn't a way to guarantee that I will get everything from the paper list on the wall into my phone. 

Now, I know those confessions may sound strange, however you must not consider me stupid or inept. I am in fact very smart ;) after all, I made it through four years of college with a GPA of something like 3.96. And I am very capable and am great at the "multi-tasking Mama" thing. Yesterday I got the necessary pair of pants hemmed for hubby and made myself a very cute apron, all with Small Boy climbing in and out of my lap, up and down off the desk my sewing machine is on, and sticking his finger in every possible hole in my sewing machine because he wanted to know how it works!

So at the end of the day, just remind yourself, that if you've forgotten many things, it actually means you got a lot accomplished. Here's the thing: you really only forget things if you are busy doing other things, because we all know a Mama never just does nothing!