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!

Organizing Phenomena and Other Household Facts

Once again, hubby did it. Yes. We had an organization issue that was baffling me and he fixed it. He is a better organizer than I am. I know, the common joke about couples is that he is the man is the slob and the woman is constantly trying to keep things picked up but he makes it so impossible. Now don't get me wrong, he does leave his share of things lying about, but no more than I do. And I really do love organizing and having things organized. I could be one of those people who has all of her spices labeled nicely and her canned goods cupboard the picture of perfection, but I am not. My spices get used far too often to stay lined up neatly, and I don't see the point in taking the time to have them all poured neatly into matching containers. Not that I wouldn't love to do that, but at the end of the day I still haven't gotten many other important things done, like those pants of hubby's. In all seriousness though, I don't have a place to put one of those cute little spice organizers with all the matching bottles; but as soon as I do, it will probably jump to the top of my priority list to go get one and institute it's immediate use in an nice little corner on my kitchen counter. And as for my can cupboard, I have given up--I have a 2-year-old who loves to "reorganize" it, and allowing that reorganization is how I get work done in the kitchen with him underfoot.

The dishes got washed in sections today, but they are finally done. Now if only I can keep them that way.  One of my breaks was spent making a peanut butter cookie in a mug, the other break was eating it. The only reason it was a peanut butter one is that I am out of chocolate chips :( .  I did enjoy trying the peanut butter one tonight, but the chocolate chip one is way better!I ate it standing up in the kitchen watching "Everybody Loves Raymond" on my Kindle Fire (Netflix <3) because I didn't want to sit in the living room and tempt my poor hubby with it. He has been sooo good on his diet and trying so hard to get in shape that the least I can do as a supportive wife is to eat my desert standing up.
The pain my back is in after a catch-up session of dishes ought to be better incentive to not get behind... I was thinking as I was washing dishes tonight, that my biggest area of discontent in my life is my lack of a dishwasher. Then I was contemplating that my mother grew up without a dishwasher because her mother felt it was an absurd waste of money when washing dishes by hand worked just fine. I should add that my Grandmother had 5 children for a total of 7 people's dirty dishes per meal, so I guess that means I really have no room to complain or get behind on the dishes when I only have a total of 3 people. So to all of you who have big families and no dishwasher, my hat is doffed to you!

How to Put on Makeup with a 2-Year-Old

4:45 pm and my third cup of coffee. Actually, that's not so bad considering that our new coffee maker is a single-serve style, which makes smaller cups (well, normal size) than I used to drink. So now instead of two huge cups of decent coffee, I drink two or three smaller cups of very good coffee, and I enjoy it much more.
Small Boy is watching Paddington Bear and I have about 15 minutes till he will want dinner so I thought this the perfect time to sit and relax.

I think I should also add that "Small Boy" is not so much a descriptor as a name; I called him "Tiny Baby" till he was 6 months old and anything but tiny. The name obviously needed an update as he was wearing 9 mo size clothes at that point and has never been a petite child. So he became Small Boy and that name stuck; I suppose when he is 8 or 10 years old he may no longer approve of it but I think he will always be my "Small Boy". Anyway, this child just turned 2 and is wearing 3T so he is anything but small!

He has also (Yayyyyyy!) gone back to napping for me! Apparently two days was his limit for holding out on naps. He is back to being asleep by about noon and then ready for bed by 7pm, so predictability has once again been restored to our little home. And as always, there is a pile of dishes calling me. We went to the park on Saturday afternoon, after which I didn't want to finish the dishes; and Sunday was church then I decided that being as it is a day of rest, I would only do the necessary dishes.

Now to the topic at hand: Makeup! Have you ever tried to put on makeup with a two-year old present? No? Yes? Well either way, you may need a little help getting a system down. Here is my system, and I do hope it helps you.
1. Enjoy the 3.5 seconds of quiet while you are applying foundation before kiddo realizes you have gone into the bathroom by yourself.
2. Tell kiddo very firmly to take his chair back out of the bathroom, that he is not supposed to stand in it to reach items on the counter. Finish applying foundation. Remove foundation lid from kiddo's mitts and make mental note to clean foundation off his cheek in a few minutes.
3. Apply powder over foundation quickly. Be prepared as you set the powder brush down to immediately rescue it from small mitts who find it fun to powder the floor. Yuck! Make a mental note to wash it when he takes his nap, and carry on. (Of course you will not actually remember to wash it at nap time.)
4. Apply blush. You may or may not want to apply eyeliner at this point, depending on how many of your makeup items you have had to remove from kiddo's mitts while applying blush.  I usually just go for it; after all, by the end of the day a little eyeliner helps you look much more alert. (And I can always use help with that.)
5. Remove powder and blush brushes from small hands, begin applying eye shadow. Remove lip gloss brush from small hands, tell kiddo to take his chair back out of the bathroom. Quickly blend eyeshadow while he is obeying.
6. Begin with mascara. Stand in front of your makeup box to guard it and use your magnifying mirror to see your eyelashes. At this point you notice kiddo is now in the bathtub, and being as he hasn't got the water on yet, you leave him be.
7. Now for your lip liner. Or not. Kiddo got the water on in the bathtub even though you turned it very tightly off. Remove kiddo from bathtub and remember to close the door as you exit the bathroom.
8. Clean foundation off his cheek, steer him toward the puzzles in the living room, and then apply your lip gloss that is in your purse in the kitchen; you can use the microwave as your mirror.
9. You look beautiful, Mama, now go have an awesome day!

How To Clean a Bathroom with a 2-Year-Old

Today was a busy day and I got a decent amount accomplished, but I am still feeling terribly behind. Maybe it's because there are some sewing projects that have been on my to-do list for a looong time, and that list has only gotten longer and more pertinent this week. They are actually tailoring projects--quite a few waistlines to take in and pants to cuff/shorten. Of course there are some fun projects too, like finish those two denim aprons I started a month ago and make a new decorative cover for our sofa pillow (yes I only have one decorator pillow, too many just get in the way and end up on the floor; although sometimes I think two would be nice...). Anyway, I have also made a discovery; it seems Small Boy will not take naps for Mommy anymore. He goes to bed like an angel for Daddy when I'm not home, of course! The last two days have been napless, and yes I know that doesn't mean anything, and that I need to wait a week or so before I see if this is his new pattern. But sometimes two days can feel like a week. He has been super sweet though, and we have not had the usual meltdowns that we have always gotten in the past when naps are missed. Yesterday and tonight he has gone happily to bed at 6pm, woke up very upset after about an hour, and then I managed to soothe him back to sleep and don't hear from him again till morning. I also have to say that those "wake up and soothe back to sleep" sessions have been much shorter than they used to be, only 5 or 10 minutes as opposed to over an hour...So this boy is definitely going through some changes! He is talking so much more this last week or two and is cutting a new molar (maybe more, I haven't gotten a satisfactory look on the left side yet...); and I know all these things are messing with his sleep patterns.
However I can't complain too much, during his nap attempt today I did get the bathroom, tub and all, thoroughly scoured! I am not sure how I'm going to get that sort of cleaning done when he quits naps altogether since I (so far) refuse to do that sort of work in the evenings; that time goes to dishes/reading/Netflix/whatever I feel like :) I guess I'm just going to have to schedule cartoon time in when I want to get housework done---have you ever tried to clean a bathroom with a 2 year old? I mean really tried?
 It goes like this:
1. Get out rag/sponge/whatever and the Lysol. Decide you don't want to spray Lysol with him in the room so swap it for Windex--after all it does have ammonia in it to disinfect with, right?
2. Pull kiddo out of the cupboard and remove your nail polish out of his mitts. Close cupboard.
3. Wipe mirror while holding closed the cupboard that has the Lysol in it with your foot, then remove kiddo from bathtub behind you since he got in there and is using your shaver on the tub walls.
4. Attempt to wipe the sink faucet and around it; remove child from the cupboard and take your toiletries bag away from him again.
5. Again attempt to finish the sink area; simultaneously using your free hand to keep kiddo out of the makeup supplies you have stashed on the counter. Also remove husband's shaver from his mitts and take away hubby's Axe hair gel before boy gets that open too. Then reach over and catch your jewelry box before it all lands upside down on the floor. (All this time you are cleaning the sink area with your left hand and using your right hand to keep boy out of things.)
6. Remove kiddo from toilet area and give him his toothbrush to play with in the sink. But as you lift the lid on the toilet so you can clean it, kiddo dashes over with his toothbrush cause that big bowl of water looks much more fun than the sink.
7. Abandon bathroom cleaning because it's just easier to do it after he goes to bed at night, even though you will be drop-dead exhausted by then and probably won't attempt to finish bathroom cleaning for several more days.
8. Then get out those new crayons you bought a few days ago and spend the rest of the day coloring with kiddo, because all he wanted in the first place was to do something fun with Mommy! He wants to watch you and then do exactly what you are doing; and isn't that what being a Mommy is all about, after all?