Dude, Where's My ...

I haven't been able to blog in a while, because I've been so busy ... making sure our house doesn't turn into a toxic dump and get swallowed whole by the earth.

So. How old is old enough to pick up your own toys? I'm wondering because that's a LARGE part of our house cleaning issue. Little Man has turned into a whirling dervish and anything that's not nailed down is fair game. The Smartest Man Alive thinks he's too young to learn to put away his own toys, but I think we should start teaching him now. He's 16 months and if we could contain the clutter in some specific part of the house, that would be immensely helpful.

Right now, he has a playroom. But, he brings all of his toys out into the living room and promptly ignores them so that he can dismantle my baker's rack filled with cookbooks, opens cabinets and removes various bakeware and then scatter it all over the house ... you get the picture.

I hate clutter and the sooner we can resolve this problem, the better for all of us.

Super Mama

The Smartest Man Alive is out of town coaching a high school girls lacrosse game. So, Little Man and I have been on our own today. I was dreading this day because I thought surely this will be an epic disaster. Little Man will be grumpy, I'll lose my patience and there will be TOO MUCH to do. Turns out, I was wrong. There was still too much to do, but we both managed to end the day without any tantrums (from either of us).

Accomplished all by 7:35 p.m.

*Worked from 7 a.m. until 2:45 p.m.

*Picked up Little Man from day care.

*Went back to work with Little Man in tow to tutor kids afterschool.

*Drove home AND remembered which roads were closed due to construction.

*Made dinner -- Spinach and ricotta ravioli with spaghetti sauce and dinner rolls.

*Unloaded the dishwasher, reloaded it, washed all of Little Man's dishes and cups.

*Bathed Little Man

*Played with Little Man

*Put Little Man to sleep

*Packed for our trip to Orlando tomorrow.

*Made lunches for both of us.

So, yeah, I'm amazing.

Spring Cleaning

I've never really felt compelled to do the whole "Spring Cleaning" thing, but we are, quite possibly, living in squalor right now. To be fair, it's not really squalor, but it's definitely below my standards (which are low for housecleaning).

Mainly the problem is that we have stacks, piles, and mountains of stuff. Books, magazines, random to-do lists half-completed, odds and ends are littering our house. I tackled part of the kitchen today. (Well, if we're being honest here, just the counter.) I bought a desk organizer from Target and cleaned out our old kitchen basket. Everything is now neatly in its place. Everything that didn't fit in the basket got shredded or pitched into the trash.

Now, the only problem is where to go next. I don't feel like our house is necessarily dirty -- just cluttered. I've bought "organizers" before, but they never seem to work out for one reason or another. You really need to have a plan and see what fits for your particular situation. Boxes and bins sometimes just contain the clutter instead of eliminating excess junk.

Normally, I'm great at organizing smaller spaces -- like my classroom at school -- but the entire house just seems so DAUNTING.

Tell me, interwebz, how do you stay organized and eliminate the clutter at home?

In the meantime, I'm going to peruse Martha's Spring Cleaning checklist and see if I can muster some motivation to tackle it.

Hot Mess

You haven't heard from me in a while and that's because we've been a HOT MESS around these parts.

• Little Man had his first serious fever yesterday. (104 degrees. OMG.) We think it was a combination of his 15-month shots, teething, and a virus. Thankfully, he is miraculously recovered today and currently refusing to nap.
• To take my mind off the above-mentioned drama of the fever, I attempted to make Pioneer Woman's Caramel Pumpkin Gingersnap Cheesecake. The result was a very scrumptious cheesecake that would not come out of the springform pan and dripped hot caramel all over the bottom of my oven. Have you ever tried to scrub hardened caramel off the bottom of your oven? No? Well, you're missing a good time.
• The Smartest Man Alive and I have had lingering head colds all week. I've been alternately lounging on the couch feeling miserable and declaring myself cured for about five days.
• To make up for all this chaos, I decided to attempt these cute little Individual Raspberry Cobblers. While they bake, I'm watching re-runs of The Real Housewives of NYC and waiting for the oven to blow-up or something.

Good thing tomorrow's Monday and Auntie is heading our way.

Resolution Update

In January, I decided that I would try to be more "present" this year. I wanted to free myself from multi-tasking, disconnect from technology, and enjoy the moment. Such lofty goals.

I also promised to unplug once per week, prioritize my to-do list, and write about my experience once a month. Right off the bat, I think I should confess that after the first week I totally FORGOT all about the unplugging. However, the Lenten season is upon us and I have given up Facebook for a whole 40 days. Take that, time-sucking-technology!

I thought multi-tasking was going to be the hardest to give up, but I've felt so much more focused. It's a such a great feeling to just concentrate on what I'm doing, even if it's as simple as making Little Man's lunch. It's just intentional.

Prioritizing has been much harder to do. Perhaps other people have known this about me (and if you do, keep it to yourself), but I'm an impatient-obsessive-compulsive-micromanaging-mess. The house is a wreck: Major Meltdown; Little Man is sent to daycare without a change of clothes (which he later needs) and I'm ready to sob inconsolably for obviously being such a neglectful mother; The Smartest Man Alive shrugs his shoulders when I ask what he wants for dinner and he nearly gets a whack to the head. All of a sudden, I'm overwhelmed and wondering whatever happened to stopping to smell the roses.

It's just that I want everything done NOW and RIGHT and MY WAY. I honestly have never really realized this and considered myself rather easy-going. The Smartest Man Alive has always looked at me sideways and stifled a laugh when I mentioned this, but now I feel like I'm seeing myself in another way. Recognizing the problem is the first step, right?

I suppose that's the beauty of motherhood and this great "life" adventure is that you get to see yourself grow and change.

Is this thing on?

Oh, hi there! Blogger tells me that I have written since Jan. 10th. Well, we've just been so BUSY!

*I received my Teacher of the Year award at a lovely ceremony and gave my speech without throwing up and/or tripping.

*The Smartest Man Alive and I booked a Bahamas cruise for next weekend. Just the two of us. Words cannot express my excitement about this grown-up adventure.

*I won a contest! Seriously, I never win ANYTHING, but bless my dear friends Hillary and Michelle at NotRaisingBrats. Love them.

*My parents have been on a Hawaiian cruise. My mom got to swim with a whale shark. Seriously. Fortunately, she lived to tell the tale.

*My sleep problems continue. I'm considering acupuncture. Thoughts?

Word of the Year: Present

I've been thinking about New Year's resolutions and then I read this and this.

Erin at Mo Mommy decided to choose a word to focus on for her year. She chose Quiet. Sarah at Semi-Desperate Housewife took the challenge and chose Perspective -- two great choices and something I could also work on! But, during the last week I've been thinking about what I could do to be a better mother and create a better life for my family.

My word is going to be "present." I want to live in the moment more. I've noticed that I'm always thinking ahead to the next chore, milestone, or challenge. Our days, weeks, even months are crammed and over-scheduled with to-do lists, chores, outings ... life and it feels so chaotic and squished that we don't even have time to just enjoy each other.

So here's what I'm going to do to be more "present" this year:

1. I'm going to "unplug" at least one day per week. No television, no Internet, no texting. Just us.

2. I'm going to write about my efforts each month to stay focused on my goal.

3. This one is going to be hard, but I'm at least going to try it: I'm going to multi-task less. I'm going to pick one thing and do it. Then, I'll move on to the chore or activity and do that. No more cooking dinner, talking on the phone and facebooking at the same time. (You didn't know I was that talented, did you?)

4. I'm going to prioritize. I don't have to do everything right now. Some things can wait. Some things won't get done. That's okay.

So, there's my Word of the Year. Are you going to pick a word? Did you make a resolution? Post a comment with a link if you wrote about it.

Playing Ball

Little Man has fallen in love with a small $1 ball I picked up for him at the Dollar Store a few months back. He bounces it, chases it when it rolls away, and throws it as far as his little arms will allow.

The Smartest Man Alive, a sports junkie, is quite pleased with this new development.

This is what I overhead this afternoon.

(Little Man throws the ball, it bounces, and rolls under the Christmas tree.)

The Smartest Man Alive: Wow. You threw the ball. Look! You already have more athletic ability than mommy.

Rub it in, why don't you?

Whew!

I like to think that I generally have a happy-go-lucky attitude, but lately I've been downright giddy. I don't know if it's the holidays or just an unusual amount of luck and love in our lives lately, but I feel like we're in the perfect spot right now.

Here's just a few highlights:

• The Smartest Man Alive built a deck in our backyard. He *amazingly* completed it in two weeks. I feared this would be an agonizing, months-long, expensive project. But, he is The Smartest Man Alive, so it was done under-budget and on-time.
• I got Teacher of the Year at my school. We went to my favorite restaurant, The Melting Pot, to celebrate. It is an amazing honor and a lot of work. I'll be working on my resume and application packet in the coming months, so stay tuned!
• We got our Christmas tree and decorated it. I've had nightmares envisioning Little Man pulling the tree over on himself, but so far he's kept his distance. We've debated a variety of baby proofing measures, but nothing seems to work with the layout of our house. So, we're going it alone and we've just hung the lights and ornaments out of reach.
• Little Man's birthday party is Sunday. It's just a low-key barbecue with family and friends at a nearby park. I'll be sure to post photos and video on Sunday. I still have to buy a birthday cake, BBQ food, and a few decorations, but I'm not stressing. I'm happy right where we are.

Holiday Pictures

We took holiday pictures with my favorite people at Pink Turtle Photography. This is one of the best things I've done since Little Man was born. We'll cherish these pictures forever and I can't wait to show Little Man these pictures once he's a little older.

Karma?

I was having one of those days.

A terrifically wonderful, on-top-of-it-all day where everything -- school, home, Little Man -- seemed to be juggled perfectly. It's not often that these days crop up, so I was truly enjoying the moment.

I worked late tutoring at an after-school program and stopped by the grocery store on the way home to pick up ingredients for pasta with meat sauce. As I was walking in the parking lot, I was mentally congratulating myself for managing our hectic life so well. The house was in relative* order, everyone was fed and cared for, I had a great day at work, and after dinner I was headed to a jewelry party. The day was packed full of responsibility, but also fun.

Then, just as I approached my car one of the bags started to squeeze the circulation out of my fingers and -- wait for it -- splat! The bag containing the jar of spaghetti sauce -- of course! -- dropped on the concrete spilling glass and sauce over everything. I managed to scoop up the rest of the groceries and get them into the car and home without further incident. The Smartest Man Alive was ordered back to the grocery store to retrieve a new jar of spaghetti sauce AND assemble the rest of dinner.

So, I guess it wasn't a *perfect* day, but I'm still counting my blessings.

*I should say I have low standards for "order."

Workin' for the Weekend

This week isn't getting any prettier.

Apparently, I've got some bad karma coming around my way. I went to the doctor today and he said it looks like I've irritated a (long, hard-to-pronounce) nerve in both my knees. So, take anti-inflammatories (already doing that) and exercise moderately (no Boot Camp).

Fabulous.

Also, Little Man was mildly bratty at the doctor's office and quite clingy. Have you ever laid on a doctor's table with a 20-pound infant clinging to your chest for dear life while a doctor examines you? Guess I can check that off my to-do list.

I'm going to compensate by watching trashy TV and ordering take-out (for the second time this week).

Grumble, grumble, grumble...

The weather's crappy, the Smartest Man Alive has the flu, and I'm pretty sure the doctor is going to tell me that I have to quit Boot Camp. So I'm grumpy. If you prefer not to read my grumblings, feel free to pass on this post.

SO. This stinking Florida weather is about to drive me insane. If it's not SWELTERING with 1000% humidity (you read that right, 1000%) it's rainy and gloomy.

To top off this depressing climate situation, the Smartest Man Alive has been diagnosed with the flu -- not the swine variety, but still. I'll spare you the gory details, but it's not pretty. He's quarantined (in our bedroom) until Saturday and off work until Monday. Absolutely no contact with the baby, obviously.

But this whole no-contact rule will not stop me from fretting over the various scenarios where germs sneak out of our bedroom and miraculously infect Little Man. I will probably spend the next two weeks saying: Does he feel warm to you? Is he eating enough? Is he playing normally? Too tired? Too awake? yada, yada, yada.

Anything else to complain about? Oh yeah. My knee. It's freaking killing me and I haven't been back to Boot Camp since Wednesday. I'm pretty sure it's going to be off-limits for heavy exercise and maybe some physical therapy. I have my doctor's appointment tomorrow, so we'll see.

I'm going to go look at pictures of rainbows or something to cheer myself up...Or maybe I'll just thank my lucky stars that Little Man is still taking an evening nap.

Updates

Ugh. I haven't posted lately because I just haven't had the time. Lame excuse, I know. This Boot Camp is really kicking my butt and managing a one-hour, grueling work-out with various house duties, dinner-making and general life-maintaining has not been easy. (Thanks to the Smartest Man Alive for picking up my slack.)

I do feel a lot better and more accomplished since I started Boot Camp. The first week I cried (seriously, I told you I hated exercise, right?!) but it's gotten much easier. I'm army-crawling under nets, running with jugs filled with sand, and lunging/crunching/ab-busting like my hair is on fire. So there.

During the course of last week, I did hurt my knees somehow. I'm not talking scraped, like ligaments or tendons or something REAL. I have an appointment with the doctor on Wednesday, but until then I'm sidelined. I hope he can give me a shot or something and send me on my way. I'm going to be seriously BUMMED if I can't finish this camp.

We went to the Pumpkin Patch last weekend and don't I have the cutest kid?

This adorable picture almost makes up for the fact that we only got FOUR trick-or-treaters. Seriously, what's up with that and what am I supposed to do with all that candy we bought?

Eating In

I haven't been to the grocery store in more than a week and, let me tell you, it feels glorious.

Truth be told, I hate the grocery store. But, I always find myself there picking up things here and there. Now that our refrigerator, freezer, and pantry are overflowing I've decided to eat what we have. My original goal was to make it two weeks without a visit to the dreaded store or ordering take-out.

Since our pantry-shopping initiative seems to not have even made a dent in our massive amount of food supply, I might extend it to see just how long we can carry on this little experiment. We've eaten enchiladas, chicken 'n dumplings, baked chicken casserole with stuffing and potatoes, spaghetti and meatballs, and chicken and asparagus. I'm pretty much thinking I deserve a gold-star here.

What about you? What have you been making for dinner lately?

Sad Day

We've had our dog, affectionately known as Mr. Puppykins, for about 3 years. We adopted him from the Humane Society and he is my original baby. Before I had Little Man, I dressed him in outfits, holiday-themed bandannas, and even once, a Halloween costume. He only had the best (read: most expensive) dog food, complete with "Life Bits," and whatever gourmet doggie treats he desired. He had his own Christmas stocking, we wrapped presents for him and took him on vacations. He was part of the family in every single way.

But, for about the past year I have been feeling increasingly guilty. You see, Mr. Puppykins has a nasty habit. He bites. Ferociously. He tries to attack nearly every bystander we encounter on walks and God forbid you actually try to enter our home. He's actually bitten two people, and attempted to bite more people than I can count. His behavior has always been a bit embarrassing, but the Humane Society told us that he was abused before we took him and I've always excused his behavior with this fact.

We've been struggling with his behavior nearly since we adopted him. I have read all the Dog Whisperer books and took two dog training classes. We've taken him on long walks, and practiced all the skills they taught us in obedience school. He can sit, stay, shake, and yet he still wants to take a bite out of any passing stranger. He barks relentlessly when we have anyone in our home and will try to attack even our family members.

And today he tried to bite Little Man. That was the last straw.

Mr. Puppykins has been living with my parents for the past couple months. The Smartest Man Alive injured a disc in his back shortly after Little Man was born. With an infant and injured husband to take care of, there just wasn't enough time to watch over a dog who may or may not bite the baby or any number of visitors. But, today Mr. Puppykins came home and it wasn't even an hour before he tried to bite Little Man's fingers while my dad was holding him. He jumped up on the high chair and eyed Little Man with a little too much attention for my liking.

We've been looking for a new home for a few months because we knew that my parents would never be able to keep him permanently and we've always been worried about mixing the dog with the baby especially since he's nearly crawling now. But, Mr. Puppykins reputation precedes him. We even offered a friend with a lot of land and other animals $500 to take him. But, she's met Mr. Puppykins before and she declined.

So we made the hardest decision we've ever had to make. I thank God for my husband, because I never would have been able to follow through with our decision. The Smartest Man Alive took him back to the Humane Society in hopes that he can be adopted by a lonely widow or a single person with Dog Whisperer-talents.

I'm mourning the loss of one of our family members, but more than that, I feel guilty. Guilty because I couldn't train him better. Guilty because I didn't have enough time for him since Little Man was born, and also because I've always bristled at irresponsible people who adopt a pet for the novelty and then give it way once they're bored. I know that's not our situation, but I can't help feeling like I've failed.

Hi Ho Hi Ho...It's back to work I go.

I haven't been writing much because this week has been a blur. Between going back to work and daycare, starting swimmy lessons, and the general maintenance that comes with running a household, we've been pooped.

So, just to catch you up on our exciting life, here's a few tidbits.

*To say Little Man hates the water would be an understatement. See evidence below:







Well, living in Florida I feel obligated to teach him to swim at an early age. After all, summer storms here can create the equivalent of Lake Michigan in your front yard after 10 minutes of rain. So, I signed him up for lessons at our local public pool. Unfortunately, the only lessons they had available before NEXT summer was scheduled for our first week back to school and, conveniently, during Little Man's nap time.

But, I like living on the edge. So, off we went. The first lesson was the worst. He cried for 20 minutes out of the 30 minute lesson. In his defense, he was tired and our swim instructor splashed him in the face almost immediately. In the end, he did much better, but I'm not sure we're going to continue the lessons this time. We've already been shown how to help him kick and float and we might just practice that on our own time. Then, we'll get lessons again next summer when he's a little bigger.

*I've adopted a Little Engine That Could mantra about going back to work. Since I've already done it once after maternity leave, I figured going back to work after summer break would be a breeze. But, it's not. Anytime you leave your baby it's tough. Whether you work one day a week or five. I'm trying to think of how lucky I am to have wonderful childcare and a job I love doing.

*I'm working on creating a dinner schedule each week. I usually wait until about 3 o'clock when I get home from school to decide what we're having for dinner. This leads to unnecessary grocery trips, an excess of take-out, and just general annoyance. This time, I'm just going to DO IT.