Getting myself organized

I'm one of those list people. I always feel an intense sense of accomplishment if I have a list of things to do and successfully check every single item off after I've completed them. And I somehow manage to get pretty much nothing accomplished if I don't go into my day/week with a plan and a list of all that I hope to accomplish. So to facilitate my goals/hopes for the New Year, I've designed some lists to give myself a push in the right direction.

My first list was inspired by this one from organize.com. I couldn't bring myself to spend $8.99 + shipping for 50 sheets of paper so I created my own. It doesn't look quite as cute as my inspiration with the blue polka dot border, but I'm printing mine on colored paper to dress it up a bit.
I plan to get a memo sized clipboard, like this one, dress it up like this with some fun paper, slap some magnetic tape on the back and VOILA -- a much cheaper version that will still help me to get organized with my menu planning and grocery shopping. I'll post a picture of my final version when I get it all together.

My second list is a running list of all the things I need to do everyday, including such mundane things as showering and getting dressed. If I put an empty check box next to it, it'll force me to not sit around, unbathed, in my pajamas all day, right? The page is broken down by day, with specific chores assigned to each day to ensure that once a week, my whole house gets cleaned. There's also a space for things that should be done at least once a month, but don't necessarily need to be done every day or week.

Here's to starting off the New Year on the right foot with a plan in place to ensure that my goals are met! Happy 2010!

December 28th. You know what that means? Resolutions!

Even though I haven't been blogging about it, I really have been better about the chores around here. I swear.

Today, while Ella napped, I turned the oven on to self-clean while I washed some dishes, cleaned the downstairs bathroom and started to de-clutter the guest room. True to form, she woke up 30 minutes early, thus ending my cleaning spree.

Tomorrow, we've got a birthday party to go to so chances are, I won't get to do anymore than sweeping and mopping the kitchen, dining room, hallway and bathroom floors.

I've been doing a lot of thinking about New Years Resolutions as of late and I think I've put together a list of "goals" for 2010. "Goals" sounds less intimidating than "resolutions", doesn't it?

1. Read the books for bookclub -- I keep going to the meetings and just listening to the discussions then leave, thinking "gosh, that sounded like a good book! I should read that!"
2. Find a place for everything and keep everything in its place
3. Put together meal plans every week
4. Put together a weekly cleaning schedule and stick to it
5. Get more organized -- this goes along with #2
6. Exercise -- get some.
7. Go to bed earlier. Staying up 'till 1am just isn't cutting it anymore.
8. Start a vegetable and herb garden
9. Compost kitchen waste to use in said garden
10. Make my own cleaning and laundry products

That's not too overwhelming, now is it?

Seriously?!?

OK so I didn't report back with my successes in the housewife department. While I did do pretty well with cleaning & laundry last week, I was too preoccupied with my mommy role to blog about it. Sweetpea's been having some food sensitivity issues so I took her to an allergist and he deemed her "allergic to milk, eggs and peanuts." I was a little caught off guard by the doctor blaming it on the fact that I am still breastfeeding her and never cut any of those things out of my own diet -- why would I? She's never had any issues with my milk!! So after an emotional few days, I have set up an appointment for a 2nd opinion and cut peanuts out of my diet at the advice of the nurse at my pediatrician's office.

Here's Sweetpea's arm after the prick-test:


It kills me to look at this picture. She just looks so itchy! The good news is that she was completely unphased by the whole ordeal & couldn't have cared less. The bad news is that we're going to have to repeat the test when we go for the 2nd opinion. I'm crossing my fingers that she does well with that one too. I set the appointment up with a naturopath who specializes in children so hopefully, she'll treat me more like a human being, rather than the WORST MOTHER ON THE PLANET.

I spent a good hour and a half at Whole Foods this morning, with a friend of mine and our two little ones. We scoured the store for anything labeled "dairy free, egg free and peanut free". I got some lovely sunflower seed butter (which is surprisingly quite yummy) and some Rice Dream ice cream which I can't wait to dig into after Zumba class tonight! (Which reminds me, I should go finish getting ready & make sure Sweetpea & Hubs are settled in to the bedtime routine.)

I'll be back later this week with some housewife-ly updates.

Jumping in with both feet

I've been so inspired by the blogs of fellow SAHMs & SAHWs lately that I thought I'd try to get back into posting here. Ok, not get back into it. More or less get into it in the first place. I suck at staying on top of things like downloading pics of our camera, keeping track of things like our baby's first smile, laugh, etc., sending out birthday cards on time... well, if I'm going to be completely honest here: doing ANYTHING on time. There are some pretty damn well organized and motivated women out there and I can't help but to compare myself to. No pressure or anything.

I've recently decided that it's time that I embrace the "house wife" part of my job title. I'm all over the "mom" bit. I love the fact that I get to spend every waking moment with our little treasure; I am truly blessed in that respect. She & I go everywhere and do everything together. We go for walks, we roll around on the floor, make block towers that immediately get knocked down, read book after book again & again, we go grocery shopping, meet friends for playdates and spend hours nursing, cuddling and just being silly. Meanwhile, the laundry piles up, the floors are turning black, the bathroom... eeek!

So my August 1st Resolution (New Years Resolutions never stick anyways) is to get my arse in gear and start CLEANING THIS HOUSE!! Until recently, I was not convinced that I could do this AND still be a good mom but I'm learning that it's all about balance and baby steps. Instead of immersing myself completely in either direction, I need to find a happy medium.

So here it is Sunday night and I'm trying to put together my to-do list for tomorrow. :

1. GO TO THE GYM!!! I'm paying for this membership, might as well take advantage of the one hour of free day care and take some much needed me-time.
2. Sweetpea's laundry -- wash it, dry it, and PUT IT AWAY (this is the part that I'm severely deficient in & it doesn't bother me 'till hubby's dressing her & can't find a damn thing cuz everything's still in the baskets on her floor).
3. Put away all the bottles & nipples that have been sitting on the counter for weeks now. It's been quite a while since sweetpea needed a bottle; why oh why do we need to have them out on the counter collecting dust & taking up so much of my countertop real estate??

I'll check in tomorrow night and let ya know how it went!

It's a GIRL!!!

Gabriella Madison Hayes was born on Tuesday, October 7th at 7:30am. She weighed in at a healthy 8lbs 4ozs and was 20 inches long.

My water broke a little before midnight on Sunday, October 5th and I received pitocin at 5am because my contractions were sporadic & unproductive. Around 3pm I had only dilated to 3cm and was begging for an epidural. I so badly wanted to labor w/out drugs, but the pitocin made that next to impossible. My body made very slow progress & I finally made it to 10cm at 7am the next morning. I pushed 5 times and out popped our beautiful baby daughter. She is a perfect blend of Mike and I and we are still in complete awe over how pretty she is.

Breastfeeding has been a lot more difficult than I had anticipated. Ella eats every 2 hrs for about an hour at a time and it's downright EXHAUSTING!! I'm doing my very best to stick with it though as I know how beneficial it is for baby & I want to give our little munchkin the best possible start I can.

38 weeks

As I approach my due date, I am a ball of mixed emotions. I’m sad that my pregnancy is almost over because honestly, I’ve truly loved being pregnant. I’m going to miss feeling the baby kick and roll around inside me. I’m going to miss lying in bed in the morning and having one-sided conversations with my belly while s/he hiccups away. I’m going to miss the way Mike’s eyes light up when he’s got his hand on my bump and the baby starts kicking him. I’m going to miss my bump and the fact that I’ve never felt more comfortable in my own skin as I have while I’ve been pregnant.

On the other hand, I am so INCREDIBLY ANXIOUS to know whether this little person inside me is a boy or a girl. I can’t wait to be able to kiss the little fingers & toes that have been beating me up. I can’t wait to bury my nose in his or her hair & just breathe deeply that wonderful baby smell. I can’t wait to see who s/he looks like. I can’t wait to watch Mike interact with our child & see his eyes light up when s/he smiles at him for the first time. I can’t wait to not have to pee every 5 minutes. I can’t wait to see my feet again.

I’m nervous about being responsible for another human being’s safety, comfort, health & happiness. I’m nervous about being his or her sole source of food for the first few months. I’m nervous that I won’t know what to do the first time s/he gets sick or falls down & skins a knee. I’m nervous about staying home full time and whether I’ll be able to mentally handle it. I’m nervous about being a good wife to my husband while learning to be a mother and whether I’ll be able to balance the two. I’m nervous about actually giving birth to a human being.

14 weeks