This is not really a Halloween reference, although I am slightly dreading tomorrow night and the process of trick or treating with a 3 year old and a newborn. I haven't been trick or treating since I was 11. Marren's dad took her the last 2 years, so this will be a new experience for me.
This is a reference to the fact that my brain has ceased to function as it used to. Today I was in the process of getting all of my financial statements and tax returns in order as tomorrow I will be meeting with a mortgage lender. It's a big hassle for me because my tax return programs are on an old laptop I don't use anymore because it's slow and sometimes doesn't work right. I also have 5 different retirement accounts resulting from 3 previous jobs and my mother who used to be an investment banker.
I started off firing up the lap top and printing the last 2 years of tax returns just hoping it's what she needs, because that's all I have. My ex has all the W-2's and all the other forms.
Then I moved on to gathering the current statements from the investment accounts. The 5 retirement accounts mean I have 5 different usernames and password combinations that I have to remember. And by remember I mean go to the website and immediately hit the "forgot username/password" button because out of shear laziness I have never bothered to write any of them down. This process has served me fine over the last few year and especially the last few months when I needed the information for the divorce. I would go to one site "remember" my log in information, savea pdf of the current statement and print a copy. But what happens, as in the case tonight, when your brain takes a vacation and you are unable to even remember the institution where one of the accounts is located? I knew this information a month ago but it escapes me now. I'll have to search the house to see if I can find a statement that was mailed to me 3 months ago. It must be here, because I surely wouldn't have thrown away the mail from only 3 months ago yet.
After hitting the print button on the third statement I realized that none of them had actually printed. After 15 minutes of frustration of trying to figure out what was wrong with the printer (I know it's working, it just printed the tax returns for heaven's sake), I gave up and went to leave the room. That's when I had to step over the printer cord and remembered I had unhooked it 30 minutes ago to plug it into the laptop to print the tax returns.
Sigh...let's hope the meeting goes well tomorrow. It's at 10am so hopefully we'll all be at least fully clothed by the time we need to leave because I know I won't be fully awake yet. I also have to drag both the kids there because I have no where to take them at 10 am on a Wednesday morning.
Tuesday, October 30, 2012
Sunday, October 28, 2012
Status Quo
I didn't get much tackled today, but I did manage to clean up all of the messes we made during the day. So I guess if the house isn't getting dirtier that's ok for now.
Bedtime has been a huge struggle the past few weeks. The baby sleeps fine be herself all day long until about 9 pm when she gets somewhat colicky. When I finally get her calmed down she will not sleep by herself. She can be sleeping on me for an hour and when I put her in her bed she will sleep for a maximum of 2 minutes and wake up crying. She acts like she hungry by trying to suck on everything but when I go to feed her she will suck for all of 30 seconds before falling back to sleep. I'll try to put her to bed and the cycle repeats itself. She refuses to take a pacifier. I will hold it for her and she acts like I'm trying to choke her with it, even though it's the tiniest newborn ones you can buy. She falls asleep much easier on her stomach, which I will let her do if I'm right there watching her, but I can't let her sleep like that all night. So basically every night we've finally been going to sleep by about 1 in the morning and last night it was 2:30.
Tonight the baby was sleeping in the bouncer from 6pm on. Marren and I were in my recliner and we actually both fell asleep at about 7:30. I woke up at 8 and carried Marren into bed. I the baby woke up shortly after and I fed her and decided that I was going to try to ge her into her bed earlier that usual. With a little work I got her into her bed by 9:45.
I sat down to the computer shortly after and was working away until about 10:20 when Marren scared the crap out of me when she walked in the room. She was silent until she was right beside me and said she couldn't sleep. I sighed because the same thing happened last night and she was up for 2 hours in the middle of the night. I started to get up to help her and stepped on the dog in the process, then apparently bumped into something that made the tiniest noise which in turn woke the baby.
So now it's 11pm and Marren is back in bed for now and we're back to square one with the baby who can't decide if she's hungry or tired.
Bedtime has been a huge struggle the past few weeks. The baby sleeps fine be herself all day long until about 9 pm when she gets somewhat colicky. When I finally get her calmed down she will not sleep by herself. She can be sleeping on me for an hour and when I put her in her bed she will sleep for a maximum of 2 minutes and wake up crying. She acts like she hungry by trying to suck on everything but when I go to feed her she will suck for all of 30 seconds before falling back to sleep. I'll try to put her to bed and the cycle repeats itself. She refuses to take a pacifier. I will hold it for her and she acts like I'm trying to choke her with it, even though it's the tiniest newborn ones you can buy. She falls asleep much easier on her stomach, which I will let her do if I'm right there watching her, but I can't let her sleep like that all night. So basically every night we've finally been going to sleep by about 1 in the morning and last night it was 2:30.
Tonight the baby was sleeping in the bouncer from 6pm on. Marren and I were in my recliner and we actually both fell asleep at about 7:30. I woke up at 8 and carried Marren into bed. I the baby woke up shortly after and I fed her and decided that I was going to try to ge her into her bed earlier that usual. With a little work I got her into her bed by 9:45.
I sat down to the computer shortly after and was working away until about 10:20 when Marren scared the crap out of me when she walked in the room. She was silent until she was right beside me and said she couldn't sleep. I sighed because the same thing happened last night and she was up for 2 hours in the middle of the night. I started to get up to help her and stepped on the dog in the process, then apparently bumped into something that made the tiniest noise which in turn woke the baby.
So now it's 11pm and Marren is back in bed for now and we're back to square one with the baby who can't decide if she's hungry or tired.
Slightly Accomplished
Even though it was a "stay in your jammies all day" kind of day, I feel like I actually did something today. I know I could have done more but I at least don't feel like a lazy pile today. I ended up getting 2 loads of clothes washed, which happened to be everything in the house. Of course I didn't fold any of it. Plus there's still a big pile left from the last time I washed clothes. That's a goal for tomorrow. I can't wait until the kids are old enough to fold clothes. I can wash and dry all day, but folding drives me nuts.
I ran a load in the dishwasher plus washed all the rest of the dishes by hand. I even cleaned off half of the kitchen table because I told Marren she could paint pumpkins for Halloween.
She started off good with a nice smiley face started. Then I think she misunderstood what I meant when I said painting pumpkins and she went for complete coverage:
Notice the jammie change at the end. We had to take a bath while they were drying and since it was after 5, I figured we might as well just put new jammies on.
After she had been in bed for a few hours, Marren woke up with a tummy ache and a slight fever. I got her some tylenol and a drink and she went potty. As I was putting her back to bed she said, "Thank you for making me feel better." That was probably the greatest thing I've ever heard in my life. It made me feel so good inside.
I ran a load in the dishwasher plus washed all the rest of the dishes by hand. I even cleaned off half of the kitchen table because I told Marren she could paint pumpkins for Halloween.
She started off good with a nice smiley face started. Then I think she misunderstood what I meant when I said painting pumpkins and she went for complete coverage:
I painted our names on the big one. And obviously I had some slight trouble keeping them straight...
After she had been in bed for a few hours, Marren woke up with a tummy ache and a slight fever. I got her some tylenol and a drink and she went potty. As I was putting her back to bed she said, "Thank you for making me feel better." That was probably the greatest thing I've ever heard in my life. It made me feel so good inside.
Friday, October 26, 2012
Tomato Basil Parmesan Soup
So here is a link to the soup I tried. It was delicious and I suspect even better with soft veggies. I would imagine it would be very easy to make during the week too. Just cut up the onion, celery and carrots the night before and throw everything together in the morning.
Tomato Basil Parmesan Soup
Tomato Basil Parmesan Soup
Stress!
I wanted to run to the store this morning really fast to get some paint for Marren so she can paint some pumpkins. I was going to pick up a couple of things so I could make some soup in my crockpot too.
It didn't help that the baby was up from 4 to 6 this morning. I got out of bed at 9 and gave Marren a glass of milk and a poptart and turned on PBS. I got back in bed and didn't get out til 11.
After having a chat with my ex last night and realizing he is no where near holding up his end of the agreement of refinancing our old house so I can get a loan for the new house I've put an offer in on, I called a new bank to see what my options are. I'm supposed to be closing December 7, but I haven't even been able to start my loan because of his feet dragging. After freaking out that I'm not going to get a loan in time, I found out I can get a different type of loan without his refinancing. The only catch is it will probably cost me a little more every month, and if he doesn't make payments on his house, I'll still be on the hook for it. But basically it's my only option now.
So after figuring all that out and going to the store I finally got the stuff in the crockpot at about 2. The recipe says to cook on low for 6 to 7 hours. So I turned it on high, hoping the carrots and celery would be done after 4 hours....yeah right, I might as well have put them in 10 minutes ago. So I'm finishing the last parts of the recipe and letting it cook on high for another half hour, then I will be eating tomato soup with crunchy carrots and celery....sigh.
Crabbiness.
It didn't help that the baby was up from 4 to 6 this morning. I got out of bed at 9 and gave Marren a glass of milk and a poptart and turned on PBS. I got back in bed and didn't get out til 11.
After having a chat with my ex last night and realizing he is no where near holding up his end of the agreement of refinancing our old house so I can get a loan for the new house I've put an offer in on, I called a new bank to see what my options are. I'm supposed to be closing December 7, but I haven't even been able to start my loan because of his feet dragging. After freaking out that I'm not going to get a loan in time, I found out I can get a different type of loan without his refinancing. The only catch is it will probably cost me a little more every month, and if he doesn't make payments on his house, I'll still be on the hook for it. But basically it's my only option now.
So after figuring all that out and going to the store I finally got the stuff in the crockpot at about 2. The recipe says to cook on low for 6 to 7 hours. So I turned it on high, hoping the carrots and celery would be done after 4 hours....yeah right, I might as well have put them in 10 minutes ago. So I'm finishing the last parts of the recipe and letting it cook on high for another half hour, then I will be eating tomato soup with crunchy carrots and celery....sigh.
Crabbiness.
Thursday, October 25, 2012
Baby Steps
I was slightly more productive today than usual. After deciding the living room was too much for me to tackle at this point I decided to clean the bathroom. That, and it was starting to smell pretty bad from the garbage can full of pull-ups sitting next to the toilet.
Call me crazy, but I would much rather clean a bathroom than any other room in the house. Maybe it's because of the smaller space and it's pretty hard to clutter up a bathroom (although I'm pretty good at it). You pretty much know what has to be done and you get in and get out pretty fast. Clean clutter off counters; scrub toilet, shower/tub, and sink; wipe off counters; take out garbage; windex mirror; sweep and mop and you're done. I can usually do all that in 20 to 30 minutes depending on how many times I have to shoo the dog or a small child from the room.
It's pretty much instant gratification. Unlike the kitchen or other rooms where for me it could take hours to put away/throw away enough clutter to actually get to the point where I can clean.
As I'm writing this, I'm realizing that for me lack of instant gratification goes hand in hand with lack of motivation. It's the reason I give up so easily on a lot of things. Results take time; changing habits take time, and if I'm not seeing results, I feel like I'm putting all my effort in for nothing.
I wish real life was more like video games. It should come with a status bar that shows how close you are to reaching your goal and once you reach that goal you get an achievement. And along with that achievement comes points, and you could see how many points your friends have. If they have more than you, it would just make you want to work harder to get more points so you could catch up and then pass them. But that's just my geekiness coming through...
Call me crazy, but I would much rather clean a bathroom than any other room in the house. Maybe it's because of the smaller space and it's pretty hard to clutter up a bathroom (although I'm pretty good at it). You pretty much know what has to be done and you get in and get out pretty fast. Clean clutter off counters; scrub toilet, shower/tub, and sink; wipe off counters; take out garbage; windex mirror; sweep and mop and you're done. I can usually do all that in 20 to 30 minutes depending on how many times I have to shoo the dog or a small child from the room.
It's pretty much instant gratification. Unlike the kitchen or other rooms where for me it could take hours to put away/throw away enough clutter to actually get to the point where I can clean.
As I'm writing this, I'm realizing that for me lack of instant gratification goes hand in hand with lack of motivation. It's the reason I give up so easily on a lot of things. Results take time; changing habits take time, and if I'm not seeing results, I feel like I'm putting all my effort in for nothing.
I wish real life was more like video games. It should come with a status bar that shows how close you are to reaching your goal and once you reach that goal you get an achievement. And along with that achievement comes points, and you could see how many points your friends have. If they have more than you, it would just make you want to work harder to get more points so you could catch up and then pass them. But that's just my geekiness coming through...
Wednesday, October 24, 2012
Motivation
Motivation, or rather lack there of, is the bane of my existence. I am so not a morning person. I would much rather stay up till 2 in the morning than wake up before 8 am. That's not to say I don't feel guilty when I sleep in late. The later I sleep the guiltier I feel. If I sleep till 10:30 or 11 I feel like I've wasted half my day. Usually when I wake up I'm still tired. I'll even take a nap in the afternoon. But once 10pm comes around I'm not tired anymore. I know I should be going to sleep, but if I try I just lay in bed getting frustrated that I'm not sleeping.
Since the baby has been born, I've been going to sleep around 12:30 or 1 am. She usually wakes up 2 or 3 times in the night. I can usually count on Marren, the 3 year old, to wake up at 7:30 and usually no later than 8. When I don't have to be anywhere in the morning I turn on tv in my room and have her lay in bed with me so I can maybe get another hour of sleep.
This morning Marren woke up at 9:45. I couldn't believe it. Especially since she went to bed at 8:45 last night. And even though it was almost 10, it might as well have been 6am for as tired as I felt. I normally would take Marren over to the sitters for a few hours on a Wednesday, but I got a text from her that she was put on a no work order for at least two weeks by her doctor (she is pregnant and having a few complications). I got Marren breakfast and went to lay back down, but then Johannah decided she was hungry. When I finally was able to get moving for the day it was after 11 am. I want to be productive and get the house in shape and not getting started until 11 makes me feel worthless.
I realized I probably needed to go to the store today too or we wouldn't have much to eat for lunch. Just thinking about taking both kids to the store made me nervous, but I knew I was going to have to do it sooner or later and I figured now was as good a time as any. Of course I had to shower first, then get everyone dressed. And by then of course the baby was hungry again. We finally left the house by 1pm.
We went to Target and I had to get one of those giant carts with the seats for 2 kids attached to the front of the regular cart, otherwise I would have no room for anything inside the cart. I thought for sure the baby would sleep the whole time since she had just eaten before we left. Yeah right, 5 minutes into it she starts crying. Crying so much that I have to take her out of her car seat and carry her plus push this monster of a cart. I had to repeat that process about three times during the trip. Marren lasted her usual 10 minutes until she got cranky and wanted out of the cart. Luckily she couldn't figure out how to undo the seat belt.
We finally got home and after 3 trips of kids and groceries into the house. I had to make Marren lunch. Which I felt bad for because I burned one side of her grilled cheese sandwich, and the little trooper actually ate half of it. And of course, feed the baby again. When I finally sat down it was 3 pm.
I did actually cook my first decent meal in about 2 months: homemade spaghetti sauce. Then bath time for both kids and bedtime for Marren. And now it's 11 pm and I still haven't cleaned the living room or the kitchen from the last 2 days, but why should I start at 11 pm? I should just go to bed, but I'm not tired.
I feel like I'm just waiting for some life changing moment to come along to change me and my horrible habits. I'm afraid my children are going to pick them up. Why should they pick up their mess, when mom can't pick up after herself??
Since the baby has been born, I've been going to sleep around 12:30 or 1 am. She usually wakes up 2 or 3 times in the night. I can usually count on Marren, the 3 year old, to wake up at 7:30 and usually no later than 8. When I don't have to be anywhere in the morning I turn on tv in my room and have her lay in bed with me so I can maybe get another hour of sleep.
This morning Marren woke up at 9:45. I couldn't believe it. Especially since she went to bed at 8:45 last night. And even though it was almost 10, it might as well have been 6am for as tired as I felt. I normally would take Marren over to the sitters for a few hours on a Wednesday, but I got a text from her that she was put on a no work order for at least two weeks by her doctor (she is pregnant and having a few complications). I got Marren breakfast and went to lay back down, but then Johannah decided she was hungry. When I finally was able to get moving for the day it was after 11 am. I want to be productive and get the house in shape and not getting started until 11 makes me feel worthless.
I realized I probably needed to go to the store today too or we wouldn't have much to eat for lunch. Just thinking about taking both kids to the store made me nervous, but I knew I was going to have to do it sooner or later and I figured now was as good a time as any. Of course I had to shower first, then get everyone dressed. And by then of course the baby was hungry again. We finally left the house by 1pm.
We went to Target and I had to get one of those giant carts with the seats for 2 kids attached to the front of the regular cart, otherwise I would have no room for anything inside the cart. I thought for sure the baby would sleep the whole time since she had just eaten before we left. Yeah right, 5 minutes into it she starts crying. Crying so much that I have to take her out of her car seat and carry her plus push this monster of a cart. I had to repeat that process about three times during the trip. Marren lasted her usual 10 minutes until she got cranky and wanted out of the cart. Luckily she couldn't figure out how to undo the seat belt.
We finally got home and after 3 trips of kids and groceries into the house. I had to make Marren lunch. Which I felt bad for because I burned one side of her grilled cheese sandwich, and the little trooper actually ate half of it. And of course, feed the baby again. When I finally sat down it was 3 pm.
I did actually cook my first decent meal in about 2 months: homemade spaghetti sauce. Then bath time for both kids and bedtime for Marren. And now it's 11 pm and I still haven't cleaned the living room or the kitchen from the last 2 days, but why should I start at 11 pm? I should just go to bed, but I'm not tired.
I feel like I'm just waiting for some life changing moment to come along to change me and my horrible habits. I'm afraid my children are going to pick them up. Why should they pick up their mess, when mom can't pick up after herself??
Tuesday, October 23, 2012
Birth Announcement
Say Hello Collage Girl Baby Announcements
Shutterfly cards for Valentine's Day, Easter & Father's Day.
View the entire collection of cards.
Monday, October 22, 2012
Road Trip
We're finally home after a trip down to visit my parents. We left on Wednesday and the ride down went surprisingly well. The usual 4 1/2ish hour drive only took an extra 30 minutes after we stopped for gas and lunch.
The ride home...not so fast. It took a good 5 1/2 hours. We had to stop once because the baby was hungry and while I was feeding her she had a blowout in her diaper. So I had to change her pants and clothes in my lap in the car while the 3 year old watched a movie in the back. I'm sure it was a sight, but I wasn't about to drag a poop covered baby and her older sister into the gas station bathroom to clean up. All the while trying to keep the 3 year old out of trouble because heaven forbid she'd actually listen to me for 3 seconds and just stand still next to me.
Another 20 miles later we stopped at a rest area to actually use the bathroom. Then an hour and a half later what I thought was just going to be a quick stop for gas, turned into another bathroom break when the 3 year old informed she had to go to the bathroom "really really bad."
The last hour was filled with crabbiness as the DVD player was apparently starting to get boring.
But we all made it back in one piece. We even brought the dog back with us since she had be staying at my folks since the baby was born. I even managed to bring everything in the house from the car, which is a pretty huge step for me. Most of the time things get left in the car for days or even weeks because I'm too lazy to make multiple trips.
Reality set in once we were inside though. The house cleaning elves did not show up when we were gone. So tomorrow I will pick up where I left off with cleaning the living room (plus the mess in the kitchen from today).
The ride home...not so fast. It took a good 5 1/2 hours. We had to stop once because the baby was hungry and while I was feeding her she had a blowout in her diaper. So I had to change her pants and clothes in my lap in the car while the 3 year old watched a movie in the back. I'm sure it was a sight, but I wasn't about to drag a poop covered baby and her older sister into the gas station bathroom to clean up. All the while trying to keep the 3 year old out of trouble because heaven forbid she'd actually listen to me for 3 seconds and just stand still next to me.
Another 20 miles later we stopped at a rest area to actually use the bathroom. Then an hour and a half later what I thought was just going to be a quick stop for gas, turned into another bathroom break when the 3 year old informed she had to go to the bathroom "really really bad."
The last hour was filled with crabbiness as the DVD player was apparently starting to get boring.
But we all made it back in one piece. We even brought the dog back with us since she had be staying at my folks since the baby was born. I even managed to bring everything in the house from the car, which is a pretty huge step for me. Most of the time things get left in the car for days or even weeks because I'm too lazy to make multiple trips.
Reality set in once we were inside though. The house cleaning elves did not show up when we were gone. So tomorrow I will pick up where I left off with cleaning the living room (plus the mess in the kitchen from today).
Tuesday, October 16, 2012
It Begins
How is it that babies just know that you are going to seize the opportunity that they are sleeping? She sleeps all day long and I go to pick up one dish and she starts crying. Or I put her to bed for the night after she's been sleeping soundly for a good half hour, only to put my head on my pillow and pull the covers up and she's instantly awake.
I didn't make as much progress as I would have liked today, mainly because of the aforementioned reason. The baby was fairly fussy all day mainly I think due to gas. She would be fine if I was holding her and even if I laid her on her stomach. But it's hard to get much done with a newborn in your arms and the doctors have pretty much scared me to death about leaving a tiny baby on their stomach for any length of time.
As for the kitchen, I was going to take before and after pictures for some motivation of having a visual of success, but I forgot until 10 minutes ago. I did discover that emptying the dishwasher is pretty easy if it was last run about a week ago. I'd already pretty much cleaned it out over the course of the week as we needed clean dishes. I did get another full load ran and washed all the rest of the dirty dishes. I didn't clean out the fridge, but as I was getting supper ready (which consisted of a hot dog, peas, and a juice box for the 3 year old and a $1 TV dinner for myself) I realized that the fridge is actually pretty clean. There's just a couple of thing that could be thrown out when I take the trash out in the morning. I do plan on sweeping tonight still and the trash will go out in the morning when it's light enough to see where I'm going outside. Really the only thing that didn't get done is the junk on the table. That will be saved for next week.
As for the 3 year old and her constant mess, my frustration had reached it's peak. I've been telling her for days she needs to pick up the mess in her room and living room. Which is basically picking up toys and putting it in bins. Not that difficult and something that a 3 year old should have no problem with. I have tried so many tricks to get her to do it. Every night she gets to put a sticker on her calendar if she has been good for the day. Last night I told her no sticker and story before bed since she hadn't picked anything up. She was so upset I thought for sure if I reminded her tonight of that, that she would pick it up. Nope. Just more whining. I refused to let her watch tv and I refused to play with her until it was picked up. She didn't care. Then I told her she had to stay in her room till it was picked up. She just kept coming out whining. Her excuses were: "It's really too much. My arm's aren't strong enough" or her preferred excuse, "But mom, I don't know how." Finally as I was daydreaming about padlocking her in her room, I decided I needed something to deal with my rising anger. I dug into my candy stash and ate a sugared covered cherry slice right in front of her (actually it was two). I saw her starting to speak and I said no immediately knowing exactly what was going to come out of her mouth. "But I finished my supper," was her comeback. Finally in my last attempt to get her to clean, I said she could have one if she picked up her room and one more if she cleaned up her stuff in the living room. "Ok," she said as she skipped off to her room. Ten minutes later her room was clean and she got 1 slice. Five minutes after that the living room free of her mess and she got the other slice. Ten minutes after that the living room was once again covered in everything she drug out when I was attempting to clean the kitchen.
Oh well, two steps forward and one step back...at least we're making progress.
I didn't make as much progress as I would have liked today, mainly because of the aforementioned reason. The baby was fairly fussy all day mainly I think due to gas. She would be fine if I was holding her and even if I laid her on her stomach. But it's hard to get much done with a newborn in your arms and the doctors have pretty much scared me to death about leaving a tiny baby on their stomach for any length of time.
As for the kitchen, I was going to take before and after pictures for some motivation of having a visual of success, but I forgot until 10 minutes ago. I did discover that emptying the dishwasher is pretty easy if it was last run about a week ago. I'd already pretty much cleaned it out over the course of the week as we needed clean dishes. I did get another full load ran and washed all the rest of the dirty dishes. I didn't clean out the fridge, but as I was getting supper ready (which consisted of a hot dog, peas, and a juice box for the 3 year old and a $1 TV dinner for myself) I realized that the fridge is actually pretty clean. There's just a couple of thing that could be thrown out when I take the trash out in the morning. I do plan on sweeping tonight still and the trash will go out in the morning when it's light enough to see where I'm going outside. Really the only thing that didn't get done is the junk on the table. That will be saved for next week.
As for the 3 year old and her constant mess, my frustration had reached it's peak. I've been telling her for days she needs to pick up the mess in her room and living room. Which is basically picking up toys and putting it in bins. Not that difficult and something that a 3 year old should have no problem with. I have tried so many tricks to get her to do it. Every night she gets to put a sticker on her calendar if she has been good for the day. Last night I told her no sticker and story before bed since she hadn't picked anything up. She was so upset I thought for sure if I reminded her tonight of that, that she would pick it up. Nope. Just more whining. I refused to let her watch tv and I refused to play with her until it was picked up. She didn't care. Then I told her she had to stay in her room till it was picked up. She just kept coming out whining. Her excuses were: "It's really too much. My arm's aren't strong enough" or her preferred excuse, "But mom, I don't know how." Finally as I was daydreaming about padlocking her in her room, I decided I needed something to deal with my rising anger. I dug into my candy stash and ate a sugared covered cherry slice right in front of her (actually it was two). I saw her starting to speak and I said no immediately knowing exactly what was going to come out of her mouth. "But I finished my supper," was her comeback. Finally in my last attempt to get her to clean, I said she could have one if she picked up her room and one more if she cleaned up her stuff in the living room. "Ok," she said as she skipped off to her room. Ten minutes later her room was clean and she got 1 slice. Five minutes after that the living room free of her mess and she got the other slice. Ten minutes after that the living room was once again covered in everything she drug out when I was attempting to clean the kitchen.
Oh well, two steps forward and one step back...at least we're making progress.
Monday, October 15, 2012
Going Public
By going public I mean actually sharing this blog with people that know me. I'm usually a pretty private person. I don't normally share a whole lot of my home life with people I know. Yes I tell a lot of stories about my kids, only because the 3 year old is incredibly funny; but I don't go into detail about much else. I don't usually have friends over to my house. This is mainly because I'm kind of embarassed by how I live and the fact that it actually requires effort on my part.
I admit it....I am a lazy person. Add to that fact that I suddenly no longer have another adult to help me and motivate me. Not that my ex ever really helped me much before; he is my ex for a reason. I feel like if I can share this experience with my friends and family now, it will somehow hold me accountable for my actions. It will serve as my motivation. To keep the house clean. To not come home and immediately sit down and do nothing all night. To be a better person and a better mother. To be more involved in my own life. To actually take part instead of sitting back and watching everything around me.
I admit it....I am a lazy person. Add to that fact that I suddenly no longer have another adult to help me and motivate me. Not that my ex ever really helped me much before; he is my ex for a reason. I feel like if I can share this experience with my friends and family now, it will somehow hold me accountable for my actions. It will serve as my motivation. To keep the house clean. To not come home and immediately sit down and do nothing all night. To be a better person and a better mother. To be more involved in my own life. To actually take part instead of sitting back and watching everything around me.
Overwhelmed
So after going to bed last night at 12:30am, waking up at 3am to feed the baby, going back to sleep at 3:45, then waking up for the day at 6am (to once again feed the baby) one could say I was very tired when the 3 year old woke up at 8am.
I didn't have time to waste though because the baby had a doctor's appointment at 9:50 that we had to get to. I dropped the 3 year old off at the sitter's house. I know it sounds crazy that I still send her to daycare when I'm home all day for now, but it is only 3 days a week and really is the only break I get.
We did make it to the appointment on time and after that and stopping to visit a friend for a little bit, the baby and I got home at 11:30. Once I got home and finally sat down I was so tired and looking at everything that needs to be cleaned up just made me even more tired. I realized that nothing is going to get done unless I have a plan. I decided that I need to break everything down into smaller chunks and make a list of everything. That way I can check things off as they're done and I will feel like I am at least accomplishing something.
Tomorrow I decided I will tackle the kitchen. The list I came up with is:
1. Empty clean dishes from dishwasher
2. Clean out fridge
3. Load/run dishwasher
4. Wash remaining dishes
5. Take out trash
6. Clear junk off table
7. Sweep
Just looking at that list makes it seem a lot easier than staring at the mess not knowing where to start.
Once the kitchen is cleaned I will do the same for every other room in the house. But that will have to wait for next week as we are going out of town on Wednesday through the weekend.
I didn't have time to waste though because the baby had a doctor's appointment at 9:50 that we had to get to. I dropped the 3 year old off at the sitter's house. I know it sounds crazy that I still send her to daycare when I'm home all day for now, but it is only 3 days a week and really is the only break I get.
We did make it to the appointment on time and after that and stopping to visit a friend for a little bit, the baby and I got home at 11:30. Once I got home and finally sat down I was so tired and looking at everything that needs to be cleaned up just made me even more tired. I realized that nothing is going to get done unless I have a plan. I decided that I need to break everything down into smaller chunks and make a list of everything. That way I can check things off as they're done and I will feel like I am at least accomplishing something.
Tomorrow I decided I will tackle the kitchen. The list I came up with is:
1. Empty clean dishes from dishwasher
2. Clean out fridge
3. Load/run dishwasher
4. Wash remaining dishes
5. Take out trash
6. Clear junk off table
7. Sweep
Just looking at that list makes it seem a lot easier than staring at the mess not knowing where to start.
Once the kitchen is cleaned I will do the same for every other room in the house. But that will have to wait for next week as we are going out of town on Wednesday through the weekend.
Sunday, October 14, 2012
Why Not?
Let's just dive right in, shall we? I am a newly divorced mother of two girls; one 3 and one 2 weeks old. As I sit here on my maternity leave, which will undoubtedly be the most free time I will have over the next 18 years, I have come to the realization that my life is completely unorganized. If I continue my current habits, I will be completely overwhelmed by life once I go back to work. My plan is to use these few weeks to clean up, get organized, and figure out how to manage a 40+ hour a week job, 2 small children, 1 small dog, and a house all on my own.
I'm not sure what I'm trying to accomplish by starting this blog. I'm the kind of person that's really into things for about a week and then I find some excuse to avoid it for a day. A day turns into a week, a week turns into a month and by then it was all a distant memory. I'm hoping that by writing about my experiences and my successes and failures, I will gain the motivation to continue with what works, so that my life doesn't fall into complete disarray.
Since tomorrow is Monday I figure that's a great place to start. I shall commence Phase 1: The Clean up this week. Every room in my house needs to be cleaned. Phase 1 will be a great opportunity for the 3 year old to help. She is quite capable of cleaning up her own mess, although I have had limitied success in the past. I am going to do a little research and try different techniques to see if I can find something that will work for her to pick up after herself.
Here's to the start of a new life!
I'm not sure what I'm trying to accomplish by starting this blog. I'm the kind of person that's really into things for about a week and then I find some excuse to avoid it for a day. A day turns into a week, a week turns into a month and by then it was all a distant memory. I'm hoping that by writing about my experiences and my successes and failures, I will gain the motivation to continue with what works, so that my life doesn't fall into complete disarray.
Since tomorrow is Monday I figure that's a great place to start. I shall commence Phase 1: The Clean up this week. Every room in my house needs to be cleaned. Phase 1 will be a great opportunity for the 3 year old to help. She is quite capable of cleaning up her own mess, although I have had limitied success in the past. I am going to do a little research and try different techniques to see if I can find something that will work for her to pick up after herself.
Here's to the start of a new life!
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