Getting out the door

Some days we have one of those days. You know, the kind where nothing seems to go quite right?

Yesterday was one of those days for us.

First, Charlotte woke up screaming bloody murder at 1:30 in the morning. She didn't want to be alone in her room after that (I can't blame her, really) so I brought her into our bed. While she lay there quietly, I could tell she wasn't sleeping, so thus I couldn't go to sleep either. An hour and a half, I convinced her to go back into her bed and go to sleep so that I could get some sleep!

Then, of course, she was bright eyed and bushy tailed at 6:15. Really, she needs to cut out this "up before 7 am" business that she's been doing lately. I am SO not accustomed to it.

Given the string of early morning risings, she has been falling asleep in the car when we take a morning outing - killing her nap. So yesterday? I decide to hang close to home to avoid such a fiasco and put her down at her "normal" nap time.

Except by this time she was over-tired and slept for a full 20 minutes. Yeah for me.

We had a playgroup meetup arranged for 3:30. At 3:20, I thought, okay, just grab Charlotte's milk, a snack, put her in the car, and go. Right? Wrong. My Mom called. No biggie, I can multitask, right? Yes, but no-nap Charlotte doesn't liked to be multitasked. She wanted the bananna I was packing away for her snack. I consented - what's a coupleof minutes when you only have to go around the corner? She quickly ate half of it, put the other half in her mouth and spit it all over the floor. Add a few minutes for cleanup, and then I realized Charlotte wasn't wearing shoes. She runs away crying and then doesn't want to sit still while I put on her shoes. As I open the door, she sees the milk in my purse and pulls it out. I convince her to walk out the front door, which she does slowly, as she sips the milk. I open the car door and turn around to pick her up when she SPITS OUT ALL the milk she'd just sucked into her mouth. She was drenched. At that point, I almost decided it wasn't in the cards to leave the house, but decided that getting out was just what we needed.

So FINALLY, 15 minutes late, we get to the Jamba Juice/Starbucks at Westheimer and run in to grab a coffee and sit down outside with everyone else. 5 minutes later, I walk outside to find EVERYONE leaving, having decided that there is no good way to corral the kids outside near the parking lot. (DUH!)

If it hadn't been for a mom who decided to sit with me for a few minutes, the whole trip would have been a total loss.

All because, apparently, it takes 25 minutes to get one mom and one child out the door. No wonder my family of 8 never seemed to get anywhere on time when we were growing up.

Clean New Year Resolution

So for any who are following and may think that I've fallen off of the wagon already, be not mistaken! We are still cleaning around here, and the house has maintained a pretty good level of clean - not immaculate, but almost always presentable.

My weekdays don't provide much chance for serious deep cleaning that some rooms need, and we were in San Antonio last weekend for a wedding, so I haven't managed any major achievements in the last couple of weeks. Each day, however, I've managed to go through some pantry, cabinet, closet, or drawer and put things into a nice organized place. My end goal? To have an organized place to move all of the stuff that is cluttering our TV room and bedroom.

But I'm feeling good. Maybe feeling a party at our house coming on... or at least a dinner party.

Some Snap Shots

I took these the other day before the nursemaid elbow incident. I thought about writing a post about how Charlotte made friends with the kids next door and thew a fit after she came inside; she wanted to go back outside to play, but the neighbors had already headed in for dinner.

I also considered writing about how Charlotte likes to block Maddie's access to her food bowl and then feed her one little piece at a time.

Then, it occurred to me to mention how Charlotte loves to include me in everything she does by grabbing my hand and dragging me across the house. Okay, so usually she wants something and taking me to the object of her desire ups the chance she might get it. Sometimes she just wants you to look at the fish with her, though.

Finally, I thought about filling you in on Charlotte's favorite post-bath time activity, running a circuit through the house wearing nothing but her birthday suit.

But, I realize, these are what you all come here to see:

Nap time sure can wear a girl out!

"Daddy, can I have a pony?"

"I want one like that."

"I won't be happy if you say no!"

"Darn it, too easily distracted by these raisin things."

"Ha ha, Maddie, I'm outside and you are stuck inside!"

Nursemaid Elbow

So today was a bad Mommy day. Fortunately, Charlotte seems to have already forgotten the incident that I feel so guilty about! In fact, acknowledging this on my blog makes me feel like I am confessing to some crime. But today, as I held Charlotte's hand, I also managed to dislocate her little elbow!

I keep replaying the events as they occurred in my head, but still don't really know what happened. One minute she was running around laughing, and the next minute I figured she was crying because she didn't want to stop playing to get into the car. Then I realized she was holding her arm kind of funny. As I tried to console her, she just kept crying. She might pause for a few seconds and then try to move her arm which would set off more crying. Charlotte rarely cries for more than a minute with most bumps and bruises, so I knew something was really wrong pretty quickly.

We hurried back inside where I called the pediatrician. Luckily, she must have been in her office, because they put me right through to her. She told me that it was nursemaid elbow and gave me some simple instructions over the phone; it was only after she asked me if I'd felt a little "pop" that I found out I'd put her elbow joint back in place! Charlotte, of course, flipped out at my little maneuver, but after a couple of Oreos and a couple musical scenes of Annie, she was back to running around with Maddie.

We've always been really careful not to lift or swing Charlotte by her arms, (like we used to do with my younger siblings ALL of the time) so I thought we would not be at risk for a dislocation. I think when I took her hands to help her to her feet (she'd laughingly laid down in the Monkey grass) she rolled away from me, but I really don't remember. We go through little things like this everyday; I wasn't paying much attention.

WebMD identifies nursemaid elbow as occurring after a sudden pulling force is applied to the extended upper arm of the child while the arm is slightly twisted. Here are the major causes of nursemaid elbow:

• Lifting a child by the hand
  
  
• Swinging a child while holding the child by the hands
  
  
• Pulling arms through the sleeves of jackets
  
  
• Catching a child by the hand to prevent a fall
  
  
• Pulling a child along when in a hurry

I just wanted to post my experience to lessen the chance that you might live through the same thing. I'm thankful everything turned out fine, and that we did not have to go to the emergency room. Whew!

Daddy's Little Girl -The Proof is in the Pictures

Saturday morning we went to a nearby playground to take care of some of Charlotte's excess energy. That makes for a good nap time for Mommy and Daddy to enjoy later!

Have I mentioned I LOVE my (ummm, I mean Fred's) new lens?

Swing Time

Tunnel Vision

Hand in Hand

Living Room Success!

Success!

Yesterday I tackled one of our two living areas (the second "living area" being a bedroom that we use as an office/tv room). We usually keep this room fairly clear of clutter, although it has seen it's fair share of messes. This means I didn't have to do any major organizing in this room - just finding a home for everything elsewhere in the house (which means I will end up worrying about where it actually goes later this week!).

Living Areas Daily Cleaning:

• Pick up crumbs and dust bunnies
• Fluff the cushions and fold the throws
• Wipe tabletops
• Put away toys
• Straighten up coffee tables and stray items

Living Areas Weekly Cleaning:

• Dust all surfaces - including electronics, books, picture frames, window sills, ledges, and tops of door frames
• Vacuum floors and rugs
• Vacuum pillows
• Wipe switch plates, doorknobs, and doorjambs
• Vacuum AC vents
• Launder Maddie's bed

Living Room on a Messy Day (day after Fred's 30th Birthday):

Before:

Hall Tree, before:

Ahhh, clutter free!



Now, our second living area will take MUCH more time to get organized, just because we spend so much time in this room. It houses all of Charlotte's toys and our paperwork (filing has gotten seriously out of hand...). I did take a few minutes to adjust the bottom shelf on this bookshelf so Charlotte can no longer reach the videos and strew them across the floor. A step in the right direction, anyway!

Daddy's Little Girl

First, after being sick TWICE in December, Charlotte slept ALLLLL night long last night. I know she's 16 months old and I shouldn't get so excited about such things, but Fred and I were ready to take drastic measures to get our night time sleep back. Can I give her a cookie as a reward?

Anyway, after a full nights sleep, Charlotte woke up at 6:30, a little early, but I'll take it. I walked in to get her and she said, "Hi!" "Up!" "Daddy!" "Daddy!"

"Good morning, Charlotte, would you like some milk?"

"Milk. Daddy!" (translate: "No. Daddy!")

So I put her down it the hall where she runs to find Daddy. After not finding him in bed, she barges into the bathroom and gives a happy laugh when she finds him there. "Daddy!" He gave her a hug and came out of the bathroom. Charlotte started to climb up into bed with me and Fred went back into the bathroom, which was followed by Charlotte crying, "Daddy!" again and scrambling down to break through the bathroom door again.

And that, my friends, is how this morning has been, all about daddy.

I LOVE IT.

Turning Over a Clean Leaf in 2009

So, if you've been to our house in the last year, you know I always apologize for the mess. You always respond, "It's fine! You have a baby/toddler!" What you DON'T know is that I probably ran around for at least an hour (more likely even longer!) prior to your arrival throwing things into the nearest bin/drawer/corner, vacuuming, throwing out stinky diapers, and scrubbing the toilet to achieve the level of pseudo-cleanliness you observed. You should also know that you are one of not many guests in our home this year for that very reason! (So feel special?!)

Despite the lack of order in our home (or perhaps because of it!), some days I feel as though I clean all day long. I decided that there must be a better way to keep a clean house and still have time to keep my job, enjoy activities with Charlotte, and still have time for myself. My plan of attack includes 1)organization and 2)daily and weekly task breakdown.

An organized home has a place for everything - no staring at an item and thinking"great, what do I do with this?"

Our daily lists identify simple chores to complete each day to keep each room in a manageable state (ie: wipe down bathroom sink, all dishes in the dishwasher). My weekly lists allow me to tackle a single room with a deeper cleaning (ie: dusting and mopping).

While, to start out, organizing a room will take the better part of the day, and the weekly cleaning for the day might take an hour, I hope to stay mostly organized once everything has a place. Because we'll take a few minutes each day to complete simple cleaning tasks, I hope to spend half an hour a day on deeper cleaning in whichever designated room.

I still need bins for under the sink, and a rack inside the under-sink cabinet door for sponges, but you can see the progress I'm making with the kitchen.

Kitchen Organization:
*remove all unnecessary items from the counter tops
*clean out junk drawer to make space for cooking utensils (formerly on the counter)
*box and put all baby bottles and related equipment in lower cabinet to make room for appliances
*make room in cabinet for baking containers (formerly on the counter)
*move all other mail/random nick-knacks to designated home (ie: books and hair bows)
*organize items under the sink into storage bins

Daily Kitchen Tasks:
*load dishwasher
*wipe out sink
*wipe off counters
*sweep floor
*wipe off booster seat

Weekly Kitchen Tasks:
*sweep and mop the floor
*wipe the cabinets, backsplashes, and appliances
*wipe switch plates and phone
*wash dog bowls
*wipe inside of garbage can and surrounding wall (eww!)

Yuck! I only considered this mildly messy!

Now this is progress!

From another angle:

The rest of our house looks better, too, although not quite up to the same quality-yet. My goal is to have a house that will be ready for company with just a few minutes of picking up daily clutter (read, whatever havoc tornado Charlotte managed that day). Hopefully, this will mean more entertaining and time with friends in 2009!

Family

Sunday we went down to Pearland to visit with Fred's Aunt, and one of my favorite in-laws, Sister Lilia. Prior to her recent retirement, she lived in Malawi where she worked with orphans and provided home care to AIDS patients. She plans to spend the next few months visiting her US family before going to the Philippines.


When we arrived, she gave me a big hug as though we have been close friends my whole life even when I only met her once before. She has such energy!

Although it was a long day for Charlotte, we had a great time hanging out there. Charlotte, provided the entertainment, as usual. Her new thing? Taking someone's hand and leading him to her destination of choice, or even in circles, because, let's face it, what could be more amusing than making Lolo walk in circles through the house? We even stayed for dinner - including a simple dish Sister Lilia enjoyed in Malawi. Yum!

Silly Uncle Todd!

Fun with mirrors

Hanging out

Looking through pictures

The Newlyweds

Around the table

The room looks funny from this angle!

Have I mentioned that I love the new lens Brian bought me for Christmas? Oh, I mean bought Fred. It really takes some great photos!

Save Our Blog!

Seriously, people, I'm not feeling the love. I know you've been busy with the holidays, so I'm going to let the lack of comments slide. Today, however, it's back to the real world for most people, so I expect to see your faces (er, um, comments) around here again soon! If my posts are getting boring, though, please let me know!

On another note, the New Year's financial plan to cut back on my groceries stepped off to a bad start. With a desire for some Oreo cookies one night, I asked Fred to pick me up a package when he ran to Randalls to pick up some freezer paper (which somehow turned into the Ziplock freezer bags with the vacuum valves).

Did you know that even with a card those suckers cost $4.59?!?! I usually won't pick them up at HEB unless they are $2.50 - on sale from the regular $2.99. OUCH! One way I keep our bills down is to pay careful attention to what each item costs and buy extra when the price is low.

Note to self, don't ask hubby to pick up something unless I know what it costs or tell him only to buy it if it's less than a certain price. That said, I think our budget will survive the two dollars, especially for Oreo Cookies! :-)

Target Tantrum

So, Charlotte had her first, official, public tantrum today at Target. We'd already run a couple of errands that took longer than I'd anticipated, so I wasn't shocked when she wanted down from the shopping cart after 10 minutes while I debated which storage bins I wanted to buy. No harm in an aisle full of plastic bins, so I let her down until I made my selections. When I finished, I asked her to hold my hand while I pushed the cart down and out of the aisle. She wanted none of that; she wanted to push the cart (a distraction I've used before at the end of a long grocery trip). She pushes on a bar on the bottom; I push at the top.

Then the end of the aisle came, and on the cap I saw a better option than what I'd already picked, so I asked Charlotte to stop pushing and tried to guide her towards the set of bins. Cue temper-tantrum. She screamed so loud I'm sure people must have thought I was pinching her! Big fat tears rolled down her cheeks and she arched her back and dropped to the floor.

And me, being the big, mean mommy that I am, I laughed at her. I'm terrible. Anyway, once I finished laughing and trying to explain she could push the cart in a minute, I realized I needed a new tactic. Telling her that the bin was stuck, and that I needed her help so we could take it back to the cart seemed to do the trick. Tear-fest instantly over.

I am sure this is JUST the beginning.

Well, Hello, 2009!

What happened to 2008? I do not think I remember a year passing so quickly. At first, when I thought about 2008, I found little to rejoice in - no major life changes, no major accomplishments or obvious growth, especially when compared to the past several years. How busy they all have been!

2003
I graduated from Texas A&M, backpacked through Europe for 2 months, started working at CECO, paid my own rent for the first time, and met my husband.

2004
On a whirlwind trip to Rome, I stood with just my family (okay and a few religious) in the Sistine Chapel, wandered daily through the Vatican, attended the elevation of Fr. Michael Miller to Archbishop Miller, and kissed the ring of Pope John Paul II during a papal audience. Before the year ended, Fred asked me to be his wife.

2005
I spent the year preparing for our wedding - buying a gown, attending parties in our honor, creating our first home together, and partying in Las Vegas with some of my best friends. Fred began working at his current company. We traveled to Isla Mujeres, Mexico.

2006
Fred and I married. We honeymooned in Paradise (Caneel Bay, St. John, USVI). Family vacations took us to Watercolor, Florida, Greece, and Israel. I renewed my baptismal vows in the Jordan River, and we participated in Mass at the tomb of Jesus. We moved from our apartment into a house. We conceived Charlotte.

2007
We left US soil again to visit Cabo, Mexico and discovered how unprepaired we were for the life changes brought by the birth of Mary Charlotte. Fred received a promotion at work for a job he loves.

So, after all of those life-changing moments and exciting vacations out of the country, it seemed 2008 found us riding in the slow lane. My first reaction? Make plans to resolution 2009 back up to speed!

Then I realized, the best moments of 2008 don't make flashy headlines in the chornicle of my life, but rather, they added strength to my foundation - my family.

2008 - The Best Moments

Staying with Fred and Charlotte at the Boadmoore in Colorado Springs and playing in more snow than I'd ever seen at one time.
Traveling to Virginia to spend time with family that we don't see nearly enough.
Taking time to be tourists in our own city.
Taking Charlotte to the beach for the first time when we stayed with the Knickerbockers in Corpus Christi.
Celebrating Christy's engagement to her long-time boyfriend, Brian, and Fiona's marriage to Todd.
Living through Hurricane Ike.
Surviving without power for 8 days.
Traveling to Hershey, PA with Fred and Charlotte.
Spending time with friends and family during the holidays.
Celebrating Fred's 30th birthday.

Then, of course, there are all things Charlotte:
Learning that her spica cast would come off after only 6 weeks.
Watching her crawl for the first time.
Receiving big slobbery kisses and gentle hugs.
Watching Charlotte take her first step at 10-1/2 months old. Watching her forgo crawling completely less than a month later.
Watching Charlotte toss up her hands to sign "all done," the first words she ever communicated to us.
Hearing her say her first word, Ma-Ma for both Maddie and Mommy, followed by ba for bird and ball, dada for Daddy and then by countless more.
Savoring each and every moment my precious daughter smiled at me and ran into my arms.

Although our plans for 2009 promise to step things up a bit, 2008, for us, will be remembered for the slower pace and all of these precious moments marking a life worth living.