And It Begins Again…!

Happy New Year!!

Is your head full of new year’s resolutions?  Are you busting at the seams to get your new workout program going? Get your life organized? Streamline your finances?  Move? Travel? Do something different?

Me too!  Well, not really the workout thing.  I’m not much of a worker-outer.  Walks with Avery in the stroller are good enough.  And not really the organization part either, since I can’t help but tackle most chaos as I encounter it throughout the year.  Sometimes I wish I had more scary closets to pounce on and organize.

But….getting rid of some junk is on the list. 

Going on a vacation is also on the list.  We didn’t go anywhere last year (other than a couple of weddings) so I think it should be a priority this year.  I’m kind of leaning toward the Seattle area.  Never been.  Sounds pretty.  Not too far.  It could be a winner!  But I’m only half of the decision, so we’ll see.

Picking up my blog posting again after two crazy-busy months in which I completely neglected my readers is another priority for 2013.  I know there aren’t a ton of you (relatively speaking), but you’re my peeps, and I love that you stick around to read my nonsense, so I want to make sure you have plenty of nonsense to read.  Even if it’s really truly nonsense, like how much junk I found in the junk drawer to toss, or how I need to find some scent-ey oil stuff so my homemade floor cleaner doesn’t make my house smell like pickles once a week.  You know.  Gems like that.

So.  WELCOME BACK.  I’m still your average twenty-something mom who mostly “stays home” with a 14 month old kiddo while trying to make a few bucks on the side, help out with the mom’s group, and somehow find time to blog, keep my house sorta clean and organized, and occasionally do something fun for myself, like shop.  I like home improvement projects, switching out décor, obsessing over curb appeal, and being super stingy with all of it. I also have an unusual amount of internal snark aimed at my neighbors’ cats, I cook with recipes a couple nights a week – sometimes successfully, I haven’t had a haircut in almost a year (yikes), I’m a fanatic about budgeting, and I should probably consider getting my big toe waxed. 

TMI?

Looking forward to a new year! 

Weekend Musings

My musings occur on the weekends because I have no idea where the time goes during the week.  What can I say?  I’m just so popular (with my one-year-old) I never have any free time.  To muse.  Or blog.  Or do my hair. 

Speaking of one-year olds…I can’t believe how big my “baby” is getting.  Over the last few weeks, she seems like such a little girl rather than a baby.

Have I mentioned she’s walking now???  She holds a finger or two when she can, but she walks by herself when she wants to.

<sniff>

Avery was a bee for Halloween.  We didn’t go trick-or-treating, but she wore her cutie little costume for her birthday party and for a Halloween party we attended.  I made a silk sunflower barrette for the costume, too, but it was SUPERFUN to pull it out, so it didn’t make it into any pictures.  Go figure.  And yes, I know the pink shirt doesn’t match.  Yes, yes yes.  I KNOW.  It was a chilly day and that was the best option, but everyone made sure to mention how it didn’t go with the costume. 

I think I’m getting past the over-eager, yes-please-give-me-advice stage.  Now I’m at the “go jump in a lake” stage.  Even with our pediatrician.  What’s the best way to approach weaning?  “Just stop nursing.”  Mmmmmkay.  I’m going to have some lopsided Quasimodo forehead wrinkles from all the exercise my one eyebrow is getting. 

I finally jumped on the bandwagon and am reading The Hunger Games.  I tend to be a little resistant to the supertrends that pop up (Gangnam Style?  REALLY???), but so far, I’ll admit the story is pretty interesting.  And yeah, I know I’m like two years- or more- late on that one. 

Our favorite neighbors moved and they’re now renting their house to a new family, which seems to be almost as sweet.  Four kids, stay-home mom, hardworking dad, and they even cleaned up some leaves in our yard for us.  Cute kiddos.  Avery is entranced with them and their big kid toys.

Speaking of neighbors, our driveway was “pranked” with an odd message written in pink chalk on Halloween.  Turns out it was done by some friends of the teen next door….who got the wrong house.  Hmmmm…

It finally snowed here!  I LOVE SNOW IN NOVEMBER!  But only when I don’t have to go anywhere.  People can be nutty when they think 4-wheel drive makes them invincible.  Or when their cell phone is glued to their head.  Or both.

Avery experienced snow for the first time this weekend.  Unfortunately, she couldn’t be out very long because we have no mittens for her, and her only shoes have leather soles.  My mission this week will be finding both weather-appropriate shoes and some mittens.  She does, however, have an adorable bird hat that almost makes up for lack of mittens and footwear.  Aside from the cold part, that is.

We’ve recently decided to make our downstairs powder room the official “guest bathroom.”  Guests will still have to use one of the showers upstairs, but the goal is to have them use that powder room for everything else.  Since it’s just a pedestal sink and a toilet…this requires a little rethinking.  They’ll need some surfaces to put stuff on, places for towels to hang, and….well, that’s about it.  I’ve been pondering these grand questions, and some progress has been made.  Of course, “some” progress inevitably leads to “more” progress…so the vision is getting grander.  More on that later.

I think I may have run out of musings for the time being.  Come back later, and maybe my brain will have churned out a few more. 

In the meantime, have a great week!

Germ Momster Called and She Said to Wash Your Hands

So here’s a gross one for you.  I used to work with a lady who I’d occasionally run into in the ladies room.  (No, that’s not quite the end of that story.)

I started noticing that she’d “wash” her hands by simply turning on the water for a split second, wetting her hands, then walking out.  Ok, and she dried them, too. 

How totally gross is that?  I avoided using her computer keyboard at all costs.

I don’t deal with workplace germs so much anymore, but now I get the kid germs.  In fact, today I’m pretty sure a spot on my right sleeve is dried snot – and funny how it doesn’t even bother me.  As a mom, I’m constantly on the lookout for signs of sickness to keep Avery away from other kids so she doesn’t either get them sick, or get sick herself.  The drool and snot that magically make their way onto my clothes, various toys, and who knows where else, are surprisingly mobile.

My husband just told me this morning how Avery cutely offered him her blanket as he went to get her up this morning.  He took it and playfully rubbed it against his face, only to discover that she’d spit up all over it, and he now had rubbed spit up on half his face.  Ahh, parenting.

Barfy blankets aside, we’re starting to teach her how to wash her hands.  At one year old, she’s pretty little for this still, but I narrate what I’m doing when I wash my own hands, and sometimes I lift her up to the faucet and kind of “practice” the hand washing.

A few weeks ago, I started using some Seventh Generation hand soap that really makes hand washing a pleasant experience.  It smells great (we’ve tried the Lavender and Mandarin scents) and gets the job done.  And it’s eco-friendly, as are all Seventh Generation products.

Another product Seventh Generation makes that I recently discovered is tissues.  In fact, they’re such a creative company, they even came up with an uber-cute craft idea to recycle old tissue boxes into kid-friendly monster creations.

Germ Monsters from Tissue Boxes

Cute, right?  Show it to your kids and keep on the lookout for piles of box-less tissues sitting where the box used to be

When I’m on germ-patrol, I’ve also been using Seventh Generation disinfecting wipes.  These things are so handy.  I use them on the laminate floor under the high chair, on doorknobs and railings, and occasionally on the kitchen counter. 

The more versatile spray-type products that I use when the wipes aren’t as economical are the Seventh Generation All Purpose or Disinfecting Multi-Surface cleaners.  These are perfect for the kitchen and bathroom, and I’ve even used them to wipe down our faux-leather ottoman in the family room.  (It gets some pretty interesting smears on it.)  I feel a lot better using these than my old go-to 409, and I haven’t had any complaints about their effectiveness.

My cleaning supplies are slowly transitioning over to more earth-friendly and less toddler-toxic products, and I’m glad I’m finally being a little more conscientious.  Of my cleaning habits, that is. 

The dried smear of germy snot decorating my otherwise cute outfit today?  No apologies for that one. 

Hope you all have a great, germ-free, clean hands day

Thankful October is Over!

I’m still heeeeeeere! 

We had a busy month of October.  Miss Avery turned one, and we celebrated with a birthday party for her.  We were super-occupied with stuff around the house and various work commitments, and I’m suddenly in charge of the newsletter for the mom’s group I joined (someone asked me to take it over on the very first day I joined), so I’ve been figuring that one out too. 

So….I owe y’all some of my best September AND October recipes from my meal planning efforts.  I’ll get there.  I even took some pictures!  Not that my food photography looks *all* that tasty, but it gives a better idea of the recipe at least.

Bear with me – posts are on the way!