Dance Recital, Laundry, and Christmas Walk.

This has been an amazingly productive weekend! Friday night was Ardyn's First Holiday Dance Recital and it was awesome. She did SO well and our favorite part was the moment that she discovered that there was a stage "set" behind her. Normally all the decorations are up at Dress Rehearsal, but there was an incident at the school the night before Rehearsal and they were unable to get in and decorate the stage. So the first time Ardyn saw the candy themed decorations was the moment she was dancing ON stage. She didn't notice them when they walked out, but after she made a turn she caught the giant candy castle that was all sparkly behind her, and she stopped mid dance and pointed at it, and then looked at her "assistant teacher" and also the crowd with a look on her face like "DID YOU seeeeee that?!?!" It was hysterical and I hope they caught it on the DVD, but with our luck they were panning to someone else at that moment :)

She did beautifully and she also really was in good spirits because I finally DID get her to take a nap that day, which really made it a better experience than the spring recital when she was so excited that she didn't sleep at all. She was even more excited when she started to hear the song that she danced to on the radio.

I was able to do her hair myself this year and found my inspiration and photo tutorials on girlyhairdos.com which I highly recommend. Very nice and fun ideas. Grandma Susan and Grandpa Bob got her an adorable little nosegay style bouquet that she adored, and Kyle and Liz brought her a dozen red roses which matched her costume as well. Grandma Deb and Grandpa Dave brought her a beautiful ballerina ornament for the Christmas Tree. She was thrilled.

Marek spent the evening with Monica and a few of her girlfriends, and when we got home we all ate a late supper and went to bed. I was thrilled that the kids slept in for the first time since the time change, and we didn't get up until 9:45 on Saturday. Then the kids and I got ready to head to Princeton for the Annual Christmas Walk. Our Church hosts the Christkindl Markt and there are fun activities for the kids like decorating miniature gingerbread houses made of graham crackers and frosting. I wasn't able to work the Christkindl Markt this year (last year I was working all day) so Ardyn and I made soft pretzels to donate ahead of time and I was also able to go help make some gingerbread houses the week before. I took the kids for the first time this year, and Ardyn made a gingerbread house while Marek and I visited and saw Father Christmas.

We also did lots of other fun things, like riding the Christmas Train, visiting Santa and sitting on his lap, Taking a stroll through the Clark House for the PJWC Vendor Fair, Meeting the "reindeer" named Grace, Listening to Carolers and the Hand Bell Players, Riding the Horse Drawn Carriage, and Lunch at McDonald's with Lisa and Hallie. It was so much fun, and the kids really had a great time.  Evan had a gig that night that was a ways away, so we were on our own. I rearranged the living room to make room for the Christmas Tree this week, and hit the laundry HEAVILY. I have nearly caught up, which hasn't happened for close to a year. No joke. I am working diligently to get the kids helping to put the laundry away, and also hoping to implement the "socks in the mesh lingerie bags" to keep it all separate. I also liked the tip from the mom who takes her laundry to the basement EVERY NIGHT and sorts it before bed, so that she can start a load here and there when she gets a full bin of some type. First I have to get caught up and get the laundry room picked up. I am nearly there. Nearly.

The worst part is all these random socks and washcloths and things that come out of the laundry when you are trying to catch up. And then I have a bunch of random stuff that I need to put away. I also have a sudden shortage of kid hangers.

Tomorrow is Monday already. But it doesn't matter much around here because we don't have any plans. Probably just work around here, the kitchen is my next task to tackle. I have a ton of dishes to do. And I need to check the animals and refresh their feed and water. I haven't been able to do that all weekend, but they generally are good for about three days, especially with their heated waterers. I would prefer to check them all daily, and hopefully that will happen more regularly. The hens have ceased laying in the cool dark shorter days, so there aren't really eggs to be gathered daily now.

Another bit of good news, Marek is back in Cloth. I got tired of buying diapers or pull ups and I decided that part of the difficulty we are having potty training is because the disposable diapers make it difficult for him to feel he is wet. Just one day in cloth and he is already telling me every time he pees, which will help immensely. It sure did with Ardyn.

I am watching the episode of How I Met Your Mother where Ted gets all drunk and gets a tattoo.... a butterfly tramp stamp. Hysterical.

I took a nap this afternoon and now I am NOT tired and it is 11pm but feels like 8pm. This does not bode well for my tomorrow morning. Although the kids didn't get to bed till 10, so maybe I can get lucky enough to sleep till like 8 or NINE. :)

Evan brought home Subway for supper tonight and brought me some pretty fall flowers.And that. Is all.

Stuck on a Plane for 4 hours, with no Air Conditioning? I don't think so.

I have decided that no laundry is worth wading through the basement to do tonight. Did I mention we had a storm? Oh yeah. I know it wasn't like a Katrina type storm with Katrina type flooding, but all the same, it was not pretty. 3 inches in 35 minutes. The lights were surging and flickering and we ended up turning things off to protect them. I was baking Chocolate Chip cookies for tomorrow's playdate and I was in the kitchen. I said to Evan "It's raining SO HARD that it actually sounds like it's raining ON the back porch" (Which is right off the kitchen.) I opened the door to the porch to peek out and OMG it WAS Raining on the back porch. Through the ceiling. Yep. We've been here 10 years and the ceiling on the back porch had never so much as dripped, and it was POURING through the beadboard like you wouldn't believe. (That roof is flat and it is an addition, and it will be peaked this summer/fall I believe. What a mess!)

The basement was taking on water, quickly than I think we have ever had, and it was seeping through the floor and the foundation, so quickly that it was actually AUDIBLE and the water was running down the floor drains within minutes.

The front yard was completely standing water, and it was just unbelievable. This weather, I tell you what... is something else. It scares me because I just keep thinking that "the end is near" and by the end I mean like we screwed up and ruined the earth with all our disposable products and smog and now global warming is increasing so quickly that the effects are irreversible and the weather is measurably worse and more unpredictable and violent each season. Soon I see no fall and spring. Soon I see Drought or Flooding or Ice Age. It makes me panic, so as soon as I explain how much I hate talking or thinking about doomsday, I will change the subject. And don't tell me that God will save me. I believe that, but the actual "dying" part will still suck, and it would still break my heart into a thousand pieces if I had to see the world end. Especially now that I have children to protect. (drama!)

So. Not doing laundry. Another reason to not do laundry? Mine is all clean :) Diapers are all clean. Towels are clean. And then there's that little fact that I have THREE LOADS of laundry to fold and put away right now, and they slept with me on my bed last night, and stared at me all day today, and I am going to HAVE to take care of them tonight. Plus there is another one in the dryer that I need to get to, so as soon as I find my waders and my headlamp, I will head down there with my laundry basket in a life raft and swim it up the stairs. (drama!) Since my bed is full of laundry, I am blogging on the floor of my bedroom. The weather channel is on and cycling through it's "local on the 8's" and I am really going to have to get motivated soon.

Tomorrow is a VERY Busy day. I have cleaning people coming (yes, I have them. yes I know I don't have a full time job outside of the home. yes, I know you hate me for that. Get over it, that's a whole different blog post.) and so I have to have everything picked up, which everyone knows is the greatest challenge with two lil kids running around. The weather may be unpredictable, but you can be sure that there are two tornadoes in this house every day! (double drama!) I did get Marek's bedroom cleaned and reorganized, which was a MAJOR ordeal because it involved re-arranging. That was so major because that room has a bit of an odd layout (it's completely square) but there is no closet so there is a big armoire in there, and then there's the whole "Two windows and one door" issue, so it has limited places where the crib can go. I re-arranged it like FIVE TIMES (no exxageration) before I decided, fuck it, I am going to put Marek in a toddler bed. Yep. Just like that. I was home during the weekday with the kids, and I took the whole crib apart BY MYSELF and then carried it to the 120 degree attic BY MYSELF and then carried the toddler bed down from the 120 degree attic BY MYSELF and got everything arranged. I went through the entire cube unit and all of Marek's dressers, changing table, and armoire drawers. I sorted through diapers and covers and wool. I packed away crib bedding, bumpers, receiving and baby blankets, burp rags and bibs, bottles... you name it. I organized all the clothes into categories in the armoire. I organized shoes, packing away too small ones and sorting bigger sizes into clear drawers with labels. the entire cube unit was converted from diapers to TOYS so that there was a place for his books and his bigger trucks. He really really really loves trucks. He really loves Usborne's books about Trucks. He is also really into the Shake n Go Racers. My sister got him two for Christmas, and my mom got Marek and Ardyn one Diego Shake n Go for Christmas too. Then last night Liz dropped off a #88 car that isn't a shake and go but is very similar. he loves them. He is really getting into "shaking" them himself now, and I have been stalking eBay auctions for a used Shake n Go track for him in the future. After all this sorting and reorganizing, I had to get three more totes to pack stuff in before we take it to the attic- too bad two of those totes were used in an emergency to catch water in the back porch. Ugh.

So anyway, it took me all day on Tuesday and a good portion of today to get his room all straightened around. It has been gone through with a fine tooth comb, so that makes me happy. Ardyn's closet needs some attention next. Lots of outgrown shoes and jeans to pack up for her. If anyone has some 3T girls jeans they want to part with, let me know. I have one pair for her, and would like another two pair before fall. I like those with the waists that adjust inside with the elastic and buttons (Old Navy, Osh Kosk, Etc.)

I also have this dilema of dust jackets. LOTS of my kids' books are hardbacks with dust jackets. Um. Why do kids' books need dust jackets. I dunno. I take them all of before I give them the books. SO I have this stack of them that I keep moving and shuffling around.... should I just throw them out? I guess I was just going to keep them, but today that suddenly seemed stupid. Thoughts? WWYD?

Today we brought the pink pony down for Marek to try out before bed. It had been in the attic since Ardyn outgrew it, and he LOVES it. Especially all the noises it makes. It plays Camptown Races too, which I just love.

I just heard on the news that an airline had issues with a plane that had no Air Conditioning and passengers sat on the plane for FOUR HOURS while temperatures inside the plane climbed to over 100 degrees. The six hour flight became a 12 hour flight. Oh HELL no. I am all about security and safety, but this crap with keeping people on planes for hours is getting RIDICULOUS. There has GOT to be something to do! If you want to prevent violence, then don't leave people on planes while you try to pull your head out of your ass and figure out what is wrong?! Jeez! Am I completely crazy? Can you imagine if you had your children on that plane for 4 extra hours? What if you were pregnant? Or elderly? Or just plain NORMAL?! That's ridiculous. Uncalled for, and in lots of cases, I would classify that as being held against my will.

Well, I seriously should get going. Although I did want to say that Marek's jump to a toddler bed went well, and he has been sleeping great. Longest naptimes he has had in about two weeks, and slept for 13 hours last night no problem.

Sweat Shop Mamma

(I am without internet at home so keep in mind that this post was written on 9-12-08)

The past couple of days I have shocked myself with the things I have accomplished. The pre-pregnancy Meagan must be in there somewhere trying to get out. Of course by 8pm I am so exhausted I can’t hardly keep my eyes open.

Yesterday (Thursday) I picked up the living room, dining room, bathroom, and our bedroom. I re-organized Ardyn’s toys and packed up some more “baby-ish” toys. I took tags off the new clothes that Evan bought her. I washed diapers. I went through a stack of magazines and papers on the dining room chair that was no shorter than 2.5 feet tall (seriously) and did something with everything, and kept a 1 foot stack of magazines that I haven’t cracked the covers on yet (I suck.) and am keeping them by the bed so that I may hopefully flip through them, and tear out the things that I want to file. I went through the file on the top of the desk in the office. I created new folders for each pregnancy (going to specialists really gathers lots of paperwork…. Insurance, referrals, prescriptions, letters and maps, lab tests, new patient forms, etc) I keep most of this because I am going to many specialists this time around too, and they always want to compare things to last pregnancy. I emptied folders from being a Pampered Chef Consultant, (2003-2005) and fold veterinary bills from when I had Carrie’s beagle. I consolidated paperwork from my “former” employer. Threw away 6 years of paystubs, and filed the contract for the website that I am currently working on (soon!) and also my exit interview from my former employer. I was pretty proud of getting all that in order. I found my envelope full of cards that I received from Ardyn’s baby shower, and cards I received in the mail after her birth. I decided to keep them for her, because I remember how much fun it was to see the cards that my mom kept in my baby book. But she has so many that I had to punch holes in them all and put them on a zip tie ring. I also found cards from her first Thanksgiving, Christmas, Valentine’s Day, Easter, and finally all of her first birthday cards. I added those to the ring too.

I miraculously found a gift card that fell out of one of the cards, and wouldn’t you know that it was a card for ME from my former co-workers, from when Ardyn was born? It said “this is to be used for something special for mom” and of course THAT is the card that got pushed to the wayside and never used. 1 year later, you can bet I will be buying something for myself! Ha!

I also went through Ardyn’s baby books and her health tracks book and put in her 1 year stats as well as her shots and the info on her new teeth that have come in. I filled out the pages for her first birthday and info on when she started crawling, standing, etc.

Yesterday Ardyn took three steps to Evan, which was awesome. She’s getting closer to full-blown walking every day.

So today was Friday, and it started out like any other day but got humid as hell. Around lunchtime I decided to bring up all the fabric that I had bought to make baby wipes. I started cutting and I cut 164 eight by eight squares of fabric. Then I serged 82 pair of them into 82 new and fabulous baby wipes. They are Organic Sherpa Fleece on one side and flannel or cotton knit on the other side (prints.) Then I folded 82 baby wipes in half and admired them over and over. Then I fray checked the corner of 82 wipes. Then I put them in a tote and smiled at them all. I can’t wait till tomorrow when I can start wiping a little butt with them. The sherpa fleece makes for excellent poo grabbing and they wash up really nice. They are so soft and thick. I am terribly excited.

I have been using baby washcloths for the past 9 months, and even though I have about 140 of them, they have been washed SO many times, and there just aren’t enough for two little butts to wipe. Plus toddler poos require a whole new wipe animal than little breastfed baby poos. So I feel like I have done a very accomplished thing and that I am even a little more prepared for two babies. I have also been loving the new stack of goodmamas. That’s all she’s been wearing for the past two days. It’s so nice. She can run around coverless and she is even coverless at naptime! Holy moly! I now know without a doubt that if I come into money, I will be ordering a Goodmama box, or even a bunch of bundles. Although I really like the clean look of the OBV’s. The prints are adorable but I can just see them getting pilly and faded so I am not sure that’s what I want.

I have gotten back into some books that I had been perusing, Green Housekeeping by Ellen Sandbeck, Unplugged Play, and Raising Baby Green by Alan Greene MD. In order to prevent myself from getting bored, I just keep rotating between them. I did a few things form Unplugged play with Ardyn today. I put a blanket on the floor and gave her a Tupperware container with an inch of water in the bottom of it, and gave her a bunch of her own spoons and forks and a dishrag. She was thrilled. She washed them. She washed herself… her legs, her hair, and then she put her feet in the water. Then she dumped it over accidentally, and then on purpose. Then she splashed around in the little bit of water that was left. I also got her little tiny stuffed baby doll out and cut her a blanket out of fleece from the sewing room. I put her baby to sleep in a shoebox. I showed her how to rock the baby and sing to the baby and put the baby “night-night.” She wasn’t fond of the attention the baby was getting. I then asked her if the baby wanted milk and acted like I was going to breastfeed the baby through my shirt, she got VERY angry and smacked the baby out of the way. Then she climbed up into my lap and started giving me kisses on the lips, like she wanted to remind me that SHE is my baby and a very sweet and loving one at that. And then she shoved the baby in her shoebox, under the coffee table where no one could find her. It was hilarious. We will have to keep working on the baby.

Ardyn loves to say that things are pretty. Candles and things that are glass and not to be touched are regarded as “pretty.” Freshly folded clothes, towels, and diapers are “pretty” (otherwise she will unfold them) and when I put clips in her hair I announce that they are “pretty” otherwise she will take them out. I gave her a big fat powder brush a month or so ago, and showed her how to put on blush and say “pretty” and now she loves to put blush on herself and then mommy and say “pretty.” Today we discovered a magic trick with a toilet paper tube and the brush. We put the brush, handle side down, into the tube. She can SEE the top of the brush and touch the bristles and she is trying to get it out and then suddenly, I whisk the brush out of the bottom of the tube and display it up by her face and she squeals with delight! Magic! How did that brush get out of that tube! And so quickly! We played with that for a long time today.

She also amazes me how fast she catches on. Earlier in the week I was using the oven and told her it was hot. Every time she sees me open the oven she makes her “hot” sign (waving her hand back and forth like HOT) and I saw “yes, it’s HOT. Don’t touch.” Very smart. Unfortunately, if you don’t know her, you might get her hot sign confused with her “stinky” sign. But her stinky sign usually comes with sniffing of the nose and sometimes the word “stinky.” And I guess it could also be confused with her waving hello or bye bye…. But again, in context.

Well, it’s past my bedtime. I intended on sleeping long ago, but wanted to get diapers started so I would have a full stash of goodmamas for the weekend and also wanted to get some stuff written down lest I forget.

Like today, I decided that for the first time in 29 years I would try mustard on my hot dog. I never tried it because even though I love mustard, it just never sounded right on a hot dog. And you know what, I was right. Mustard doesn’t belong on a hot dog. So I guess I haven’t been missing anything. But this from the person who had never had a chili dog until about 3 years ago. Sheltered I tell you!

Shoe Addiction, Oreck Air Purifiers, etc.

Well, I have a headache. I took Ibuprofin, so I think it's on it's way out. I am a little frustrated today because I wanted to order another Oreck Air Purifier. We have one in our room that I bought about two years ago. The damn things are INSANELY expensive, but they work great and you never have to replace the filter because it works forever and has a lifetime warranty. So It's $349 ON SALE for the holidays and if you buy one, you get one half price. I wanted to buy one for the baby's room and get rid of the old loud one from Kenmore that we have to buy filters for, because it's old, loud, large, dirty, and the filters are expensive and can only be ordered via this great big telephone process because the damn thing is like 5 years old and they never know what I am talking about and the part number is no good anymore.

Anyway, I called to order another Oreck, and they now have a new policy. When I bought the previous one, you pay like $30 a month for a year until it's paid off, and I gave them my debit card. Now they have this new "rule" (supposedly because the governement passed a truth in lending law) and they can't use DEBIT cards but only CREDIT cards... which is a royal pain in my ass. I don't run around with an extra $349 to spend on air purifiers... so to make a long story short, I don't have a new one coming now. Frustrating.

So while the Oreck works great, and they have a great payment plan, and I don't have to buy replacement filters, I can't get one and I blame the government.

So, enough of that. Now that I have my groceries bought, I need to make Sweet Potato Casserole on Thursday and Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars on Wednesday. I also need to clean off the dining room table because there is a flower faerie factory there, from last night when I got started making flower fairies like this cottony candy pink one and this mandarin orange one... and this really cute one with a teeny tiny updo.

Last night I organized Ardyn's shoes according to size. My shoe addiction is getting crazy when it comes to her. But keep in mind that all of these shoes (which don't include any of her slippers) are in four different sizes, so she will be able to wear them for like the first year of her life, and they are all pretty much steals on ebay or on clearance at stores. And 5 pair of them were gifts. Many of them I bought before I was even pregnant, some of them while pregnant, and some more recently. Like the newest acquisitions... the Gymboree pink double strap mary janes, Gymboree furry leopard printmary janes, Gymboree Brown Puppy Boots, etc. The brown puppy boots are my stinkin favorite, as soon as she hits 3-6 months she should fit them, and I have all the outfits that match them, and the socks that match too although you won't see them under those lil boots! But the tag shows the retail price of $44.5o and I got them NWT On ebay for $3.25- that's cheaper than almost all the shoes at Wal-Mart!

So anyway, now you know what I've been up to. How about you?

And I need to find a home for the new crock pot while I try to evict the old one on freecycle.

Nesting?

I am wayyyyy too tired to still be awake. I have been recording shows on the travel channel, like "Great American Log Homes" and "Amazing Houseboats" and now "Lake Front Escapes."

In the meantime, I have cleaned the linen closet and the medicine cabinet in the bathroom. They were beginning to be a nightmare. Okay, okay, they WERE a nightmare. If I am to be honest, I haven't cleaned them since we before we remodeled sometime.... so I guess that would be before we got married, before we remodeled, probably in the spring of 2005. Ack!

Guess I am nesting. LOL. I wanted to fit the baby bath stuff in the linen closet with our stuff. I pitched a whole BIG garbage bag of crap. Outdated meds, old lotion, almost empty shampoos, etc. It's insane! Well... here is a pic of the medicine cabinet.... and a pic of the linen closet.... eat your heart out organizers! LOL. Now I need sleep!!!

Finished my Cherries Purse Organizer

Decided at midnight to start making my purse organizer. Because I can.


Created with fd's Flickr Toys.

1. Detail of Purse Organizer, 2. Purse Organizer I just Made, 3. Purse Organizer all folded up, 4. Purse Organizer from the top

• The Denim came from husbands old levis (sentimental value)
• The Cherry was something I had around, a ME Cherries Patch on clearance for 50 cents at JoAnne a while back
• The Red Satin Binding was leftover from Kelly Skellington's Coffin that I made for Cheryl in Canada
• The Dot Fabric was something that I had picked a yard up at Wal-Mart for $1 on sale last month.

I LOVE LOVE LOVE how it turned out!