:: Weekly Cleaning :

Seriously, can I just say I hate cleaning.  I love a clean house, almost more than chocolate or wine, but the actual physical cleaning everyday drives. me. insane.  And, since being a SAHM, it seems like my house needs daily cleaning.  I'm not sure how one little addition can create such a whirlwind of activity and clutter, but it has and does.

Hence, the weekly cleaning list.  Daily cleaning, the rapid 15-minutes of power cleaning and clutter tidying I do a night, is easy.  On the surface, my house looks clean when, in actuality, it isn't.  But, I find that by doing a part of the weekly cleaning list everyday, I feel like a good girl who has completed her chores for the day.  And that I earned my allowance from the jar. ;)

This is what my weekly list looks like:

Monday: Outside / Garden & Yard / Car

• wash, dust, vacuum car
• pull weeds & trim plants
• avoid any that crawls or moves.  If encounter a large spider, it is a justifiable excuse to stop Monday chores and go back inside, where its safe.

Tuesday: Kitchen

• wipe all appliances, countertops, cabinets, doors, windows
• wash floor (my least favorite chore. ever.)
• wipe out garage can

Wednesday: Bathrooms

• wash floor
• wipe down cabinets, mirrors, windows, door
• clean out garbage & wipe down can 
• scrub outer rim of tub (Jody does the tiles... because he's better at it.)

Thursday: Living Areas

• vacuum carpet & wipe down tiles
• dust everything - picture frames, window sills, molding, electronics, books... everything.
• put my piles of books into nice piles
• wipe down mirrors

Friday: Bedrooms

• change the linens (aren't fresh sheets the best?!)
• dust all surfaces - picture frames, etc.
• wipe down doors
• wipe moldings and windows
• vacuum carpets

Saturday: Any chores that I skipped from the week.
Sunday: Off (usually) (well, sometimes)

Rainy Mondays are my favorite, for obvious reasons.  Laundry is done randomly throughout the week because I actually love doing laundry.  I love the sorting and the fresh smell and folding warm clothes.  And then, because I hate pulling laundry away, I leave it all in the laundry room until the piles are too high and threaten collapse.  Or Jody asks where all his clothes are.

Do you have any cleaning tricks to share?!  Trust me, I'd appreciate any help (or offers of help) I can get.  Except if you have a maid.  Then you aren't allowed to comment.  Unless the comment is an offer to share said maid.

A great perk from our Canadian Today's Parent subscription - a custom December cover!

We're getting a copy sent to both sets of grandparents, just to give them even more reason to brag on their only grandson.

I love this picture of Judah because 1) I took it, 2) he looks just like Jr. Jody and 3) there's just something about his expression that makes me want to hold him and never let go.

Today is one of those days.  Actually, in all honesty, its been one of those weeks.  I'm not complaining (that's for you, Christina) but you all know what I mean.  My little man has decided that his new nightly sleep schedule will be waking up hourly.  That's one of those things about motherhood I never realized before... that just when you think you have it all figured out, things change and you realized you are SO very wrong.  Your little person has a mind of their own and even though they seem too small to outsmart you, they probably will.  Or at least they'll try.

So, right now, while my husband is watching the hockey game with a buddy at the pub, I am savoring a glass of wine.  I opened the bottle without Jody, which may have been a no-no.  Its Viognier from La Frenz winery in Penticton... we bought it last summer.  We did a wine tour right around the time we started trying for a baby.  And, luckily, I realized I was pregnant before we began drinking all the wine we bought.  

Jody and I decided early January 2009 that we were ready to start a family.  However, because I have a tendancy to have a controlling, type-A personality, I wanted the baby to born in the spring.  Specifically, in April.  So, in July we began trying.  Opening the bottle of wine tonight made me think of that time in our lives and how much has changed.  And, even with this sleep-deprived week, I wouldn't change a moment of this crazy life of ours.

This was the weekend we decided to become makers of little people.

Tonight I am blogging, blasting music, savoring wine, cleaning a kitchen, and baking up some yummy treats for my man, all while wearing a facial mask... which I should probably have wash off by now.

Sometimes, I love alone time.

Thank you for listening to my rant.  And, if you can get your hands on a bottle of this wine, do it!  Its delicious!

:: Free Sling ::

I received an email from sevenslings.com with the promo code for a FREE SLING and wanted to share this with all of you!  The sling is "safe" for infants and toddlers 35 lbs and under, but doubt that anyone in their right minds wants to tote around a 35 pounder, no matter how comfortable the sling is!  If you don't need a free sling yourself, it would always make a great gift for any expecting friends or family!

The offer is set to expire without notice, so check it out as soon as possible!  And, I know this company is litigate because I've received a free Udder Cover from their sister company using the same promotion code.

Go to www.sevenslings.com , click on “Shop Now”, and select the correct size sling or gift set you would like (be sure to visit our sizing page for instructions on how to select the right size sling for you). Once you have selected the sling or gift set you would like, enter "onefree" into the promo code box and click “Apply Code”. This will bring your product total from $39.00 to $0 for one of our pouch slings or from $44.00 to only $5 for our gift sets - all you are required to pay is the shipping & processing!

Although I desperately love my ErgoBaby, I'm going to order one of these, just for curiosities sake.  Plus, did I mention its free?!?!  

I'm trying to decide between on of these three designs:

What a great idea for a baby photo!  

Wish I'd thought of this for Judah.

The Jolly Jumper made its debute in our house about a month ago.  It has yet to see much action, instead serving as a pillow for naptime or as a swing, as Jody and I swing him back and forth between us.  Maybe one day he'll start jumping, if he wakes up, that is.

DON'T for Wives
Don't pose as a helpless creature who can do nothing for herself; don't drag your husband away from his office to see you across a street; don't profess to be unable to understand Bradshaw, or to take a journey alone. It is true that the weak, clinging wife is often a favourite, but she is equally often a nuisance.
DON'T for Husbands
Don't allow yourself to become selfish. It is so easy, because wives are mostly ready to give way. Watch yourself, and if you find that you always tend to appropriate the most comfortable chair, or the warmest corner, or the most interesting book, just check the habit.

Many Things

Baby boys like many things,

Like frogs and bees and bugs with wings.

Trucks and trains and shiny cars

Dinosaurs and twinkling stars.

Dogs and turtles on his clothes,

And smudges of dirt upon his nose

Sweet stuffed bears and robot toys

These are things for baby boys!

What a joy it is to see

His boyish nature come to be.

He'll love to play with mom and dad

There's so much fun now to be had!

by Andra Mccoy

http://www.cutebabypoems.com/baby-boy-poems.html

MOMSICLES?!

I stumbled across this article about making breast-milk popsicles for your teething baby.  And almost spit my coffee out onto my computer screen.  I cannot stop giggling at the visual!  But then, for a brief second in time, after answering the survey and realizing that 100% of people HAD NOT tried this, I contemplated doing it.  Just to be that one weirdo who did it.  Then I realized the amount of pumping and breast milk required to make a popsicle.  And the horrified look people would give you after admitting what you'd done.  And I decided against it.

My Baby Judah,

You are 5-months old now.  I do not know where the last weeks and months have gone.  You have changed so much, in every way.

I never knew how much I would love you and how fulfilling my new role as your mother would be.  You have changed our lives in every aspect.  We've spent countless nights staring at you as you sleep and daily we say "isn't he so cute?!" or going "awwww" over and over again.  

It melts my heart every time you smile at me and I just want to bottle your joy as you squeal with happiness or your little laughter fills our home.

You are so strong now.  You just started rolling over a few days ago, and suddenly do it like an expert.  Getting back is still a struggle, but you try.  You laugh at funny noises, silly faces, being bounced... pretty much anything.  You just started squealing this past Sunday, having found your baby voice, and look so proud as you open your mouth wide and a loud, high-pitched noise comes out.  You have just started frustratedly grunting when things are a struggle or you've had enough.  

Its amazing to see your little personality already.  You are so content and relaxed, happy to just be around people who love you.  You are quite quiet most of the time, peacefully watching the world going on around you.  And other times, driving in the car and in your crib and in the mornings, cuddled between daddy and I, you treat us to a babbling baby show.  It never ceases to make us smile.


You are a complete water baby and love the tub, the pool, a sink, a pot of water.  You kick furiously and just started realizing you can splash.  You even fell asleep this week at the pool, exhausted but having too much fun to complain.

You are such a wonderful little baby and these moments with you, daily, are changing me for the better and giving my life new meaning.

Love Your Mom

"... our satisfying baby boy with a cuteness and sweetness that exceeds the mere garden-variety-baby cute and sweet, so much that strangers in the grocery store stop and remark..."

- Emily Griffin, "Heart of the Matters"

I thought this applied to my wee man too.  I'm sure all mamas do. ;)

This post is for Jody.  

This is a thank for spending the majority of yesterday drilling & hammering & leveling things in my bathroom to make it pretty.  This is a thank you for making me breakfast yesterday morning after a full night of crying and coughing and farting (trust me, the farting is d.r.a.ma.) from Judah that kept us both wide awake and cranky.  This is thank you for the expensive coffee treat yesterday (seriously, since when is a carmel macchaito just over $5?!).  This is a thank you for letting me go out for a coffee with my friend last night without one word of complaint.  This is a thank you for doing the bedtime ritual all alone last night, even though we were both a bit nervous for you.  And for Jubs.  This is a thank you for your patience, your kindness, your gentleness, even when our long weekend plans don't work out.

Judah and I know you will always be there for us, our rock, however and whenever we need you.

xo

Last week, we decided it was time for our little 15-pound (almost) five month-er to try food.  We'd had the go-ahead from the doctor for a few weeks now, but were trying to delay beginning food until six months.  Judah had other ideas!  He became increasingly curious about our food, watching us intently whenever anything edible was in his vicinity.  We were starting to feel bad.  Then he started reaching for our food and things started getting really uncomfortable.

So, venturing into food we went.  Part of me is SO excited to be pureeing up new foods for him to try and another part of me can hardly believe he's old enough!

After reading different articles about baby nutrition, we decided to forgo all rice cereal and just jump right into fruits and veggies mixed with breast milk.  I spent about $30 on organic produce, which made loads of baby food.  I froze everything in ice cube trays & then transferred them to glass containers.  I felt like the Martha Stewart of baby cruisine.  It was a lot easier and more fun than I thought it was going to be.

We decided to start with avocados because once we decided to try food, I wanted to begin immediately & avocado was one of the few things that didn't require pre-cooking.

Judah wasn't so sure at first but did really well at keeping it in his mouth, for the most part.

Love this picture.  It nicely sums up our first attempt at food.

We've since tried pears, peaches, sweet potatoes, carrots & bananas.  So far, he snubbed the bananas (who'd blame him!) and carrots, but gobbled down the sweet potatoes & fruit.  We've been trying to maintain a 3(ish) day rule before venturing into another food, but its just so hard... Feeding your baby is seriously entertaining!