So, after all the hype and preparation, we ended up not getting the big storm that we anticipated. Much of our state lost power, many trees fell down, and there was some flooding. But none of that directly impacted us. In fact, I found the day kind of boring. (Not that I wanted a hurricane to hit us badly. I just always find rainy days boring!)
I do definitely feel sorry for the people who are still without power, and hope for their sake that it gets turned on very soon! I also pray for the victims of the hurricane, because there were places much harder hit than here, and a few fatalities as well. But for us, the impact was minimal.
The wind was pretty intense for awhile, and we could see a few fallen branches from our sliding glass window. It rained early in the morning, but was done by 10ish. We kept the weather channel or local news station on all day, switching back and forth to get the most up-to-date information. Other than that, we just spent the day together as a family, cuddling, playing, watching TV and napping. (Well, Dan and Stephanie napped. I don't nap during the day unless I completely and totally need it. Like when I have a newborn.)
Yesterday, when I headed out to run errands, I encountered the remnants of the hurricane, and it reminded me how lucky and blessed we were to have escaped any kind of repurcussions. Many roads were closed, tons of stop lights weren't working, and I saw more than a few trees that had fallen into power lines.
I know we escaped what could have been a very big storm. Things could have been a lot worse, and the damage could have been much more intensive than it was. I feel like it was such a great reminder to all of us to be thankful for what we have, and to appreciate the things we tend to take for granted.
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Saturday, August 27, 2011
Preparing for a Hurricane
Well, as i'm sure most of the world knows, the East Coast is bracing for Hurricane Irene. (And in fact, she's already landed in North Carolina.)
In our house, we've spend the last few days glued to the news, keeping track of where this storm is headed, how it's going to affect us, and when it's set to arrive. Ok, full disclosure. I don't actually watch the news. I follow the local meterologist on Facebook, and get all my info from him. My husband rolled his eyes at me yesterday when I told him there was no need to turn on the TV, since I already have all the information. He then proceeded to turn it on and stare at the weather for an hour. To my surprise, all the hurricane graphics completely entertained Stephanie with their flashy lights and pretty colors. Huh. Wish I had given that a thought earlier in the week. Anyway.
On Thursday, Stephanie and I went to the drugstore and grocery store to stock up on supplies. CVS was out of D batteries, but we got some boxes of cereal, and facial moisturizer (don't want to run out of THAT during a hurricane, right?) At the grocery, we picked up bananas (because they don't need to be refridgerated), applesauce cups (ditto), ice-cream (because if the power goes out, i'll have an excuse to eat the whole carton), water, and bread. Again, no D batteries to be found.
Yesterday we went shopping as a family, since Dan's work cancelled training for the weekend. (That doesn't mean he gets out of work, just the people he's supposed to be training. But his schedule is a little more flexible, so he was able to go with us.) We picked up more food (soup, raisins, snacks), milk, and another loaf of bread. We then proceeded to check 5 stores for D batteries. No luck. Clearly, I should have had the foresight to stock up earlier.
Today I made my "last-minute prep" list. Tonight i'll gather all the flashlights, candles, matches, and non-perishable food to keep all together in one place. Dan will bring in all the outside stuff from our patio, and empty the garbages and recycling. (I don't want them stinking up the apartment, since the AC's will go off if we lose electricity, and it will get hot in here!) I also want to keep our cell phones plugged in until we actually lose power, that way they'll be fully charged for as long as possible. I also took Stephanie out for one last shopping trip, to get the MOST IMPORTANT things.
Those, of course, were snickers bars (can you imagine being stuck inside during a hurricane with no chocolate??) and one last Dunkin Donuts coffee. If we lose power, and can't get around for a few days due to fallen trees, I wanted to make sure I got in a Dunkin fix. I already want another one. Sigh. OH, and I also found D batteries! Completely unexpected. I went to the tiniest little CVS, which happens to be the closest one to us. (It's so tiny, there isn't even a pharmacy in it.) I checked the aisle, but the D's were completely cleared out. But, while I was in line to purchase the snickers, there was a case of them with four packages left! Score. I felt like that was a major accomplishment.
Now that the essentials are taken care of, we can sit back, relax, and wait for the storm to hit. If it even comes. We're famous around here for panicking, filling the stores to load up on bread, water, and milk, and then having the storm fizzle out. Lets see what happens!
In our house, we've spend the last few days glued to the news, keeping track of where this storm is headed, how it's going to affect us, and when it's set to arrive. Ok, full disclosure. I don't actually watch the news. I follow the local meterologist on Facebook, and get all my info from him. My husband rolled his eyes at me yesterday when I told him there was no need to turn on the TV, since I already have all the information. He then proceeded to turn it on and stare at the weather for an hour. To my surprise, all the hurricane graphics completely entertained Stephanie with their flashy lights and pretty colors. Huh. Wish I had given that a thought earlier in the week. Anyway.
On Thursday, Stephanie and I went to the drugstore and grocery store to stock up on supplies. CVS was out of D batteries, but we got some boxes of cereal, and facial moisturizer (don't want to run out of THAT during a hurricane, right?) At the grocery, we picked up bananas (because they don't need to be refridgerated), applesauce cups (ditto), ice-cream (because if the power goes out, i'll have an excuse to eat the whole carton), water, and bread. Again, no D batteries to be found.
Yesterday we went shopping as a family, since Dan's work cancelled training for the weekend. (That doesn't mean he gets out of work, just the people he's supposed to be training. But his schedule is a little more flexible, so he was able to go with us.) We picked up more food (soup, raisins, snacks), milk, and another loaf of bread. We then proceeded to check 5 stores for D batteries. No luck. Clearly, I should have had the foresight to stock up earlier.
Today I made my "last-minute prep" list. Tonight i'll gather all the flashlights, candles, matches, and non-perishable food to keep all together in one place. Dan will bring in all the outside stuff from our patio, and empty the garbages and recycling. (I don't want them stinking up the apartment, since the AC's will go off if we lose electricity, and it will get hot in here!) I also want to keep our cell phones plugged in until we actually lose power, that way they'll be fully charged for as long as possible. I also took Stephanie out for one last shopping trip, to get the MOST IMPORTANT things.
Those, of course, were snickers bars (can you imagine being stuck inside during a hurricane with no chocolate??) and one last Dunkin Donuts coffee. If we lose power, and can't get around for a few days due to fallen trees, I wanted to make sure I got in a Dunkin fix. I already want another one. Sigh. OH, and I also found D batteries! Completely unexpected. I went to the tiniest little CVS, which happens to be the closest one to us. (It's so tiny, there isn't even a pharmacy in it.) I checked the aisle, but the D's were completely cleared out. But, while I was in line to purchase the snickers, there was a case of them with four packages left! Score. I felt like that was a major accomplishment.
Now that the essentials are taken care of, we can sit back, relax, and wait for the storm to hit. If it even comes. We're famous around here for panicking, filling the stores to load up on bread, water, and milk, and then having the storm fizzle out. Lets see what happens!
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
A Post About Nothing
I have been sitting here for several minutes trying to come up with a good topic to post about tonight, and I came up with...nothing.
I feel like there has been nothing special/significant going on that's worthy of sharing with the world, and I hate to bore my readers by writing about ho-hum things. However, since I can't seem to find an inspiration tonight, i'll just write down a few random thoughts.
1. Stephanie and I have been on our own since Saturday, because, as I might have mentioned previously, this is Dan's busy time at work. He spends the last two weeks of August training his new staff for the upcoming school year, which means he leaves the house at 7, and doesn't return until 9 or 10 at night. It's hard not to have him here for our normal routines, and Stephanie spends a lot of time asking for her Daddy.
2. I'm shocked that I really can't yet complain about doing everything parenting/household related by myself. It hasn't felt stressful yet, and in fact there are certain things i'm enjoying about it. Like getting to make "kid" dinners. (Mac & cheese, grilled cheese, frozen pizza, chicken nuggets, etc.) I would feel guilty serving those things for dinner if Dan were here, and in fact he doesn't even like 3 out of 4 of them. But when it's just Stephanie and I, anything goes!
3. Stephanie's molars have now come through enough that they no longer bother her. Thank goodness. The waking at night and being cranky all day has ended. Phew! Of course only the bottom ones are in, but at least i'll know what to expect when those top ones decide to make their appearance.
4. We apparently had an earthquake today. Well, that's not entirely true. The earthquake happened in Virginia, and we felt the repurcussions of it. It was a nannying day for me, and the girls were sleeping. I was reading on the couch, and it started to vibrate. I thought either it was pregnancy related off-balanced-ness, or an airplane that was causing things to shake. (Doesn't make much sense looking back, but I would never have thought it was an earthquake.) Later I saw from other people's Facebook status's that it was indeed an earthquake.
5. On a weather-related note, we're supposed to get effects from Hurricane Irene this weekend. I'll be stocking up on food, water, and batteries because i've found that the more prepared you are, the less likely it is that you'll actually see the severe weather!
Ok, I honestly can't even come up with any more random thoughts. Pathetic, I know. If you're still reading, thanks for finishing out this boring post. I promise that the next one will be more interesting! (I hope so anyway...)
I feel like there has been nothing special/significant going on that's worthy of sharing with the world, and I hate to bore my readers by writing about ho-hum things. However, since I can't seem to find an inspiration tonight, i'll just write down a few random thoughts.
1. Stephanie and I have been on our own since Saturday, because, as I might have mentioned previously, this is Dan's busy time at work. He spends the last two weeks of August training his new staff for the upcoming school year, which means he leaves the house at 7, and doesn't return until 9 or 10 at night. It's hard not to have him here for our normal routines, and Stephanie spends a lot of time asking for her Daddy.
2. I'm shocked that I really can't yet complain about doing everything parenting/household related by myself. It hasn't felt stressful yet, and in fact there are certain things i'm enjoying about it. Like getting to make "kid" dinners. (Mac & cheese, grilled cheese, frozen pizza, chicken nuggets, etc.) I would feel guilty serving those things for dinner if Dan were here, and in fact he doesn't even like 3 out of 4 of them. But when it's just Stephanie and I, anything goes!
3. Stephanie's molars have now come through enough that they no longer bother her. Thank goodness. The waking at night and being cranky all day has ended. Phew! Of course only the bottom ones are in, but at least i'll know what to expect when those top ones decide to make their appearance.
4. We apparently had an earthquake today. Well, that's not entirely true. The earthquake happened in Virginia, and we felt the repurcussions of it. It was a nannying day for me, and the girls were sleeping. I was reading on the couch, and it started to vibrate. I thought either it was pregnancy related off-balanced-ness, or an airplane that was causing things to shake. (Doesn't make much sense looking back, but I would never have thought it was an earthquake.) Later I saw from other people's Facebook status's that it was indeed an earthquake.
5. On a weather-related note, we're supposed to get effects from Hurricane Irene this weekend. I'll be stocking up on food, water, and batteries because i've found that the more prepared you are, the less likely it is that you'll actually see the severe weather!
Ok, I honestly can't even come up with any more random thoughts. Pathetic, I know. If you're still reading, thanks for finishing out this boring post. I promise that the next one will be more interesting! (I hope so anyway...)
Friday, August 19, 2011
Baby Update, Week 32
I went for my 32 week, 5 day appointment yesterday.
I only put on 1 lb in two weeks, yippee!!! My snickers addiction hasn't slowed down at all, so I really expected another big jump, and was excited that that was not the case.
My blood pressure is still low, and i'm crossing my fingers it stays that way!
I'm also officially at the point where I started getting the PUPPS rash during my pregnancy with Stephanie. (If you don't know what this is, consider yourself very, very lucky. It is the worse, itchiest, most uncomfortable, bordering on painful rash ever. It only happens when you're pregnant, there's no explanation as to why some women get it, and there is nothing you can do about it. Except beg your doctor to give you a c-section at 33 weeks to take you out of your misery. She obviously didn't oblige me.) Anyway, luckily they say that it's more prevalent in first pregnancies, and so far that is the case for me, yay! I also have no new stretch marks this pregnancy (and am hoping that writing it down didn't jinx me.)
I measured 33 weeks, which was only 2 days ahead of where I actually was, so that's no big deal.
The only bad news is that the Dr thinks he may be breech. However, there are still 7 weeks to go, and i'm doing everything I can to convince Joseph to flip around so he's head down. And by "everything" I mean that I spend an inordinate amount of time talking to him in my nicest mommy voice, asking him to please be a nice boy and do mommy this big favor. We'll see if he listens!!!
All in all, i'm happy with the pregnancy thus far, and hope it continues to be smooth sailing. I can't believe there are only 7 weeks left! Yikes!
I only put on 1 lb in two weeks, yippee!!! My snickers addiction hasn't slowed down at all, so I really expected another big jump, and was excited that that was not the case.
My blood pressure is still low, and i'm crossing my fingers it stays that way!
I'm also officially at the point where I started getting the PUPPS rash during my pregnancy with Stephanie. (If you don't know what this is, consider yourself very, very lucky. It is the worse, itchiest, most uncomfortable, bordering on painful rash ever. It only happens when you're pregnant, there's no explanation as to why some women get it, and there is nothing you can do about it. Except beg your doctor to give you a c-section at 33 weeks to take you out of your misery. She obviously didn't oblige me.) Anyway, luckily they say that it's more prevalent in first pregnancies, and so far that is the case for me, yay! I also have no new stretch marks this pregnancy (and am hoping that writing it down didn't jinx me.)
I measured 33 weeks, which was only 2 days ahead of where I actually was, so that's no big deal.
The only bad news is that the Dr thinks he may be breech. However, there are still 7 weeks to go, and i'm doing everything I can to convince Joseph to flip around so he's head down. And by "everything" I mean that I spend an inordinate amount of time talking to him in my nicest mommy voice, asking him to please be a nice boy and do mommy this big favor. We'll see if he listens!!!
All in all, i'm happy with the pregnancy thus far, and hope it continues to be smooth sailing. I can't believe there are only 7 weeks left! Yikes!
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
Home!
We live in a very small apartment. There are a host of "issues" that I have with it, including the fact that we have no control over fixing anything that might break, the fire alarms can go off at any time, we are at the mercy of other people to mow our tiny lawn, and it can get very noisy. We often have trouble with people taking our parking spot, we've had to call the exterminator this summer to fix a bug problem, the walls are poured concrete so it's hard to hang anything, and we're directly above the boiler room which means it can get HOT in the winter. If you're someone who knows me in person, none of this is news, i've had all of these things on a constant list of complaints since we moved in three years ago. However, I realized today that while I view it as less than ideal, to Stephanie it is home and she loves it.
Right now her two-year molars are coming in, and she's been super cranky and not sleeping. On the way home this afternoon, she whined and fussed in the car, asking to go night-night, and just generally being unhappy. Then we pulled up to our building and her entire demeanor changed. She shrieked with happiness, yelled "HOME! YAY!" and clapped her hands.
It struck me at that moment that she doesn't see all of the "problems." To her, it is the place she feels most safe, secure, and loved. It's all she's ever known, and it's home.
I started thinking at that moment that I really shouldn't complain about it as much. We have a roof over our heads, a place to put our children to bed at night. And the best part is, we don't have to pay for it, it's a perk of my husband's job. (This is actually one of the things I like to complain about it. While it's nice to be given an apartment with utilities included, it's a double-edged sword because as long as my husband has this job, we HAVE to live here.)
I should be grateful that we get heat (lots of it), hot water, electricity, internet, telephone, and cable. We never have to worry about getting those particular bills paid. We've very, very lucky and blessed.
It took my 18-month old to remind me that those are the things I should think about when I start dwelling on our living situation. Thank you Stephanie for putting things into perspective for your mommy.
Right now her two-year molars are coming in, and she's been super cranky and not sleeping. On the way home this afternoon, she whined and fussed in the car, asking to go night-night, and just generally being unhappy. Then we pulled up to our building and her entire demeanor changed. She shrieked with happiness, yelled "HOME! YAY!" and clapped her hands.
It struck me at that moment that she doesn't see all of the "problems." To her, it is the place she feels most safe, secure, and loved. It's all she's ever known, and it's home.
I started thinking at that moment that I really shouldn't complain about it as much. We have a roof over our heads, a place to put our children to bed at night. And the best part is, we don't have to pay for it, it's a perk of my husband's job. (This is actually one of the things I like to complain about it. While it's nice to be given an apartment with utilities included, it's a double-edged sword because as long as my husband has this job, we HAVE to live here.)
I should be grateful that we get heat (lots of it), hot water, electricity, internet, telephone, and cable. We never have to worry about getting those particular bills paid. We've very, very lucky and blessed.
It took my 18-month old to remind me that those are the things I should think about when I start dwelling on our living situation. Thank you Stephanie for putting things into perspective for your mommy.
Monday, August 15, 2011
How We Spent a Rainy Day
Today it rained. And I mean rain, not just a shower here or there. It was pretty torrential, and as soon as I woke up this morning I knew we wouldn't be leaving the house.
Somehow, with that simple decision made, the day loomed ahead of me, and I just knew it was going to be a "bored" kind of day. (Of course there are tons of cleaning tasks I could have accomplished, as well as some things on the baby-to-do list that I could work on. But I knew that wouldn't happen today.)
Being "forced" to stay home all day just seems so much worse than choosing to do so. Whenever there's been a time where we've been out and about and busy for days on end, I crave time home. I relish every minute we spend in the house, and never lack for things to do. But when its weather, or sickness, or some other such calamity that keeps us in all day, I just want to rip my hair out!
Dan left for work at 8:45 this morning. Stephanie and I were already dressed, had make-up on (me, not her) and had eaten breakfast. As soon as he stepped out the door I had a "now what?" kind of moment.
I washed the breakfast dishes, and then at 9 put Curious George on TV. Stephanie was content to play with her toys and occasionally pause to watch a minute or two of George while I checked my email and caught up on some blog reading. At 9:45, the TV went off, and we read some books. (She is obsessed with The Very Hungry Caterpillar, and after reading it about 350 times, I think I can recite it by heart.)
At 10, I was sick of reading books, couldn't believe it was only 10am, and decided it was snack-time. (Organic honey bunny crackers for Stephanie, Greek yogurt for me.) After snack, which sadly only lasted 15 minutes, I sat down to play with her. We did some coloring, had a picnic, and read some more books. (As I mentioned before, I knew the rainy day would make me completely unwilling to do any sort of cleaning. Which is really too bad, because there is so much I need to do.)
We played for what seemed like hours, and at 11:15 I decided to make Stephanie lunch, because she was getting restless. (And, quite frankly, so was I.) Lunch lasted until 11:45, and then I cleaned up and washed the dishes. She then asked to go for a nap, so even though it was early I put her in. Once she was asleep, I made myself an omelette for lunch, ate it, and cleaned up. I was exhausted, so I spent the next hour resting, and as soon as I started to consider getting something done, she woke up. I knew she hadn't slept long enough, but I also knew that she hadn't really been fully tired, since she went down for a nap half an hour earlier than normal.
I got her up, changed her diaper, and gave her some milk. We played with toys for a little bit more, and then I gave her an afternoon snack. (Goldfish and craisins.) At that point, desperate for something different to do, I decided to make play-doh. I looked up a recipe online, made sure I had all the ingredients, and put it together. It was surprisingly easy to make. When it was cool, we sat at the table to play, and we both had a blast! It was a lot of fun to watch her discover the new texture, to squeeze it through her fingers, and try to roll it into balls like I did. I was proud of myself, because the process killed about an hour of the day, and when we were finished it was already 4:30. Time to think about dinner!
I started dinner, and Dan came home right at 5 for once. (He often gets caught up in meetings or conversations and will arrive anytime between 5:15 and 5:45. Annoying when you're trying to plan for dinner. But that's a story for another time.)
As soon as he walked in the door, I morphed into super cranky wife/mommy. I think it was the whole "forced to stay in, havn't seen another adult in 8 hours thing." I had zero tolerance for anything at that point. But we made it through dinner, clean-up, bathtime, and bedtime. Now it's 7:45 and I AM DONE. I want nothing more than to eat some chocolate, take a nice hot shower and go to bed. Thank goodness this never-ending day is finally coming to a close.
I hate rainy days.
Somehow, with that simple decision made, the day loomed ahead of me, and I just knew it was going to be a "bored" kind of day. (Of course there are tons of cleaning tasks I could have accomplished, as well as some things on the baby-to-do list that I could work on. But I knew that wouldn't happen today.)
Being "forced" to stay home all day just seems so much worse than choosing to do so. Whenever there's been a time where we've been out and about and busy for days on end, I crave time home. I relish every minute we spend in the house, and never lack for things to do. But when its weather, or sickness, or some other such calamity that keeps us in all day, I just want to rip my hair out!
Dan left for work at 8:45 this morning. Stephanie and I were already dressed, had make-up on (me, not her) and had eaten breakfast. As soon as he stepped out the door I had a "now what?" kind of moment.
I washed the breakfast dishes, and then at 9 put Curious George on TV. Stephanie was content to play with her toys and occasionally pause to watch a minute or two of George while I checked my email and caught up on some blog reading. At 9:45, the TV went off, and we read some books. (She is obsessed with The Very Hungry Caterpillar, and after reading it about 350 times, I think I can recite it by heart.)
At 10, I was sick of reading books, couldn't believe it was only 10am, and decided it was snack-time. (Organic honey bunny crackers for Stephanie, Greek yogurt for me.) After snack, which sadly only lasted 15 minutes, I sat down to play with her. We did some coloring, had a picnic, and read some more books. (As I mentioned before, I knew the rainy day would make me completely unwilling to do any sort of cleaning. Which is really too bad, because there is so much I need to do.)
We played for what seemed like hours, and at 11:15 I decided to make Stephanie lunch, because she was getting restless. (And, quite frankly, so was I.) Lunch lasted until 11:45, and then I cleaned up and washed the dishes. She then asked to go for a nap, so even though it was early I put her in. Once she was asleep, I made myself an omelette for lunch, ate it, and cleaned up. I was exhausted, so I spent the next hour resting, and as soon as I started to consider getting something done, she woke up. I knew she hadn't slept long enough, but I also knew that she hadn't really been fully tired, since she went down for a nap half an hour earlier than normal.
I got her up, changed her diaper, and gave her some milk. We played with toys for a little bit more, and then I gave her an afternoon snack. (Goldfish and craisins.) At that point, desperate for something different to do, I decided to make play-doh. I looked up a recipe online, made sure I had all the ingredients, and put it together. It was surprisingly easy to make. When it was cool, we sat at the table to play, and we both had a blast! It was a lot of fun to watch her discover the new texture, to squeeze it through her fingers, and try to roll it into balls like I did. I was proud of myself, because the process killed about an hour of the day, and when we were finished it was already 4:30. Time to think about dinner!
I started dinner, and Dan came home right at 5 for once. (He often gets caught up in meetings or conversations and will arrive anytime between 5:15 and 5:45. Annoying when you're trying to plan for dinner. But that's a story for another time.)
As soon as he walked in the door, I morphed into super cranky wife/mommy. I think it was the whole "forced to stay in, havn't seen another adult in 8 hours thing." I had zero tolerance for anything at that point. But we made it through dinner, clean-up, bathtime, and bedtime. Now it's 7:45 and I AM DONE. I want nothing more than to eat some chocolate, take a nice hot shower and go to bed. Thank goodness this never-ending day is finally coming to a close.
I hate rainy days.
Sunday, August 14, 2011
Clean Up, Clean Up
"Cleaning up with children around is like shoveling during a blizzard." - Anonymous
This was someone's facebook status this morning, and I just had to use it. It perfectly sums up the challenges of trying to keep a house clean with a toddler around. (Actually, i'm sure it applys to any age child, but my experience right now is with a toddler.)
Since we live in a small apartment, clutter gives me anxiety. It used to be so easy for me to run after Stephanie, cleaning up whenever she was done playing with something. I'm a big believer in "everything has a place," and I make sure that every time a new toy arrives in our house, it has a place to call home. But lately it's been harder and harder for me to keep up.
Part of the problem is that i'm trying to teach Stephanie to clean up after herself, and that once she's done playing with something it needs to get put away. She loves the "clean-up" song, and will help me clean up if I sing it. (She even sings along.) But she's only 18 months, so her attention span isn't always long enough to completely finish cleaning up an activity. Then by the time i'm done with it, she's taken 3 more things out...and moved onto something else. And of course, everything has a million pieces, which have often been strewn from one end of the apartment to another, so half of the cleaning time is spent searching out each part of a toy. (And try asking an 18 month old where something is. She'll head off to look for it, then get distracted and wind up making a bigger mess.)
I also lack the energy right now to really enforce the "one toy out at a time rule." I'm moving slower than usual, and it's hard to bend over to pick up toys. So what usually happens when I see 3 more things out is that I give up. (Such bad parenting, I know.)
By naptime our entire apartment looks like Toys R' Us exploded. We don't have a playroom, so there are toys in the living room and in Stephanie's bedroom. But they also migrate to the dining room, the kitchen, and the master bedroom. And if she's gotten into the bathroom at all during the day, there are bath toys flung all over that room as well. It drives me CRAZY but right now there just isn't anything I can do about it. I also tell myself that it's going to be worse than this when the baby comes, because we'll be sleep deprived on top of taking care of two little ones. Maybe if I can train myself to relax about the clutter now, it will help me not to freak out then.
The best i've been able to do is make sure that it's all cleaned up every time she goes to bed. I do one big "clean-up" sweep at naptime, and another when she goes to bed. Then I have a few hours of serenity when I think "wow, our apartment can look really nice." Until, of course, she wakes up and the cycle begins again.
This was someone's facebook status this morning, and I just had to use it. It perfectly sums up the challenges of trying to keep a house clean with a toddler around. (Actually, i'm sure it applys to any age child, but my experience right now is with a toddler.)
Since we live in a small apartment, clutter gives me anxiety. It used to be so easy for me to run after Stephanie, cleaning up whenever she was done playing with something. I'm a big believer in "everything has a place," and I make sure that every time a new toy arrives in our house, it has a place to call home. But lately it's been harder and harder for me to keep up.
Part of the problem is that i'm trying to teach Stephanie to clean up after herself, and that once she's done playing with something it needs to get put away. She loves the "clean-up" song, and will help me clean up if I sing it. (She even sings along.) But she's only 18 months, so her attention span isn't always long enough to completely finish cleaning up an activity. Then by the time i'm done with it, she's taken 3 more things out...and moved onto something else. And of course, everything has a million pieces, which have often been strewn from one end of the apartment to another, so half of the cleaning time is spent searching out each part of a toy. (And try asking an 18 month old where something is. She'll head off to look for it, then get distracted and wind up making a bigger mess.)
I also lack the energy right now to really enforce the "one toy out at a time rule." I'm moving slower than usual, and it's hard to bend over to pick up toys. So what usually happens when I see 3 more things out is that I give up. (Such bad parenting, I know.)
By naptime our entire apartment looks like Toys R' Us exploded. We don't have a playroom, so there are toys in the living room and in Stephanie's bedroom. But they also migrate to the dining room, the kitchen, and the master bedroom. And if she's gotten into the bathroom at all during the day, there are bath toys flung all over that room as well. It drives me CRAZY but right now there just isn't anything I can do about it. I also tell myself that it's going to be worse than this when the baby comes, because we'll be sleep deprived on top of taking care of two little ones. Maybe if I can train myself to relax about the clutter now, it will help me not to freak out then.
The best i've been able to do is make sure that it's all cleaned up every time she goes to bed. I do one big "clean-up" sweep at naptime, and another when she goes to bed. Then I have a few hours of serenity when I think "wow, our apartment can look really nice." Until, of course, she wakes up and the cycle begins again.
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