Lost in the heaps

I think that just about says it all. More and more, or maybe rather over and over, the piles and heaps and projects....they just keep coming back or getting bigger. There HAS to be a way to stay on top of all of this Sugar Honey Iced Tea!!! There HAS to! I have been trying to follow the FLYlady, but even that seems improbable. I just want to simplify our life! Get rid of the crap, stop spending money on crap that we really don't need (I think this is seriously an illness!!) I'm going to post this... totally raw and incomplete because it'll serve as a reminder later.. but for now... it's just a Blah blah blah.

Starting the FLYlady babysteps again.

I have been thinking that I should start over establishing my FLYlady routines because I haven't been keeping to a functional routine since B was born. So day 1:

"Go shine your sink"

OK.  I can do that.

Today I spent the entire day organizing our tools in the garage.  They have been waiting for about a year (since we redid the kitchen and put some of the old cabinets out there.  K helped me put together a shelf and attach old babyfood jars to it to hold misc. nails/screws/etc.  It looks really great.  I LOVE having a place for everything, and having everything in its place.  It just makes life feel so much more peaceful.

I got a new "android" phone the other day.  So I'll see if I can figure out how to post a pic on my blog.

Before:

After:

decluttering

I have been avoiding doing much decluttering because I really wanted to try to have a garage sale to get a little bit of cash to spend (since we are trying to watch our budget and I still have some little things I'd like to get for organization), but I decided yesterday that I am not interested in spending an entire weekend with people rummaging through my old stuff and then end up taking half of it to the thrift store anyway and we need the space in our garage to make it easier to get B and her car seat in and out of the car.  I cleared out 2 huge bins of old clothes (that went to CT and back without ever being unpacked) that had tons of stuff that I no longer fit in, but even if my efforts to lose these excess pounds works out, I shouldn't wear anyway.  I have to face the fact that I am no longer in my 20s.  sad.. I know.. but it's true.  ;) And I cleared out some boxes that never got unpacked when we finished our kitchen remodel (almost a year ago).  I finally found our banana hook!  YAY!!

shiney sink

Oh my!  We actually had EVERYTHING put away in the kitchen last night before bed.  I'm talking... Everything!!  Waking up to a super tidy space this morning was like a wonderful breath of fresh air (I am missing that in this stupid winter inversion crap-hole weather!!)  It is so much easier to keep things tidy once you start. Today, all I have to do is keep up, rather than catch up.  As long as everything has a place, it is really not too difficult to put it there.  We'll see how we're doing by the end of the day.  So far, things are going well.  :)

FLYlady.net

I started "FLYing" a little over a year ago.  (About 2 months before B was due, I think.)  Having a baby and trying to stick to a cleaning/decluttering/"pretty yourself up" routine is really, REALLY hard for me.  But now that B is nearly 14 months old, it has gotten a little easier to get things done.  So, we are going to try to get back to FLYing.  I think I'm going to attempt to post our progress with before and after pics, etc.  Maybe if the whole world can see my clutter, I'll be more motivated to fix it?  We are going to start with the "Baby Steps," but since we started this before, some of them are already part of our routine.  Those, we are going to kind of skip over, or do 2 in one day, etc.
One of these days I will overcome my "perfectionism!"  :D

babysteals.com

Again, I have hopped on at a very inopportune time, but I just wanted to throw out there that I have become addicted to babysteals.com and kidsteals.com.  <3

The girls and I are off to Willard as soon as I pick Elli up from school, so I guess Daddy gets a very VERY rare, weekend ALONE!

it's been a very long time

It has been way too long since I posted last.  I have a hard time figuring out how to make this site function and I have a hard time remembering my password.  i can't believe the only thing I have posted about Bree is the fact that I was pregnant with her.  OI..... so much has happened since then.  I'm going to try to keep up on this a little better.  Just in case anyone cares to keep track.  :)

gdiapers

http://www.gdiapers.com/

I read an article about these little diapers a long time ago, but figured they were like cloth diapers so I didn't bother looking into them. I saw them in a great new store in Ogden called Green the World on Monday after our dr. visit so I asked the store owner about how they work. THESE BABIES ARE SHEER GENIUS!!! They have a cloth outside, but inserts that work like disposables. BUT... the inserts are not only biodegradable... they are COMPOSTABLE (the wet ones)!!! AND, the cloth outsides dont usually get wet or poopy, so you don't have the water consumption of cloth diapers either.

I have decided that I am going to go pick up a large starter kit rather than a new package of Huggies to use for Elli until she doesn't need diapers anymore. And then we can use them for the new baby when he/she gets into the large size. I'M SO EXCITED!

a new addition

We decided a couple of months ago that we were ready to try to have another baby, and as efficient as we are, it only took us one go at it. LOL
I actually took 6 tests before we decided "forget it" we're just going to go to the doctor and find out for sure. The 1st 2 were negative. The next 3 were supposed to have a blue vertical line to indicate a positive result, but the lines were barely visable-transparent. We waited about a week then took one more that was supposed to have a purple horizontal line if negative or a purple + if positive. there was a transparent horizontal line and a super super teeny tiny thin as thin can get vertical line.

So the doc said their test was positive and he did an ultrasound but said that it was about a week too early to see a yolksac. But he could tell that I ovulated from my left ovary which Kev says means that the baby will be a lefty. LOL I have another appt in a couple of weeks when we should be able to see a little heartbeat.

We are nervous about the possible genetic issues we could have and are not looking forward to waiting 5-6 weeks to have the genetic testing done, but we are staying positive and hoping for a "normal" result.

To explain that, Kevin is a carrier of what's called a chromosome translocation. Some of the information from his chromosomes 3 and 13 are in the wrong place. So depending on which chromosomes were in the sperm that fertilized the egg, the baby can either be:
1-normal
2-a carrier like kev
3- too much 3 too little 13 or
4- too much 13 too little 3.

If one of the latter occurs, and the baby actually comes full term, the baby will have lots of "anomalies" and would live in the hospital with machines keeping it alive until it's poor little body finally gave out. But most likely, if the baby has the translocation, it will probably miscarry on it's own.

When I am 11-13 weeks, I can get what is called a CVS (chorionic villus sample) or at 15-16 weeks I can get an amnio to find out the genetic make up of the baby, and it's gender. I had an amnio with Elli and I really don't want to have to do that again. But I guess the CVS could be just as bad.

So now we wait (and try to remember what I can and can't do as a pregnant lady).

At Peace

Kevy made breakfast this morning (french toast), then Elli and I headed out to clear out the dead veggies and weeds from the garden while Kev did homework. We found a HUGE "baby hopper" (grasshopper) that Elli wanted to "hold it" but she refused to pick it up by herself. Every time it would hop away she'd say "pick it, Mama" then she wanted it "on arm." She is so cute! I love that she's a little comentator. The grasshopper was missing one of its hopping legs, so it couldn't jump far. When it hopped from her arm to her tummy she told me it was "on jacket." She actually called it "ginormous." It was hilarious.

After being so productive cleaning the house Friday and then getting out and getting stuff done again this morning; today is the first time in as long as I can remember that I haven't felt guilty about just lying down on the couch and doing absolutely nothing. I don't have that little nagging voice in the back of my head saying that I should be doing something. I LOVE IT! I don't even feel guilty about not helping Kev make dinner :) (we're having lasagna).