Crazy is my New Normal

It's so easy to forget about projects. We always start things with the best of intentions and then they fall to the wayside... I guess this blog is very much like that. I started it like I had started all of my diaries as a little girl. I was determined to write something almost every day. To motivate myself to keep a clean house. Guess what... Life happened.

When I last wrote, I was in the process of moving. We moved. Thankfully, it's been a wonderful move and we're now living in the same place for over 3 years (almost a record for us!) We've gone from two to four kids. I've had surgery. I've learned how to sew. And I've started getting cleaning help.

The Flylady  always says, "You are not behind! I don't want you to try to catch up; I just want you to jump in where we are. O.K.?" and she's right. One of the reasons I hadn't written anything on my blog is because I felt like there was too much in my life to catch up on. But the fact is, if I would stop getting hung up on what's holding me back and just write, then I wouldn't be behind.

So here I am. My house is a mess. My kids are crazy. But I'm not behind. I'm right where I'm supposed to be. And I'm enjoying every second of it.

I Can't Help You - I'm Busy Procrastinating

This chicken pox thing is really taking it's toll on me.

When I first started this blogging challenge, on one hand I was completely nervous. On the other hand, I knew that by signing up, I'd be ensuring that my cleaning would get done. I knew that these 30 days would be the best my home has ever looked.

I was wrong. Chicken Pox has a way of changing things for everybody.

While I'm so happy that the only symptoms my son has are the spots all over his body, it's no fun having a kid completely stuck at home who feels totally fine. He's going a little stir crazy. And he's stirring up a lot of messes with him.

So, I need to watch him like a hawk. He has decided today, to test the laws of gravity. Let's just say that there have been many injuries today.

I have not been able to leave his side. And I am completely wiped out.

If only he would take a nap, I might be able to wash my dishes from the weekend. Or do some laundry. Or even make dinner.

But I can't do any of those things. And by the time he goes to bed, I'm ready to sleep as well.

So instead of pushing myself to get things done, I have decided that the only way to keep my sanity this week, is by procrastinating.

Yes, you read that right. My plan for the next couple of days is to procrastinate.

Life threw me a few curve balls this week. I'm just trying to roll with the punches.

Mama Said There'll be Days Like This

This post is dedicated to one of my loyal readers. She's also known as my sister (so she has to be a loyal reader!)

When reading of my troubles with the chicken pox, she quoted this song in her comment. Since then, I have not been able to get the song out of my head. I've decided that if it's going to be stuck in my head, it needs to be stuck in all of yours as well.

Today was one of those days that Mama said we'd have. One kid was stuck home with the chicken pox. I (stupidly?) allowed another kid with the chicken pox to come over and have a play date. On top of it all, I didn't sleep well last night.

So what have I done today? Nothing. Didn't wash a single dish. Didn't make any food. Didn't do any laundry. Didn't clean up any toys.

On second thought, Mama didn't warn me about these days. She prayed they wouldn't happen!

Of Parenting and Pox

I was going to write this whole long post today about the benefits of going back to basics. But life has a habit of getting in the way.

Today, life is defined as two kids, one with flu like symptoms, and the other, with something that looks a lot like chicken pox.

I'm pooped.

I started my day with such vigor. I made a batch of bread this morning. I also made a quadruple batch of banana muffins (thanks to a sale on bananas!)

And then kid #1 got sick. I spent all day with her. I was exhausted by the time the kids were ready for bed. Unfortunately, it was while changing kid #2 into pajamas when I noticed the unmistakable spots.

So... I guess we'll get back to basics tomorrow. And I can be thankful for whatever I did manage to accomplish today (even though I left myself with the mountain of all mountains of dishes).

Sleepless in the Sack

As a kid, I always heard the jokes about the worrisome mother. I never really felt like my mom was one of those. She wasn't the mom who made curfews or lots of rules. She never made any issues about where I was, or who I was with. I always figured that my mom simply didn't worry, and therefore, I never really got the joke.

I get it now.

As I'm writing this, it's 4:30 in the morning. I didn't just wake up. I've been awake for many hours. But I don't have trouble sleeping regularly. I go to sleep generally in the 10 PM hour, and I sleep until 6:15 every morning. It's a really good night's sleep and I always feel refreshed in the morning.

But tonight is different. And as a mom, I have gotten somewhat used to this. My seven year old daughter woke me up at around 1 AM and said that she couldn't sleep. So the first thing I did was let her cuddle with us. I assumed that we'd all be back asleep within minutes. (Or at least my husband would be).

While lying in my bed, I felt my daughter's arm next to mine. It was hot. Without even putting a hand to her forehead, I knew she was sick. The thermometer confirmed my suspicions. 102.5 - she was sick, all right!

I got up, got her some meds, a drink, and a bunch of kisses. Then I tucked her back in and she went to bed.

Now everyone is asleep except for me. Why am I still awake?

I have taken care of my daughter so she can fall back asleep. And I can't sleep.

I have checked on her again, in addition to her little brother, and still I can't sleep.

I have checked my email, facebook, and twitter.

I have caught up on all of my outstanding "Draw Something" games.

I have put in a load of laundry.

I have loaded and started the dishwasher.

I made 2 different long distance phone calls.

And I rested in my bed for 3 hours. Still I can't sleep.

I have become the mother that I never knew I would be - the mother that my mother has always been. And I finally understand her coffee addiction :-)

Lessons from a Toddler

My nephew is three years old. I know I'm a bit biased, but he really is one of the cutest people I know.

The other day, my sister shared a story about him that can motivate any flybaby.

When it was time for him to come out of the bath, the first thing he had to do was clean up his toys. Now, when we have to clean up in our own home, we end up singing the clean up song (made famous by Barney). But my nephew took his cleaning up to a whole new level. He made it into a game.



He took each toy individually and dance it over to the other side of the tub. It was his little way of saying goodbye to each toy.

Remember Mary Poppins' famous words? "In every job that must be done, there is an element of fun. We find the fun and, SNAP! The job's a game!" (I first blogged about Mary Poppins here).

At only three years old, and probably without ever seeing Mary Poppins, this little boy has so much that he can teach us.

Now I just have to get my butt into gear and turn cleaning my kitchen into a game!

I'm Thankful for.... the End of the Day

I'm sure that reading blogs everywhere today, people with an American heritage are talking about Thanksgiving and all the wonderful things they are thankful for. People are thankful for their families, friends, homes, jobs or even video games.

But my husband is away. He has been for over two weeks and it will be another two weeks before he comes home. I don't live near any family, and as we're fairly new to the community, I'm not friends with any of my neighbors.

So today, I am thankful that the day is ending. I no longer have to deal with the kid who is really potty trained but still manages to get all his clothing wet. I no longer have to deal with the girl who absolutely does not pay attention to me whenever I ask her to do something. I no longer have to deal with the girl with the lice in her hair. And I no longer have to deal with the guest who came over, stuffed our toilet, and didn't tell me.

My day is over, and THAT is the thing I am most grateful for.

Happy Thanksgiving!

The Adventures of Captain Underpants -- I Mean Captain No-Pants

Day three in our toilet training adventure has come and gone. Actually, it was gone a lot sooner than it should have been as I gave in and put a diaper on too early this afternoon. Though despite my giving in, DS2 definitely learned something today.

We started our day as we have been this week. Wake up, get changed, eat breakfast and then strip my son. As soon as he was in his birthday suit he ran to his potty. Albeit, he only ran there because he knew I'd put his favorite video on for him to watch, but still, he was excited to go there.

I've found that he could stay accident free for a couple of hours, and since I know his schedule, I decided to unpack the house a bit more. This was why I wasn't near him for his accident.

All of a sudden, I heard my son screaming for me, "Mommy!!!!" He ran to me. And while holding and pointing to himself, he said, "Water! There!"

Well, first I started laughing at the image before me. But when I started to calm down, I realized that even though he had an accident, he made huge progress. It was the first time he was conscious of the fact that he had an accident!

Well later in the morning, he came crying to me, "Mommy, come look!" I went with him to look and lo and behold, he had peed in his potty! YAY!!!! Of course, he couldn't get over the fact that he "made a mess" but we'll fix that... When I finally got him to stop crying, he knew the next part was to empty the potty in the bathroom. He wanted to do it himself!

I guess with everything you have to take babysteps.

Toilet Training for Dummies.... I Mean Mommies

I wish each kid would come with their own manual. I'd be so easy to know when to toilet train and how to toilet train. But what I'm doing, is NOT working.

Thankfully, I had a better day overall. I was determined to be optimistic today. So I got up, got dressed and felt good about my appearance and started a load of laundry. I cleaned up the living room and even rearranged some furniture. I finally felt ready for the day and so I undressed my son.

Caution: Speed Bumps Ahead

I started my morning so optimistic. I was totally on a roll. I'm on a great weight-loss streak, I feel good, I got dressed, cleaned the bathrooms, cleaned the living room, got the kids dressed and set off for our day. But as we all know, life never turns out the way we plan. That is the understatement of the year.

And.... We're Off!

My son wanted to watch a movie on my computer. So I sat him down on a regular chair and told him that if he has to pee he needs to use the toilet.

As a precaution, my son decided he was better off just sitting on the potty :-)

Time for Training!

My son is going to be three in a couple of months, and since we were moving to a bigger place, I had pushed off toilet training till now. The fact is, I didn't need much reason to push off toilet training. I hate it. With my older daughter, I pushed it off even longer until my sister finally made me do it one day in her house.