Family Fun Day.

That's what was on the schedule for today, and I'm proud to say that we actually did it. :) It started with a trip to the hardware store, actually, to replace our edger that had died last fall. On our way we passed a Montessori school near our house that was having a fundraising carnival... of course Hannah wanted to check it out ("Mommy look, there's kids having fun over there!" LOL) and it was such a beautiful spring day that I agreed. So for $10 she jumped on the big inflatable thing and picked out a prize (pink lipgloss with a mirror for my princess, of course!); but it was the sheer delight on her face and in her laugh as she rode 'round and 'round on the airplane ride that really made the whole thing worth it. :) At home, Chris lit up the grill for dinner, and Hannah picked flowers from the clover that carpets our backyard to make a bouquet for Mommy. My favorite kind. :) After dinner we popped some popcorn and all watched Ice Age together as a family. Really it was a lovely day and I'm glad we got to spend some time together as a family, doing things that Hannah enjoys. William of course slept through the whole thing. ;)

As for the house... Nothing "officially" on the schedule for Saturdays but you know I couldn't resist getting a few things done in addition to my morning routines. Today I cleaned off another Hot Spot in our house, the washer and dryer: a big one for us, since it is the first flat surface we encounter as we come in the house from the garage (in practice, our main entrance, as we hardly use the front door). It is so easy to set stuff down there to deal with later, but then it's time to do laundry but first I have to spend half an hour cleaning off the machines... Not good. And while I had the machines uncovered, I decided to go ahead and toss in the wash a load of cloth placemats and napkins that my mother was nagging about the last time she was here. Of course about 2 minutes from the end of the cycle, I found another napkin under a pile of STUFF! Grrrr... I also did some more work in the kitchen, decluttering the kitchen counter and washing the stovetop and under it. The best part was when I was working in the kitchen and Hannah asked to help me! So I gave her a wet sponge and set her to work washing the lower kitchen cabinets and she went to town! Sweet girl. She can be such a good helper! :) I hope that the good cleaning habits I adopt from FlyLady will imprint on my kids, so that they will never have to live in a cluttered house like mine is and suffer from the effects of CHAOS (Can't Have Anyone Over Syndrome as FlyLady calls it! LOL)

A bit of baby news: I think William gave us his first "real" smile yesterday! :)

I'm back.

Yeah, ok, so it's been almost a year since I've posted, but hey, I warned you from the beginning that I have a hard time keeping up with this type of thing... But along with spring and the new baby (5 weeks old already!!!) I've been bitten by some kind of bug that's making me want to change the way I do things. Mainly it's been the state of my house, it's been getting on me for a while now but lately I just feel like I've had it up to HERE with all the mess and clutter everywhere. I think the final straw was in the first couple of weeks after the baby was born, and all my wonderful and dear friends brought me dinners... I had to welcome them into this horrendous mess and even through the sleep-deprived haze I really was quite embarassed that they should see my house at its worst. So I signed up for the email list at http://www.flylady.net/ since I'd heard of the FlyLady but not tried the program myself. So far so good! Since April 1st, my bed has been made before breakfast, and the sink clean and shiny every night before I go to bed! I'm doing the dishes as they're dirtied and have written out routines for myself for each day of the week, so I know that everything will get taken care of, but I won't get overwhelmed. I've identified the "Hot Spots" in my home and have cleaned off half of them (and kept them clean!) The last couple of days I've even been able to accomplish a few other tasks, like polishing my beautiful dinner table, decluttering the dining room, and cleaning out the car. Today I tackled the pantry, threw out a whole bunch of food that expired in 2005 (did you know that soda goes bad??), and reorganized the shelves. I was able to clear enough room at the bottom of the pantry to put brand new receptacles for trash and recycling - no more looking at the trash can in the kitchen or tripping over the recycling bag on the way to the laundry room! Woo hoo! :) I've got Hannah (age 5-1/2) involved too; she makes her bed first thing, she puts her dirty dishes in the dishwasher herself, and if she wants to take off her socks and shoes after school she has to do it in HER room, not my living room anymore! In a month or so I'll teach her how to do a "5-Minute Room Rescue" and we'll start getting her bedroom into order as we move many of her toys in there (and out of the living room, as most are a choking hazard for the baby). Best of all, I really feel like this is a change I can KEEP! :)