Project: Move - Keeping the House Clean

This might just be the part that I am the most nervous and stressed about.  

We were told that we could have a showing at any moment... we could be at work and get called and told "someone wants to come over tonight." and have no way of running home to pick up.  As a result, We must have a spotless house every time we leave. Eeks! It will only help sell the house quicker.

Brian and I are not neat freaks by any means.   You could probably call us messy.  And we have a toddler! A toddler that can destroy a nice, neat room, in a matter of seconds.

We have had to set rules and boundaries...

We must clean before heading to bed.  
No dirty dishes... if the washer is full and running, we need to hand clean whatever would not fit.
Scoop out kitty litter daily. (We should have been doing this all along huh!?)
When getting dressed in the morning, we must put away our clothes, close all drawers, put away the make up bag and straightener... we need to remember to pick up after ourselves.... right away!

It is going to be hard...

But you know what... if we can make it a habit, it would be AMAZING!   Last night, as I turned off the lights and headed to bed, I thought, "Man, the house looks pretty good... and it feels pretty good!" There was zero stress about "I need to find time to mop the floor." because we are making sure it is getting done. We are making it a priority.  And it feels nice to have some control over it.

So here's to a pretty, sparklie, beautiful house, that gets sold FAST! ... before we lose our minds trying to keep it this way!

Project: Move

HAS BEGUN!!

We'll take one of those please

I think we need one of those kiddie leashes.  Seriously.

I always thought they were super goofy, but Leah has now proven that they might be pretty useful.

I mistakenly gave her a little taste of freedom when I let her walk, while holding my hand, out of Burger King and to the car.   Then I let her walk thru the Library (Side note: Leah will NOT be returning to the library anytime soon!   She RAN thru the isles, ripping books off the shelves, screaming in pure joy... )

Now everytime we are out she wants to dive out of my arms so she can walk by herself.   It wouldnt be so bad if she would stand next to me or hold my hand.... but she runs in the opposite direction! Separation Anxiety? Its a thing of the past I guess.  

The leash totally makes sense now.... she can walk, be away from me by a few feet, still have her freedom, but I wont be chasing her down constantly....

So yes? No? Maybe so?!

Would you give me the side eye if you saw us out with it on?

Snow Day 2011

 It was rough.


I thought I could attempt to work from home and watch Leah. As soon as I woke up (5:30a) and saw that daycare was closed, I jumped on the computer to try to get some time in… I hoped for a few hours, then get some time during her 2 good naps, and maybe sometime once Brian came back home…. Ha! I barely got anything done work wise…

Instead:

She tore apart the house, as seen in the picture from my prior post.

We ventured out in the foot of snow. I put sandwich baggies on her feet in the place of snow boots. Leah fell face first into it and didn’t even mind!

We played with every toy.

We unloaded the dishwasher. Leah would take each piece out, play with it for a second, and then hand it to me to put away. It took us over a half hour.

Leah took an hr long nap.

We made mac n cheese for lunch.

We played with water in the sink.

We built towers and then knocked them down.

We stood at the door and watched the plow trucks clear the street and the street across from us.

We read some books.

We played with more toys.

My cabin fever grew.

She went down for another 45 minute nap. (I nearly cried)

Leah brought me my coat. Then brought me her coat, and began to wave bye-bye. Leah had cabin fever too…. So we went outside... again.

We went for a walk in our neighbor’s wagon.

We built with more blocks.

We put headbands on each other and pretend to blow our noses.

We played with toys again.

Daddy came home!!

We made dinner and ate as a family.

Leah had a bath… and then POOPED in the tub!!!!! Adjhfajsdfhasdjfhadjfasdkj!

And then she passed out while lying on the couch with me… at 6:45pm.

And I was asleep by 8:30.

It totally wore me out! Leah seriously has the shortest attention span ever and refuses to leave my side. I have no idea how people survive as a stay at home mom! More power to them because it totally is not for me!

Disaster area

The result of almost a foot of snow and being stuck in the house.....  Leah really does have a minute long attention span.

Lil' Momma

Friday night Brian and I got to babysit the neice and nephew!  I was super excited to have Dominic and Jenna over, but a little nervous.  Brian was thrilled to have Dom to play video games with all night and I would have the two little girls.

Usually whenever I hold Jenna (3 months) Leah becomes very jealous and tries to push Jenna out of my arms.  Part of me thought the whole night would be filled with me feeding Jenna and Leah screaming....

The night began a little like that... Leah started to show her jealousy.   I let Leah sit on the couch next to me while I fed Jenna her bottle and she slowly became a little more interested.  Leah just kept looking at her, and poking her...

Then I changed Jenna's diaper and Leah decided it was time for her to take over!!   It began with Leah bringing Jenna her blanket and binkie, and deciding that Jenna needed another diaper change...

She got out her diaper and a wipe...



 And Jenna needed her face wiped off.  Mommy seems to always be doing that!

Then it was time for a binkie!

But Jenna wouldnt take it, and Leah just couldnt figure out why

 Then it was time for someone to have a bib..... was it for Leah?  (she put it on herself!)

Or did Jenna need it?

 It was crazy to watch Leah pretend to do everything!! With her baby dolls, Leah usually just picks them up, hugs them, and then throws them.... I guess she is ready for a little brother or sister!

Sporatic Friday

I am feeling pretty scatter brained lately. I have a lot to say, but I just can’t seem to write more than 2 sentences on anything…. So here are the random facts about the Gilmore family…



Leah:

• Leah is RUNNING! She loves to just run thru-out the house, around corners…. Into corners, tables, and doorways….

• Yesterday I picked her up from daycare. She was excited to see me, but rather walk to me to pick her up, she just started walking towards the door waving…. She was all “Let’s get out of here mom!”

• She is also now saying “Uh-Oh” along with her “this” and “whats this”. I feel like “Mama” and “Dada” is beginning to come out a little more often with the intention of it being directed to Brian and I…

• She will throw things in the trashcan when asked, and also loves to help put clothes in the washer.

• I have decided to stop rocking her. I feel like we were having issues with her waking up in the middle of the night and just wanting to be rocked. She would wake up, I’d pick her up, start rocking, and she would immediately go back to sleep. But the second I put her in bed, she was back up… She is almost 14 months old… and too old to be rocked to sleep. So the past couple of nights if she wakes up, I lay her back down and sit down on the floor next to her crib. Sometimes I will put my hand thru the bars and rub her leg… others I just lay on her floor. I think she is comforted by just knowing I am there… she has been doing great at it! Hopefully she will stop needing me to come into her room altogether! … I can hope right!?

• She is getting moved up to the next room at daycare! We are on our 3rd room people!! Holy big kid! … which by the way, seeing Leah with all her little friends… she totally is the big kid! That 98th percentile thing is true.


Brian:

• He is the same old Brian….

Me:

• Last night I had a dream about Meteors hitting Japan and causing flooding…. What on earth does that mean!? I usually dream about Tornadoes when I am stressed… its supposed to mean that I feel like my life is spinning out of control. What about Meteors, and world destruction!?

• I did not pass my test… again. I got a 4… which is the best I have gotten yet, but I need a 6… I am a mix between being super mad and OK with it… Obviously having a child is hampering me passing these exams…. But I do have a job as an actuary now. Who cares when I pass my exams… wait! My Company does! If I don’t pass an exam in 3 tries, I get fired…. Darn it! This is what stresses me out! New study materials are ordered, I will be going to a seminar (aka math camp) for the exam… I should pass in May! If not, I don’t know what else to do…

• Yep… going to a seminar in either NYC or Chicago… 4 nights away from Brian and Miss Leah, in the middle of tax season…. That’s stress me out right there… plus I will be going to IN for work in March as well (Finally meeting my boss!)… This will be a new test for our family.

• We are thinking about putting our house on the market next month…. It terrifies me! Its not the moving thing, or the finances thing… it’s the keeping the house SUPER DUPER clean thing! OMG its going to be hard! The house IS cleaner lately… we have been de-cluttering TONS and moving a lot of extra stuff to my parents…I sweep and mop the kitchen floor nightly now… but its so hard with a little one, and working full time, and studying, and tax season, and trying to remain sane…. I will definitely need a vacation after all of this!

• And have I mentioned I am going to NKTOBSB in July!?

• Funny fact about my job… the one other girl that is on my team, in the STL office, is also named Kim. Our company is built around conference calls, so you cant exactly who someone is talking to, its just “Kim do this”…”Well Kim…” To make things even more confusing she is Kim K. I used to be Kim K. I often try to answer for her, and tell people on the phone that I am Kim K. … its so confusing!

• Another name/work thing… I have maybe known 1 or 2 other Kim’s my whole life…. In my department of 27 in the STL office there are 3 of us! That’s over 10%. Maybe Kim’s tend to be Actuaries?

OMG NKTOB AND BSB

I have a confession.

I love boy bands. Really, its not even a confession because I am not embarassed in the least about it! I have loved them for as long as I can remember!

I think it started when I was 5 with New Kids on the Block. I remember having tshirts, a life size poster on the back of my door, and always naming my Ken dolls Joey or Jordan. One of my most favorite memories of my Grandpa Kozlen is him asking me and by best friend Ashley which one we would marry. I had a shirt with their faces on it, and Ashley and I quickly pointed to Joey.

Then I hit 7th grade and Backstreet Boys entered my life. They were the first big concert I attended. I was hooked. I eventually made it to 3 BSB concerts and 5 Nsync concerts (Plus some 98 degrees, and LFO) before turning 18. I had friendships based on the love for these groups. We would stay up late at night watching recorded performaces over and over.

I still love them. Listening to the music brings back so many great memories of just being a young girl, daydreaming, and hanging out.

Then I heard the amazing news that New Kids and BSB were going on tour... TOGETHER!! Its like a match made in heaven!! Tickets are bought, and I am extremly giddy! I feel like I am 14 again, just counting down the days to a big concert. I am going with my best friend, the same best friend that I have been to all the big concerts with. We havent seen eachother much lately, but a great concert can always bring us together! I just cannot wait! We of course will be getting a hotel room so that we can enjoy the night to the fullest! We will be 14 years old alcohol!!!

Just watch this amazingness.... I CANNOT WAIT!! Only a little over 7 more months to go!

A little late

I finally received my Christmas present from Brian!!

He specially ordered a stackable birthstone ring in Leah's birthstone.   I always knew I wanted a birthstone ring for Leah... but I didnt want a regular old ring with her stone on it. I know (hope) we will have more children and I wanted a ring that I could always wear, but not be favoring one child over the other. I love the look or stackable rings, and when I saw these at Kays.com, I just knew it was exactly what I wanted!!

(sorry for the crappy pictures!)

I love the idea of a wedding ring... it symbolizes the love for my husband and the promise of life with him.  In my head, this ring, and future rings, will be a symbol of my love and the promise to my children.  

I rarely wear any other rings... I have big hands, and usually only big fancy, expensive rings look OK on them. (I swear! A danty ring on me just looks funny!) So until we have more children and I can add to this one, I think I will wear it along with my wedding rings.   I sort of cant wait to have more children for the fact that I will get to add rings! :)

 

I just love it!! Its so much prettier in person too, The pictures do not do it justice.   If you are interested, check out Kays and their personalize jewerly section.  Its a very reasonable price for a ring that I plan to wear for the rest of my life!

Thank you Brian!!

Exploring the Great Outdoors

When trying to prevent boredem this weekend I decided to take Leah outside to just wonder. She LOVED it.   She didn't care that it was only 30 something degrees outside. Mama was cold, but she just wanted to wander.   She was very upset when we finally went inside.

I loved watching her wander.   I cant wait till it gets warmer and we can start going to the park again.   Come on warm weather!! 

Thought Process of a 13 month old

Just a typical evening playing....

"Man, I love my car! Its like my own little space.   I should put the DVDs in it with me."

"Ah, now I need to do a little rearranging of them."

"Time to get in too."

"Mom!! Why do I not fit very well anymore!?! I cant get my legs in!"

Welcome to the land of Boo-Boos

I always heard that when little ones begin walking, along come the boo-boos.... well, it has begun.

She looks like she got in a fight!



This is the result of two seperate falls...

The first vertical cut occured the other night... I am not exactly sure she what happened... she was holding a broom, and walking... tripped, screamed, and this scratch appeared.   It did not look nearly this bad at first... it seemed to have scabbed really thickly.

Then yesterday we decided to take Leah outside for a bit to experience the 60 degree weather we were having (yes, 60 degrees in Dec... it did result in tornadoes.  One touching down about 2 miles from my parents house).  Leah has just started trying to run... she got on the driveway, started to run away, and then ate concreate.

Poor little thing... she just looks so sad... I feel horrible, but I know this is just the beginning!