Well that was frustrating...

Blogger deleted all posts made after Wednesday!!!

So my frugal instincts have been having a detrimental effect on my wallet.

Bear is chronically "irritated".  His muscle tone is so tight that he kind of exists on his last nerve for much of the time.  And while he is on medicine to combat it, it's not 100% effective.  Add this irritation to teething and we're in a fussy nightmare. 

So I've been looking into amber teething necklaces and THANKFULLY!!! Bear is only getting his FIRST tooth now so I've had time.

BabyHalfOff had InspiredbyFinn Amber Teething Necklaces on sale for, yep you guessed it, 50% off!
So we're now on the bandwagon.

Tomorrow we have a baby sitter coming (who so graciously volunteered last month) so that Hubs and I can get some work done on the house, for Bear's 1st birthday, in the yard, and run some errands. 

This means I'm on with my own Clean Up Smackdown!

Okay last time I emptied the dishwasher while Bear played on the floor.  Can I empty the dishwasher and dish rack this time?!  And go!!!

Yes I know, I have a sitter coming, so I can clean.  But, I want it to seem like I'm I've got this whole Stay At Home Mom thing down not near as messy as I really am.

I'm just one of those people that falls in the category of last minute inspired procrastinator.  I'm trying to change my ways.  I have cleaning schedules, and home organization guides, etc and for some reason I always choose Bear over schedules.

My home is not DIRTY.  I never let it get that far, but there is usually a pile of clean laundry folded in the living room, dirty bottes on the table waiting to get rinsed for the dishwasher, an unmade bed, and some cat food spilled over the bowl.

What usually happens is it stays this way for a few days week, until I finally get so sick of it that I make Hubs watch Bear for an hour while I do my Clean Up Smackdown.

Today it was supposed to happen during naptime (which is going on currently), however, I forgot to turn on his sound machine.  So I can't clean up much without making noise and waking my baby.

Or I'm just using this as an excuse to sit on my butt and blog and watch terrible afternoon TV.

Or both.......

How I Recover

Yesterday was a rough day. I bawled my eyes out and went to bed feeling like a failure.  Hubs did night duty (I have no idea what I would without him, seriously) and I went to bed in an effort to make today a better day.

So today I vowed to have a day to recover. 

1) The Lord hears prayers and I get out of bed at 7:30 and Bear is still asleep.

2) Make the bed.  For some reason a fresh made bed just instantly makes me feel better.  Don't judge my decor, it's a new comforter and I have yet to buy new matching bedding and curtains.


3) Half unload the dishwasher, those darn plastics take forever to dry!


4) Get the washer and dryer both empty from last night's laundry showdown



























5) Deep clean the kitchen table


7) It's almost 9 AM and Bear finally wakes up.  Go get him, change his diaper, give him medicine and put him on the floor to play.

8) Sit down and enjoy this

 While he watches the baby


So that I can do a little of this


Cleaning is so therapeutic to me.  It feels like every mark I wash away, every bit of garbage is another stressor gone from my life.  Every time we donate to Goodwill I feel as though I have a little more room to breathe again.  I love having enough stuff so that my home works for me, but not enough stuff so that I feel crowded.

Today is a much better day.  Bear is sick and vomited all over me and himself, so I bathed him and have another load of laundry going.  I made a loaf of bread (that unfortunately collapsed a bit) and tidied up a bit more.

Sometimes, when it rains and pours.   And sometimes, you can't do anything but play in the puddles.