A Few Constants

I laughed to myself today while realizing the few constants that present themselves in my life lately.

I can always count on finding miscellaneous items in random places due to a certain Charlotte.

I discovered this the day after I went out and finally bought Charlotte a new toothbrush.

Velcro rollers, baby monitor, rolls of tape, formula dispenser, baby toys - all in Darby's crate.
(Darby doesn't spend as much time in there lately)

Fridge Phonics in the bathroom

I can also count on my dog doing this:

In the family room

On the new couch that is for the basement but since the basement is not ready, it's in the great room.

In my bed.

The other constant is that Charlotte will try to step, stand, or sit in just about everything that isn't intended for it.

Climbs in but is instantly distressed.

She dumps out all of the blocks and climbs right in

In a doll box

So if there are a few things that I can count on, it's those things. And also heartburn.

How I Do It All

Hahahahahaha - "How I Do It All". I've never been accused of doing it all. I don't claim that I do. Sometimes, however, it feels like I do.
When I left my job to stay home I knew I had to make it a job. I can't just stay home and pretend that it's enough work on it's own.
I am easily overwhelmed when I have a big to do list. So to remedy that, I made a simple list of things I should get done each day. I have it posted on my little chalk board to remind myself what I need to get done, and if I'm feeling ambitious, I can do some extra things or some "chores" for tomorrow.
I don't mind doing most of the tasks. I like the idea of checking things off my list. What I'm getting really really sick of though? Picking up blocks. Collecting scattered books from all over the house. Lining up the many, many toys around the perimeter of our family room. Yeah yeah. I know. I have years of this ahead of me. I am seriously considering packing up 3/4 of Charlotte's toys and just hiding them for a while. She probably wouldn't even notice.
The thing that bugs me is that when the toys are picked up the house looks so clean. Never mind that I washed all the baseboards today, wiped down all the doors, doorknobs, light switch plates, and hand rails. Don't worry that I mopped all the hard surfaces and vacuumed the couch 3 times this week. I sanitize the shower, tub and bathroom counters on Wednesdays and dust all of the furniture on Tuesdays. I do a total of 8 loads of laundry a week.
But if I don't pick up those stinking toys? It looks like I didn't do a thing all day. SO. ANNOYING.

What you can't see is that the tile around the fireplace has been mopped, I washed all the fingerprints off the fireplace glass, dusted the electronics, and polished the furniture.

Would I be mean if I hid a majority of her toys...at least until the playroom is finished?

Steamless

Last week I wrote about running out of steam. Yesterday I think I was officially out of steam.
This transition to one nap has been a challenge. For both of us. Charlotte usually does great in the morning, until about 11. I can't put her down for a nap then, because it's likely she'll wake by 1:00, and then will be a wreck by 5. When she napped twice a day, she'd take two 2+hour naps, now it's one 2 hour nap. I know that's probably sort of normal for a lot of kids. But dropping the morning nap has only meant that she can stay up a little longer in the morning, but remains whiny later.
She's just been extra crabby and I can't figure it out. She's become extra clingy to me, uses me as her personal jungle gym, and her new favorite activity is dropping things down my shirt and searching for them. It's like she's a teenage boy in disguise.

"UPFF!!"

Today I had an epiphany. She's been on an antibiotic for about 8 days, and though her nose has stopped running, she's even more crabby than before. Instead of her normal predictable 1 poop a day, it's been upwards of 4 times. She arches her back in her car seat, and has random angry outbursts. Duh. It occurred to me that her tummy probably hurts because of the antibiotic. 

Also, today she woke up a little earlier than normal, so I put her down for a quiet time around 9:45 (her previous morning nap time). She wasn't crabby when I put her down, but I just thought we're going to try this whole "quiet time" thing. She immediately zonked out, and I went in to wake her at 11:45. I was able to get SO MUCH DONE during that time because I wasn't completely worn out from her hanging on me all day. I'm sure she'll be ready to take another nap by 2. And we'll all be much happier.

Last night I felt extraordinarily guilty about my attitude. I was so, so tired of being tugged on, the tantrums, and trying to find distractions for whiny behavior. Marcus came to the rescue and took her for a walk while I prepared dinner. When they came back, Charlotte had her hands full.

One leaf for every tree they passed.

She gobbled up dinner, took a bath, and was in bed by 7:20.
We're both doing much, much better today. And perhaps this one nap thing is just a bunch of BS.
I know it must be normal to feel the way I've felt this week. It just hasn't happened to me since I left my job. And I hope that it doesn't become a way of life!

What is your solution for feeling burned out?

I'm Melting.

Holy moly it's hot, people.
I know. It's hot other places too, and upper 90s is normal. But we're in Michigan. A heat index of 105 for days at a time is too hot.
So now that Charlotte is finally down to one nap a day, that leaves a big chunk of the day where I need to find something to do, and when it's been so hot, I don't know what to do.
At the recommendation of some friends, I took her to the library on Tuesday, and I am so glad I did. I don't know if I've ever seen Charlotte so excited. She was the youngest kid there by just a couple of months, and she didn't sit for the last story, but she did really great.

There are quilts! Hanging on the walls!

We were the first to arrive, so Charlotte had full run of the place and decided that the chair in the front would have to be hers.
I wish I could have taken pictures the whole time because it was ridiculous. The reader (I don't think she was a librarian...not sure who she was exactly...community service?) came out with a puppet, and I think Charlotte had bite marks in her index fingers from chomping down on them with excitement. I made a mental note to get a puppet for crabby times. There were songs in between each story and even though she didn't dance along much, I'm pretty sure Charlotte was peeing her pants the whole time out of sheer delight.
After the stories and songs were over, the kids lined up and got a stamp of an ice cream cone on their hand. Why? Who cares. If she could talk she would tell us that she would cherish her first stamp forever, and you better not give me a bath tonight!!

She caught a ghost with her bare hands during activity time.

Overall, it was a great way to spend part of the morning, and I think we'll be going each Tuesday for a little while. I also am signing us up for a music & me class in August with one of my friends and her little girl. It's things like these that seem so corny, but make me love being a mom.

Charlotte also had her 18 month well check this week, and she's still in just the 25% for her weight, and still at 75% for height. I can't wait for her to be a model and bring home the bacon. I was convinced she had an ear infection, but since she was having a spaz attack during her entire check up, it was too hard to get a good look at her ears, nose and throat. But she was put on an antibiotic due to a runny nose for 3 weeks, and four doses in, the snot has stopped.

We also stayed home for the first time in like 9 years for the 4th of July. It's just easier these days. I took Charlotte to her first parade (last year she was in one with me, but slept the whole time) and it was frickin broiling hot.

I'm pretending to enjoy this. I'm hot, and where are the horses? 

In other, being a SAHM mom, news: I am saving so much money on hair product and cosmetics! Sure, I look homeless most of the time and Sephora is calling me and asking where I've been, but at least I'm saving literally dollars per month! Tonight, I stopped into the beloved Sephora, and I just browsed. No one convinced me to buy some fancy skin illuminator, eyelid primer, or even a new brush head for my Clarisonic. I left without that cute black bag. I should get paid for this.

And only because this is awesome, I leave you with this:

This is the face she makes when she wakes up to an iPhone in her face.

Running Out Of Steam

I'm just about 28 weeks pregnant now, and I am feeling it. I'm not so light on my feet. I'm clumsy (the random bruises are proof). I'm waddling. I'm hormonal.
I'm pretty confident I won't be collecting any mother of the year awards anytime soon. I've never done this before and we're basically just getting by.
It's just been so hot lately and I've been exhausted. I don't know how to entertain an 18 month old. Charlotte doesn't need that much actual entertaining, but part of the reason I left my job when I did was so I could enjoy the summer being a mom of one. I need ideas for activities with her.
She's successfully transitioned to one nap in the last week, so that frees up more time in the morning. What do you do to stay sane in the heat with a toddler?

And because I don't have much more to say at the moment, here's a video I took today. I find it funny.

Sidenote - I think she's ready for her first haircut.