Things I Have Done Lately That Have Caused Me To Wonder When I Will Get Better At Life

1. Shook up Claire's strawberry-flavored (and COLORED) amoxycillin... without the lid.

2. Gotten thrown up on by a baby who is apparently sensitive to oatmeal.  In my hair, her hair, my clothes, her ears, my legs, and the floor.  Sticking to rice cereal from now on.

3. Spilled my whole grande peppermint mocha (which means dark syrup) alllll ovveeerrrrr the inside of my car.  First thing this morning.  Did that stop me from getting another one though?  Nope.  Thankfully the nice people at Starbucks felt sorry enough for me to not make me pay for the second one.  This is probably what kept the tears from coming.

4. Forgotten Claire's milk at school and remembered at 10 at night, and had to go get it when the custodians were waxing the floor.  They probably wonder when I will ever leave that place.

5. When teaching my kindergartners how to write what is real to them, I used the non-example of a fairy princess.  There go their dreams of visiting Disney World and seeing the castle.  It's just a building now.  And there go my plans for having the Book Fairy bring us a new book to read.  That's what happens when you move from teaching the big kids in fourth grade to the sweet babies in kindergarten who haven't even gotten a visit from the Tooth Fairy yet.

6. Left Claire at home with no diapers.  Ranger and I couldn't leave work, and MG (who was so sweet to stay with us for my first week of work) didn't have the carseat, so the little biddle had to wear the same wet diaper all day.

Good thing I can't think of enough to make this a top ten.  I'm sure there are enough, just can't think of them now.  Probably from lack of sleep after the dog gate I put in our bathroom caused my husband to fall and bust his elbows in the middle of the night.  Yep.  Good thing I can only think of six things.

Tuesday Top Ten - Necessary Evils

You know, the things that are very annoying to have to do, but you kinda can't live without them.  This has been my list in my head lately because of number 1...

1. Pumping.  I only did this at night (some nights) in the summer to keep my supply up, but now I have to do it three times a day since I'm back at work.  Oh well.  My goal is four more months!

2. Velcro.  If so many baby items need it (swaddles in particular, which are used when the baby is sleeping), why does it have to be so LOUD?

3. Eating.  I go through seasons when I actually enjoy eating, but when it's 105 degrees outside, I'm trying to set up a Kindergarten classroom, and I have a baby on my hip most of the day, I do not feel like or have time to eat.

4. Using the restroom.  Too many other things to do!

5. Brushing, flossing, washing my face.  I put these together because I have to do all three before going to bed.  I've tried to be a rebel and go to bed with my makeup on a few times, but I'm up within three minutes because I can't stand the thought of waking up in shame.  :)

6. Going to the post office.  This has to be one of my least favorite errands.  I just want to ship a package that should take 30 seconds, and if it were smaller, I could just stick it in the mailbox.  But since it's a box, I have to go stand in line for 20 minutes with, you guessed it, a baby on my hip.

7. Paying utility bills.  Ours last month was the highest it's ever been, and the highest I've heard of out of  my friends in the area.  However, our a/c runs nonstop just to keep it 75 degrees.  I can't see where we could cut back.  Ready for fall and winter!

8. Sweeping and mopping!  We have too much dog hair not too, and since the biddle is crawling everywhere, we have to be even more diligent.

9. Keys.  I have keyless entry to my car, so I never know where they are when I get to the door holding my purse, diaper bag, and a baby on my hip (in a van down by the river).

10. Baby carseat.  I wish wish wish I could hold her in my lap while driving or riding and that this were the safest place for her.  But it's not.  So on long trips we can either listen to her cry the saddest cry in the world, or I can ride in the back and get carsick from trying to make her happy, which doesn't work anyway because she really just wants to be held.

Anything you can't live with, can't live without??

Tuesday Top Ten - Summer Munchies

Since having Claire (well really, since getting married), I haven't been the healthiest eater.  This summer, it's been so much easier to run through the drive-thru at Chic-fil-a than to make something at home.  It's just hard to go to the grocery store with the biddle now because if I put her in the cart she cries, and if I put her in the Baby Bjorn, she eats my grocery lists out of my hand (really - it's happened numerous times.  Sneaky little thing!)  But no more excuses.  I am taking baby steps to add more veggies to my diet, eat at home to save money, and have three meals a day (instead of one meal of chicken tenders and waffle fries).  These are my typical meals this summer:

1. Southwestern Egg Beaters with spinach, oatmeal, and decaf HEB Houston Blend coffee.
2. Turkey sandwich on 15 Grain bread with spinach.
3. Crackers and cheese and brussels sprouts.
4. Fully-cooked frozen chicken breast and mixed veggies.
5. Lean Cuisine and asparagus.
6. California Club Pita.

And for dessert.  I can't be healthy all the time.

7. Cookies and Cream ice cream.
8. Amaretto chocolate syrup ice cream soup.
9. Lindor truffles.
10. Sea Salt Soiree Ghirardelli Chocolate.

Any other quick/healthy/economical/yummy suggestions??

Tuesday Top Ten - Lifesaving Baby Items

* These aren't necessarily recommendations, just what has been helpful for us specifically.

1. Miracle Blanket. Claire lived in this, day and night, the first two to three months. It was the only swaddle she couldn't break out of. We still use it when our current swaddle needs to be washed.

1/31/11

2. Rock 'N Play Sleeper. This is where she slept until she moved into our bed at 2 1/2 months old. It's so light and easy to move into any room.

1/24/11

3. Snap n' go stroller. Our first outing with Claire was to the mall on New Year's Eve. We didn't have to wake her to take her out of her car seat, and the lull of pushing her around in it (and mall noise) helped her stay asleep.

12/31/10

4. Soothie pacifier. When Claire was almost two weeks old, she started crying for an hour every night and sometimes during the day. She hadn't taken a paci up to this point, but one night, I tried the Soothie, and it worked like a dream! This led to us being able to take her in public, sleep, and just enjoy her without having to jump up and down on the couch to soothe her.

1/5/11

5. Baby Bjorn. We started putting her in it when she was 8 lbs. (smallest they can be in it) and haven't stopped! We use it almost every day. She's so happy in it, and we can have use of both hands!

3/30/11

6. Medela Pump in Style Breast Pump.

(Sorry, no pic ;) )

7. Graco Pack 'n Play. At first, we just used this as our changing station and storage for the millions of items we needed to have access to. Then we moved it next to our bed and attempted to have her sleep in it, but somehow she always ended up in our bed. We still use it for a changing station, but we're about to have to take the bassinet section down so our little monkey doesn't climb over the edge.

5/10/11

8. Exersaucer. Leah let us borrow this. This is the first time she used it, at three months, and she was in it every day for the next two months.  This was the only way we could shower, eat, or clean for awhile!

3/18/11

9. Halo SleepSack Swaddle. This is what we use now. The pics are from when she was smaller, so this is the newborn size. We now use the small, and I think she'll fit in it at least another month or two. I know most babies aren't swaddled when they're seven months old, but she sleeps so much better = we sleep so much better! :)

4/13/11

10. Summer Infant Video Baby Monitor. We didn't use this until Claire was 5 1/2 months old. This is when she moved upstairs to her crib, instead of sleeping in our bed and napping in the pack n' play in our room. Here's a pic Ranger sent me when he was home with Claire:

6/25/11

Tuesday Top Ten - Skills I Think It Would Be Cool To Have (But Not Magic Tricks)

1. Speak other languages fluently, preferably German and Spanish
2. Talk people into telling the truth (ahem, Casey Anthony)
3. Interior decorating
4. Cut and style hair
5. Throw ingredients into a pot/pan/dish and make a delectable treat, without following a recipe
6. Singing
7. Dancing.  I have more fun with choreographed routines than just going out dancing, so I would love to be able to see a routine one time and do it well like some of the contestants on So You Think You Can Dance.
8. Tumbling.  Even in my cheerleading days, this wasn't my strong point.  I would LOVE to run outside and do a roundoff backhandspring whipback backhandspring backhandspring layout!  :)
9. Be a great Kindergarten teacher
10. Be a great mom to Claire and wife to Ranger.  I know that is really two things but I want a top ten list.

What skills would YOU love to have??