Something Diabolical

If you clicked on this post hoping to read something about Halloween, you will be disappointed. This is actually about a cat. I really should preface this by apologizing to cat lovers everywhere. I’m sure that YOUR cat is a sweetie, but let me assure you, the one I am about to describe is not.

Sitting in a non-approved location

When I married my husband a few years ago, the cat came with him. Her name is Baldue. Baldue the cat. Often (okay, frequently), I tell my husband that his cat is stupid and proceed to explain the bad things that happened while he was at work. But the truth is, his cat is not stupid. She is very, very smart. Somehow though, calling her “stupid” seems better than calling her maniacally evil. Or diabolical.

Please choose which of the following Baldue the cat is guilty of:

a) sleeping on and shedding on the laptop

b) sitting on my book and tooting poop onto it

c) sleeping in my daughter’s bouncer

d) climbing on and shedding on the kitchen stove

e) blocking the space heater when it’s on

 

Please choose “all of the above.” The worst part is, aside from (e), she does all of these things while I’m not looking. I told my husband she was sleeping on the laptop and he didn’t believe me. “If she was,”  he said, “Then you would see xdlkdjkldk all over.” I had proof though–some long, long cat hairs imbedded in the keyboard. This morning, at dark o’ thirty, I finally caught her on the laptop (actually, I saw her on the laptop and caught her in the act of sneaking off of it).

As my father in law says, Baldue is in the “dog house.” At least for the next couple weeks.

A Little Bit of Sanity

Sometimes I feel like I am walking in circles around my apartment. A million things need to get done, but my daughter is crying and I need to eat lunch and the laundry needs to be done. These are just a few things I thought I would share that help me find a little sanity and try to keep up.

1) I open the mail right away. Sometimes I even do it while I’m still in the car and pitch the junk mail right then and there. This way it doesn’t build up.

2) I set a 15 minute timer. Often I feel there is hours worth of work that needs to be done but I am so tired. I set a 15 minute timer and get as much as possible done in those 15 minutes. Then I’m done and give myself permission to rest.

3) I keep the chores simple. I have a chore or two for each day that doesn’t take longer than 15 minutes. This is more of a maintenance plan so that I’m never stuck with 4 hours of undone chores at a time.

4) I try to only get out one project at a time. I love multitasking so I have sometimes been working on dinner with the kitchen a mess with scrapbooking stuff all over the living room and unfolded laundry all over the bed. I find I do best if I only get out and put away one project at a time.

5) I make each trip count. If I’m running to the bedroom for something, I try to make the trip count. Maybe that book and my journal need to end up back in the bedroom. When I’m in the bedroom, I could bring back something that belongs somewhere else.

Many of these suggestions I learned from Flylady! I highly recommend checking out her website. Her approach is simple and refreshing.

 

Everyday at Our House

I didn’t manage a picture every single day, but I did get quite a few pictures for my picture challenge.

This first one is a picture of laundry in the middle of being folded and put away. Before Abrielle, we only did 2 loads a week. Now I think I do 5-6 loads a week.

Next up is tummy time for Abrielle. She really doesn’t like it but she’s getting better at it.

Here is Abrielle looking in the mirror before her bath. She’s not quite sure what to think of the “other baby.”

In the green bag are the clothes she has outgrown already. Every week I go through her clothes and add in clothes that might fit now. She has so many cute outfits I don’t want her to miss any of them!

This last is a picture of my kitchen while I’m in the middle of making spaghetti sauce. I was reminded yesterday that I am “living the dream.” When I was little, I pictured myself with a baby, in my house, cooking dinner while waiting for my husband to come home. And what do you know? That is what I am doing!

If  you did a picture challenge of your own, please comment on this post and share!

Crops and Edits

I was on a scrapbooking website today and there was a really interesting article about “everyday photos.” You can check it out here. It made me realize that many of the photos I take are completely staged. In fact, sometimes I tidy up a room before I take a picture. I still think that’s a good idea in a lot of cases, especially when I don’t want the photo diluted by clutter.

However, it made feel kind of sad that I don’t really have pictures of what really goes on in my day-to-day life. I’m posting this as a challenge to myself! I’m going to take one “everyday” photo each day this week, and in a week’s time, I will share them with you along with a little descriptor. I’m excited!

A picture to start this challenge off with—Just one of many sunrises I’ve seen since having a baby and being up so early!