Around the House

I has been a cold winter filled with many different "yucky bugs" floating around wherever people gather.  Because of this, we have been spending quite a bit of time just hanging around the house.  Here's what we've been up to.

~  We rang in the New Year just as new parents should.  Put baby to bed, watched a movie, and were asleep by 10:30.  I did wake up at Midnight to pray the fireworks wouldn't wake up the baby... then rolled over and slept some more. 

~  The second semester of school is off to a great start for me.  Fun new projects, activities, and lessons for the students.  This does make it very hard to ever think about leaving it to stay home with kids.  Although, even in the middle of some awesome couple of weeks of school I find myself dreaming and thinking of what I could be doing with Jackie. 

~  Jackie took her first steps!!!  I guess we have to count them as her first steps, even though I didn't see it. :-)  Ethan was playing with her in the basement in her little play pen.  Apparently she was at one corner of the pen and let go and walked to the other corner across from her.  A couple things I have learned about our first born is that she is one determined little child.  (It's funny how you can pick up on little personality traits so young...)  If she wants to do something she will do it.  She has the balance, she has the know-how, she just doesn't have the want yet.  So as soon as she figures out that she can get from drawer #1 full of stuff she shouldn't get into, to drawer #2 full of stuff she shouldn't get into FASTER.  We're in trouble. 

~  We still need to baby proof.  I guess we better get on that!

~  I have officially been baptised into the Mommy World.  (If we had a boy, it probably would have been much earlier and a different body fluid...)  Jackie awoke one night around 11:00, which is rare, so when she wakes up there is usually a reason.  Ethan went and grabbed her, tried to rock her back to sleep, but decided to bring her to bed with us.  He handed her off to me and went somewhere to get something.  I placed her on my chest and we snuggled. She rolled over on to her back, sort of in the crook of my arm.  And without even the slightest warning, and before I knew it we were both covered in gross, nasty, disgusting baby puke (which is just like adult puke) and Ethan was rushing back into the bedroom to be passed a crying baby covered in throw-up.  I just stood there.  Dripping.  Yuck.  Bath for her, shower for me.  We did get her back to sleep in her own bed by 1:00. 

~  I am NOT eating any more of that leftover potato soup. 

~  I still haven't figured out why she threw up.  She's had two instances of puking in 2013 and both times she never acted sick!  Never whined or cried or continued throwing up.  Just played with her toys, took naps and ate crackers followed by juice.  My students think she is practicing faking sick to stay home from school.  Hmmm...could she be that crafty?

~  I am on a housekeeping/laundry roll!  I have finally figured out a system that keeps me from having to clean clean clean on the weekends, which always included at least 6 loads of laundry to fold.  (Thanks to a friend for sharing her method!)  First of all.  I'm an early bird.  I try to get up at 5:00 AM, sometimes it's more like 5:30...  I put a load of laundry in the washer in the morning.  When I get home from work I put it in the dryer and another load in the washer.  In the AM (dark and early!) I fold the load coming out of the dryer, move the wet to the dryer and put another load it.  I just continue that pattern.  It has been fantastic.  I'm folding and putting away one load (may two if I'm feeling productive) a day...and I've even had a couple days where I don't have ANY to do!  (I know that will change as our family grows).  I have been making an extra effort to keep the house picked up and kitchen clean.  It has been working!

Christmas Candy

I had grand plans this year.

Last year, we moved right before Christmas.  Putting up decorations consisted of a single nativity snow globe that was given as a gift.  Needless to say, making Christmas candy didn't happen. 

This year, I was going to do it.

I made my list of candies I wanted to make

-  Peanut Clusters (with Heath toffee bits throw in...the ONLY way to make peanut clusters)
-  Peanut butter balls
-  Rolo Pretzel Pecan bites
-  Hershey Kiss Pretzel Peanut M&M bites (the alternative to Rolo Pretzel Pecan bites...hubby's not a fan of Pecans or Rolos)

I bought the supplies.

I got right down to it once I was home and baby was down for a nap, I whipped out those peanut clusters with heath bits.  Soooo good!  I really should make those more often than just Christmas time.

And that's where it stopped. 

We got busy and when I wasn't busy I didn't feel like messing up my kitchen.

And when I got a sweet tooth (which unfortunately happens more often than my figure needs it to) I had quite a stash of Rolos, Hershey Kiss, and Peanut M&Ms. 

The pretzels and pecans are unopened.

Maybe I'll save them for next year.