How do you balance?

According to the FlyLady website, last week was Anti-Procastination Week. Updating this blog was on my list of things to do but of course I put it off until the last minute. Then my hard drive crashed and suddenly I was out of time! Lesson Learned: Don't put things off until the last minute because the unexpected my happen and "the last minute" may appear before you were expecting it.

Luckily, Paul is a computer tech guy and he was able to implement a temporary fix. So here I am.

If I'm honest, this blog isn't the only thing I've been neglecting lately. I'm really struggling with finding the right balance for my time and my life. I work eight hours, five days a week. When I get home from work I have about three hours to spend with my daughter before she goes to bed. Then I get a few hours to either clean house or do something I enjoy. Which option do you think I've been choosing? Yup. My house is in ruins.

So, I'm trying this Flylady thing - learning how to get my home out of CHAOS (Can't Have Anyone Over Syndrome) I'm still stuck on the first baby step, shining my kitchen sink. But the concept is simple and I think it will work for me. Working few minutes a day to get my house clean doesn't seem so hard. If you haven't heard of FlyLady you should really check her out! http://www.flylady.net

I'm trying to implement that principle into other aspects of my life. If I can spend a few minutes shining my sink then surely I can spare a few minutes to update my blog. After all, blogging is something I enjoy when I don't let myself worry about other people's opinions.

I will keep you updated on how my flying lessons are going! Have you shined your kitchen sink today? I have! :)

Lions and Tigers and Bears... Oh my!

We spent the last four days in Illinois visiting Paul's family. His sister, brother and sister-in-law live in Arizona and we're in Illinois for a couple of weeks so we went out to see them.

Let me tell you, traveling four hours in a car with a newborn is a piece of cake. Traveling four hours in a car with a 9 month old is pure horror. When Allison was little, she just slept the whole time. Sure, we had to stop a couple times so I could nurse her but then she would go promptly back to sleep. Now that she's older, we can't trick her into sleeping and she doesn't want to spend hours sitting in a car seat. Not that I blame her. We had to stop several times just to let the little one out to "stretch her legs". So, a four hour journey turned into 6 hours of trying to entertain an active baby who doesn't understand "we'll be there soon!".

But, eventually we got there and it was good to see Paul's family again. Paul's brother, Steve and sister-in-law, Rosy have a 7 year old son named Brandon and 2 year twins named Connor and Shannon. Oh boy, and I thought I had it rough! They had to travel four hours in a plane with that brood!

But, aren't they cute? It was beyond difficult getting them all to sit still long enough... we didn't even bother trying to get them all to smile at once. Okay, I lied. We sang, we danced, we took about twenty million pictures in an attempt to get one shot of them all at least looking at the camera. The picture above is the best shot we took. I'm learning that when it comes to kids sometimes you just have to take what you can get!

Steve and Rosy left for Arizona with the twins on Sunday but Paul's sister Tina stayed behind with Brandon (the 7 year old) So, on Monday we all loaded up and went to Brookfield Zoo. Yes, I took a 9 month old to the zoo. It was so much fun. :)

Allison's favorite animals were the Toucan and the fish. The toucan sat very close to the fence of his enclosure and he was so colorful, Allison just couldn't take her eyes off him! When it came time to leave she waved and said Bye-bye Birdie. Okay, it was more like "bye bye byeeeeeee" but you know she meant to say birdie.

The fish tanks were really amazing because the glass reaches all the way to the floor and Allie could stand there with her hands on the glass and just watch the colorful fish swim by. She was truly fascinated and it kinda made me feel like a bad mom for not having a fish tank in the house, but only a little bit. I won't be surprised if she wants a goldfish when she's older though.

Allison slept through the monkey exhibit and the giraffes but all in all I think it was a great experience for her. I know in a few years she'll be telling me she's never been to the zoo but it's okay, I don't mind going back :)

Allison eating a picnic lunch in front of the sea lion exhibit

Paul and Allison watching the gorillas... that is, until Allie heard me turn the camera on!

This is Allison the River Otter, signing off! "Bye Bye!"

Summer Fun in the Sun (with liberal amounts of sunscreen, of course!)

We took Allison to the pool for the first time on my birthday and it was a blast! We ventured into the water after coating Allison in 3 layers of sunscreen and carefully securing a sunhat on top of her head. Paranoid first time Momma? You bet!

Allison was a little unsure about everything when we first sat down with her in the shallow end of the pool. She has a wading pool at home but the giant pool full of screaming, splashing kids was a whole new adventure for her. She sat there and looked around for a few minutes before she turned and climbed into my lap.

So, we went and hung out in the shade for awhile and enjoyed watching all the people go by. I wasn't able to find my camera for our adventure so I took the camcorder instead. I was disappointed with the quality and we didn't get any shots of Allison in the water (we did get some video though!) I was glad we had something with us to record Allie's first time at the pool. She was sooo cute in her little swim suit! :)

 Look at those thighs! Don't you just want to nibble them? I love her little rolls!

The last picture is of Allie giving me a kiss. She's such a sweetheart and will give me one whenever I ask and often when I don't. It makes me laugh every time though because her version of a kiss involves opening her mouth as wide as it will go and "eating" my lips. What a doodle!

We went back to the water for a second time after our photo session and Allison did so much better. She laughed and splashed in between wrestling to get her hat off. I think she's going to be a swimmer like her Momma. :)

I'm glad I was able to have my birthday off from work so I could spend it with my little family. It's strange to think how much has changed so quickly. Last year I was pregnant on my birthday but I still spent it by going to a karaoke bar with my friends and staying out way too late. I had a blast even though I wasn't drinking with the rest of them. The year before last my girl friends and I took a trip to Vegas for my birthday and it was a fun experience full of single girl hilarity.

This year however was by far my best birthday yet. My little lady makes every day special. Even when she's teething and grumpy. Okay... yeah, I sometimes wish I could run away to Vegas on the grumpy days but... you know I'd always come back ;)

Mom Wars (tales of labor): An Apology

A long,

long, long

time ago in a

city not so far away...

...a young woman named Sue was pregnant with her first baby (that's me!). The baby was due on June 28; but hot, humid June turned into sweltering, humid July and Sue was still pregnant (I like to do things on my own time). She was beginning to feel like she would be pregnant forever when she finally started having contractions on the evening of June 12 - two weeks after her due date!

The contractions were so light that Sue decided to wait at home for awhile before going to the hospital. She went to bed with the hope that she could get some sleep before the real work began. She slept for about an hour but then woke up to finding water gushing everywhere - her water had broken! Suddenly Sue was overcome with waves of pain that never seemed to end. She woke up her husband and told him that they had to leave right away!

Sue labored at the hospital through the night and all through the next day without much progress. She had terrible back pain but no one seemed too concerned that the medicine she'd requested wasn't helping. "It's labor," they told her, "it's not supposed to be easy"

Finally, a new doctor started his shift on the maternity ward. It was 9:00 pm on July 13, almost 24 hours since Sue's water had broken and she was still only dilated a few centimeters. The doctor took one look at her and said "we've got to get that baby out of there!" 

Sue felt immediate relief as the doctor administered a spinal block. At that point she didn't care what was happening as long as the pain was over and the baby would be okay. 

So, at 9:42 pm on July 13, I was pulled from my mother's womb. As my mom likes to tell it, I was so stubborn that there was no other way I was going to come out. In truth, I was turned facing forward (sunny-side up) and I couldn't push past my mom's pelvic bone. But, if she want's to blame that on my stubbornness she certainly has the right!

Today, on my 28th birthday, I would like to issue a formal apology to my mom for her pain and suffering. I'm sorry Mom! I couldn't fully appreciate the pain my mom went through until I had my own baby. Thanks for sticking it out Mom! I mean, I know at that point you didn't have much of a choice, but I appreciate it nonetheless :)

This seems to be the only picture I have of me as a little tyke. I'll have to rectify that problem soon!

Anyway, I took today off work to spend with my little family and tonight we're going to dinner with my parents and brother. Should be fun. Do you think I should give my mom a card? ;)

These are a Few of my Favorite Things...

I've been feeling a bit down all day today and I don't really know why. So, I decided to make a list of things I love in an attempt to lift my spirits.

These are a Few of my Favorite Things...




My daughter, Allison. Beautiful, funny, charming and full of wonder about the world around her.











My fiance Paul. He's actually really getting on my nerves at the moment but I always love him. And I love watching him interact with our daughter!

My dog, Bella. She's a vampire dog who likes to lick your flesh off, she can teleport to places outside her fenced in yard and she's pretty much Allison's favorite person.










Other things on my list:

• My parents because I'm just beginning to learn how hard it was to raise me ;)
• My boss because she is also my friend which, actually can be hard sometimes but it's nice to have support at work.
• Diet Mt Dew. Zero Calories, same great taste and lots of caffeine to get me through my day.
• My blogger friends and readers because you make me smile, make me think and "listen" to me whine.

That's all I've got today. But, really I have to say, I'm pretty blessed. <3

Here's what you missed...

It's been a bit of a crazy week for me and unfortunately blogging has fallen to the wayside. I've missed my blog and my readers! So, let's get caught up!

Paul and I have spent a lot of time this week hammering out wedding plans. We plan to get married next May and we haven't booked a space for the reception yet. My mom is freaking out a bit and keeps reminding us that places book up fast but it just seems so hard to get it all together. We have decided to be a bit "lazy" and book it at a hotel so that the catering and even some of the decorating will be taken care of for us. As an additional bonus we will be able to have the Bridal Suite for our wedding night and Paul's family from out of town will be able to book their rooms in the same place as the reception. We're meeting with them next week so hopefully nothing will go wrong with that plan!

We've also been trying to figure out how to work our colors together. Paul wants blue and I want some green in there. We're thinking of dressing the bridesmaids in cornflower blue with a light green (pistachio) sash or ribbons on the flowers and then the groomsmen will have green vests and ties under their black tuxes with a touch of blue in the boutineer. I started reading about it on forums and apparently that's the trendy thing to do... never thought of myself as trendy!

The guy is not wearing the exact right color of green but it's pretty close. What do you think? I'd love to hear other's opinions!

In other news, I had my first Barefoot Books party on Thursday. I did a joint party with a friend of mine who sells Scentsy and we had a good time setting up together and talking business before the guests arrived. It was a lot of fun to share the books with friends and family! I was happy that I was able to help my friend meet her quota with Scentsy and it made me thankful that the Barefoot program doesn't have a quota!

Allison is doing great. I worry some that she is showing no interest in crawling (at 7 1/2 months old) but she is a very good roller and can get wherever she wants very quickly just by rolling there! It's amazing to see how fast she moves! The eczema on her face seems to have magically cleared itself up! She has a few dry patches near her ears and a red spot under her chin but she doesn't have any more red, scaly patches on her cheeks and forehead! It feels like a miracle!

I'll leave you with a couple pictures of Allison doing her thing and I promise to be a better blogger this week! 

Watching the season finale of Glee... Allie was so into it! She loves music and gets so happy when they start singing and dancing! lol

It is rare to see Allison in this position - looking like she's ready to crawl. She much prefers being on her back!

Stick Figure Saturday: Household *Magic*

I recently started following the blog called Alabaster Cow, every week she does something called Stick Figure Saturday in which she creates a lovely work of art using stick figures. It looked like fun to me so I thought I'd try my hand at doing my own Stick Figure Saturday.

I made myself use Microsoft Paint to create my stick figure art. The graphic designer in me was screaming "NO! This could be so much smoother and prettier in Illustrator!" But the kid in me was screaming "Wee! This is fun!" Oh, who am I kidding? The kid in me is more of a perfectionist than the adult version of me. Nonetheless, I had fun.

Here is my beautiful artwork entitled "Household *Magic*"
This illustration depicts me clearing our shower drain using baking soda and vinegar

When I was a kid my mom helped me and my brother make a volcano out of paper mache. After the paint dried we gathered around to watch the surprise that my mom said was waiting for us. First, she took some baking soda and dumped it into the hollow at the top of the volcano. Then, she took a cup of vinegar mixed with red food coloring and poured it on top of the baking soda. Suddenly our volcano was erupting with red, frothy "lava". It was Magic!

Little did I know that my mom's bit of magic would help me 20 years later when I found myself faced with a clogged shower drain!

We have a stand alone shower in the basement. This shower drains into a pipe which drains into a hole in the basement floor. It's pretty gross but it's all we've got and we don't pay a lot of rent so I can't complain (much).

As you can see in the picture, I have copious amounts of long, curly, blondish brown hair. I shed. A lot. The shedding has somehow gotten worse since I had my daughter. When I take a shower I try my best to "catch" the loose hair and then I plaster it to the shower wall until I'm done so that it doesn't go down the drain. I know, it's totally gross but what's a girl to do? For the record, I always (almost) remember to take the hair off the shower wall and throw it away.

Anyway, apparently I can't catch all of the shedding hair and large amounts of it end up in the drain anyway. A few days ago the drain in the floor completely backed up while Paul was showering and half of our basement flooded. Luckily, I remembered a cool trick to fix backed up drains that I'd read about on a blog.

You take 3/4 of a cup of dry baking soda and dump it into the drain. Then take 1/2 cup of vinegar and pour it on top of the baking soda. Instant drain volcano! It's important to remember to take a rag and plug the drain after you dump the vinegar because you want the "volcano" to go down into the pipes and push the clog out. I was so fascinated by the bubbles that I forgot this step the first time and I had to do it all over again.

After you plug the drain, wait about 30 minutes and then pour hot water down it. Your drain should be unclogged! Like I said, I had to do it twice because I forgot a step. But, our drain worked perfectly after the second "volcano". My fiance thought I was a miracle worker! Yay!

I hope you enjoyed my version of Stick Figure Saturday! If you want to see the original, visit Alabaster Cow!

Wordy Wednesday

So, I know a lot of my fellow bloggers do a "Wordless Wednesday" post where they just post pictures that are important to them. I have to admit, I love stalking all of those pics! But, I find I have a lot to say today so I'm going to stick with my Photo Friday and make my Wednesday a day for words. Am I the only one out there that says "Wed-nes-day" in her head when she's spelling it? I didn't think so.

When I started this blog my sole focus was to write about children's literature and my new business venture with Barefoot Books. Okay, I lied, I started this blog back in February with no real purpose. I gave up after one post because I didn't know what to write about or who would read it. I revived this blog a few weeks ago to talk about kid's books and yes, I admit I even wanted to sell them. *gasp!*

But, I am finding that my blog is evolving. I'm reading other blogs, trying to fit into this online community and realizing that no one will want to be my friend if they don't know anything about me. Am I right? Plus, I keep catching myself writing blog posts in my head. They're not really doing anyone any good in my head so I might as well write them down.

So, I'm trying to find a good balance for this blog because apart from my desire to sell books, I really do think it's important to read to our children and I really do have a passion for children's books. I don't want to lose focus of that part of my little blog.

I figured out a posting schedule that I think is going to work for me:

Sunday - occasional posts about education/reading issues or topics
Monday - nothing (unless I find something I just have to share!)
Traveling Tuesday - I will review a book from Barefoot's line of "Adventure and Travel" Books.
Wordy Wednesday - An update on my week, things my cute baby did, etc.
Thursday - nothing (unless I find something I just have to share!)
Photo Friday - pictures of my cute baby or whatever strikes my fancy
Stick Figure Saturday - ala alabaster cow *love this idea and had to use it!*

I don't think you'll get tired of me too quickly with a schedule like that. Plus, I think I can stick to it ;)

My DD, Allison and I have been sick since Monday. I thought for sure I was going to die yesterday, I didn't want to move and every time I did move I would cough or sneeze or feel faint. So, I stayed in bed all day and caught up on episodes of Glee while my fiance, Paul took care of Allie.

Allison may only be 6 months old but compared to her I am a big baby! She's had a cough and a runny nose too but she's still acting like herself. She's playing and rolling and being her normal good-natured self. I'm sure that if she had a job she would've gone to work yesterday instead of skipping like I did.  What a trooper!

We did take Allie to the doctor today just to be on the safe side. She had a bad case of rsv this past winter and I don't care to relive that. The doctor said it's just a cold and she'll be fine which was good to hear. Our only concern now is the fact that she hasn't been really interested in food the past few days. Today she only had three 6 ounce bottles and one 4 ounce bottle. That's only 22 ounces in a 24 hour period and she usually gets 30-36 plus cereal and veggies which she had no interest in today. The doctor didn't seem very concerned but it does worry me. Any advice from the more experienced mommas out there?

Anyway, she's sleeping now so I think I'm going to take some time to read a bit. I'm rereading "Gracelin O'Malley" by Ann Moore. It's one of those books that takes me away every time I read it and reminds me of the importance of family, the strength of love and the love of God. I'm no great shakes at reviewing adult books but I enjoy this series.

Don't forget to enter to win my giveaway (this is my first!) You could win a great set of books for the kiddos in your life!

Also, don't forget to check out Barefoot Books Weekly Podcast. This week they are reading "The House That Jack Built" It's an old classic although I always preferred the version that my mom read: "The House That Sarah Built" ;)

Cheers!
~Sarah

Photo Friday

I've decided to start doing a Photo Friday post every week to help you all get to know me a bit better. Do you have a photo day on your blog? Post your link in the comments so I can check it out!

Allison loves her sun hat!

...almost as much as she loves licking her cereal bowl after breakfast!

This is an oldie, taken a few days after Allison was born (I look so tired!). 

It's fun to look back - I can't believe how tiny she was!

Thanks for letting me share these with you! You know you have to let Mommies brag about their babies ever now and then! ;)

Happy Friday to all! Have a great Memorial Day Weekend!