This week I’ve decided (rather unconsciously actually) that I couldn’t continue on this way. I’m sick of a messy house. If I have to be exhausted, I’d at least like to be exhausted in a fairly clean house. What I have learned is that I can do all three, just not simultaneously. Wed, Thurs, Fri, and Today have all been an experiment in trying to more effectively juggle everything on my plate.

Somehow in all this craziness, I’ve managed to not fall behind a ton in housework (haven’t actually caught up yet), keep Katie fairly happy and entertained (we made playdough!), manage Elowen’s needs (only a couple of meltdowns due to poor timing), keep diapers washed, AND get a good amount of knitting done (yay!).

The main trick I’ve learned: Make a plan. Part of the plan is give Katie play time with me before I need to do any solo cleaning so she’s happy to play by herself for a bit. Also, only plan on one or two chores in addition to breakfast, lunch, dinner, cleanup, diapers, feeding, entertaining, etc…

It’s working out, so far.

If you’ve got a few minutes to spare, try this and decide for yourself: http://www.opencongress.org/bill/112-h3261/text

My annual ritual of buying a new planner, that’s what. I don’t really use one very much, but I need something to keep track of the occasional doctor’s appointment, or special event. I usually buy a really cheap, but pretty card stock one that fits right into my purse. No use spending a ton of money that doesn’t get much use.

I saw this really cool idea on Pinterest to write a quick little sentence each day on a new 3×5 card. Every year you put your daily entries on the same card from the day of the previous year. I bought the notecards…wrote one day’s entry…You get the idea.

Thinking of morphing that idea into the planner. Then my “expensive” planner can be saved to enjoy later.

I could write things like “The girls played, and Elowen laughed and laughed.”

Lots of changes around here. How appropriate that they would happen the first week of the year. Soon our weekly schedule will change. One of us will work more. One of us will work less. All of us will have more time together. Both girls will continue to grow and change. It’s going to be an eventful year, and it’s great to experience it with my family.

A little food and some coffee helped things a little. I was feeling good enough around 12 for making lunch, doing dishes, and starting to think about a plan. Not for cleaning the house, that would be the best thing to do. No, my plan was for going back to our semi-vegetarian diet.

There was a while that we were buying local meats, buying less meat because it’s expensive, and supplementing with some vegetarian meals. This has the benefit of not contributing to the mass meat market, which with the little I’ve learned is pretty inhumane. It also happens to be good for you. So today I’ve been thinking of some vegetarian staples we will need to start keeping an eye out for in our cupboards.

1.Lentils. We always have these around anyways, but need to start cooking them more. The smaller red ones are the way to go, because they’re quicker to cook.

2. Dried beans. We keep canned beans as a staple in our cupboard, but I’m learning more and more about the crap that is being found in canned food. Cooking a large batch of beans every week is totally doable, and we can keep serving portions in jars in the fridge. I knew those plastic lids for my Ball jars would come in handy.

3. Dried Chick Peas/Garbanzo Beans. OK, this could fit into the above category, but I kind of think of them as separate. I really should find more creative ways to use these, because they’re very good for you. There’s the added benefit of being able to use more ethnic recipes.

4. Rice and Brown Rice. We always have rice, but we really should use more brown rice. I think cooking a big batch every week, and refrigerating it for later will make the cooking time more reasonable. Then we can just heat it up at meal time during the week.

5.Grains. This kind of fits in with the rice, but it adds variety. Fortunately me and Corey have yet to meet a grain we didn’t like. Maybe today we’ll look for some quinoa at the grocery store.

Our crock pot could get more use with all this bean and rice cooking.

Now if only I could use this kind of planning power to clean our house.

Thanks to this little guy…

We can spend a reasonable amount of time and effort to “hand wash” our cloth diapers.

Elowen is changing so much these days! She’s so eager to participate in meal times, that she will fuss if she’s not part of the action. She’s not quite sitting up on her own yet, but with the high chair she can look like she’s doing it on her own.

Katie’s growing really fast too. She’s counting, singing her ABCs, recognizing some letters and numbers. She’s astounding us all with her use and understanding of 3 syllable words. We’re also dealing with the tantrums, “I’ll Do It!”s, and other issues with having a 2 year old.

She’s still not too big to go without naps though.

Wasn’t she a cute little baby? Elowen looks so much like her..

She’s almost too big for her baby chair while I cook breakfast and putter around the kitchen in the morning. So, today I brought out the play pen for the first time. I think she liked it.

They still look alike, but Katie is no longer the little baby she was a year ago.

It felt great to get a lot done this morning. Breakfast, paperwork for health insurance, washing diapers (we’re back in cloth! more on that later), helping Katie color, lunch, organizing photos, and now to check on our finances. I’ve got more to do on my list for the day, but I’m just going to chill out at the computer for now.

I love my little teapot, broken lid and all. Received at a work Yankee Swap, and given by a British person who drinks too much tea to use one of such small size, it is plenty big enough for me. I even knitted a little cozy for the handle, which just gets too hot for my sensitive fingers when I pour it.

I don’t drink tea all the time, but when I do it is often my favorite Gingerbread Tea (found at Adagio Teas - snap it up quick, it’s seasonal) with a touch of milk and as much honey as my conscience can handle (lately not enough). A little Christmas music, and my spirits are improving slightly.

I think I’m doing something right. Katie loves her Cinnamon Cardamom tea, and even Elowen is trying to sneak a sip while she sits in my lap.

I’ve been squeezing in as much “me” time as I can. Probably not as much as I need, but I’m still sane and fairly happy. Sometimes that involves a cooking project, which Katie appreciates. She loves to help make and eat the stuff we make.

There’s just something really fun about fall and the foods we eat at this time of year. It’s a good thing I love squash and most root vegetables. Did you know acorn squash can last months and months un-refrigerated? Trust me, I’ve done it. Buy them when they’re on sale now, stock up, and you’ll be good for winter!

As much as I like cooking, I can’t get by without my daily dose of yarn. These days it’s the weaving that I turn to most.

The project below is more of a tester, a sampler if you will. I’m practicing my skill with this weaving technique, so it doesn’t look all that great. This weaving method is referred to as backstrap weaving. I’ve tried it several times, and until recently found it frustrating and fiddly. Once I worked out the proper set up, and got better tools for the job, it started to get much easier. This type of weaving is great for cobbling together whatever random materials you can half-ass to do the job. With that said, having the right shuttle and warping set-up made it way easier.

Like I said, I’m still learning.

Can you believe how big she is?

That’s our new Freehand Mei Tai carrier. I can’t tell you how excited I was for the package to finally arrive, and I was right to be excited. Once things settled down, I got groceries put away, and Katie down for a nap yesterday, I put that thing right on and tried it with Elowen. She fell asleep, and settled right in.

OK, I say “our” new carrier but it was meant for my husband. I wish I’d thought to buy one sooner though. The only carriers that we have that he likes have been found to be bad for babies’ spinal development. Many refer to them as “crotch danglers”. I told him a week or two a go I didn’t think we should use them anymore, and broke down to buy a new carrier.

Corey has yet to try it. I guess he’s not excited as I am.

(old photo of Katie above)

I still like our other carriers, including the wrap. I’m just infatuated with this new one. I think it’s my new favorite.

It occurred to me the other day that some day in the not too distant future I won’t need these carrier anymore. I haven’t entirely ruled out another child, but I am pretty sure we are done. That was a sad thought. I’ll just have to use them all the time until I can’t anymore.

The girls and I spend a lot of time together during the day. It’s quite the challenge meeting all three of our needs, but I’ve learned this juggling act a little better.

One of us is growing stronger, and I fear she will be crawling all too soon. I’m not one of those Moms who cries when her girls grow up. I’m just afraid of being able to keep up with her. Katie skipped crawling, and I have to say I don’t mind that so much.

We don’t get out often, but when we do it is lots of fun. Just like Katie did when she was a baby, Elowen charms the pants of everyone she meets. Elowen got her first experience with apple picking, but she didn’t see much since she was in the wrap. Not such a bad thing for an easily overwhelmed babe.

Our carriers have been a lifesaver for me. It allows me to cook dinner without interruption on those nights when my husband is out late, among other things. I’m so glad Corey agrees with me, that strollers are not appropriate for little babes.

(Please pardon the sweat spot. An unfortunate side effect of warm baby against your chest.)

It occurs to me that if I had been smart enough to update regularly with photos, I wouldn’t have lost all my photos since Christmas when I made the stupid mistake of deleting my laptop documents. Don’t ask.