Monthly Archives: September 2011

In 25 words or less: A Mummy's Housework

Wash, Hang, Fold, Repeat
Cook, Do dishes, “Mum, what’s to eat?”
Sweep, Vacuum & Mop the spills
“Go to sleep!”, Must pay the bills.

Anyone else want to have a go for a bit of fun?
How would you describle “housework” in 25 words of less?

Wordless Wednesday: How friendly??

I got funny looks taking this pic, but I’d never seen one, and I thought it was cool, so I HAD to take a picture. A shame I didn’t have my pram that day so couldn’t use it 😀

(Sorry about the bad quality. I have an old phone with not a very good camera in it, and was only game to take one shot. I was a bit embarrassed! hehe)

The Toilet Training Track

My husband is a legend. He got ~~dumped with~~ delegated to being Mr Toilet-Training.

At the end of Day 5, there were still more accidents the than successes. We’ve done heaps of reading about using the intensive/3day plan etc., have been using heaps of praise, said “goodbye” to lots of poo’s & pee’s, have been running him to the toilet, giving him rewards, high-fibre snacks etc. but it’s just not happening. We are having some successes amidst the mess, but we’re still waiting for it to “click”. If it doesn’t happen though, no stress, we’ll try again later.

I always knew (from leaky nappy after leaky nappy) that he had a lot of stuff go through him, but WOW! He’s a 10 nappy a day kinda man, unfortunately! ~~(Costs a fortune in nappies, no wonder we’re toilet training!)~~

But back to my legendary hubby. After days of being by B1’s side, waiting and watching, trying to entertain with toys that could be disinfected easily… They’d done duplo, read books, played with cars & tracks, done weeding, mowed the lawn, watered plants, modified a Ukelele (yup, modified a Ukelele, that’s what I said)… they were running out of stuff to do. So he created a running track in the backyard for B1 to run, similar to the way cars weave in & out of witches hats. Round and round he went. Over and over. And B2 sat in his rocker at the end and watched as B1 ran towards him, and around him, and away from him… back and forward. Over and over. And over and over. Awesome!

I’d love to hear about some of the awesome things you (or your partner/friends/family) have done whilst toilet training. Or if you have a blog post about your toilet training activities, feel free to leave a link below for me and other readers who are about to embark on this journey! 🙂

Meal Planning

Sometimes I meal plan my week in advance and sometimes I just have an idea of what meals I’d like to do in near future and decide on the day based on how much prep/cooking time I have. One of the main reasons I don’t meal plan is because of the unexpecteds which seem to crop up, with the kids, sickness or hubby’s work. This week though our week seems very planned, so hopefully the menu will work! Here it is! What’s on the menu at your place this week?

Mon: Chicken Burritos

Tues: Beef Strog

Wed: Chicken & Veges in Slowcooker

Thurs: Leftovers

Fri: Mini Pizzas

Sat: Quiche

Sun: Freezer Meal

The Organised Housewife

Parenting in one word: Liquids.

I was skyping with my sister the other morning whilst trying to “feed” (I use this term loosely) B2 his rice cereal (which he doesn’t like and coughs/spits out everywhere). In the background of our picture, B1 then had a big toilet-training accident all over the floor. I can’t remember exactly what I said at the time, but it was something along the lines of “parenting is all about liquids, going in, coming out etc.”

Upon thinking about it, I thought that I had kind of hit the mark, at least with the current stage that I’m in with a 5month old and 2yo.

So here it is. According to me, parenting is all about Liquids –

Trying to get liquids IN (drinking water, initial “solids”)
Trying to get liquids OUT (blowing nose, baby poo’s)
Managing the way liquids go IN (too much softdrink etc, not throwing over floor/parents/siblings)
Mangaging the way liquids come OUT (toilet training, catching vomits, not getting poo’d/pee’d on during nappychange)
Stopping liquids from coming OUT (blood, tantrum tears)
Keeping kids IN liquids (baths, swimming)
Keeping kids OUT of liquids (mud, rain – on days when need to stay clean/dry)

Goal 15 ) Toilet train B1 – Day One

Well let me start by saying that I’m sure our toilet training will be no different to all others. Pee, Peeeee, Poo, Pee and more Poo. All over the floor. All over the toilet. Lots of soiled undies. And lots of false runs to the toilets. Then throw in a few tantrums because he wants to give up.

Does that sound familiar?

I’ve heard lots of positive feedback from people using the “intensive” method – set aside a few days and go “cold turkey” of the nappies and into undies. So that’s what we’re doing. Lots of liquid. Lots of accidents, but he’s getting the idea (so far!).

Lucky for me, hubby is “Mr Toilet Trainer”. I’m tired, so I delegated 🙂 It also seemed more practical for hubby to be the primary person as B2 is only 5 months old, so still requiring breastfeeding and lots of attention throughout the day and cannot just be “dropped” to do runs to the toilet when necessary. (Yay for me! LOL)

So how did Day One go?
The first hour had no accidents.
Then came 2 huge puddles in half an hour.
A few more runs that were half on the floor, and a little trickle in the toilet.
After lunch he had a dry nappy during nap time (yay!)
Followed by a big wee in the toilet straight after nap.
4 false attempts at poos within 20minutes….
A big accident in the yard
And then another false attempt at poos 🙂

Bring on Day Two! 🙂

b2b September "Boardgames" (Skip-Bo)

Goal 39 ) Play a different board-game each month with husband.

This month we picked up a game that we played early on in our marriage and when we were dating, but haven’t played in years – Skip-bo. It had been so long that I couldn’t remember how to play and we had to read the rules again.

We haven’t played many games at all in the later years of our marriage. Hubby laughs as he tells people that I’m not a good loser, so don’t like to play (and often refers to our playing “Blockus“). Well, there is some truth in it. Hubby tends to be so much better at games than me, that its very disheartening to always lose and for there to be no competition. When I find a game that I can actually compete with him in, and have a chance of winning, it’s much more fun!

Apart from having quality time together, we also learnt something very exciting whilst playing – our coffee table has grooves perfect for holding cards so that they stand up and you can see them! Very cool 🙂

P.S. I won both games 😛

Wordless Wednesday: Babycino

Goal 38 ) ‘date night' once a month

Last month was a home “date night”, but this month we’ve arranged for some special family members to come and look after the boys one night so we can go out for a coffee or dessert. It’s our first “date night” on our own since B2 was born, nearly 5 months ago. I’ve not had a very successful time lately getting the kids to bed, so hopefully we can get them to sleep so we can enjoy an hour or so out on our own. Will let you know how it goes!

My new "badge of honour" that I will wear proudly…

And “what is this badge of honour?” I hear you asking. Well, let me explain.

As any new mum would know, there is not a huge amount of sleep in the first few months. Then comes the introduction of solids, which can cause sleep distruptions. Then when you get that settled, teething starts. Or they get a cold… or an ear infection… Or perhaps your older children decide then to have night terrors. Or have toileting accidents in their sleep. It’s just another part of being a mum.

With a 4month old I’m still in the early phases, but he is conspiring with my 2.5yo to reduce my sleep (and sanity). In my sleep deprived state, I made a few small mistakes. Stand alone, none of them were a big deal. Combined, I have a new “badge of honour” that I’ll wear proudly.

I was hurrying [Mistake 1] around kitchen making spaghetti.
I was wearing a white [Mistake 2] feeding singlet.
I splashed spaghetti sauce onto my white singlet. [Mistake 3]
I took it off straight away and washed it so it wouldn’t stain [Yay for me]
The mark hadn’t come out [doh!]
When going to hang out the washing, I draped the wet singlet over the laundry basin to soak in white-napisan when I came back in [Mistake 4]
I forgot I’d done that [Mistake 5]
B1 did a yucky nappy and needed a change of pants [not a big suprise]
I threw the blue trackpants into the laundry sink [Mistake 6] to soak in baby-napisan after feeding B2
I forgot I’d done that [Mistake 7]

I found my lovely white spaghetti-stained singlet, now also blue-stained from the trackpants [sigh]

So, for me, this “white” singlet is now my “badge of honour” and I’ll wear it proudly around my house because it says “Yup, I’m a mum. I’m sleep deprived. I forget things. I do silly things. But that’s okay :)”