Cleaning House

How important is it that I have a clean house? I struggle with this daily. I don't know if my desire for a clean house is to please other people (though I'm sure this plays a part) as much as it is a mental health issue for me. I feel frustrated in the midst of chaos and so I look around the house and have the desire to clean up, but not a strong enough motivation to actually get started. I know that when I start, I will not be able to make it look the way that I envision, with everything in its place.

There are things in this house that really just do not have a place. Take the photo albums for example. In our old house, they could be put on a shelf, since we had many. Here, there are no shelves, so the albums sit on coffee tables, the fireplace, and on the t.v. stand. This bothers me to no end because it is clutter. They do not truly have a place. We intend to build bookshelves, but that costs money. Another issue are the books. Again, the problem is the lack of shelves to put them on. Four boxes of books are still in the garage.

The biggest problem is that I like to start projects that are ongoing (such as scrapbooking) or that I don't always finish. These things sometimes sit out for weeks or, if they are put away, they are stashed in the closet that is already full. There doesn't seem to be an effective way to organize these projects. Then, of course, there are the dishes, the laundry, and all of the other daily chores. So, each day I make a choice. Either I will 1) Get some "chores" done or 2) Work on a project 3) Organize something 4) Run errands (real or imagined) 5) Do nothing. Many times (more than I would like to admit) I lean towards option five.

Today, I have imagined some errands for myself, so I am off to OSH to buy some flowers to replace the dead ones in the front yard. Productive, yes, but the house is still a mess. I'm still not sure how much I care.

Laughing!

Today Mia laughed! Just before Troy got home, I was playing with her and tickling her chin to get her to smile. Instead of just smiling, she laughed. We thought it was so amazing and we just kept trying to make her do it over and over. We got out the video camera and got a little on tape. It was really awesome to see her laugh.

Mia is one month old already!

I can't believe how fast this has gone already. Mia is growing so big! She is 10 pounds 1 ounce and growing more every second. She can hold her head up, and she's so alert! She looks around more and really likes to look at faces. We love her smiles. She is playful, especially with Daddy. He makes goofy faces at her. She pushes herself up with her arms and legs when she's on her tummy. We think we'll have a mobile child on our hands pretty soon! She's a really good sleeper and gives us a few good hours of sleep at night. We think she's the most beautiful little girl we've ever seen. Sometimes we just look at her for hours. Daddy loves dressing her in pink and I've given in . . . a little. She is pretty adorable in just about anything, even pink.

Shopping!

We successfully left the house today! It was just Mia and me. I felt pretty rested, and there was a sale at Kohl's, so I thought we'd give it a try. Just to make sure, I went on the internet and looked up postpartum driving because my mom thinks the doctor should have given me instructions not to drive. Everything I read said that it would be fine as long as I didn't have a C-section. I called Troy, almost expecting that he would reject the idea of us going out, but he was all for it. We were on our way. It felt good to put on real clothes and drive somewhere. It was actually pretty easy to pack up the baby and getting the stroller out wasn't as difficult as I thought it would be. Mia was perfect. She slept the whole time, and after going to Kohl's, I was feeling pretty confident that we slipped into Marshall's too. I bought Mia a Ralph Lauren dress for $20, that sells for $60 at Macy's. We didn't spend long on our outing, but it was a pleasant change of scenery from the nursing chair in Mia's room.

Later that afternoon, I read Mia a book for the first time. I was reading one of my books about babies last night and was surprised to learn that I should be reading to my newborn. She seems to small to really benefit or even be able to sit long enough for a story. I was shocked when I turned the pages and she focused on the pictures. She loved the bright colors and was quiet and focused as I read. She seemed to really enjoy the rhythm of my voice as I read to her. That must be because she heard me read to my 6th graders so often while I was pregnant.

We gave Mia another bath tonight. Again, I am amazed at how well she likes to be bathed. We haven't put her in a real bathtub yet, but she loves the sponge bathing. Troy soaps up her head first and then pours warm water over it to rinse. To look at her, you would think we had taken her for a baby spa treatment. She looks so content. I thought she would cry when we put the water on her, but she loves it!

Penguin by Troy

Today we had our first trip out with Mia. Of course the first shopping experience with a girl has to be at (you guessed it) Old Navy. We picked out her first Halloween outfit. We got her a little Penguin outfit. SO CUTE! I hope she is big enough by then to wear it. We will take many pictures.After going to Old Navy we went and got mom (Allison) and dad (Troy) a Jamba Juice. We got a "Strawberry Surf Rider." Mmmm good... with no extra boost.

Hardest thing I've ever done

We went downtown to the lactation specialist again today. She has been helping me with nursing Mia because we had a hard time. Lately, Mia has earned herself some nicknames while breastfeeding. When we first brought her home, I called her "little piggy" because she would snort each time I would get ready to feed her. Now, her nickname is "pirahna" because each time I try to feed her, she begins chomping her mouth before I can get her to latch on. It's actually pretty scary because her little mouth is chomping open and shut, and she'll clamp down and bite me three or four times before she latches on really well. It's somewhat humorous, but it can be very painful.