procrastination...

i feel like waiting till the last minute to do anything makes me do whatever it is best! i remember getting in trouble as a kid for putting things off (i.e. chores, schoolwork, etc.) and didn't learn my lesson as it continued into high school and college, and even into grad school  (which is why my thesis turned out much better in the end than my original research direction).... well my procrastinating habit hasn't stopped as i enter motherhood... granted there are some things that just can't be put off (i.e. taking care of baby and bills), but when it comes to cleaning and meal preparation, I like to go into superwoman mode (maybe subconsciously to test my limits of what I can cram in successfully in a matter of hours or minutes). for example, i had all afternoon and evening yesterday to clean the house, do laundry, and bake- BUT... i opted to put off everything except baking (i needed my chocolate fix for the night, even if it was 10:00) ... fast forward to 7:30 this morning- feed baby, then hop out of bed (like a cracked out housewife)... baby goes in jumperoo as i do a quick dusting, vacuum, dishes, floors (by hand), straighten up living room, put away laundry, water front and back yards, take out trash, put away craft table stuff, talk to both mom and mother-in-law, and finally at 10:00 remember to eat breakfast... and as i am gathering my less crackedout composure to assess my time frame before picking ryan up from the airport, i realize i wanted to go through jayme's closet and put away clothes that no longer fit and reorganize her closet before he comes home... i suppose i should stop writing about my ability to rock procrastination and get to putting off more projects ;-) 

word of the day: PATIENCE...

i thought this was one of my stronger attributes, but today definitely tested my limits! my saving grace was literally yoga breath training and a beautiful beach day...  it went something like this-
-2 something (am... and after  going to bed around 1230)- jayme begins the leg slam wake up call (hard to explain, but imagine how a whale slaps their tail on the water, she does this with her legs in her bassinet to get attention)... put the paci back in soothe her back to sleep
-3 something am- leg slam/baby chatter... paci, soothe, bed
-almost 5- leg slam/suckling and chatter.... ryan suggests milk her back to sleep, we both fall asleep (gotta love nursing in bed!)
-7something- ryans alarm goes off, we are ALL awake (2 of us in a good mood, me- not so much at this point, so i guess we could say i definitely got up on the wrong side to begin with!)
-7 something-930- morning routine as normal, plus a grouchy, sleep-deprived mom
-945- leave for the beach (plan is to arrive by 1030 to feed her before we enjoy our brunch)
-1015... STILL sitting in dead stop traffic 5 miles from home, with a screaming baby who is throwing a royal fit (cue yoga breathing and contemplating turning around and canceling plans)
-1030... finally making progress when kristi calls to tell me about more traffic my way (and it was as if the traffic cued up with the call!) THANK GOODNESS for carpool with a baby (albeit a still crying baby- at this point I might be a mean mommy for not pulling over, but i am determined to just get there)
-1100- finally get off the frwy and guess who passes out?! we get to the restaurant, feed my now content baby, and finally begin to enjoy the beautiful beach day and our breakfast! (beautiful weather + great breakfast= things are starting to look up from here!)
- after a wonderful day with kristi and riley, j and i head home (making a point to leave early to avoid more traffic... 2ish)
-we get home at 345  (courtesy of more traffic, but at least we had a beautiful day, and this time my child got the "sleep while we are driving" memo)
-get home, i'm zonked, and this is when she decides to remind me she is still cranky from being strapped in a seat (car seat and stroller) all day... 2 more hours of on and off unsettled fussing/crying... ryan comes home, i make dinner, eat, feed j, head over to the neighbor's for yoga, get call from ryan 1/2 hour into yoga, come home, take fussy baby and yoga breath while nursing her, she FINALLY goes to sleep (10ish), and i finally can take in some mommy time....
these pics are from our first beach day (well jayme's first beach day), and the smile on her face made my battle with patience and traffic and crying all worth it!

kristi's idea "how babies swing"

my precious happy girl

having so much fun with her friend

riley & jayme

jayme & mom (and mom's stray strand of hair)

and so it begins (or continues)...

The other night it was a new facial regimen (which was a waste of research time as I ended up shmoozed into purchasing a completely different product by the Boots sales lady @ Target instead of going for the Olay I was set on buying).... tonight its researching dishwashers and vacuums. I feel like such a cliche housewife/mom- more interested in saving up my change towards household necessities over my usual pampering sessions or shopping... I use to think it was hilarious and lame when I would hear my mom or friends' moms asking for appliances for birthday/christmas gifts... and now, here i am leaving hints for Ryan about the daily necessities I(we) could benefit from.... sure our vacuum still works after 6 years (even though  it requires me cleaning the filter or canister after every room) and sure I can continue to hand wash the dishes since we have a lame landlord who left us with a 70's dishwasher that is a waste of space... but sadly a new vacuum or dishwasher trumps my need for a pedicure, hair appt, or facial on any gift list this year....
as i am writing this i am reminded of a hilarious memory (probably funnier if you were one of the smith or davis kids)... the day our friend's mom bought a pricey "bullet-proof" vacuum and ended up having to return it when the hubby found out... my mom was in on it, and i'm pretty sure she was coveting this silly appliance... all of us kids couldn't understand the need for a bullet-proof vacuum, but now as i am researching, i can see where the eager sales people try any pitch they can to get the desperate-for-a-new-appliance- housewife to purchase the most ridiculous household "necessities"

learning to ramble...

Even though this wasn't taken today, it gives a visual of what today/tonight looked like

someone decided to wake up on the wrong side of the bed this morning (a hint- it wasn't me, but by the end of this it may as well have been)... we began our day fussy ...
annnnnd  fast forward to the end of the day (let's face it, there wasn't much to talk about during the day other than the fact i somehow found 5 minutes to shower in the late afternoon before the fussing picked back up again)... back to the end of the day... Ryan comes home, takes princess fussy nugget (giving me a much needed sanity break, and time to whip together a meal I would have been proud of in college, but not so much now, spaghetti- no sides, no frill, JUST spaghetti with sauce straight out of the jar without my usual Emril enhanced kicking it up a notch)... i inhale my food, just in time to sooth a starting to fuss (again) baby... Somewhere between attempting to do dishes and continue our previous night's conversation about "budget" I had to give in and try to sooth her with a quick <gasp> "out of schedule feed"... what do you know?! it knocked her right out...
i skipped going back to dishes and conveniently avoided our budget discussion by calling it a night (as i sit here in bed for the past 2 hours doing what i do best... mindless yet soothing product junky research on my laptop). After all, if I have to budget and cut out my fancy-schmansy face routine, I have to find a suitable replacement that won't make a dent in our carefully planned budget, yet still gives me the shot at looking 16 again! Hopefully such products exist...
I think I've rambled enough for one night... here's to hoping someone wakes up on the right side of the bed tomorrow!

Bandwagon Blogger...

After reading a variety of blogs (both friends and random people I don't even know, or friends of friends of friends, etc.), and after enough coaxing from my sis to start a blog of my own (I'm not seeing the interest in my life that she see's, but I'll humor her and try it out)... here I am at 11:45, while the rest of my family is fast asleep, writing my first entry of my very first blog. I have a pile of laundry (waiting to be folded and the other pile waiting to be washed) staring me in the face, but I am choosing to throw in the towel for the night in lieu of writing about my choice to have a late night Skinny Cow and watch my trashy version of a soap opera- Jersey Shore re-runs. Not a very eventful first entry, but I will learn how to blab (I mean blog) with more practice, in the meantime.... my not so Skinny Cow and waste of brain cells TV show awaits!