and I'm back

So, I know it has been a long time since my last post. I have had many things change since then, the biggest being that we have had an addition to our family and his name is Gus. He is a sweet little guy and is very laid back. Maggie is loud and crazy and running around like a crazy person and he just sleeps through it like its no big deal. I have noticed other differences too. I can put him down and most of the time he is ok with it. I can lay him down awake and he will fall asleep by himself. He only cries when he is hungry or dirty(sometimes). He is very laid back and it was exactly what we needed considering Maggie can be a handful. When people ask me how she is doing with him I just laugh and tell him she is very kind and helpful and loving to him and she has only fallen on him one time so far.
So as for progress with the new me. It was put on hold for a little while being that the end of my pregnancy I was complaining quite a bit (which threw out the idea of not complaining as much and trying to be more positive), obviously the weight loss was put on hold as well, being that I couldn't really lose weight while growing a baby inside me and the whole being on time idea went out the window because I was slow and fat and tired (and complaining about it.).
Things that I did work on:
I became somewhat more organized. I organized my cleaning supplies and things under the sinks in my bathrooms and kitchen. I recently put our meds in bins that are easily accessible (first aid, cold/flu/general aches and pains, and kid meds/extras). I also re-organized our pantry, Jeff's closet, Maggie's closet and Gus' room.
I made a commitment to clean the dishes in the sink or at least put them in the dishwasher, every night.
I pick up the mess that Maggie makes every night before I go to bed so I can wake up to a clean (looking) house.
I try and do a load of laundry everyday or every other day to stay on top of it. Although, I haven't stuck with the cleaning book so much I have been trying to keep the house cleaner and doing laundry makes me feel like I have a cleaner house.
I have been cutting coupons and buying as much stuff on clearance as I can, in order to spend less and we just recently were able to put a good amount in savings which is also a plus.
I have been reading more books lately, although they have been children's books, but I recently purchased some other books (at Goodwill- to save money) to read with Maggie that may keep my interest a little bit more than hers.
Things I want to work on:
Reading more for myself (especially my Bible, which needs to become habit instead of an "oh, yeah" moment in my day), listening to music more and watching less tv.
Getting back on the weight loss train- I want to be back to my pre-pregnancy weight by the time I go back to work or even better by the time I see the doctor in May, I want to be to my wedding weight in time for vacation this summer and I want to be able to run/walk the half marathon in October (more to come on that one) right before my ten year class reunion in November (yikes!). Outrageous I know but I think it is totally possible. (the power of positive thinking- which brings me to my next point...)
Complaining and arguing less- 'nough said.
Continuing to learn how to keep a clean(ish) house with two kids
Continuing to save more and spend less.
Finishing my craft projects (more to come on that one too.)
Updating this blog more often to keep me accountable. :)
Things I have given up on:
Crossword puzzles- I don't get them, they are too difficult, I can't even do the easy ones in the beginner books or the ones in the trashy magazines on the lunch table at work. I have tried and failed. I think I will stick with word finds and wheel of fortune.

I think that is enough for now. The kids will be waking up from their naps soon and the laundry just finished so I need to go now. I will be back soon. Stay tuned.

Productivity ?

My house is slowly but surely getting ready for baby numero dos/new baby/jj/hank/whatever the heck his name is going to be. I keep buying little things and I went a little crazy last week at the 70% off sale at Once Upon a Child and every other clearance baby clothes bin I happen to stumble across. I realized that baby number two usually means you have to buy more things especially when the baby is the opposite sex of number one. This seems ok for right now because I am nesting. I keep cleaning everything (sans today...I just haven't felt up to it) and I am getting very close to everything organized that I want to be organized. I came across the 21 Day Challenge at A Bowl Full of Lemons and she inspired me to organize and clean the messiest parts of my house...the bonus is since this house is new to me things weren't entirely disgusting and gross (yet...but I know they would get that way if I let them...I can be really disgusting. Just ask Jeff.).

On today's list of things to get done...laundry, clean the bathrooms, run errands and vacuum (the main level of course...because I need a heavy duty vacuum for upstairs and our old one shot craps on me while cleaning the old house-the main evidence of how disgusting I can really be.)

List of things that I have accomplished today:
put some laundry away and let the whites soak
took more laundry downstairs
thought about cleaning the bathrooms
thought about vacuuming
waiting for Maggie to wake up to run errands

So, as you can see...not much has been done today. But it's only 3pm I have plenty of time.

Maggie just woke up so errands await us...:)

CRAZINESS

So, I have now realized that I am not ready for this next baby. I bought a few things here and there but I don't think I have nearly enough and I only have a few weeks left until he is here. What to do...
Maggie is such a big girl now. She just turned one and we had a great party. Unfortunately, Jeff's uncle died the same day as the party and therefore the party was a little on the sad side. He was such an awesome guy. I wish Maggie would have been able to know him longer. :(
I have been trying to catch up on getting the house put together since the party and I am almost done with the office. It just needs some final cleaning and organizing (Jeff's favorite things for me to do...blah blah blah) and then it will be like a real office. Then the baby's room will be next on the list. Then hanging pictures and clocks and beatification can happen. The house won't look as sterile then. I have some thank you notes to get out. Thank you notes are on the list of things to improve on along with reading more.
As far as other things on my list of improvements to myself:
Crossword puzzles...I just don't understand them. It may not happen. I will have to come back to this.
Reading more would mean that I have free time which I haven't had much to speak of lately. But once the house is organized and things are ready for the baby I think I may have some more time on my hands. Or so I think now.
As for being on time. I have been getting better. Jeff has given me the ultimate test...if I am not ready by the time we have to leave in order to be somewhere on time...I will be left. So far I have not been left. I think this is a good thing. :)
Another thing to get back to are my craft projects or "Craftiness" as the file in the file cabinet reads now. It officially has a file...therefore it must be serious. Mustn't it?

Anyway...
I guess that is all from this front. Good to recap on the things that need improvement and to give myself a pat on the back for the couple of things I have done ok so far. So long for now. :)

Up and Running

So we are finally moved into our new house. The boxes are slowly but surely being unpacked and we are getting ready for Christmas. We got our internet hooked up last week and our phone too. Finally I can get on here and check emails and facebook and write something on here. In my last post I wanted to start writing in this more often which was a total flop because I didn't know that we would be moving so quickly into the new house. But now that we are here I can finally get back to my loyal reader. HaHa! Our new house is not the only thing that is up and running. Maggie has figured out that her legs are not just for sitting on and has figured out how to walk and run and stand up from a sitting position. She is so stinkin' smart.
As for the other things on my wish list of items to change about myself I haven't been so good about the being on time thing because weather and sickness are huge around here. I have been getting sick again with this pregnancy and although it has been a lot easier on me it is still not resolved. Maggie and Jeff have also been sick this week and we are looking forward to this stomach flu being out of the house for good. The weather around here has been a question mark everyday. We have cold, warmer and back to cold again. This is no good for riding to work because people don't know what to do if it gets too cold or we have bad weather. This is even ridiculous to think because we live in St. Louis and therefore we have had bad weather before...therefore why do we have to worry about it so much? I have no clue.
I have been reading more. I am currently reading "Miracles I've Known" by an older lady we used to go to church with. On a similar note we are watching less tv and listening to the radio more. This is very welcomed by Jeff who thought I watched too much tv before.
No other changes on this home front. We are expecting a little boy in April and Maggie is turning one in less than two weeks. I am probably going to go crazy very soon but I look forward to the challenge of having a one year old, I just think the addition of another little one is crazy...we shall see!

Just a Quick Note

So, it has been quite a while since my last post and I'm adding that to the things I need to do better. I am doing about 50/50. Not using the snooze is going great. I have been clocking in and out on time but I could be a little earlier. I need to work on being earlier for everything and that includes church. Really gotta work on that one. I am watching less TV these days however the reading isn't going very well. Hopefully once we move into the new house I can work on that. I have been reading almost one book a night but they are Maggie's books and I don't think they count. That's the update. I WILL be writing more soon.

Failing Miserably

So, I am not doing so well with my tasks. I am currently trying to pack up my house and declutter as I go along. I have one room done so far and two trash bags full of trash and one for the Goodwill pile. It is harder than I thought it would be because we have accumulated too much junk over the last two and a half years while in this house. Hopefully I can show some self restraint in the next one. As for books that I am reading I have started two and finished none- Terrible. I am also not doing so well on keeping my house clean because I keep thinking, " I am moving soon, I can clean that later." Watching TV is my biggest downfall. I can play with Maggie and watch tv all day and not care one bit. The only person who seems to care is Jeff and I think mostly he just wants me to work on packing the house so we can move sooner. This would be wonderful except I am too lazy and tired. Too bad we can't afford a vacation now that we have two mortgages. Boo hoo.

It's been a long time...I shouldnta left you (left you)

So, my husband, Jeff, lovingly reminded me that I haven't posted a blog in almost two months. I would beg to differ that it has only been six weeks but tomayto tomahto. So big news on the weight loss front. After six weeks I have lost six pounds. I actually lost all six last week. My doctor, however, does not like that I have lost six pounds in a week because (drum roll please...) I am pregnant and not supposed to be losing that much weight. Which is why I haven't written a blog lately. Jeff and I were trying to keep it a secret and I couldn't come on here every day or even every once in a while and tell you all of my miserable weight loss experience. So, weight loss will have to wait until after April to make it back on the to-do list. Until then I have a whole new list of things to talk about. Like:
Packing to move to the new house we were finally able to buy, which is actually right around the corner from where we live now.
Packing is an experience that I do tend to enjoy, however I can be a little anal about it. Case and point: leaving for college. Every college student living in a dorm has the same issue. You pack twice as much stuff as you need for a space that is half as small as you remember it being when you toured the campus the previous fall. I had boxes labeled A-Z with a chart of what was inside each box. Now, after living in a bigger house for the last two years and having a child we have acquired twice as much as we had when we moved here. So this would be great for a packing obsessed person like myself except now I have a child who is all over the place and makes it hard to pack and watch her at the same time. She is crawling all over the place and all over me and all over everything I touch and that makes packing quite the disaster. I put stuff in a box then she wants in the box to help take it out. Her toys don't keep her satisfied long enough to keep her out of everything I can't see behind me and the mom-eyes on the back of my head haven't fully developed yet so all I am left with is hearing thump or thud or crying to get my attention. I have now been typing too long and she is getting restless. So, I guess the task at hand for this month or so will be packing and getting my house(s) clean. YAY...my favorite thing. :( I promise to write more soon.

One Month Down

So, I am coming up on the end of the first month of the new me and I feel pretty good about my success. I have received one of the best complements, my husband is proud of me for taking this new me so seriously. :) It has been pretty rough being on time though. I am just not used to it, but I will be soon.

This is what I learned:

Being on time requires planning ahead which I have never really been very good at planning ahead. So that was an important thing to know. I realized the days that I did not plan ahead I was late or racing to be on time. No good, as I could have been pulled over. Thank goodness I was not, however, I probably should have been.

Being on time requires wanting to be on time until it becomes habit. Not there yet but I will be one day.

Also, being on time makes my day start off a little bit easier because I am not rushing and completely out of breath by the time it comes to finally getting to work.

Finally, being early allows me to take the stairs at work. Six floors up, ten stairs per flight, two flights per floor = 120 stairs and that is good exercise.

Which leads me to my new task for the month of August: exercise and dieting

I have lost all of the baby weight now and my goal for month of August is to lose 5 pounds. 5 pounds is not an outrageous goal but the path to get there is going to be tough because I still have a tendency to eat like I did while I was pregnant. I was hungry all the time in between being nauseated. Now, I don't have the nausea just the large appetite which has caused me to retain the weight that I wanted to lose before I got pregnant. If I can get down those five pounds by eating right and exercising perhaps this time it will stay off a little while longer. We shall see.

Updates:
I have started a book recommended to me and sent to me by my bff Abby, Keys to the Kingdom.

I have started working on two craft projects and I am working on getting them done soon. I just need hot glue, sand paper, and spray paint. You are trying to guess what it is aren't you? you won't! I will show pics when I'm done. Promise.

Clipping coupons to help with saving rather than only spending.

What can I say...the new me is on a roll!

Doing Better

So this being on time thing is much harder than I ever could have imagined. It not only takes waking up earlier but also planning ahead. Two things I don't do often. But this week I did pretty well. I was on time for work 2/3 days and on time for everything else that I planned. I also got almost everything done on my to-do list that I wanted to do. I am now working on my reading list and also some art projects. I am so on top of things.

As for the rest of my life...we took Maggie camping last weekend for the first time. She had a great time. We slept in a cabin, she played in the river and tried to eat rocks and she got to see and pet some horses. She just laughed and had a good ol' time. We went on walks every morning and she slept really well after playing all day.

My house is clean for the most part...however I haven't been using my list. That will be my goal for this week. To check off my list in my cleaning book.
Thanks to everyone who made book suggestions for me. I will look into it this week.

Work in Progress

So far this week I am 2/3 for being on time. I have been on time for work, meaning early (one minute is early for a beginner like me.), however I have been late to a few other engagements like breakfast on Saturday. So, overall I am doing pretty well.

So, now I guess I have to make a list of what I intend to accomplish over the next year. If I have it written down, then I know that I have something to keep me accountable. Here we go!

Changes for the better:

1. Be on time
2. Be more crafty
3. Read more/ watch less TV
4. Stop using the snooze button
5. Exercise more
6. Spend less money/ save more money (for instance using coupons and putting more money in the savings account.)
7. Stop complaining and arguing (or at least decrease- Let's be realistic I only have a year)
8. Follow through with my plans (from November) on how to clean my house better

That is all for right now. I think a great list or at least a great starting off point. Now all I need is to figure out some good books to read. If you have any suggestions let me know. I have a few craft projects already lined up and a starting point for cleaning my house. Now, obviously starting all these things at one time would be crazy but I will slowly add to the few things that I have started right now and will take suggestions on other things that might make a good change. But first let's start with some good book suggestions. Let me know what's good. Its been a long time since I really got into a good book/series. So...