My Attempt at Being a Domestic Goddess

I am NOT the best housewife.  If I was, I would scrub the floors every week, vacuum every room (even if not used) every other day, dust daily, cook every meal--even breakfast, and do it with a smile and makeup on.  This does not describe me in the least.  I honestly hate cleaning on my best day, but realize it needs to get done.  I do the minimum necessary to survive.  Since I've had Ginny, my attempts have become virtually non-existent.  My focus is on her.

In an attempt to be a better housewife, which I deemed necessary once my lovely husband started voluntarily cleaning around the house (he hates cleaning more than me), I put myself on a schedule of sorts last week.  Before I did the schedule, I would find myself overwhelmed with the things that needed to get done around the house and would usually barely get anything done.  So, I created a schedule for myself with the hopes that it will give me a simple goal and be less overwhelming.  Here it is:

Monday:  Clean bathrooms
Tuesday:  Grocery shopping (NOTE:  No cleaning today unless I "want" to. LOL)
Wednesday:  Dusting
Thursday:  Floors
Friday: Scrub the kitchen
Saturday:  Make up day for any of the above and/or cleaning another needed area

It really seems to be working thus far, granted it is only week 2, but already I have a better attitude and feel as though I'm making some real accomplishments.

My zucchini bread and corn bread for tonight!

Since I have been feeling all proud of myself, I suddenly found myself with the urge to bake.  I've never been huge into baking.  I like it mainly when I am craving something sweet.  Otherwise, I'm okay with not baking.  However, in the last 2 weeks, I have baked (all from scratch) zucchini bread (twice--I'm doing it again today), a carrot cake with homemade cream cheese frosting, and corn bread.

Will wonders ever cease?  I may be on the road to being a domestic goddess after all.  Or maybe not. ;)

The chili I made for dinner tonight.  Notice my cheat?  Crock pot! :)

Shopping for Ginny

Yesterday, I decided to do some shopping for my little one!  Granted, I likely need more clothing than her since the vast majority (95%) of my tops do not fit now that I have Dolly Parton size boobs from nursing; however, I enjoy shopping for Ginny much more than myself.

The town I live in is a small one of about 4100 inhabitants.  We have 3 traffic lights but that is only because a major road (Business I-55) runs through town).  We don't have any major retail outlets here, unless you count our brand new Walgreens (love it) or Casey's General Store.  What we do have are 2 resale/consignment shops--one for women and the other for children.  So, for the first time in the last 2 years I have lived here, I ventured over to Just For Kids to do some shopping for Ginny.  While I do love buying clothing from her, I don't see the point in spending tons of money on a baby who will only wear the clothes for 2-3 months.

I did have a specific purpose and goal from my shopping. Ginny received a lot of clothes from relatives as gifts, with most fitting her through 9 months.  However, while a lot of her 6-9 month sized clothing is adorable, it is also a bit summery. My plan to extend their usefulness was to get some long-sleeve neutral (white/black/gray, etc) onesies/t-shirts for Ginny and a few pairs of pants.  I also hoped to find a good Halloween costume for our girl.

Well, I looked at costumes first and was disappointed in the selection.  Granted the selection was probably small because all of the costumes were on sale for $0.50.  (YES!!)  I did see 2 possibilities but quickly ruled them out.  They had a bee costume and a ladybug costume.  Very cute, but not what I had in mind.  Hopefully I'll find something on sale at JcPenney or another store soon.  I may even shop online.

Then I went to the section of the store where they have all their 6-9 month clothing and they only had 10 items there.  Only 10!!!  They had a TON of clothes for every other size but 6-9 months.  Do people not dress their babies during that time or do their kids all jump from 3-6 month to 12 month outfits overnight?  I wonder.  I did find 3 things I liked and my total cost was $8.63.  Not bad.  Her new outfits are pictured below.

Once Ginny is ready for the next size up, I will go shopping there again.  I enjoyed my first venture into consignment baby clothes shopping.  Until then, I guess I'll be looking for what I need at other stores. I'll just hope for a good sale. ;)

Bouncing Baby

Today Ginny and I started a new adventure--attending a Musikgarten music class called "Bouncing Babies."  The class is 30 minutes once a week for the next 14+ weeks.  I say plus because there are no classes the weeks of Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's.  However, the class will meet 14 times.

I wasn't quite sure what to expect, although I had a slight inkling after attending new parent orientation on Sunday. We had a lot of fun.  Ginny is not as much a participant as I am at this point, but she did seem to enjoy the movement and singing.  Ginny loves music in general--particularly when I sing to her.  Now she is in her own mini-heaven because I'm singing to her for about 30 minutes at a shot.

What fascinated Ginny the most were all the other babies in class.  I honestly think I gave birth to an extrovert. She loved all those other faces and that they were about her size.  At 5 months old, Ginny was the youngest in class.  Most of the other babies were around 8-9 months.  By the time the class is done she will almost be 9 months.

Next week, Daddy will get to join us.  I'm looking forward to it.