laundry basket PSA

The last word on laundry baskets isn't spoken (or typed, as it were) yet. First, my mom emailed these pictures, to prove that I am indeed a laundry basket pioneer (she said I climbed in by myself):
Secondly and sadly, I have had to abandon the laundry basket technique because my little Houdini managed to tip the basket over and hit his head on the bathroom tile. We were both a little shaken, but fine. I've learned my lesson...
Can you believe her?!!!

this is how I wasted naptime today

Or perhaps:

...one diaper at a time!

hand wash only!

hand wash only!, originally uploaded by girlwithgreencard and fabric!.

Laundry baskets. They don't tell you about the wonder of laundry baskets in the parenting books. Need to blow-dry your hair? Sit the boy in a laundry basket. Need to put groceries away? Laundry basket. Putting the finishing touches on dinner? LAUNDRY BASKET!
(Also, isn't he just about the handsomest boy ever?!!)

and then there was poop (everywhere, actually)

Noah has found a new favorite toy. Let me put this delicately. It is... attached to his body. (Got it? We keep it in his diaper, normally... okay, now you got it.) (Do you see where this is going?)

Yesterday morning, when I changed the first diaper of the day, I was still a bit sleepy (read: stupid) and didn't follow my usual pattern of getting a wipe wet & ready first.
I opened the diaper (which was poopy, of course) and ZOOM! his little hand shot to the Special Toy. Which, of course, was poopy. Suddenly wide awake, I grabbed his wrist to prevent further poop-spread, blocked his other hand with my arm, and grabbed for a wipe.
With a happy squeal (he does these happy squeals now... it's completely adorable, unless it somehow involves poop), he kicked his legs and plunged both of his feet into the diaper. By the time I had his hand wiped clean, he had kicked his legs up and spread poop all over his legs.

Why yes, we did take a bath that morning.

a new game

Ugh! You guys eat this stuff? On purpose? Ummm, WHY?!!

Noah had some mashed banana today! The camcorder battery was, of course, not charged and I couldn't find the right cord to plug it into a wall outlet (the camcorder falls into The Husband's realm of expertise), so I set up the new camera with the timer and periodically hit the button.
Noah's first bite gave him the shakes (similar to what you'd do if you bit into a lemon, or ate a cranberry). I have a feeling that for the bulk of the "meal," we used the same spoonfull of banana (you know - I put it in, he pushed it out, I caught it and put it back in, he pushed it back out, lather, rinse, repeat). I did, however, hear him swallow at least once, and he seemed to like it. I stopped when he started to lose interest, which coincided with a magnificent gagging noise and a head movement that made me dash for a towel to protect my pants. Thankfully, he didn't throw up, and I decided not to push it.
He's becoming such a big boy...

Boo-yah!

Noah's cold has one decided advantage: I'm forced to go to bed by 9pm every night. Even with the (sort of frequent) waking up, I'm getting more sleep than when he's healthy. Right there, obviously, is the real new year's resolution I've missed: go to bed at 9pm.
I've had a ton of energy today.
I cleaned underneath and behind my oven, I did many dishes (many, many, many). My laundry is actually folded and put away (PUT AWAY!) and the Christmas decorations got boxed up!
I'm celebrating the accomplishment by watching Elf and hand-quilting. Ahhhh.

off again, on again

I sort of completely fell off the resolution wagon yesterday. My poor sick baby would. not. sleep. He woke up way too early in the morning (6am, anyone?), and right there, the rest of the day was completely thrown off. Add to that the fact that when The Husband got home just after five, we had to go to the credit union to take care of some refinancing paperwork, and you have a day where I managed to do the absolute necessities. Grrrr.
Anyways. Noah fell asleep in the car on the way home from the credit union and Papa managed to carry him into the house and bed asleep, so I got to eat dinner and do my Bible reading before he woke up and demanded Boob.
And then I went to bed with him at 9pm, because he could only sleep attached to me in one way or another. This was actually a good thing because I actually feel very rested and ready to go this morning.
At any rate - I'm getting right back on that resolution horse (not mixing my metaphors wasn't one of my resolutions, so there!). Better go start while he's still asleep...

How you doin'?

The Husband took a sick day today for maybe the third time in the nine years I've known him. He was mostly dead all weekend and even though he's feeling better, he still spent a good part of the day asleep.
I figured out that Noah sleeps best on top of me, which is both an awkward position for rocking him to sleep, and a pretty uncomfortable position for me to sleep in, but it is sleep (which is much better than what I got Friday night, which was "no sleep"). He felt much better today, even though it takes both of us to hold him down to suction out his little nose... poor kid! It's gotta be done, however, because he can't really eat when he can't breathe through his nose.
I, on the other hand, have so far been invincible. I attribute this to my continued good work on the daily vitamin front, but also (and largely) to lactating. It is a superpower after all. :)

sicko

Turns out that Mr. Meltdown was coming down with a nasty cold. The Husband returned from work on Friday, choked out "My throat is really sore. I need to crash." and vanished into the bedroom for three hours. Noah went to bed around 6:30. By 9:00, he'd already woken up (and been patted back to sleep) twice, so I gave in and nursed him. I thought his nose sounded a little stuffy (famous last words, right?!).
For the next few hours, I woke up with Noah about once every hour. By early morning, 4 or 5 or so, The Husband awoke from his coma sleep and took the feverish, miserable sniffler off my hands so I could get some sleep.
All day Saturday, I got to take care of two sickies, and let me tell you - If there is anything in the world that's more fun than taking care of one sick person, it has to be taking care of two sick people. *sigh*
Last night was basically a repeat of the night before, except that The Husband slept in the guestroom until about 5am, when the screaming brought him out of his hiding place and he took over for me. We traded back and forth (one taking care of Noah, the other sleeping in the other room) for the rest of the morning.
If I make it out of my PJs today, I'll count that as a major accomplishment!

milestone?

Today, Noah had a complete melt-down in the car on the way home from the bookstore. We were on the road for less than 10 minutes, but by the time we got home he could. not. stop. crying. I tried to nurse him - he pushed the boob out of his mouth and screamed at the top of his lungs. I wrapped him in a blanket and rocked him - he cried. I patted his back while carrying him around the room - he cried so loudly I had to abandon the technique (too close to my ear). He finally fell asleep in his bed, swaddled, with me patting his back.
And for a long time, he continued to sob in his sleep.
It was pathetic.
It was sad.
It was also adorable.

2009

I'm full of good intentions for 2009.
I can be a little... anal at times (Jamie, stop laughing. I know you're doing it. Stoppit.). I need structure, so I decided to give myself more structure. I've been marveling at the swiftness with which time passes. Boom, another week, another month gone. Noah is almost 6 months old and I honestly have no idea where the time has gone. What I'm trying to say is that my life seems a little too go-with-the-flow-y. I want to be more intentional about what I do, so I won't wake up tomorrow with a saggy middle and grey hair and children in college and suddenly realize that life has just... flown through my fingers like sand. I want purpose. I want to stop wasting time.
I'm starting slowly (it's the only way to do it, I believe). I have household goals for January (including decluttering the closets and the kitchen cabinets), I have crafting goals for January (people keep getting knocked up, so I keep planning to make gifts), and I have personal goals for January (including taking care of my body and feeding my spirit - this will be the year I actually read through the Bible with a daily reading plan).
And, lucky you! My yearly goal includes blogging every day during the week. I'm also planning to do something creative every day and to post the result on the craft blog.

Obviously, I have given up on sleep entirely. Happy 2009!