Down With Consumerism! and such....

You may have noticed the little sign at the top of my page. I've been reading Crunchy Chicken's site for a few months now (click on Challenge Box to reach her site). I didn't join her Freeze Yer Buns challenge because I absolutely HATE to be cold, as those who know me know full well. (Though I have been making an effort to keep my thermostat down. It hasn't been above 70 the whole time since we moved at the beginning of January, and before that I used to keep it between 70 and 75)

But this is a challenge I need to join. I don't feel I've been going crazy, but I have bought quite a bit in the last few months. Most of it was and is needed, but I haven't been paying as close attention to my purchases and I should be. So this will help me do that. Here are the parts that are going to be hard, and how I'll (hopefully) solve them:

Clothes for Ben. He is growing out of all of his long sleeved stuff, but it isn't warm enough outside yet for short sleeves. However, one of the rules is that I can buy used if I really feel a need for something. So I will be going to Goodwill in the next few days to see what I can find. If I don't find anything, I'll look up other second hand stores in the area.

Various Kitchen Things I Still Want. Cloth napkins, Pyrex storage containers, new utensils. All of these things are on my mental list of things I really want, and actually will be useful. And yes, I am a snob, and don't want to buy these things at Goodwill. I realize that is illogical. I'm okay with that. So. Solution? Well, first, I do plan on getting these things. I am using this challenge primarily to force myself to start paying attention, and to start the habit of really noticing what I am buying. I know it may be cheating to simply wait until May to buy some of these things, but in that time I will be learning more about myself. Cloth napkins: we still have several rolls of paper towels, which isn't ideal, but will do. I actually will check Goodwill for cloth napkins, but I'm doubtful I will find something I want. Pyrex: I have plenty of glass jars that we've been using, and it will give me a month to see how few Pyrex containers we can get away with. I have one drawer set aside for them, and refuse to use more. New utensils. I am not being indulgent in wanting new utensils. The ones I have were cheap 7 years ago when we bought them. The handles fall off the useful ends constantly. But they still work, and will last another month, for sure.

Other than that, I think I can do it. Along with my new effort to spend around $100 a week on groceries, it should really help me get a grip on our finances for April, which is one of MY main goals for this challenge, though I realize it's supposed to be for other consumer-ish reasons. Along that line, it will help me too, for if I see anything during April that I want, I will know that if I REALLY want it, I will remember it in May. If the more likely event happens, and I forget all about it, it was severely unnecessary.

Wish me luck. And join me, if you wish! It's only a month, you can do it!

March In Review

Here are my sweet ones on Easter! My brother Mick and my dad came up to visit us! Here's Mick with his niece and nephew!
And my dad with his grandson. I got some of him with Kaia too, will post it later.
Here is a wonderful one of Ben enjoying his little food masher thingie.
This should have been up top, but if you move them, you can no longer click on them to make them bigger. Here we are the week before Easter, at an egg hunt.
Also, of course, Ben learned how to sit this month, the video is in the previous post! I don't have any good pictures of him sitting yet.

Baby Got Skillz

I haven't been this sick in a long time. It's just a head cold, so no fever, which always makes me feel like I should still be doing all my regular stuff. But I feel like shit. I can hardly walk to the bathroom without feeling dizzy. My sinuses are killing me and my throat feels like someone took heavy duty sandpaper to it. I'm also coughing, so maybe it's a bit more than a head cold, I don't know...I don't get sick like this much. Maybe once every couple of years.

My husband is taking wonderful care of me, I haven't even gotten out of bed today except to pee. He brought Ben in a while ago to eat, but I wanted it that way. He fed him a bottle earlier this morning so I could sleep, but I don't want to go to long without feeding him. Mike's brought me toast and tea and later will be going to the store for orange juice. mmmm....orange juice sounds awesome right now.

So at the moment I am laying in bed doing not much of anything. Which makes for such an interesting post, don't you think?

confession

All right, all right. Since I'm NOT 2 years old, I can be a little less whiny. I remembered I have frozen blueberries, which, drizzled with honey, work nicely on my throat. Ben is enjoying some in his mesh baby feeder too! Kaia is entertaining herself wonderfully, and when my husband gets home I am sure he'll take great care of all of us. And the house isn't that messy, and can probably wait until tomorrow.

there. now I don't feel guilty for publishing such a bitchy post.

In Which I Whine Like a 2 year Old

Being sick as a kid is such a breeze. You can just hang out on the couch while your mom or dad bring you Popsicles and chicken noodle soup and 7-up. You can cuddle down in soft blankets and watch TV, and take a nap whenever you feel like it.

Being sick as a mom? Slightly different. I can take a break on the couch, while my son sleeps--on me, of course, which makes getting comfy a bit difficult. My daughter is a huge help, luckily. She so sweetly brought me water and offered to make me soup. Being 7, she isn't quite ready to move from making her own sandwiches to boiling soup, but it was kind of her to offer.

But I can only rest for a short time. There is still laundry to wash, fold, and put away, dishes to scrub, and put away, dinner to plan and cook, lunch to make, cat litter to change, etc.

and just to bitch a bit, my throat HURTS!!! Like making my eyes water HURT. The bag of cough drops says "do not use while breastfeeding" (WTF?!?!) so that's out. I've eaten a few spoonfuls of honey, which helps for a few minutes, but my stomach can only handle so much honey, ya know?

And though Kaia is being very sweet, she still requires answers to her several hundred questions: "what should I draw next? Do you like this dress? Should I draw daddy in the store or in the house? Can I do finger painting on the kitchen floor? Is Ben awake yet? What is there to do? When will dad get home? Can I do regular painting on the table? What is there to eat? Can I have some fruit leather? Are you crying? Do you want some water? Can I have something to eat? Why don't we have any bread? Can we go to the store? Why not?"

I am hoping 5:30 comes soon. Mike will be home. I plan on handing over the baby and taking a very hot bath. Then maybe go to bed. And while I'm living in that fantasy world, maybe he'll bring me some chicken noodle soup and 7-up, right before he finishes the dishes and cleans the house.

my turn, I guess

woke up this morning with a very sore throat and a stuffed up nose. not my idea of a good time on friday. though I'm glad it's friday so that Mike will be home tomorrow. now I just need to get through the next 9 hours. blech.

Thursday

I was reading my perfect day post, and I want to change a few things. First, I won't be going to the fitness center every morning. On mornings I don't, I will still get up at 6, but will just spend some quiet time alone - reading blogs, catching up on email, etc.

Second, I think making lunches for the next day WITH Mike would be more in line with a perfect day.

I forgot I need to go grocery shopping after picking up Kaia so she can watch Ben while I unload the groceries from the car.

After we get a second car, Mike will hopefully be taking Kaia to school. However, she has to be there between 8:15 and 8:30, and he currently starts work at about 7:45, so we'll see.

By the time I am getting this schedule working, Kaia's time to get out of school will have changed, but that's a minor detail.

On another note, Kaia and I found the Magic Tree House books website. There's a part where you can answer 3 questions about each book you read then get a "stamp" for a "passport". I wanted to test her comprehension because I wasn't sure she was really understanding what she reads. But sure enough, she got all the questions right for the books she's read! Even the book she read entirely on her own.

Not really sure what we'll do today...no plans. I am still working on Kaia's room, maybe I'll attempt to hang her curtains.

Daddy

Just a Simple Wish

In an almost perfect world here is how my day would go. (in a perfect world, we'd have magic, so chores wouldn't need to be done.)


6am: Wake up cheerful and rested. Head to fitness center. Son remains blissfully asleep.

6:45: Come home, wake up daughter. Kiss husband on his way out the door, after handing him his lunch that I made the night before. Make one cup of coffee, which is a vice I do not wish to give up.

6:45-7: At some point during this time, son wakes up. I eat breakfast at table with daughter. She then begins to get ready for school. Bring son into bathroom and take quick yet invigorating shower.

7:15: Dress son in adorable, inexpensive and organic outfit (it's my dream world people, so organic isn't expensive!) Dress self in simple yet flattering, inexpensive, organic outfit.

7:30: Unload dishwasher (loaded and started the night before). Start a load of laundry. Pick up any clutter that wasn't gotten to the day before (my almost perfect world allows for a little imperfection).

8:00: Take daughter's lunch, made the night before, out of refrigerator. Gather clean and shining children. Take daughter to school.

8:15: Drop daughter off at school. Run any errands that need done- grocery shopping, etc.

9:30 or so: Go home and put son down for nap. Continue with laundry. Vacuum. Do any household chores that need done.

11:15 or so: Son wakes up from nap. Play with son, maybe go for a short walk. Eat lunch.

12:15: Go to pick up daughter from school. Stay with her while she plays on playground with friends. Chat with other parents.

1:30pm: Go home. Prepare snack for children and self.

afternoon spent with children, playing, etc. Son has another nap at some point. Possibly go to fun event.

4:30: Start delicious dinner which was planned ahead of time.

5:20: Welcome husband home with a kiss. Serve dinner.

6:00: Put away left over dinner, clean kitchen, start dishwasher.

6:30: Spend some time with family.

6:45: Give children baths. Daughter then gets ready for bed.

7:15: Read with kids. Husband then sings with kids. Put both kids to bed.

7:30: Make lunches for husband and daughter for next day. Finish cleaning kitchen if not done.

7:45: Spend time with husband. Spend some time alone.

9:00: Go to sleep. Sleep all night. Begin again.



See? I don't ask for much. Just a regular schedule that I can follow each day. I just need the energy to actually do it, and the co-operation of my son. oh yes, obviously several times during the day I'd be feeding him. I realize however that that can't be scheduled.

whoops, son is awake. I will post later how I plan to slowly start putting this plan into action!

A Good Day

My brother and dad came to visit today, and here we are at QFC eating lunch. The original plan was to pick up a rotisserie chicken, but they weren't out yet, so we just got some food and ate it there. Kaia then watched the bakers decorate a couple of the cakes. Ben slept through most of it. Kaia and my dad took a long walk and found the playground. They wanted to go swimming, but the pool was closed. My brother spent quite a lot of very patient time playing groovy girls with Kaia, and they read her new Magic Treehouse book together! All in all a quiet but good day.

Yay Me!

I did it! Well, the first step anyway. sort of.

I planned dinners for the next 7 days, then made up a list. I wrote a few days ago that I am giving myself $100 a week for groceries. I'm not going to add it up as I go, but if I have extra after shopping, then I can go to the store again that week.

So we headed out to Trader Joe's this morning, clutching the list in my hand.

I did get a few extras- blueberries, babybel cheeses, and something else I can't remember. Also, I forgot pears, pineapple, and tomatoes, so need to go tonight and only get those three things.

and my total? $104!! I'm excited. This just might work.

gotta go, Ben's mad.

My Dilemma

We finally got the crib put up. We weren't sure we would be able to, because the company doesn't make the hardware anymore, and the original stuff was lost. So last night was the first night it was up.

I lay in bed cuddling my sleeping baby and stared at the empty crib. There are no blankets, no bumpers, no toys, as per safety standards. It looks scary. I wouldn't want to sleep there. I can't help but think that it's unnatural for us to try to make our babies sleep all by themselves in a cage. Anyway, he still wakes up several times a night to eat, so really, it's more of a hassle for me to get up to get him and put him back over and over, right? I hug him tighter. He is so sweet, snuggling close to me, secure in the knowledge that when he wakes up, I will be there, with comfort and sustenance.

I decide to try it. There's no need to abandon him there, but I'll see how long he'll stay asleep. I get up, and gently lay him down. He's mostly covered, but his head touches the cold sheets and he tries to wiggle away from them. I slowly pull my hands out from under him. He startles, throwing his arms out. Unlike usual, they touch nothing, and he starts flailing them around in his sleep, trying to find me, or anything. He doesn't, and starts whimpering. I pat his belly, which sometimes calms him. It doesn't. He opens his eyes, and looks around wildly, wondering where the hell he is. I give up, and pick him up. We get back into bed, and he immediately falls asleep, quiet and content. Here he stays for the rest of the night.

This will be hard. This morning I put him back in while I folded laundry in my room. He was pretty happy in there, and I got him out before he starting fussing. Maybe he'll learn that his crib isn't a bad place. Though I don't really see how it isn't. Which is probably the wrong attitude to take. But really, where would you rather sleep!?!

Here.....

Or here.....

Me too.

Before I get a bunch of comments about attachment parenting, and why I am trying to get him in a crib if I obviously want him in our bed, here is why:

Our bed really isn't big enough for all three of us. My husband is constantly almost falling out, and Ben is only getting bigger.

I'd like to cuddle with my husband again sometime this year. He'd like that too.

I do think it's important for him to learn to sleep alone. I think he needs to know that he'll still be safe even if I'm not there while he's sleeping.

I'd like to be able to let our daughter occasionally crawl in with us in the mornings. A bed not big enough for three certainly isn't big enough for four.

We need to start lessening the times he wakes up to eat at night, and I think after he gets used to his crib, he won't wake up as often, since we won't be moving around and jostling him.

And by the way, I am not planning, at this time, to have him cry it out. I did that with Kaia, it worked well with her, and I don't think it's wrong, but I don't think it's right for him at this time.

Improv, bunny style!

So what do you do when you really don't feel like making sugar cookie dough, letting it refrigerate roll it out, cut it out and hope it doesn't get too warm while you try to spatula it up off the counter made of material that really isn't the best for rolling out cookies? (yeah, I don't have the best of luck with sugar cookies)


You make a great big chocolate chip cookie and use cookie cutters on that, of course!

The Rules of Life

Kaia, about one of her dolls, after asking me to put the pants on her:

"She is going to a party. Well, actually, she's already there, but she forgot her clothes. But they have some in case people forget them, so they gave her some. But it's okay, 'cause they are all family. But normally at parties you have to bring your own clothes, huh, mom?"

Happy Easter

I did something a little different this year with the Easter Bunny stuff. Instead of buying a basket and a lot of little junk, I just put a few cool things on the table. Also, I decided not to buy a lot of candy, instead just getting a smallish chocolate bunny (can't forgo THAT!) and 3 little chocolate bugs. Then I got her 3 more groovy girls, a couple groovy girl outfits, and some cookie cutters. She was thrilled! She didn't even notice the absence of a basket, and mentioned to her Granny her "tons of candy!"
Ben got the free duck (see above) that came when I ordered the groovy girls, a little eggplant person (in the picture below) and a wood and cloth dove toy. My mom sent Kaia 2 groovy girl sleeping bags and Ben an awesome onesie that says "SMILE".

This is also the start of my attempted week of posting a Daily Glimpse every day. Wish me luck! Happy Easter, y'all.

blah blah blah

Bah. Boring day! I worked on Kaia's room a bit, but there's still a lot to go. I worked on my room, and put away laundry...dyed Kaia's curtains purple.....ate some...Ben is still fussy, but his temp is normal.

I think I am a bit sick. Just feel a bit out of it. I had told Kaia we would order pizza for dinner, but I think I'm going to have to cancel that, just don't feel like spending the money. We have plenty of other things to eat.

I really need to work on our grocery budget. I spend WAY too much on food. So I am cutting it down to $100 a week, and only going once a week, with a proper list, after planning all meals for that week. Wish me luck.

I'm so excited about Andrea and John and their kids visiting next month! I have no idea where we'll put everyone, but we'll figure something out.

Kaia is bugging me over and over to look at her doll. "Look at shoes! Look at her tights! Look at her hair! Isn't she the prettiest groovy girl!?" Then she repeats it. Well, she did until I told her to stop. I have little patience today.

Ben is laying on the floor watching her play. He loves his big sister quite a bit. She's pretty darn fond of him too. Wonder how long that will last?! ;-)

Okay, I feel this post has meandered on long enough. I'll try to find something else to do.....really, I'll be fine....sigh......

first thing complete....

Here is my hall closet, partially turned into a pantry. First thing on my list completed!




I am also working on the cookbook one- made the frosting from one of the recipes. It wasn't the best, I won't be using it again. I started on the week of flossing every night, but forgot the 3rd night in, so have to start over. John and I are going to a Mariner's game on April 11th. I am almost done with the eating everything old in my cupboards. Just a few more things to go.

In Which Plans Are Changed

Ben is now sick. damn. Kaia is getting better, today her fever is down to about 99.5. She mostly feels fine - says she does- but is pretty cranky and prone to sudden tears. Of course, that's not just the illness, but it's nice to pretend to myself that it will go away when her fever does.

Ben's fever was 102, but the Tylenol brought it down to 100.8. He's sleeping right now, but woke up a bit go, poor guy just lay there and whimpered, wondering why he was feeling so icky. Wouldn't even eat. He ate a bit ago, though, so I'm not worried too much about that yet.

We were planning on going with Mike to Vancouver this weekend, but looks like that's off. Kaia's pretty disappointed, she was really looking forward to seeing her Granny and Grumpy. Mike will probably still go unless I get sick and need help with the kids. He'll only be gone Saturday morning through Sunday afternoon though.

So now I am stuck on the couch with a sleeping baby. I need to pee, and should take some vitamins and drink some water, but can't really. I don't want to wake up Ben.

Wish us luck.

Birthday Prep

It's Michael's birthday today, and we are busy (sort of) getting things ready for it. Kaia got him a pack of gum, a Hershey's bar, and a Kit Kat, since to her, candy is the best gift ever. She is also going to draw him a picture.

Being the horrible instant gratification person I am, I made Mike open his presents from me early. I got him a Sigg water bottle (and one for Kaia and me too) and a T-shirt that has three robots on it and says "Fulfill Your Inner Robot". He liked both things (yay me!)

Today I am baking him a cake - yellow with chocolate frosting, his favorite. The cake recipe is one I've made before, but with spelt flour last time (the shortbread cake, John!!) This time I am using cake flour, and if the smell is any indication, it will be delicious! I am trying a new frosting recipe, though my other one is going to be hard to beat. This frosting recipe is from the cookbook in my 101 things list. (find a cookbook and make everything in it.) I'll let you know how it tastes. For dinner we are having steak fried in butter (our favorite way!), peas, and mashed potatoes. I also bought some red wine! Should be good times, albeit good times with a 6 year old and a 6 month old.

All right, I better get back to work, I have a house to clean and frosting to make. Anyone feel like doing that for me while I nap? No? Well then, here I go......to make me some coffee!

In Which Kaia Is Sick, Which Rarely Happens

Kaia is sick today, which puts off my plans of going to Bed Bath and Beyond. Ah well. She mostly seems to feel okay, but she has a fever of about 101-102. Right now she is playing tickle games with Ben, so she is handling it well.

I gave her some children's Motrin, then thought to see when it expired. August of 2006. Oops. It seems to be helping her feel better though. So far she has only watched The Last Unicorn once (today) but she is planning on watching it again as soon as I tell her she can. She loves that movie, I do too! Her favorite part is the talking skeleton - that part always creeps me out. I like Molly Grew. Kaia likes Lear and Molly's old gang's minstrel, who I hadn't ever even noticed. She likes the feather in his hair and thinks he's cute.

I dirty diaper calls to me to change it, and Ben has woken up hungry. Hope your day goes well!

a brief update about nothing in particular

wow we got a lot done today. We reorganized the bedroom a bit, and put the bookshelf that was in Kaia's room (I ordered her new shelves Thursday) in the hallway between our room and bathroom, and the little dresser that had been there by the office. That probably doesn't make much sense, but it means we have a place for sheets and crib stuff and pillows and such. It opened up room in the hall closet too. I also got a lot of laundry done and put away, and Kaia's room a bit cleaner. It won't get all the way clean again until her shelves get here.

Ben had a good day! he can now roll over from back to front, and front to back with ease. He's doing much better at grabbing things too! He's enjoying eating real food, and sitting at the table with us.

Kaia got in trouble for harassing the cats-again. I don't know what to do with that girl. But we got over that, and she had a good day otherwise. She's built a fort in the office and likes to hang out in there with Michael.

Tomorrow we are going to an Easter egg hunt, should be fun! I hope it's a nice enough day for Kaia to wear her new dress, because I don't think we're doing anything else for Easter that would allow her to wear it.

well, that was a fairly boring update. Oh! I did get the cookbook I am going to use for my 101 things - finding a fun cookbook and making EVERYTHING in it. This one is the Best Recipes from the Best 25 Cookbooks. Should be some good stuff, there're things from several different types of cooking. I'm going to try to make at least one recipe each week, probably more.

doh!

I sat down to write a post and realized ..."wait a minute! I'm in the MIDDLE OF CLEANING. and... I have nothing to say. So why am I here?"

it's a mystery.

kid-speak

I swear, I get scared by so many false alarms as a parent...but you can't let your guard down! Then one of them might be real...but enough of that...here is an example of a false one....


Kaia, from the bathroom: Mom! What's "a-moan-ah"?
Me: (jumping to the conclusion she means "ammonia" and wondering where the hell she found some of that toxic substance) What's what?
Kaia: A-MOAN-AH!
I go in to the bathroom quickly.
Me: Where did you see that word?!
Kaia: No where. What is it?
Me: Do you mean "ammonia"?
Kaia: Yes.
Me: WHERE DID YOU SEE THAT WORD?
Kaia: I heard someone say it at school.
Me: At school? (she goes to a school that keeps arnica cream in the first aid kit. I seriously doubt they have ammonia there)
Kaia: Yes. Someone said someone had "na-a-moan-ah"
enlightenment!
Me: Oh!! You mean PNEUMONIA!
Kaia: yes! that's what I said! Na-a-moan-ah!

In Which I Am About to Lose My Cool

Kaia has reached a new phase. I am told by her teachers it is a normal and actually healthy stage. But it ANNOYS THE HELL OUT OF ME.

It is the Defiant Stage. Not just whining about she doesn't want to do something, like before.

Flat out saying "NO!" then looking at me as if to say "and what are YOU going to do about it, baby-carrying one?!!"

She is currently not allowed to play after school on the playground all this week, as last Thursday it took me literally FIVE MINUTES to get her little ass out of the playground. I almost had to physically RUN AFTER HER and pick her up. If she only realized how thankful she should be that I didn't......

I really hope this stage doesn't last long.

In Which I Am Not Even the Slightest Bit Productive

I am currently stuck on the couch with a sleeping baby in my arms. I could get up and try to put him down, but I really want him to get some good sleep this morning.

Our friends Daniel and Erin are over, and we played a new game last night, "Quelf". It was quite fun! I have a picture of Mike in the fort he had to construct then sit in for a round, but can't get to it right now.

I would like to walk to the store, but Erin is still sleeping and it's raining anyway. Kaia isn't feeling very well, I think she's just bored.

Damn. Ben woke up.

In Which I Update Because I Am Bored.

Continuing with my endeavor, tonight's dinner used up a box of chicken stock, various herbs, some rice, and the rest of the lentils. I won't bore you with the details of every meal I make, don't worry! I'm just excited to have started.

Another item on my list is to go to a baseball or football game with John. He suggested we go to a Mariner's game when he and Andrea come next month! So on April 11th, we are going to watch them play the Angels.

Andrea is going to bring me some raw wool so I can begin to learn to make yarn! I'm going to learn to knit on store-bought yarn, but my eventual goal is to knit with my own yarn. Leah is going to teach me to use a drop spindle, and my mom is going to teach me to knit!

Starting Strong

The first task on my list that I am tackling is to eat everything that is currently in my cupboards. This does not mean I want - or will have - empty cupboards, but I don't like how I have canned goods and such from several months ago, just languishing there. So I marked everything with a black pen, and in the next two months I will use it ALL up. (actually, not ALL, I didn't mark things like spices or baking powder. I use those things pretty regularly anyway)

I will be grocery shopping during that time, of course, but I am going to try to only buy things on my grocery list, which will be made according to menus I plan ahead. Because I do want to have things on hand, I will buy extras of things I know I use often, such as refried beans and canned corn. But I will try my best not to buy something just because it looks tasty in the store. If I really want something, I will write it down, and incorporate it into the next week's menu. That way I know it will get used.

Today I made pancakes for my lunch using the Bisquick that's been in the cupboard since we moved here, and the frozen berries that have been in the freezer since we realized our blender is not up to making smoothies with them. Kaia also eats them in her lunch, but true to form, I bought WAY too many, and we need that freezer space.

Although I do use my spices, and didn't mark them, I do want to use them MORE. So I am also going to be looking for recipes that use more herbs and spices, instead of simply salt. Mike and I are trying to cut down on our sodium intake, as well as show Kaia how good food can taste even without it.

Wish me luck! And if you know of anything I can do with canned kidney beans, please let me know....

In Which I Make Yet Another Plan

Did you notice my list on the left?! It's not in it's own post so that I'll remember to actually DO it! I got the idea from Zoot and took a few of the ideas from her list and others I read. Most of them I thought up on my own. Here is what it is....

The Mission:Complete 101 preset tasks in a period of 1001 days.

The Criteria:Tasks must be specific (ie. no ambiguity in the wording) with a result that is either measurable or clearly defined. Tasks must also be realistic and stretching (ie. represent some amount of work on my part).

Why 1001 Days? Many people have created lists in the past - frequently simple goals such as New Year's resolutions. The key to beating procrastination is to set a deadline that is realistic. 1001 Days (about 2.75 years) is a better period of time than a year, because it allows you several seasons to complete the tasks, which is better for organising and timing some tasks such as overseas trips or outdoor activities.

Start Date: March 5th, 2007
End Date: December 1st, 2010

1001 days
143 weeks
33 months

Anyone who wants to join me (with or without blogging about it), I'd love to see your lists! I'll be blogging about each task after it's finished.

More from Kaia

Me: Honey, I really want you to drink whatever drink I put in your lunch.

Kaia: Okay.....why?

Me: Because it's important to get enough to drink during the day.

Kaia: Or I'll get a dry throat?

Me: You'll get a dry body.

Kaia: Will it start to crack?

Tuesday Morning

I regularly talk to Ben about Kaia--what she's doing, who she is, etc. This will range anywhere from "See your sister dancing?" to "What a wonderful big sister you have!" to "I need to spend some time with sister now."

(on a side note, I always swore I'd call my older child by their name. I don't like the nickname "Sissy" especially, but calling the older child by their relationship to the younger seemed diminishing. So I said "not me! never!" Then Kaia starting requesting to be called "Sister". I finally gave in to her wishes. I figure if it's HER wish, then it's ok. I still refuse to say "Sissy" though.)

Back to what I was saying, I find this talking to Ben about Kaia has two main benefits. It helps Ben get to know his sister, and I can "tell" Kaia things, such as that I think she is a wonderful big sister. Telling Ben (I tell her directly too) makes it seem more special to her, like I'm bragging about her to someone else.

So this morning, as we are leaving, Kaia comes in putting on her coat. She explains that she has on a sweater and a long sleeved shirt so that she can take things off or put them on depending on if she's too hot or too cold.

I told her that was a great idea, then told Ben that he "sure is darn lucky to have such a smart sister".

"Yeah!" chimed in Kaia. "He IS darn lucky! As darn as lucky can BE!"

My god do I love age six!