Purge!

To you, this may look like a pile of junk. To me, it is the beginning of my 100 item purge. I came across this (old) link recently, and thought this was the best time to do it!

EDIT: Since writing this thread, I have joined a FB event dedicated to this. It gives me extra motivation to stay on track, and it's nice to see what others are coming up with.

New year? New house. Clean house. Tidy house. Organized house. CLUTTER.FREE.HOUSE.

Hopefully.

So I recently started piling things up as I tidied. I haven't put too much thought into it yet, just picking up the basics that I realized I hadn't used in ages. The next step (as I clean up after Christmas) is actively going through each room and seeing what needs to be tossed or added to this pile for donations. So far, this is what we've got:

1. Women's shirts (5)
2. Women's shorts (4)
3. Women's sandals, new with tags (1 pair)
4. Women's scarf
5. Toddler shirts (4)
6. Toddler dress
7. Toddler leggings
8. Toddler skirts (2)
9. Toddler shoes (1 pair)
10. Toddler mittens (1 pair)
11. Toddler pyjamas (1 pair)
12. Box set of 4 DVDs
13. Books (4)
14. Magazine (1)
15. Unused bottle nipples (12). I never got to use these, but they were free from the hospital after delivery.
16. Unused sippy cup
17. Unused baby sleep positioner, still in box
18. Baby blanket
19. Trivial Pursuit board game
20. Balderdash board game
21. Play kitchen
22. Little People barn
23. Doll
24. Teddy bear
25. Dinky cars (2)
26. Large toy car
27. Christmas headband
28. Play necklaces (2)
29. Unopened pack of temporary tattoos
30. Karate belts (2)
31. Large plastic bowl
32. Mismatched tupperware containers (about 20?)
33. Box of cutlery
34. Can opener
35. Shot glasses (2)
36. Coffee mugs (10)
37. Metal cookie cutters (2)
38. Grill
39. Bobbins (12)
40. Paint sponge
41. Ruler
42. Coin dish
43. Magnet
44. Candle
45. Christmas ornaments (8)
46. 1 unused plastic eyelash curler
47. Unopened mini perfumes (4)
48. Point-and-shoot camera
49. Unused cake decorating kit

We're on a roll. Wish us luck.

Resolutions

I know, I know. No one sticks to their resolutions. But dammit, I want to try! And recording it here makes me a little more accountable, no?

1. STOP BITING MY NAILS. I made it six months once, then I found out I was pregnant and I bit those bad boys off. Time to get back on track. To help motivate me, I've joined a nail polish swap with my girlfriends. Did you know that nail polish is not just meant for your toes? Hmm. Who knew? Hopefully this time next year I will be showing off my shiny new colours on some nice new finger nails.
2. Continue organizing the house. It makes me happy and it's so much easier to live in a well organized house. Our house is not messy by any means, but there is so much more potential laying in front of me. ABFOL has taught me so much. I plan on starting their 14 week challenge this week. I also just learned of Peter Walsh's daily organizational challenge in January, so I'm getting in on that too. Pictures to follow.
3. Run, run, run. Keep running until I want to pass out. Take a breath, then keep on running. I miss it so much. I ran daily for years, but had to stop due to injury. I took it easy in 2013, not knowing when I was going in for surgery. I didn't want to risk FURTHER injury. I doubt the surgeon would have appreciated that. Now I feel like a lazy blob and my knee is as good as new, so as soon as this snow and ice is gone, I am going back to my happy place. I have big plans once I get going, but I'll tell you about that later. For now, just know, that I WILL run again. Knee injury be damned.

Re-organized

Can you call it RE-organized when it wasn't really organized in the first place? No? Okay, so I guess a better title would be "Finally getting it together after three years!" Seriously. We both keep the house clean, but it's not exactly tidy. Certainly not as tidy as we would like. We found ourselves dumping things here and there, rather than giving everything a permanent home. For such a big house, we have very, very little storage space. Organization is key, especially with a toddler. Last week something finally clicked, and I found myself giving the house an overhaul, one messy place at a time.

It all started with the cedar chest Mom passed along to us. Our sheets and blankets had previously been thrown into the entire left side of the upstairs closet. They took up far too much room but we didn't have much choice. So now the blankets sit nicely folded in the cedar chest, which will soon live permanently in the spare room.

This clears up half of the upstairs closet. HALF! HALLELUJAH we have storage space! Once this shelves opened up, I was on a roll. The closet is not the most efficient use of space - just two giant shelves on the left side - but it will have to do for now. I went to Target for the first time last week (Nothing exciting to report) and picked up two five packs of these containers for just $6 each. I came home and whipped up some quick chevron labels in PS, and got to work.

I had scribbled down all of my ideas of categories and items to be kept in there. I started my mission with the junk drawer. Oh junk drawer. Good bye. Good riddance. I hope to never see you again. Having this drawer empty left me with space to properly store baggies, wax paper, foil etc. HALLELUJAH again! AND moving the cooking supplies left me with space to properly store my pot lids. An entire drawer, full of pot lids. HALLE-FREAKING-LUJAH organizing feels good!

Continuing on throughout my house, I gathered things from above the kitchen sink, beneath the bathroom sink, the pantry, the laundry room...Like I said, we were rather scattered. Then I went upstairs and filed everything nicely into the following categories: Rags, Sponges/Magic Erasers, First Aid (everything I could gather up), Flash light/Batteries, Candles/Matches, Tools (screwdriver, measuring tape etc), Paint Supplies (small brushes, paint sticks, can openers), Sewing Supplies (pins, thread etc), and Crochet Supplies. It's not perfect, but we're really happy so far. We'll see how it works for us and change it as needed in the future. Along with these ten new containers, I have a basket for general cleaning supplies that don't fit into a lidded box, as well as a nice wicker basket that holds paper towel and toilet paper.

It's a work in progress. I feel like I've made a huge dent, but there is still a lot left. The right side of the closet has to be re-done. I still need to find a home for a few things on Addison's dresser, above the kitchen sink, and in the laundry room. I plan on getting a few more containers and/or baskets and giving the pantry and bathroom cupboards a similar makeover. It has taken three years, but our house is finally getting the attention it deserves. Baby steps.

This and that

I'm not very good at keeping up with this blogging business. What have we have been up to lately...

 I'm finally off of crutches. I'm not too sure what the next step is for my knee. I'm waiting to hear back from Ortho, and we'll go from there. For now, I'm still taking it easy. I've started taking Addison outside, but it's difficult (and terrifying) to be on your own in town with a toddler who's faster than you are. Thankfully she's really good at holding my hand when I ask. The rule is that she must stay on the grass at all times, or we go inside immediately. Normally I'd let her wander a bit farther and give her one warning if she's too far, but at this point, I can't take the risk. If she were to run, I physically cannot run after her right now, so I keep her close by. It's only been a few days, but so far, so good.

I got a lot of (good) reading done while I was held up. I'm catching up on cleaning that didn't get done, and starting to conquer the house To Do list. So far I've painted the downstairs bathroom door, the Spare Room closet, and some of the trim. Baby steps.

I'm learning to garden. Yes, you read that correctly. Anyone who knows me probably thinks I'm kidding, but I'm enjoying it. It's not a full time favourite hobby by any means, but I'm starting to appreciate my new curb appeal. Mom has always loved flowers and gardening. It was never my thing. Now that we've done some landscaping and I've put together the two front gardens, I'm noticing a huge difference. I started small, with easy plants and flowers. I didn't want to take on more than we could handle. I'll see how everything makes out by the end of the Summer, and decide whether to take on more or less next year. So far everything is growing quickly and flowering nicely. This week I've had three people compliment me on the front gardens and our new plants. I've enjoyed brainstorming what could go where. It's actually kind of fun.

Mother's Day 2012: Bleeding Hearts, Hostas, yellow Lanium

June 1 2012: Everything is growing! Hens&Chicks in the front, as well

Hosta Garden (planted in 2011): Hostas, Flocks, white Lanium, and a random Lily that was here when we moved in

Not much is new around the house or with the tenants. No big issues; no big complaints. Isaac sold his bike last weekend. It was fun while it lasted, but he's not home often enough to justify the price of insurance and gas. The plan is for him to get one again once he's home full time. The guy he bought it from is great. He's coming to pick it up next week.

Addison is growing like crazy, and learning something new every day. Lastnight she started saying "Ya!" and "Yaaaaay," which she claps along with. She knows all kinds of body parts and animal sounds. She loves to count from 1-10 in English and French. She favours numbers two, five, and nine. She understands simple commands like "Sit on your bum," "Wash your arms," and "put it in the garbage." When you ask her to clean up or put something away, she'll happily put things back in their proper spot, one by one. If it's time to go, she'll say "Coat! Shoes!" She gets everyone else's stuff and gives it to them, then gets her own. When she comes in from having played outside, she immediately sits down and takes her shoes off. Sometimes she doesn't even let the door close. She loves to read, and will point out things she knows in her books, such as cars and dogs. While reading about the Berenstein Bears going to bed recently, she said "Night night."

She's had a hard time with men lately, besides Isaac, and sometimes her Grandpas. She'll cry and turn her head, so as to not even see them. It takes her a long time to warm up to them, if she ever does. She's been a little more clingy and upset with small crowds lately as well. She sees other babies and young kids regularly, but I think I need to make a point of it more often. Now that I'm starting to venture out again, I think I'll take her to play group weekly. She'll also have swimming lessons again later this Summer. It's good for both of us.

I think that sums up our last few boring weeks. I leave you with this crazy picture from this morning, of my little toddler tornado. I went upstairs to get dressed. In that time, she managed to take her jumper off, empty the bin of baby supplies, empty a container of wipes, open and dump out a pack of diapers, dump her Cheerios on the floor, and pull a blanket off the couch. There's also a random measuring cup in the Living Room that was not there before I left.

I think it's time for a post that's not all baby

"I wanna talk about me.  I wanna talk about I.  I wanna talk about..."  Oh Toby Keith.  How I love thee.  Seriously though, I think it's time to mix it up and give everyone an update on everything else going on in our lives, and start this Blog Challenge.

Isaac and I are loving our new house and baby girl.  He's still in the city Mon-Thurs but that's about to change very soon.  He's taking Paternity Leave!  He'll get the whole last half of it (six-ish months).  I'm so excited!  I'll be staying home too, focusing on school and enjoying being a stay-at-home Mom (SAHM) for now.

We got the house in July and I moved in in August of last year.  Before our tenant moved in September 1, he redid our upstairs bathroom and her bathroom from scratch, painted said bathrooms/our bedroom/living room/dining room, started the nursery (still not quite finished), got a new roof, took down the old porch and made a new one, resurfaced the deck and stoop, installed a new outdoor lamp post...That's all I can think of off-hand but I'm sure there is more.  We picked up new couches, replaced some light fixtures.

Why am I telling you this?  We're continuing the renovations, starting this Spring.  Isaac is ripping apart the kitchen and downstairs bath and starting from scratch on both.  We'll redo the laundry room too, and paint everything, plus the two entry ways and guest bedroom.  Everything mentioned is getting new floors, too.  I'm so excited!  It'll be a lot of work but he got all that stuff done last Summer when he was only here on weekends, so I imagine this will be done quickly too.

We also got a trailer to camp out in at the lot for the Summer.  It's mainly a roof over our heads when we're out there in a few years building our future house.  Again, SO excited!

I was supposed to start school this semester but CUTV didn't have much to offer and not many people signed up for my classes so they were scratched.  Not impressed by this AT ALL but what can you do?  Hopefully I'll be able to find enough Summer courses to get my degree finished soon!!  I can't wait to go back.  I really miss school.

The in-laws have picked a location and date for their 30th anniversary cruise, which should be nice.  They're gone for three full weeks!  They'll have to catch up on their time with A when they get back.  They're going in April and return just in time for the birth of A's cousin!

Speaking of, Ryan's second daughter is due April 29.  I'm guessing she'll be born April 25.  I don't know why, I just picked that date and stuck with it.  It'll be a busy time of year for that family.  Once she's born, they'll have about three months to finalize their plans for their wedding (reception).  We all have so much to look forward to this year!