Freak

According to my husband I'm really weird for wanting to meet strangers that I've met online. A few years ago I was able to meet a few military wives that I only knew from an online spouse forum. Since then I've met a couple more from that same source. I'm sure I'll meet more in the future!
Monday we took a day trip out of this hell hole, I mean grand border town. Ha. We enjoyed some real shopping a couple of hours drive away. While there, I was able to meet up with...yep, you got it! A friend I had met online! This time it is a mamma who has a little girl about the same age as Squish. My husband tried warning me about all the freaks out there in the world and how do I know that this person is who I think she is....but I trusted my gut. And she was as nice in person as online.

Nice to meet ya!

I think she liked Squish.

Later that day before we left the real city. 

Notice the costume change? 

Yeah, that's what happens when you back carry a baby. ;)

Date Day

Wasn't really a date night since we went in the middle of the afternoon (when Squish is happiest), but my husband and I got our first time out without baby since Christmas week. We finally checked out Casa de Vino that's here locally. Over 3,000 bottles of wine which is pretty impressive considering how there really isn't much of anything other than a Walmart out here. I know I really enjoyed having some quiet time without shrieking baby. Hopefully I won't have to wait another 3 months for a 3 hours of baby free time. ;)

An empty Casa de Vino 

(because who goes out to drink a bottle of wine at 3pm in the middle of the desert)

(other than us)

Happy baby who thankfully wasn't sad to see Mommy and Daddy go.

Baby Wearing

For those that don't know me well IRL, I love love love baby wearing. I started with a Moby that a friend gave me. Found the wrapping really frustrating, but I did use it. I soon bought a Mei Tai Baby which doesn't require a long piece of fabric and found the baby wearing love. Squish gets worn every single day. Some days just for a few minutes here or there. Other days he's worn for hours. Just depends on what's going on.

Recently I've been wondering if I gave up on wrapping too early. My biggest complaints about the Moby were that it was super long and HOT. I'm still not convinced that wrapping is for me, so instead of buying a baby wearing wrap (they seriously cost about $100!) I bought fabric that can be safely used for baby wearing. For about $20 I've got two wraps cut out of it. I still need to shorten the tails a bit more and find someone to do a quick stitch along the ends to keep it from fraying, but I've got a cheap solution to play around with wrapping over the coming months. 

My first attempt at a kangaroo carry.

As far as my decluttering failing goes, I still have not finished the paper clutter by any means. However, I did spend time today in Squish's room. I packed away most of his 3-6 month clothing. I washed the last bit of his 6-12 month clothing and put it away. He's getting way too big, way too fast! I do feel great knowing that all of Squish's stuff is put away and organized though. So I've done 2/3 weeks. Better than none, right?

Decluttering Failure

I'm failing in decluttering. Maybe instead of one challenge a week I should aim for one every two weeks? I was supposed to have taken care of paper clutter. We only have one spot with it. It just happens to be a big one.

This is the office/guest bedroom/extra storage/this-doesn't-fit-in-this-current-house room. The main purpose is seriously to collect dust and allow the cat a quiet place to get away from cat obsessed rolling baby.

Just this little section is stuff that I'm allowed to touch. The rest is from DH's pilot training. 

I wouldn't say that as a family we are a complete failure at taking care of last week's challenge. My husband actually took care of a good deal of his paperwork. Mainly because he had to turn it back in. 

My little section though? Yeah, it's still there.

Maybe posting my mess for all to see will give me motivation.

Maybe.

New Party Trick

I didn't realize till last night that doing a back carry with a mei tai carrier qualified as a party trick.

But apparently it is. 

And it's impressive and amazing (according to others).

I dream a dream

Yeah, totally did not think this through.

Got the bright idea to container garden. Most people try a small herb container first. Maybe even one of those can't-kill-them-if-you-try plants. I have ambition though. I'm going to go all out with tomatoes, squash, cucumbers, zucchini, and peppers. I truly have no idea if it's even possible to grow all of these in a container. But, I bought the seeds anyway. For a couple of dollars I got my stash. I've watched the seeds grow a heck of a lot faster than I ever expected them to grow. Back in elementary school they would take weeks to do anything. In my house? A mere weekend. This morning I had 50 little pants sprouting in my dining room. Yeah. 50. Would have been 72 but the peppers weren't so fond of me. Smart little seeds.

I have 5 descent sized pots.

See a problem yet?

I didn't till this afternoon when I convinced my husband to help me out on the patio with my project.
"Uh, honey? Did you research how many plants for a pot? And how far deep to plant them?"
"Ummm...buy the seeds, watch them sprout, and then plant them! Water them every day. Reap the rewards this summer."

Yeah, my response did not inspire confidence.

At least last weekend we had cleared out the back flower bed (we killed all the previous flowers lol), so some of the overflow plants were put back there. The rest have met their fate in the garbage. My husband is pretty sure we're not supposed to garden in base housing, but I figure it's in the assigned flower bed spot so we're good. Besides, we killed the last flowers back there. What are the chances of my garden surviving?

I still have this wonderful dream going through my head of using my vegetables to cook with this summer.

This is assuming that we don't get orders to move in April. I mean how hard could it be to transport a garden 280 miles?

(And before you think I'm completely off my rocker, I do have a fairly good idea how to maintain a garden thinks to years of helping my parents who still grow a successful garden every year. I just never paid attention to the planting aspect.)

Project: Simplify WEEK 1

Who doesn't need to simplify their homes and their lives?

I'm a military wife. Let's just be honest and admit that there's a lot of moving with this lifestyle. We moved to our current base at the end of July. I got rid of a TON of stuff last June while DH was TDY and I was a pregnant housewife looking for something to do. Felt great. And know what I miss of everything I got rid of? Nothing. But there's more to be done. And oh boy did some stuff pile up during my extended 3rd trimester and during the newborn phase. Time to get back at it. Project: Simplify is a good way to get started!

And I'm already a week behind.

*gulp*

Today I decided to take full advantage of Squish's first nap. I tackled the closet and my dresser.

 

Before. Yep, that's a stuffed bunny up there. I really didn't change a thing before snapping photos!

 

After. I didn't get rid of much, just two Walmart sacks worth, but things are better organized. I finally put away all of my maternity clothes. I put my shirts together, my skirts together, and my dress pants together. I can't fit all of those tops yet, but I have high hopes for achieving my after baby weight loss soon. Up top I separated jeans by what's starting to get too big, pants that fit me well, capris and shorts, and jeans that I hope to get back into one day. I also finally found a place for all my shoes. And above my shoes? Yep, that's my whole winter wardrobe put away (seriously that's it). 

I did tackle my dresser and made a huge difference there. I don't want pictures of my underwear online, so use your imagination (but don't go too wild). 

I got rid of a lot of unneeded clothes last June, so there wasn't much to do with my clothes other than to organize. I feel better about it. I no longer have to dodge around maternity if nothing else. 

My husband's closet on the other hand? Yeah, that's all his. He'll get a small break of a couple of days soon, so I hope to get him motivated to deal with his mess during that time.

Bring Sexy Back

There's just something sexy about a man who wears the baby while doing yard work. 

Especially when it gives mommy two hours of baby free time.

Meet my squish

He has big expressive eyes. 

Easy to tell when he's truly frustrated, upset, happy, or tired. 

He doesn't real cry much, so when he does I KNOW something is up. 

He's extremely ticklish, which I love.

Most of time he loves being worn. 

I call my mei tai carriers my sanity saver.

He's a rolling monster now. 

He's also recently learned to scoot himself on his tummy with his arms.

I already miss the pet rock stage.