fighting the guilt of a lazy day

I've earned a lazy day this week. Especially after working "overtime" most nights in the last week. Yesterday evening I cleaned out and organized my craft storage room until 9:45. But no matter how much I've earned it I can't help but feel guilty about it anyway. Or maybe it's the fear of 1 day turning in to 2.

 I will give myself credit in showering and getting out the door before 10am this morning. I was planning on being naughty and making another trip to Michael's but last minute I went to Goodwill instead to see if they might have what I need first. They didn't but I got a few useful things.

The first good find was a brand new Dr.Seuss book, Fox in Socks. This is a Dr.Seuss book that I've seen but never read. Have you ever tried reading it? It's almost painful. My tongue and jaw were sore by the end and I'm pretty sure my son had a, "what the hell are you reading to me" moment. I did enjoy the challenge though.

I also purchased a cheapo place mat with a map of the world on it so Henry can learn the states, countries and oceans. The ladies that work in this particular Goodwill are nutty and nonsensical and extremely giving. I've come to love them. Today's nutty worker was checking out my items when she notice that two didn't have price tags. A brand new coffee mug and the cheapo placemat. She charged one dollar for the place mat and fifty cents for the new mug and I giggled in my head. It doesn't bother me. They've given me items for nothing before, (shhh, I don't know if they are even allowed to do that but they refuse to let me pay!!!) so I have no problem paying $1 for a place mat that is worth less than a 1ply piece of toilet paper.

My other purchase was a to-go coffee mug which was also one dollar AND pink, so double win.

The day is still young and my crafty bone is itching. Maybe I will get something useful done today after all.....

Michaels, nap, beach, fingerpaints, the end

I wanted to make Henry's finger paints but a trip to the grocery store to get the ingredients I was missing sounded like torture and any excuse to go to Michael's is a good one, especially because the place is almost always a ghost town so I don't have to fight to get through the isles. We spent over an hour there while I placed a million things in my cart and then felt buyer remorse before I even purchased, resulting in taking the items out of my cart and leaving them in isles where they didn't belong. I'm sure this is frustrating for the employees but like I said, the place is a ghost town so I like to to think I'm keeping them busy enough to make their work day fly by!

I got several unplanned for items which I now have a super secret plan for. In a few weeks my friend Margaret is coming for a visit and this will be the last time that our close group of four friends will be together for a long time. My family is being re stationed, Des's family will be re stationed before the end of the year and Margaret lives in Oregon as of last April. Poor Meghann will be left here without all of us. So I have a special night planned for my girls.

But back to finger painting. I will admit, as couch potatoes tend to be, I've been pretty lazy about teaching Henry new things. As a result, today, at 2.2 years old, he finger painted for the first time. He loved it and I loved it too. I even did a couple of paintings myself.

Here is my dear boy with his first painting. He looks proud doesn't he?

Our trip to the beach was kind of unsuccessful. I went to find some smooth stones and thought I went to a good beach to find them but I was definitely wrong. I think I need to find some river stones. Stones or not we had a lot of fun. Henry could throw rocks in the water until his arms fall off if I'd let him. I sifted through the course sand finding minuscule shells and beach glass. The weather wasn't too hot or too cold. In wasn't to sunny or cloudy and the wind was minimal so we had fun.

Henry played in the tidal pools. There were lots of little critters in the water.

                     
Today was a busy and great day. Next up is bed time for Henry and a movie for me and the husband, in bed.

i'm a night owl

I've been up since 6am, Henry napped 45 minutes and house work has kept me on my feet all day so when 4pm rolled around I was done. Tired, achy and sleepy. All good reasons to jump into bed and get a good, deep sleep. The problem is, I can't go to sleep at 4pm when I'm tired. I still have to make dinner, feed Henry, get him ready for bed and in bed by 7:30. Then I have to clean the kitchen, pick up whatever toys he didn't and finish laundry. By the time that's all done I've got a second wind that can sometimes last until 2am.

I get weird at night though. Maybe it's the silence in my home that causes it, but I get emotional, contemplative and a little kooky. I also dream up grand plans, most of which never happen. I write up weeks worth of meal plans and list names of future children and some times I dance alone. I torture myself on Foodgawkers and than wander drooling into my kitchen where I eat what ever is most likely to give me diabetes or a heart attack. I watch infomercials, facebook creep and consider waking up my son to play because he's so much fun late at night. In fact, he might be just like me. There are many nights when he will talk loudly in his bed until 11pm. He's perfectly content in there, imagining amazing adventures... I'm sure.

the simple things that keep me busy

I came across this daily page plan on Pintrest last week. The credit goes to Dani, at Lifes A Journal, who put it together and was nice enough to share it with everyone.

My favorite things about this sheet are the Hydrate and Don't Forget sections. I never drink enough water. My body is lucky if it gets 20 ounces a day, but seeing those little cups makes me want to chug, chug, chug so that I can check them off. Writing down everything that needs to be done as well as goals that I'd like to accomplish for the day has helped me stay busy. I can usually get 2/3 of everything on my to do list done within the day. As for the exercise section..... well it's coming along.

My friend Margaret and my sister-in-law, Lizzie both mention the Pintrest site to me but I didn't think much of it since I was on Stumbleupon, but last week I opened up Pintrest and I've been obsessed ever since. Being on the site is really motivating. There is very little negativity around and when their is, it's usually expressed with humor which I'm a fan of. I've tried 2 recipes I found on pintrest and 2 different house hold tips suggesting how to keep your grocery bags organized and easily accessible for re-using.

I didn't realize it was so easy to fold grocery sacks until I tried and the suggestion for an old baby wipes container to dispense them was perfect. This has made my life a teeny tiny bit easier so I appreciate it, even if it is something small.

This morning I used a great french toast recipe I found on Pintrest and was also happy with it. I guess technically I didn't use the recipe since it was in French but I went with the idea. I simply coated the toast in coconut after dipping it in the egg and the results were a wonderful mix of flavor and texture!

I'm a happier person at the end of the day after I've accomplished a list of things and tried new things, whether they are small things or big projects. Being a stay at home mom is wonderful but there are times where I miss the structure of working in an office and receiving a pay check. Improving my home and continuing to educated myself daily helps me to miss that less and less.