Day in the Life -- the domestic wannabe

I got to guest post over at The Domestic Wannabe on Wednesday! 

Hi. I'm Caits. I was really excited when Ashley asked for volunteers for a day in the life. How fun! My blog, theonlyonemama, is kind of random about life. I usually work 4 days a week, so here I picked a day when I'm home with my daughter, monster. 

6:30 My alarm goes off. I check the monitor, sometimes she's awake and sometimes she's not. Today she is not, so i snuggle back under the blankets to wake up slowly.

6:45-8 Monster gets up, we get dressed, and have breakfast (oatmeal for her, eggs for me), I spend a few minutes picking up the living room since she has PT today and they come to the house. After breakfast we play until K and E arrive.

 8-9 K and E put monster through her paces with lots of suggestions for me. She works hard!

9:15-11 We play, make supper in the crock pot, get a meal plan together, make a grocery list, have a snack, and watch TV. I usually don't have the TV on during the day but monster and I both have colds, so we're taking it easy today.

11-1:30 Make lunch, feed monster, MIL arrives to watch monster and I leave for lunch with a couple of girlfriends. My last girlfriend is getting married next week (in Jamaica) so we have lunch because I can't go to the ceremony. I eat really good pizza and homemade ranch dressing and draw a turtle.

1:30-3:15 Back home, monster and I take a nap. I didn't mean to fall asleep but obviously I need it because I sleep until JT comes home from work and finds me in bed.

3:15-5:15 Monster plays with her daddy, plays by herself, and we eat supper. JT leaves for class.

5:30-6:30 Monster has had enough for today and cries like crazy so, I give her a bath to calm her down and get her ready for bed. She fights it for awhile but then falls asleep.

6:30-8:30 I clean up around the house a bit and relax with my book until I give up and get ready for bed. I down some NyQuil and rub on some Vicks. Here's hoping I feel better tomorrow! Good night.

And Ashley's questions...
What is the most surprising thing to you about being a mom? To me, it's how hard it really is. I mean, I knew it would be hard but I figured I'd get the hang of it. Since monster has developmental delays and trouble with coordination, it's 10 times harder than i ever expected.

What advice would you give to new or soon-to-be mamas? Take everyone's advice and filter it to your own situation. What works for some, doesn't work for others. Don't worry if your baby doesn't fit the mold that the book babies do... all babies do things in their own time, even if you want them to do something different. :-)

What are your top 3 baby products? Lets see... The Sleep Sheep, the infant carrier car seat, and the bathtub sponge.

Thanks for stopping by!

woo

So I'm guest posting over at Ashley's blog today about a day in my life. Check it out.

so that happened

I just turned 30. boo.

It's Kitty Friday!

Winnie

Sebastian

happy valentine's day

12 things...

I was recently rereading my old live journal and came across this 12 things list I did back in  2006. I thought it would be fun to do a new one... so here goes.

1. I prefer my monster's clothing to be folded in outfits. When there are extra tops or pants, it drives me a little nutty. Though for my own clothing, I don't think anything actually came as an outfit, just a mix and match plethora of clothes that don't really fit correctly. I need to be on what not to wear. but that's a whole other post.

2. I like to plan for things, waaaay, way in advance. Case in point, MIL 60th birthday in 2014, have already starting planning things to do and possible plane tickets/rental car costs.

3. I always wished I had a sister but I guess I'm pretty okay with not having one now... i guess.

4.At work it REALLY bugs me when a document ends up being on 2 pages and the heading is on the 1st page but the paragraph is on the 2nd. I know that it doesn't make a difference in the actual system, but while I'm typing it, It Drives Me NUTS.

5. I seriously have 20 or more different containers of dental floss. Plus, I rarely floss. Thinking about getting a sonicare flosser though I don't use the sonicare brush as much as I should. Sometimes it just seems faster to brush my teeth manually, even though it probably isn't done as well.

6. When people around me are on the phone, I almost always try to talk to them too. It drives my husband nuts because he's trying to have a conversation so he can't listen to me at the same time!

7. I've known my best friend for almost 30 years. She's like the (same age) big sister I never had.

8. I'm obsessed with subway word art recently. I've made a ton of them in the last week. I used this tutorial and then played around and around and around.

9. I have very ambitious ideas and to-do lists. However, I am not so good on the execution part.

10. I read many DIY, organizing, and home-related blogs. I do not do such things myself very well. I also read a few cooking, healthy living, and exercise blogs. I can do the cooking part, when I'm in the mood.

11. The more I read/learn about clean eating, paleo, vegetarian/vegan lifestyles, the more intrigued I am. However, I don't know if I'm willing/able to give up dairy, processed food, or meat.

12. I am fortunate enough to have a wonderful 1-year-old kiddo, but a lot of the times, I feel like the worst mom in the world. Mom-guilt much?

Anybody else want to join me in list-making?? I'd love it. Leave your link in the comments!

Happy birthday baby!

Best friend Liz had a baby today! How exciting!

Books I've read in 2013 (as of Feb. 6th)

I love to read. I read a lot and I tend to read books that I don't have to "think too deeply on." I majored in Literature in college and have had my fill of analyzing books, so don't expect any of that around here :)

I thought I'd keep track, for my own interest, the books that I read in 2013 just to see how many I actually read in a year and what types of books they end up being. I may reread a few on the list (I do that quite often). I'll note that on my list as well. Enjoy. And, if you have any recommendations, please share!

1. The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern.
2. The Red Pyramid by Rick Riordan.
3. The Throne of Fire by Rick Riordan.
4. The Serpent's Shadow by Rick Riordan.
5. Silver Angel by Johanna Lindsay.
6. Mariana by Susanna Kearsley.
7. The Winter Sea by Susanna Kearsley.
8. The Princess Academy by Shannon Hale.

i made a friend

A legitimate, in real life girl friend. Not a work acquaintance, or a significant other of JT's friends, an actual go hang out, talk to, and keep in touch with girl friend. for the first time since 2001. And man, am I psyched about it.

Groceries

Since January 1, I have been keeping track of how much money I spend on groceries. As of my last trip on January 31, the total was about $425.00.

Here's the breakdown:
Jan 2 - Cub $30.06 - Aldi $87.05
Jan 6 - Cub $27.02
Jan 9 - Aldi $51.49
Jan 16 - Cub $37.47
Jan 19 - Cub $24
Jan 26 - Trader Joe's $38.80
Jan 27 - Cub $54.94
Jan 30 - Aldi $41.90 - Cub $27.20 - Target $6.75

I've realized that
1) I wish Aldi had more of the things I want so I don't have to go to 2 different stores,
2) I would love it if Trader Joe's was closer to me than an hour away,
3) I really need to work on meal planning/eating in.
4) Also, I should keep track of how much we spend eating out -- TOO MUCH. We're trying to only go to local places if we eat out, but that makes it difficult for a quick bite and much more expensive but delicious!

here's an idea of what the meal plan was for this week
Sun - Chicken with spinach salad
Mon - Tikka Masala and naan from Trader Joe's
Tues - Enchiladas
Wed - Steak with 2-baked potatoes and salad
Thur - Homemade Hawaiian pizza
Fri - Out to eat with friends
Sat - Redeye breakfast (out), leftovers buffet lunch, No guilt fish and chips

Next up February -- Track money spent on eating out (will be hefty lots going on this month) and try to lower grocery cost even more. :-) I can do it!