Junk Drawer

As a part of my 15 in 2015 goals for this year, I'm organizing all the cluttered drawers, cabinets, and other spaces in our home. I just completed one of the worst offenders: our kitchen junk drawer. Here's the before picture:

Not surprisingly, I found many items you might expect to be in a junk drawer: paper clips, tape, rubber bands, a flashlight, thank you cards, etc. However, since this drawer has been collecting treasures for the past three years, I also found many more interesting items, which included the following:

• 1 popsicle stick
• 2 expired airline vouchers
• 1 pocket knife
• 1 digital camera
• 2 garage door openers (that do not operate our garage door)
• 4 handmade soap samples
• 1 DVD remote (to a player that we haven't owned since we moved in this house)
• 1 pack of Greek flash cards
• 19 writing pens (which is appalling because we NEVER have any pens around this house...or so I thought)
• 1 iPhone 3GS
• 6 Sharpies
• 1 Canadian flag patch
• 3 Christmas light bulbs
• 1 tube vampire blood Halloween make-up
• 1 tool to break out a car window or cut a seatbelt (which is supposed to be used when you get trapped inside the car...not helping much to store it in our house)

And the MOST unbelievable find of all...

• a grand total of 87 NEW batteries! Again, I feel like we never have batteries around here. Apparently, we buy a pack every time we go to the store thinking we are out. If our power goes out and we need to live by battery-operated devices only, we should be set for about 5 years. 

Most of the items in this drawer belonged in a different room (thank you cards, hand sanitizer, safety pins) or in the trash, so I ended up without very much left in the drawer. Don't you just love seeing organized spaces like this? I keep opening the drawer just to look inside.  

Four Months

Weight: 14 lbs, 0 oz.

Length: 25 in.

Some of Peter's current favorite things:

*Bicycling his legs non-stop

*Making gurgling noises

*Shoving his fists into his mouth until he gags

*Standing up on your lap

*Looking at any electronic screen (TV, phone, tablet, computer)

*Pulling my hair with his Hulk-like grip

*Peek-a-Boo (but only if there's nothing else more interesting to look at)

In early February, we used all of the disposable diapers that had been given to us so we decided it was time to try using cloth diapers (which had been my plan all along). We now use cloth exclusively and really love it! I'm going to be doing a post about cloth diapering  soon where I'll talk about the details and how we make it work. 

I didn't really notice it at the time, but something changed around the time Peter hit three months and nursing is suddenly much, much easier. Most nursing sessions last about 10-15 minutes and it requires basically no effort from me. I just lift my shirt and put him up to the source and he takes care of the rest. That may seem obvious to you, but it has not been this way all along. It used to take a great deal of effort on my part to get him to latch and to stay there. I've even recently found myself looking forward to feeding him, where it used to be something I almost dreaded. 

He's had rolling front to back mastered for quite a while now and he's SO close to rolling back to front, but he just doesn't know what to do with his arm, so he can't quite make it yet. He doesn't enjoy being on his back so I'm thinking he'll figure out the solution before too long. 

This has been kind of a weird month of sleep for Peter because of a cold and a growth spurt, but he's still doing really well overall. He's sleeping about 12 hours at night and is waking once or twice to feed during that time. We start his bedtime routine about 8:00 most nights and he still naps really well in the daytime. He sleeps in his crib all the time, including his 3-4 naps per day.

The major change I noticed this month was improvement in his hand control. He started to notice and play with toys for the first time and is able to hold onto his rattle and teething rings. We've been putting him in his Exersaucer bouncer and his Bumbo seat too, and he seems to really enjoy them both. I also discovered that his play mat has an elephant mobile that plays music, so he's been listening to that a lot lately. I'm thinking we probably need to get a mobile for his crib to occupy him when he's laying in there awake. He will happily play on his own for about 10-15 minutes at a time most days, which gives me time to step into another room to start a meal or take a shower.

He's still drooling and chewing on his hands and putting everything he can grab into his mouth, but he doesn't seem to be teething yet (or at least no teeth have popped through). He's not really very fussy and doesn't act like he's in pain, so I think it's more just that he's discovering the world around him through taste. 

I know it's a lot of pictures, but these two series of shots really crack me up as they are such an accurate depiction of how things go with him these days.

I love that he looks like he got caught chewing on Lambkins. That's a guilty face, for sure.

Highlights of his 4th month include:

* Attending his (and my) first wrestling meet

* Learning to squeal/screech like a pterodactyl 

* Grandma (Mereness) spending a week with us 

Peter continues to be a very happy, sociable guy. He seems more content at a group function (youth group, family game night, church nursery) than at home. He is really giggly and it's so much fun to discover new ways to make him laugh every day.  

15 in 2015: February Update

1. Write at least 2 blog posts per month. 

Check! 2 posts in February.

2. Read 5 books.

I have read 2 books so far in 2015. I just finished So You Don't Want to Go to Church Anymore. I read it several years ago, but didn't remember much of it (except that I really liked it the first time) so I decided to read it again. Before you dismiss the book, think of the premise more as being the church rather than going to church. It is a fairly easy read and really challenges our modern day notions of "church" in really positive and meaningful ways.

3. Eat more whole foods.

I did really well at the beginning of the month and then about Valentine's Day I discovered that Reese's eggs were in stores and I gave in to temptation and had a lot of them! However, I've still been doing pretty well in this area. I've cooked dinner at least 4 times a week each week, and we've had leftovers most other nights. We're having vegetables with just about every meal and I feel really positive about the changes we're making to our diet.

4. Spend less time on my phone.

I had a realization when I read this blog recently: my phone isn't really the problem for me. My addiction to social media is the issue (and my phone is just how I access social media most of the time). This post resonated with me SO much. I'm working on figuring out how I will "detox" from social media now.

5. Find creative ways to save and/or earn money for our family.

I got my first payment from Ebates this month for $14.81, which was deposited to my bank account.

I've received two payments from the Walmart Savings Catcher this month. I've been going there once a week for my grocery shopping and so far I've received $9.21 back in reward dollars (which go onto a Walmart gift card).

It's easier to save money on groceries when you have limited room in your cart!

I also contacted a Dave Ramsey Endorsed Local Provider (ELP) to find out if we could get a better deal on our home and auto insurance. We got new policies which saved us almost $400 per year combined (with a few other discounts included like paying for the whole year at once, multiple vehicles, combining auto and home, and a low mileage discount for our vehicles).

6. Keep up with my One Line A Day journal.

I wish I could say I was better about filling this out every day. However, I've done well to never get more than a week behind so I can still remember what happened each day and fill out several days at once.

7. Purge our home of 300 unnecessary items. 

I'm up to 170 items so far (and it's only February), so I'm feeling really positive about this goal. Our guest bedroom has been the "catch-all" room for a while now, especially since we cleaned out the other bedroom to make it Peter's nursery, so I imagine I can probably get the other 130 items from this room alone.

8. Spend time outside.

I've been going for a walk or jog outside 2-3 times a week all month now, so that's a start. We've also had a stretch of beautiful sunny days, which helps a lot. I'm excited to be able to go hiking on the weekends soon.

9. Learn how to use our new camera. 

I've been playing around with our camera a lot more recently but that's about it. I asked a photographer friend for some tips and she recommended I read the manual and gave me a few specific things to pay attention to when learning about the camera.

10. Run a 5k.

I'm jogging a couple times per week now. The 5k I plan to run is held the last weekend of May, so I'm working now to get into shape for that. Running has never really been easy for me, so adding the weight of a stroller/car seat/baby that I'm pushing and a dog on a leash around my waist and the hills in my neighborhood...let's just say it's sloooooow going.

11. Complete 6 crafty/house/Pinterest projects.

Nothing completed here yet, but I've got a couple ideas for what projects I'd like to tackle and I'm looking at how to budget for them and when I can realistically get them done.

12. Try 12 new recipes.

I tried three new recipes this month:

Healthy Mexican Enchilada Casserole
PF Chang's Lettuce Wraps
Pulled Pork

I liked all three of them, but Kory wasn't really a fan of the Enchilada Casserole. I would HIGHLY recommend the pulled pork. It was delicious and really easy!

13. Lose 20 pounds.

I've been working on this goal this month but progress is pretty slow. I really feel like nursing is a big part of that. I require so many more calories because I'm feeding Peter also, and I know that's a calorie burner as well, but it just seems like my body hangs on to extra weight more than it ever has before. I'm sure it's a survival mechanism so I can nourish he and I both, and I'm really not worried about a number on a scale, but I do want my clothes to fit better and for me to feel healthier and more energized. I'm going to keep working on being healthier and we'll see where the body changes come in.

14. Organize and file our stacks of paperwork.

I got our taxes done this month, but somehow that means I pulled a lot of papers out of our file box and ended up less organized than in January. Fail. I'll get back on this stat. I've also decided to tackle several other stacks of "stuff" around our house in an effort to get better organized. Before and after pictures will be posted as I get those areas cleaned up.

15. Plant a garden.

Seeds are planted and growing! I am not sure why, but several of these seeds never took, so I'm having to replant several weeks later. I do have broccoli and tomatoes growing really well for now.

Three Months

Weight: 11 lbs. 14 oz.

Length: 24.5 in.

 I don't know when babies officially stop being a newborn and become an infant, but I'd say Peter's there. He is still squishy and cuddly, but he's changing and developing so many new skills every day that it's hard to keep up.

He's recently discovered some weird blobs on the end of his legs (his feet) and he spends a great deal of time studying those every day. 

This was a big month of travel for our little guy. Kory, Peter, and I traveled to Texas for a week in January and then Peter and I continued onto New Mexico for another week after that. He got to meet lots of friends and family members, ride in an airplane for the first time (he did awesome! slept for almost the whole time on every flight), and even got sick for the first time. Thankfully I was with my parents when he got sick so they were able to help me take him to the doctor, pick up prescriptions for me, and care for him in the middle of the night so I could get some more sleep.

Speaking of sleep, this guy is sleeping through the night on a regular basis now! Woohoo!! 

Our trip and his illness really messed up his sleep schedule and he was only sleeping 2-3 hours at a time when we got back to Oregon, so that was not a fun time. He also got his first shots the first day we were back, so that didn't really help. 

I finally got desperate to get some more sleep and decided it was time we start some sort of "sleep training". We started a bedtime routine (bath, Bible story, rocking, nursing, prayer, put in his crib in his nursery drowsy but not totally asleep). That first night, he woke up twice but I was able to soothe him back to sleep both times very quickly without picking him up or feeding him. He slept from 10:00-6:00, I fed him at 6:00, and then he went back to sleep until almost 10:00.

 Hallelujah!! It was awesome.

He's done well every night since then too. There have been a couple nights where he did 8-9 hours at at time. Unfortunately, I'm not sleeping that whole time, but I hope to train myself to get back to sleeping that long again sometime soon. 

His hands have been in his month pretty much non-stop for the last month. He doesn't appear to be getting any teeth just yet, but his hands are completely covered in drool almost all the time. If you'll give him your fingers, he'll happily shove them in his mouth as well. 

He's spent a lot more time on his tummy this month, which he always loves. 

He's able to lift his head up pretty high and enjoys seeing the view from this angle.

Tummy time almost always results in rolling over onto his back, however, and he does not love that. I have to roll him back over to his tummy pretty quickly or pick him up so he can stand and look around. At night, I'll sometimes hear him screaming and go in to find he's rolled over on his back and is in a panic because he's not sure how he got there but he knows he doesn't like it.

I spent this whole photo shoot trying to get him to smile for me and he wasn't going to have any part in that. All my usual tricks were just not working. He was being SO serious.

 However, it looks like all I had to do was remove the 3 month sticker from his shirt and this boy was back to his usual grinning and giggling self. I think we've got a stubborn one on our hands!
I wonder where he gets that? :)

Peter Pictures

In an attempt to learn how to use our camera better, I spent this morning's "play time" taking pictures of Peter in his nursery.

I want to remember so much about what he looked like at this age. The small amount of fuzz on his head. His tiny, ears that look so much like mine. Those chins! 

His cute belly button that's sometimes an outie.

The way he throws up a rock fist at just the right time.

The tongue he's just now discovering. 

Those tiny toes that are always curled so tightly.

And the way he turns to find me when he hears my voice. Melt. My. Heart. 

 He's so expressive and it just cracks me up!

He got this Ninja Turtles onesie a couple months ago but this is the first time I've been able to get a picture of him in it. I think he's cute in anything, of course, but I am really digging this outfit! His dad was a BIG TMNT fan back in his childhood so this is particularly fun for him.

Baby thighs are just THE BEST.

When he shoved his fist in his mouth, he immediately spit up everywhere. The next picture shows his reaction when I told him he might need more milk since he just lost it all. 

His stuffed lamb was sitting in the car seat behind this chair and I think he was checking it out. This kid LOVES to stand and tries to walk if you'll hold him up.  

We just recently started a bedtime routine which includes reading from this Jesus Storybook Bible and it makes my heart happy to see him "reaching" for it.  I hope and pray that he really does grow up longing to hear these stories and to know the God who wrote them.