January

Preston and I decided to do a 30 day cut challenge this January. It really was more of a "hey will you do this with me - if you win you get $1,000" and I'm pleased to say he took it very seriously, he's up late working out after the boys go to bed and takes a lot of time prepping food for the week (even if he does have the same thing for dinner almost every night) ha ha.  I did really well until I got my eyebrows microbladed... I knew I couldn't get them wet for 2 weeks but didn't know I couldn't sweat/exercise because it will open my pores and the pigment will fade. It makes sense but I was bummed about that, so I'm going to do the challenge this month instead. Preston finished strong and lost 12 pounds and over 5" on his waist/hips!  We submitted his after pictures and will find out the winners this week, I am hopeful for him! 

We usually only have one day a week off together which is hard, so I try to make the most out of it and do something fun with the boys. A few weeks ago we took them to the Discovery Museum at the Gateway and they had fun as always!  I checked the calendar on the website the night before because if there are large groups or schools they usually put it on there and I avoid going on those days at all costs.  Well we got there about 11:45 and once we paid and got around the desk we saw it was PACKED, like 3 or 4 preschools or something with kids.  It was a nightmare, and my anxiety skyrocketed.  Preston was on Emmett duty and I was watching Aiden.  The first part of the museum is a big ball area where you put the balls into these air tubes and they shoot up and around and back down somewhere else, there's also a new climbing area off to the side like at the playhouses, but you can climb all the way to the top and exit on the second floor. Aiden went straight for that and wanted to climb it so I didn't dare take my eyes off him the whole time.  He came back down after a little bit and I told him to come over to where Preston and Emmett were, and I told Preston we needed to get them out of that first area because it was so busy.  They were playing right there by us, and I bent down to get a ball for Emmett and Aiden was gone.  It took us almost 10 min of panic stricken searching to find him, I ran upstairs to see if he came out of that exit, and Preston looked twice in the whole main level of activities past the big ball area.  I was in tears when Preston called me and said he found him after searching a third time back there. I was so mad at Aiden but so relieved we found him at the same time.  I tell you what, no feeling like losing your child, even if it's only for a short time! After that fiasco it calmed down a bit towards the back of the main level, and then at 12:30 the last group was gone and it was a million times better.  Another mom by us said wow it's so quiet now! And they can actually play with the toys, what a miracle! Ha ha.

I've been reading the Japanese art of tidying up and am loving it.  I'm about halfway through and then discovered that they just put some episodes in a small series on Netflix and have been watching them.  I already think of myself as a pretty tidy person but have been going through my house decluttering and organizing like never before! I just feel soooo much better when I'm not surrounded by mess and everything has a place.  I've learned that less is more, if I have so many clothes my closet is packed full, I'm going to be overwhelmed when I have to pick something out, and I always end up wearing the same 5 things.  If I have a bunch of clothes that don't fit me I used to think it'd motivate me to be better, but it just takes up valuable space and makes me more depressed that they don't fit.  If and when I get to the size I want to be I will want new clothes anyways, so no sense of hanging on to a ton of stuff! I do have 1 tote of clothes downstairs that I'm keeping, but beyond that I don't let myself keep any more. 

On Black Friday Kohls always has great deals on linens - towels/washcloths/hand towels are like $1-$5 each, so while we were building our house I got all new and got rid of the old. I have found that when I have less laundry I'm forced to actually do my laundry more often and stay on top of it (which really hasn't ever been a problem for me, I do one load every other day ish and then its so much easier to maintain!) But having my drawers organized, especially my kitchen has been so nice!  I got rid of all of my extra kitchenware, like pie pans - do I need 4 or 5? No. Odds are I won't be making more than 1, mayyyybe 2 at a time. Loaf pans? Same thing, I don't keep more than two. Casserole dishes, measuring cup sets, all of that good stuff.  I got rid of so much! I have 1 maybe 2 sets of everything and its been so much easier to keep it all organized!  It just feels good, you know?

When I come home from work and the house is a mess, toys all over the living room, counters have crap on them, and the dishes are piling up I get anxious about cleaning and I can't focus on anything until the mess is clean.  Preston, bless his heart, tries so hard but it's hard to multitask and keep everything nice with two little boys running around wrecking havoc where you aren't looking ha ha.  I don't blame him one bit, but I get cranky and feel crappy when I'm surrounded by mess.  When we moved into our house I made a list and laminated it of weekly/monthly tasks to keep the house clean, and it's helped both of us a lot.  That's part of what's hard for him - he doesn't know what I expect or am thinking unless I tell him and when I tell him I feel like I'm nagging him sometimes and it's an endless cycle.  So having a list makes everything a bit easier.

Aiden "helping" with the laundry

Babes in the tub

Papa keeping Aiden entertained at church

Aiden got a new haircut

Emmett was fussing in the car so I gave him an empty dew bottle to play with... he clutched it the whole way home in the car and wouldn't let it go even when we went inside, It was hilarious!

My sweet baby boy is growing up too fast