Sparkly Clean

We went to help Little Miss' mom at her pet store today. She texted me last week and asked if I could start watching Little Miss again on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9-4. I didn't hesitate to say no thank you because I've grown quite accustomed to being able to go with the flow and that just wasn't possible when Little Miss was here before. Not to mention the fact that we don't even get out of bed until 9 on some days and I also have no clue how I'd get them both to nap. Though I did not agree to start watching her regularly, after finding out that they have become short staffed, and that they have some stress in their personal lives on top of that, I did offer to come into the store on Tuesday mornings if I don't have any other plans or obligations. While I am there I will keep Little Miss with me while I also help her with her invoice and expense filing. I want to help a friend in need, but I also want to make sure that I keep my family and household as top priority.

We got out of bed as soon as Ayden woke up this morning so we could get to the store as early as possible. I took a shower and got ready, all while Ayden sat and played with some old toys he has't seen in a while. I seriously think the toy rotation set-up is going to rock because he seriously sat in the middle of the floor playing for 40 minutes straight. No trying to get in the shower with me or crying at my legs while I rush through, or completely skip hair and makeup. Before we left I made sure to take care of a few things around the house. I put away a load of laundry and started another, made sure we ate a good breakfast, fed the pets, watered my plants and packed up the diaper bag. We left the house an hour later than I had originally planned but I didn't worry too much about it. A perk of being a stay at home mom is having flexibility and I take full advantage.

We spent a few hours at the store and funny enough, Little Miss wasn't even there. I switched things up and brought the papers that needed to be filed out of the office to sort so Ayden could enjoy the store while I worked. He mainly played with metal peg board pegs, and a brush while he watched the mice running in their wheel.

Once all the papers were sorted we moved into the office and he walked up to me and signed that he wanted to nurse. I locked the door, nursed him and he fell right to sleep. There was 't a single fuss or hesitation, when this boy is ready to sleep it is so easy. I was able to lay him on a dog bed that they use for Little Miss when she naps and got all of the papers filed. He woke after about 40 minutes but he was happy when he woke so I suppose it was enough.

Don't worry, it was new when they decided to make it into a baby bed. 

We got home around 3, had a late lunch and then I finished cleaning our oven. I had coated it with a home made cleaning paste that I found on Pinterest yesterday and had let it sit overnight. It worked great! We had used a product called Easy Off in the past but it gets and F on EWG's rating scale which means it is of "highest concern" toxicity-wise. Yikes... The self cleaning feature on ovens is also pretty bad. It emits toxic fumes that will KILL pet birds. If it will kill a living thing, I'll pass on having my family breath it, thank you very much. This paste of baking soda, dish soap and water worked just as well with no harm done so I will be permanently switching to this method. Here are the before and after shots:

No more greasy film on the glass!

No more drips on the sides or baked on puddle in the bottom!

David and Ayden had a lot of fun playing tonight while I did some computer work and then I did the bath and bedtime routine while David got started on Ayden's birthday present. We have so much on our to do lists and so little time in the evenings to get things crossed off. We are trying to prioritize and take it one task at a time. Ayden's birthday gift/party are at the top of our list (it is a week from Sunday) followed closely by preparing to plant seeds for the upcoming season's garden. We just have to stay focused and productive and I'm sure we'll get it all done!

~Sarah