Favourite things...

Oooh! Pretty things...

- I'd love to have these or these as my accessory staples this fall. You know I can rock my earrings.
- Wouldn't this be great for our family? I'd love to have hearts for where we all are.
- I adore this. The artist will custom create it -- yay for adding sleeves! Don't we all need the perfect black dress?

Yay for new job!

As you probably already know, I got a job this past week! Woot, woot!

So, few more details: it's just one day a week, and I'll be staffing a small branch library, as well as running 'bookbug' sessions. Bookbug is a programme organised by the Scottish government to encourage young children (under 5s) to read. It involves song and story sessions at local libraries, as well as handing out several book packages to each child before they start school.

Reasons I'm excited about working:

- Getting a steady paycheck. There's a LOT to be said about that.

- Having some grown-up time. I'm looking forward to wearing cute clothes, and not getting yogurt on them.

- Enjoying my chosen profession. I'm really lucky I've been able to find a part-time job in my field, and with the possibility of future growth.

Full Disclosure

Dear Co-Workers...No, I wasn't late to the meeting this morning because I got stuck in traffic. I was late because it's sometimes really hard to make a 9am meeting when I have mommy duties for my 2 year old.

Sometimes we're ready to go out the door and everything is going as planned and then he spills milk all down the front of him. Or all down the front of me. Sometimes he's had a rough night and he sleeps in later than usual, and I can't bring myself to wake him up. (I admit, I may put my child's sleep needs above work tasks, but not above you, Mr. Director or Mr. VP.)

Or maybe he's extra clingy when I drop him off at day care, wrapping both arms and both legs around mine and only being consoled when I sit and play trains with him for a few minutes. Or maybe it's like today: He was pretty distraught that his surfer shirt was dirty (he's already worn it twice this school week...and it's only Thursday), and I don't think he believed me that it was in the laundry. So he completely pulled out the drawers to his dresser and dumped all of his clothes on the floor, trying to find his favorite shirt. Sorry, Buddy. Let's do laundry tonight and you can wear it tomorrow.

So dear co-workers, I love you and all, but know that I might be a few minutes late to the morning meetings. Yes, I'm fully committed to my job. But don't be jealous -- this little boy and my role as Mommy has a bigger spot in my heart (even with the spilled milk, rough nights, and more).

Recent Charity Shop Finds

You have to love a good charity shop. No offense, but our charity shops beat the pants off of DI.

Some of my recent favourite finds:

- A giant magnetic board with a gorgeous, bright red frame. I threw in a giant chalkboard sticker, and it's now the centre of Molly's creative station.

- Books. A lot of my standby reads, as well as some funky throw-aways. All 50p. Can't beat that.

- These beautiful plates. Don't they just make you happy? You may not be able to see it well, but they are the loveliest yellow, with a dusted gold rim. Sigh...

It might be hard to define my actual decorating style, but I pretty much refuse to buy anything new. I just love the feel of used -- it always feels to have a story behind it. Even if that story is simply that it sat in some old Granny's loft until she finally kicked, and her family donated it to the local hospice shop. And then it found its way home with me...

Pat, Pat

One of Molly's favourite things to do in the afternoons with me is "Pat, Pat" -- otherwise known as baking. I get on with the hard stuff, and Molly spends ages patting flour around into different shapes, use cookie cutters on spare dough, and sampling things.

She loves it. And despite the mess she causes, I love sharing baking with her and letting her help in small ways.

Oh, and I love this Cath Kidston apron we just got for her in the clearance. I have one in white that is also to die for. I love having a daughter to be matchy, matchy with.

RE: Potty Training?

Funny you should ask. We figured it would be time to start "training" when G started showing more of an awareness -- I wasn't sure he knew what a potty was at all. But today when I picked him up from school, the teacher said that he went #1 in the potty all by himself...standing up no less. I was floored. Really? G? My G?

So what's my strategy now? I think we'll talk about it more at home with him, and it's probably a good time to get a little potty too. He just turned 2 a week ago, and I wasn't planning on tackling this until he was 3, so my expectations are low and I'm in no rush. And I'm in no rush to have him stand up doing it either -- let's start with sitting and avoiding accidents that way, then work on aiming. We'll see!

Thankfully, the 3-day trend from last week of him greeting us in the morning with soiled diaper in hand (while still in his crib) has ceased since Hubby had a man-to-man with him (and since we've been putting him in onesies+pants at night.) {Side note: What do you call pajama pants in the UK? Pajama trousers? That just doesn't sound right. LOL.}

Simplify, Simplify, Simplify

My goal for the next month is to simplify our family life. I don't think that our family life needs a complete re-haul; our daily routine runs pretty smooth. But, things like cleaning out our kitchen cupboards, labelling Molly's shoes and coats with her name, will make all the difference in keeping our lives simple and letting us focus on the important things (like playing with Mr. Potato Head.)

One thing I've done this week is create a standard weekly shopping list for our family. It's just a simple word document, but I've formatted it to be listed by section in our grocery store. Each section includes items that we buy regularly, plus spare space for extras. As it's a check-list, all I have to do is tick what we need (included quantity if need be), and off we go. May not seem like much, but it saves me writing 'milk, bread...' out every week. I've also written a list of our favourite meals -- about 30 meals I know that Mike and I both know how to make, take little time to prepare, and are easy to clean-up.

Sometime this week I'm going to make a 'daily chore chart' for us. We won't live and die by the chart, but it will be nice for both of us, when we have time after Molly is in bed, to see what things need to be done around the house to keep things in order. It will also keep me from nagging Mike -- which is definately a perk. If we can do one thing, like vacuum the living room, or wipe down the bathroom counter, I think we'll keep our house in fairly good order.

What about you? What do you do to stay on top of things?

Click here to see the inspiration for the shopping list. What would you put on the Foster weekly list?

Potty Training?

In typical Molly style, Molly announced last week that she wanted to 'wear pants!' Totally out of the blue, considering I hadn't planned on toilet training for a while. But, if she wants to

We're just letting her get used to her little potty, and wearing underwear for short spells during the day. It's going pretty well, and she's very excited. Sometimes it does turn into Molly deciding to wear her underwear as a hat.

What are you going to do with G? Any grand plans?