:: flylady for new moms - tuesday's routine ::

If you did the Home Blessing Hour yesterday, you are waking up in fresh sheets in a clean house. Nice.

I am starting to wonder if everyone is going to think I am trying to be a retro housewife. No, I did not vacuum in pearls and heels yesterday, and I am not one to let my husband off the hook with helping with the baby and around the house. I just wanted to share these routines because it has greatly reduced my stress level of keeping the house in order, and helped us to have lots more family fun time on the weekends.

I do however heels and pearls and drinking tea from teacups and saucers like the sassy housewife pictured. Hmmmm....

On to the plan for today then: It's Tuesday - Plan and Play day!

I use this day to Menu Plan for the next week. I love looking on foodgawker for inspiration. I just plug in something I want to use up (i.e chicken) and then I get a bunch of beautiful photographs of recipes to drool over! I have a nifty (hmmm....maybe I am a retro housewife....who says nifty?) little pad of paper from Michael's that I write the menu plan on for the week, and then I write my grocery list on the back. This has saved us sooooo much money on groceries. I don't go and buy the groceries until Thursday - Errand Day. I had to limit myself recently to going for groceries only once a week instead of multiple trips. Apparently I love to shop....whether it is for clothes, shoes or food. Oops.

If you are going to bake something sweet for Valentine's Day, I suggest you visit Bakerella. So much inspiration there. I am drooling over the heart-shaped cookie. Yum!

You can also use this day to plan activities for your weekend, register for classes, make appointments, or anything else you need to plan for the future. Once you are done your plans, it is time to play. Head out and do something fun with your little one. Go for a walk with a friend, hook up for a playdate, go to the library - the possibilities are endless. I love the Baby Guide to Calgary for lots of good ideas of outings that aren't the mall (the shopping addiction -it's a problem). Don't do any errands today unless they are urgent. Today is for fun errands and outings only! You'll do all your boring errands like the bank and such on Thursday.

Have a great day. Tomorrow is Anti-Procrastination Day. Tell your to-do list to watch out.

:: flylady for new moms - monday's routine ::

It's the first day of a new week and hopefully you have just enjoyed a nice weekend as a family and you are ready for a week of outings and fun with your little one. If you spent any part of your weekend madly cleaning your house you probably won't have much to do today, but if you start following these routines you won't have to waste any precious weekend time cleaning anymore.

FlyLady suggests that the focus for Monday is the Home Blessing Hour (so cheesy....I know!). Basically, you spend one hour cleaning your house on Monday and you don't have to worry about it the rest of the week. She uses a timer for each task to keep you on track and not allow you to slip into perfectionist mode and decide to reorganize the bathroom cupboards when you are supposed to be doing a quick clean! I like this because I find I get so distracted when cleaning and often tire out before I finish, or I get sidetracked and start some stupid huge project of reorganization and then feel bad when I can't finish it.

You can do this clean during the day while your Hubs is at work or split it up between the two of you and do it in the evening when he is at home. You don't have to do it all at once either. If you have a really active baby that is crawling I am sure it will be much harder to get it all done at the same time. I still have a little one that loves to watch me do things from his bouncy chair. I give him a running commentary and he smiles and coos and sometimes falls asleep!

If you spend one hour cleaning your house each week, and spend 15 minutes a day doing the detailed cleaning in the current zone (outlined in the emails you can subscribe to here - remember to get the daily digest so they don't clutter up your inbox!) your house will be clean and tidy and will also get a spring cleaning regularly, in small increments each day.

If you have a timer, get it out. Here is your mission for the day. You are going to spend 10 minutes doing each of these 6 tasks. Stay focused and do them as fast as you can, and reward yourself with something nice after....like a trip with the babe to Starbucks, or a fun gossip mag to read while your Hubs takes care of the baby later. Some of them will take less than 10 minutes and some may take slightly longer, but don't allow yourself to spend much more than 5-10 extra minutes on any one task or it is going to feel like too much work! You are not doing detail cleaning, just a quick clean.

1. Change the sheets - strip the bed and put on a set of fresh sheets. Throw the old sheets in the laundry right away so you have a fresh set ready for next week. I love sleeping on fresh new sheets! Open up your windows and get some fresh air into your room too!

2. Trash and Recycling - go around your house and empty all the trash and recycling. Go through your magazine rack and get rid of all your old magazines and newspapers and recycle them! It is so important to do this every week! Paper clutter will drive you ca-razy!

3. Dust - I sometimes use a Swiffer Sheet to do my dusting, or my Norwex dusting mitt. Only spend 10 minutes! Don't dust every knick knack you have!

4. Vacuum - This may take longer if you live in a McMansion, but we only have carpet on our stairs and tiny upper floor so it is a quick job, although it is my most hated one! If only I had a Dyson! You are not allowed to move furniture, just do the middles of the rooms. You will do the detailed cleaning of those rooms in the small "zone cleaning" increments outlined in the emails later on in the program.

5. Polish all Mirrors and Surfaces - Get out your windex or Vinegar solution and polish your mirrors, windows and other shiny surfaces like your fridge and microwave. Only 10 minutes....don't be a perfectionist! This includes the surfaces in the bathrooms.

6. Mop. We have to sweep and mop our hardwood. You should mop any tile or other moppable (is that a word?) floors in the house. Quickly though....don't spend too long!

Whew! Your house is clean now. And you might have even gotten a little workout! Enjoy the rest of your day now. Get that Starbucks and gossip mag and enjoy some you-time while your baby naps.

In addition to the Home Blessing Hour, you should be doing your morning and evening routines (I talked about these on Sunday) and a 15 minute declutter in an area of your house.

I am decluttering our basement this week.....15 minutes at a time......so much less overwhelming that way! You don't have to do alllll of this though, just start small and add more routines in when you feel ready.

p.s Don't feel like you HAVE to do the house clean on Mondays. Pick the day that works best for you, even if it is a weekend.....I just really like to try and keep our weekends for fun and relaxing!

:: keeping a clean house with a baby ::

I don't think I know anyone that does not struggle with keeping their house clean. It's no fun to deal with piles of laundry, dishes, vacuuming, dusting, bathrooms et al at the best of times, let alone when you have little ones to care for.

About a year ago, I discovered FlyLady through an online message board.

I kind of imagine her as a sweet grandmotherly type of lady. She gives great advice and lots and lots of encouragement along the way to getting your house out of CHAOS (which she defines as Can't Have Anyone Over Syndrome - don't we all have that sometimes?). Because she is a sweet older lady, she has an old-fashioned website that is not very well laid out and she sends a lot of emails - kind of like my mom when she first discovered forwards - ugh! I'll admit I was intimidated by the routines to start with, but I promise you....it works, and it does not feel like a tonne of work!

Her secret is doing a little bit each day, and she believes that anyone can do anything for 15 minutes at a time. I love the short increments - it appeals to the procrastinator in me and it makes sense for someone with a baby around. She also stresses time and time again that we cannot get caught up in perfectionism and that you must limit yourself to the short increments or you will tire out and not be able to keep up with the routines. I am so prone to this!

Anywho.....I thought it might be helpful to do an organization themed week since I find when my house is clean and organized, I have a lot more fun during the day with my little guy! FlyLady's daily routines have made a real difference in the feeling of dread about cleaning our house since it gets done a little bit each day. No more wasting weekends madly cleaning the house top to bottom and folding piles and piles of laundry. Whew!

FlyLady really advocates a daily morning and evening routine. I did not find that ALL the aspects of her routines worked for me, so I tweaked them to fit my life. You should do the same! Don't feel like you have to follow everything she says to a tee! Here is the morning routine that I have adapted for our needs. You can read her routines here.

Morning Routine

- Wake up with the baby - hopefully a nice sleep in!

- Nurse the baby and then put him in the bouncy chair while I shower

- Get dressed, do my hair, put on a bit of makeup - not staying in my pajamas all day does amazing things for my motivation to get stuff done, and go out! (She says to get dressed to lace-up shoes but I don't. We don't wear shoes in our house!)

- Go downstairs and put on the kettle for some tea

- Unload the dishwasher while the kettle is boiling/tea is steeping

- Put in a load of laundry (a load a day keeps the CHAOS away - so true!)

- What's for dinner? Take out anything that needs to defrost. We do meal planning each week so this step is easy!

Evening Routine

- Clean the kitchen, load the dishwasher and set it to be done by tomorrow morning

- Shine the kitchen sink

- Fold the one load of laundry I did that day.....soooo much easier than piles and piles on the weekend! I actually enjoy folding one load and only one load of laundry

- quickly tidy up any hot spots (the counter at the front door, the mail on the kitchen counter, etc)

- Reload the diaper bag and set out anything I will need for the next day's outings/errands at the front door, including my car keys!

In addition to the routines you should do 15 minutes of decluttering in your home. There is also one task per day in a certain zone of your house. These are outlined in her emails. You can subscribe here. The emails can become a bit overwhelming, so I highly recommend the daily digest. I usually just scroll through all the letters and testimonials etc until I see the "flight plan" for the day.

All in all, you will spend about one hour (or less) each day doing the routines and your house stays clean and tidy.

She also has a focus for each day of the week. My plan this week is to blog about the daily focus and routines for each day. I hope you all enjoy it, and that it inspires you to start some routines in your home - and hopefully reduce some of your stress!

Here is a preview of the week:

Monday - Home Blessing Hour (full house clean)

Tuesday - Plan and Play Day

Wednesday - Anti-Procrastination Day

Thursday - Errands Day

Friday - Declutter your Purse and Car

Saturday - Family Fun Day

Sunday - Relaxing Day

So, if you want to get on board, here is how you can start. Shine your kitchen sink. FlyLady says a shiny kitchen sink will inspire you and I know it sounds silly (and the way she describes it is suuuuper cheesy) , but it is really nice to look at! And it deters you from piling dishes in it. Starting the day with a shiny sink is really nice since my biggest pet peeve is waking up to dishes that need to be washed!

:: all modern baby review - dwell studio stroller blanket ::

Hunter is now in the big boy seat in our UppaBaby Stroller, so this Dwell Studio Stroller Blanket from All Modern Baby came at just the right time. It keeps him warm and cozy in the seat as we walk around the mall....which we do a lot these days since it is so cold outside!

I have loved this pattern for a long time, because it goes just perfectly with our woodland themed nursery. The blanket is the perfect size (40 x 30 inches) for the stroller, in the bassinette, curling up on the couch with Daddy, and laid out as a playmat at Grandma and Grandpa's house. It is soft and minky on one side and cool and patterned 100% cotton on the other side. We LOVE it, and I would not be surprised if it becomes our little guy's blankie once he is a bit older :)

All Modern Baby was great to deal with and they have a huge selection of major baby brands like Dwell Studio, Stokke, Skip Hop, Oeuf, Bugaboo and so many more. The blanket was on backorder for a while, but was delivered very promptly after I got my shipping notification last week.

Thank you so much for a great experience and our new favourite blanket!

:: lennah designs nursing necklaces ::

Here we are in the nursery (do you love our new curtains? Another great Ikea find!)

The purpose of this self (and baby) portrait was to show off my new Isabella Nursing

Necklace by Lennah Designs. Hunter has just started pulling my hair while nursing (ouch!) and he is constantly grabbing for something while he feeds. Wearing the necklace gives him a great place to grab, and it looks so cute with the simplest of outfits, making this mommy feel like she looks stylish even in a simple t-shirt.

Canadian (woo!) mompreneur Stella created these gorgeous nursing necklaces to serve as a distraction for babies while nursing, and to serve as a colourful accessory to brighten up the post-baby wardrobe. Here, Stella shares a bit about how Lennah Designs was born:

Lennah Designs was created during our breastfeeding journey. With the constant pinching and poking, I abandoned all of my jewelry including a special necklace that was given to me by my mother. This, along with lack of sleep and not packing away my maternity clothes led to many frumpy looking and feeling days. I have always loved painting, photography, sewing, designing, and all things crafty so I decided to make a sturdy necklace my daughter could pull on while doubling as an attempt to look civilized and presentable. What I didn’t realize was how something as simple as wearing a necklace lifted my spirits! Not to mention it was a great distraction for my daughter during feedings.

I am also loving that Lennah donates a portion of proceeds to the Sick Kids Foundation.....and they donated all their proceeds from January sales to Yele Haiti Relief!

Check out all 12 fab colour sets on Lennah's website. They would make a great baby shower gift for a new mom....or a gift for yourself :)

:: binky clip on etsy ::

Yay for mail that is not bills! We got our Binky Clip in the mail today from Etsy Seller Daizee1976. I love it, and no more worrying about his soother falling on the ground.....plus, it is such a fashion statement. The painted wooden beads are so much nicer than plastic and the little monkey on the clip is super cute. I will definitely be buying more of these for baby shower gifts!

To see more of Daizee's lovely clips, check out her Etsy Shop.

Check back this weekend for more product reviews. We will be talking about Lennah's Nursing Necklaces, and our new Dwell Studio Stroller Blanket from All Modern Baby.

p.s - Isn't this the cutest sleeping position ever?

:: my little boy is getting so big! ::

2 weeks

1 month

2 months

I had seen so many cute ways of photo documenting a baby's growth in the first year, and I decided that this manly (ha!) steel letter H would be the perfect thing to show how big our little guy is getting! The H will just start looking smaller and smaller as our little stinker gets bigger and bigger.

I can't believe how much he is changing every day.....and I now totally understand why Moms get sad to see their tiny little babies grow up! *tear*