Laundry Assistant

Since socks are my least favorite part of folding the laundry...I'm going to be delegating that task to my laundry assistant. I think this arrangement will work out just fine, provided Nick doesn't mind hunting up a pair of socks from the living room floor where she will leave them in no particular order. Good thing sandal season is just around the corner!!

Peek-A-Boo....Or Not

In this video, Rachel is showing of her new skill of opening and closing doors with her game of peek-a-boo! Tell me you can watch this and not laugh out loud!!

Rachel, Mommy loves you so much! I don't know what we did for entertainment around here before you came along.

Knock, knock...Who's there?

Saturday morning, I attended Zumba class. If you've not heard of Zumba, it's a cardio dance workout and it's FUN! It starts at 8am, which in my life before Rachel would have been a stretch to get to, but now, well, I'm pretty much always up. I left Rachel and Nick to enjoy their breakfast together and went to shake my groove thing for an hour or so. As I walked in the door, Pepper, of course, mistook me for a burglar and started barking, waking the napping Rachel. After keeping Nick from killing Pepper (something I've had to refrain from doing as well in recent weeks for the same reason), I took over Rachel duty hoping that some snuggles from Mommy would send her to dreamland. 45 minutes later...Rachel was beyond tired but refused to be lulled to sleep. No matter what I did- held her, rocked her, put her down to play- she was having none of it. Finally, I decided that it was time to just let her cry. I put her in her crib, closed the door, and went to take a much needed shower. When I got out of the shower, all was quiet. "Ahhh...she's asleep!", I thought as I dried off. I turned off the fan in the bathroom just to make sure there was indeed no Rachel noises. (Our fan is about as loud as a jet engine taking off at O'Hare International Airport.) As I was revelling in the silence thinking that maybe, just maybe, I could put some lotion on too... I hear "BANG, BANG, BANG... SQUEAL" on the other side of the wall. Rachel was just banging on the wall to let me know that, no she was not asleep, and you can't make me, but nice try Mom!
So, no morning nap for Rachel on Saturday morning. Why do I think the teenage years are going to be a real treat with her?

Toothpaste

Many of you who visit my blog are also on Facebook...so you've heard part of this story. Those of you who aren't on Facebook- get with the times! KIDDING!
Nick had a training on campus Wednesday and Thursday. (If you're curious, no I do not miss trainings related to the subject matter of planning and zoning.) We did our best to get through the evening without Daddy...and after working a little in the evening, I went to get ready for bed, only to discover that the toothpaste was missing. Realizing that it's important for Nick to have minty fresh breath too, I planned a trip to the store in the morning for my own tube. But first, I had to leave a post on Facebook to share my stinky breath with the world, as I was seriously regretting the garlic bread I'd had for dinner.
The next morning, we got up and went through our morning routine. I didn't go into our bathroom. No toothpaste- no reason to brush my teeth. I dropped off Rachel, went to the store, showed off our new car to Uncle Larry, and came home. As I entered the bathroom to brush my teeth, I look down, and there on the counter is the giant, barely used tube of toothpaste that I had purchased the weekend before. I SWEAR it wasn't there the night before. I know I'm blind without my glasses, but I didn't think I could miss a giant tube of toothpaste not inches from the toothbrush holder. Feeling like a FOOL, I brushed my teeth and went on to work.
The funniest part: Maria (also at the training with Nick) posted to my Facebook status: Nick says the toothpaste is there. Put your glasses on!
All well- we are fully stocked on toothpaste now!

Interior Decorating By Rachel Leone

One of the things that people seldom talk about in regards to children is the interior home makeover your home will go through. Yes, we knew that baby gates, baby toys, and various baby items would certainly be on display...but I'm referring more to the alternative uses we'd find ourselves resorting to for common household items. Nick is by far more innovative in this area than I am. For example, the laundry basket doubled as a playpen. (This only lasted for about 1 week until she pulled up to standing and tipped it over). Now that Rachel is mobile, she is enjoying discovering all that her wolrd has to offer. Rachel's admiration for the dog bowls were the subject of a previous post. You'd think that after awhile, they'd lose their luster. Not so much. So, to keep Rachel from splashing Pepper's water all over the kitchen floor, Nick placed a kitchen chair over the dog dishes. It works pretty well. The only pitfall is if I forget to uncover them when Rachel takes a nap or goes to bed so Pepper can get a drink. She's gotten a little parched at time or two. (Sorry Doodlebug). Most recently, Rachel has discovered the 4 inch gap between the tv stand and the wall and all the cords that reside there. I can't begin to tell you the number of times I've relocated her away from this particular attraction. Saturday morning, Nick solved the problem by placing one of the pillows from the sofa between the wall and tv stand. It looks kind of odd to have two couch pillows sticking out from each side of the tv stand, but hey- whatever works!

But what is most awesome is the redecorating Rachel does herself. This is what you get when an 8 month old comes across the coupons from the Sunday paper...

Also please note the strategic location of the ottoman and the magazine rack to prevent passage through these openings to both the dog bed (GROSS) and the lamp cord. On the other side of the chair, we've placed the basket that holds the blankets to prevent her from gaining access to the lamp cords and dehumidifier.

Rachel's Home Interior Design Service is available for hire if you to desire to use your own innovation skills to do some redecorating around the house.