Random thoughts

Really, probably all of my posts should be titled, "Random Thoughts." Oh well. :)

Poor Katie's lip is much, much better today. The little sores inside her mouth are getting smaller and smaller, and I think in a couple more days they'll be completely gone. Thank goodness she's a fast healer!

I may have mentioned that Katie has woken up once or twice during nearly every nap for the past two weeks. Yesterday I went in and comforted her for the first wakeup, but decided to let her cry for 5 minutes for the second one. She was back asleep within 3. Hmm. So today I tried it again, and she settled down long before the 5 minutes were up. So we're back to sleep training. Thank goodness this wakeful habit hasn't carried over to the nighttime. I'm having enough trouble sleeping as it is!

Oh, I wanted to report that I have really fallen off the wagon when it comes to having a Spotless Kitchen! So much for the 28 days theory. I kept the kitchen spotless for more than 60 days, and then frankly I just got too tired. I'm still keeping on top of bottles, and keeping the sink more or less clear of dishes, and cleaning off the island more often. But folks, cleaning the kitchen is So Much Work! Especially with my "helper," Katie. She really loves to help, which is so cute, but of course everything takes 100 times as long and I have to go and redo it when she's out of sight (which is almost never!)

Then there was the adventure of "Wash-Empty-Bottles-Katie-Self." Katie loves to talk about the empty bottles that are always waiting to be washed. Yes, she's over 2 years old and I still give her bottles. Please don't judge. For me, a bottle is part peacekeeper and part safety net. Katie likes to have a bottle when she wakes up in the morning and after her nap. She also likes one before bed. When I say "likes," I mean "screams bloody murder if you don't give her one." And, long ago, I discovered that the only way to keep her from screaming like a banshee in the car is - you guessed it - a bottle. I give her one when we get in the car, and I bring another in a little soft-sided lunch bag with an ice pack inside. Most days we go out in the car, usually in the midmorning. So Katie is still drinking 5 bottles a day. If she's sick, or something is wrong (teething, crazy bloody mouth injury, etc) then she gets more. It calms her down and gets much-needed calories into her, so that's why I think of it as a safety net.

So anyway - one day Katie really wanted to wash those bottles just like Mama does every day. I thought, what's the harm? My parenting class said I should be giving her opportunities to do things herself. So I pulled up a chair from the kitchen table and let her stand there with the water running, and put soap on the bottle brush for her. She was in heaven! At least, until about 15 minutes later when she started to put the bottles upside down on the drying rack. That would have been OK, except the bottles were still full! Water everywhere - all over the hardwood floor. Side note - wood is a really dumb thing to have as a kitchen floor. So many times I've wished for linoleum! But no, we had to go with a "designer" look. Clearly we did our decorating before Katie was born! Anyway, Wash-Empty-Bottles-Katie-Self quickly became "Clean up, Clean up, everybody everywhere," which was a lot less interesting and earned me some particularly shrill screaming. Oh well.

Wouldn't it have been great if she could wash her own bottles? I guess if she's old enough to successfully wash them herself, she really shouldn't be using them anymore! LOL!