Mrs. Clean or Mommy??

So anyone who has known me during the 2+ years Steve and I have been married you know that my house was not the cleanest on the block. During our first year of marriage I worked 4 days a week and the weekends were our time so I didn't focus a lot on cleaning. My bathrooms would get done twice a month if I was lucky (yea I know gross!), floors would sweeped every other day sometimes every day, but would only be mopped once a week, and a load of laundry would get done only if it was absolutely needed! I would fear someone coming over unannounced. In fact one time the group commanders wife (who was amazing and would NEVER judge anyone) called to ask if she could come by and pick up the graduation folder from me. I couldn't tell her no, but I pretty much broke out in a panic speed cleaning. You would think this would have taught me a lesson, but it didn't! In fact it only got worse when we moved to Colorado and I got further along in my pregnancy. I can't believe I am going to admit this but there was a point when our bathrooms went almost a month without being cleaned, and I am sure the floors went longer then that! I did however deep clean the house before my mom came to visit in December, and of course Grace's room was always spotless! After she was born I had reason to keep up the cleaning a ton of people were coming to see her. When the company died down so did my clean house. I would spend time catching up on sleep rather then cleaning, but some where in the past 4 months I have done a total 180! My house is clean (not spotless) most days. I don't know if it's because Grace is getting older and I don't want her crawling in filth, or if the I am so tired of a dirty house that I decided to do something about it. I no longer fear someone showing up because I feel my house is presentable. I vacuum at min once a day and the floors are mopped no less then 3 times a week. I dust, clean bathrooms, and wipe down windows etc weekly. I have spent the last 15 minutes trying to figure out what load of laundry I could throw together tomorrow, because really everything is pretty much clean. I have a monthly cleaning list of things such as the fridge , the couches, etc. Even the backyard gets cleaned up on a weekly basis. I am not writing this blog to toot my own horn (ok maybe just a little tooting!), but rather to share how sometimes something changes in you that you don't even know is happening. For once I feel like I am justified in relaxing on the couch at night, because I feel like I have accomplished SOMETHING!

The Hodge Podge Blog

   So much has happened in the last couple of months that I could not pick a blog topic so I decided to do a Hodge Podge of everything.

The Waldo Canyon Fire 

    Unless you live under a rock I am sure you have heard of the fires reeking havoc in Wyoming, Utah, and of course Colorado. I could not believe how quickly the Waldo Canyon fire turned. It started on a Saturday looking like a large house fire in the mountains and by Tuesday it overtook a good portion of the city. Over 18,000 acres were burned, 32,500 people evacuated from their homes, 346 homes completely destroyed and 2 people killed. It was heartbreaking to see the city I have grown to love go though such a trying ordeal, but was uplifting was how this community has come together. I can not explain it to anyone who has not been there. Watching people willing to go that extra mile to help complete strangers really helps reassure ones faith in humanity. We were lucky that the fire did not impact us directly, but we can't say the same for people know here. The fire is FINALLY at 98% and full containment is expected for tomorrow. Please continue to keep Colorado Springs and the people affected by this tragic even in your thoughts and prayers.


Family Visit


     My parents and my brothers came to visit this past week. They drove 30 hours in two days and got here Monday (June 25th). Although there were some alternating of plans due to the above fire we still managed to have a great time. However, traveling with a baby for 6 days is exhausting!! Grace got off her sleep schedule of course which led to many many sleepless nights for this mommy. However, it was nice having the extra hands during the day to help out and on days where things just got to be too much it was nice to sneak away for about 20 minutes and get some shut eye. Over all it was a great 10 days  even with our firework less 4th of July. I miss them terribly already and I can not wait for the next time we all get together.


Gracie Bell is 6 Months Old!!!

    I know I am like 2 weeks late on this but hey it's been a little CRAZY! Grace turned 6 months on June 20 and I can't believe it!! My baby girl is just growing so fast. Her baby well went great! She weighed in at exactly 14 lbs and 26 inches long. Due to her small size we do have to go to a 9 month appointment, but her doctor says she's not worried about her at all just a precaution. I don't know if she was showing off for her grandparents this week or what, but man did she decided to start hitting milestones left and right. On July 2 mom and I where sitting in the living room with Grace on her play area and Kovy (our dog) walked by. I guess she wanted to see what he was up to because she started crawling across the floor to get to him. It was amazing!! Since then she's been all over the place. Time to pull out those baby gates for the stairs. Then on July 4th she decided she was going to just sit right up. Now she's been doing what the doctor calls tripod sitting for about 2 months now where she uses an arm to hold her up, but this time she just sat up normal. It was like umm...don't babies normally do that before they crawl? LOL She looks so cute though sitting like a big girl! Today she started another thing and to be honest I was kinda sad. She pulled herself up on the couch and her bumbo to standing position a few times. It's like girl you just started crawling let's wait a bit for walking please!! My mom says it is karma because I started walking at 9 months and made her life that much more hectic! LOL. I guess only time will tell with little bit! We also have decided to start looking at infant to toddler car seats for Grace.  Although she is NO where near the weight max for her infant one she growing out of it length wise. Plus I think she will like a bigger carseat better. She always looks so squashed in hers. So if you have a recommendation for a good one let me know. :-)

Well, I guess that's about it for now. I am exhausted and little bit is down for the count so I should probably follow. I'll try to be better at posting. Try being the key word in that statement!