Well the weather outside is frightful...

...but that doesn't stop Maya from running around in her diaper! For various reasons we keep the house at 70 degrees, which means it feels like summer inside, even though it looks (and feels!) like winter outside!



Charlotte hangs out in just a diaper pretty frequently, too :)

Solids!

Charlotte tried her first solid foods on Tuesday! It's a little bittersweet, as it means she is growing up and is one step closer to weaning...but if Maya has shown me anything it is that solids do not decrease her need for milk! Her first food was a soft pear cut into slices ~ she was interested in playing with it, and tasted it a bit, but didn't really have any interest in actually eating it. I think Maya was more interested in Charlotte eating solids than Charlotte was!







We also tried sweet potato that was boiled and cut into cubes. She mashed it with her hands and slid it off the table to a patiently waiting Jane, but I'm not sure any actually made it into her mouth! :)

New Year's Resolutions

You know, those things that are almost always broken by mid-January? Ya, I made some :) Note that "workout more" did not make the list. I like working out and I fit it in when I can, but most days I have to count "chasing after 2 kids under 3 and 1 dog" as workout enough :)

1. Declutter and keep it that way
I am participating in a mothering.com challenge to declutter by giving away or throwing away at least 5 things every day in January. So I started going through drawers, closets, cupboards and bins, and holy bejeemenie, we have a lot of stuff! Broken or dried out pens, half-empty bottles of lotion (that haven't been used in years), expired medications, clothes that haven't fit OR been in style since we were in high school, sheets for a bed size that we don't have anymore, etc. Let's just say that I've gotten rid of WAY more than the 150 items for the challenge, and it feels good. Things are becoming organized. I can look in our hall closet and actually find what I need! My favorite find was a bottle of rewetting drops that expired in March of 1999! Ya, almost 11 YEARS ago! I haven't even touched the office or the kitchen yet, so I'm sure there will be much more to come!

Maya found a few things that she wanted in the "save" pile when I was going through my bin of hair stuff:





2. Not look so frumpy all the time
This would include showering on a regular basis, brushing my hair, and maybe maybe wearing makeup occasionally. And, I actually ironed a shirt this morning. I can honestly and unashamedly say it is probably the 5th article of clothing I have ironed EVER. See how my hair is down in this picture? That doesn't happen too much. We'll see if I can actually keep this one up :)



3. Take better care of our house
The house looks so nice when it's clean! I'm using a guide from motivatedmoms.com to try to keep on top of house chores (though thankfully I have a very understanding husband who puts "keep kids alive" at the top of my to-do list every day :))

(unfortunately I don't have a picture of my house looking all clean...but I will!)

4. Read through the Bible in a year
This is also from motivatedmoms.com ~ there is a daily reading and so far (6 days in) I'm doing well. I'm to the part where Abraham and Sarah are told they will have a son, even though they're super old (I'm paraphrasing, of course :))





5. Play with my kids more
This one shouldn't be too hard, but it seems like the days just fly by and I get caught up in the cleaning and the cooking and the caring for the girls, that I forget to slow down and just play with them. This year there will be more tea parties and Candy Land :)