I was sick yet again... and the 2 DDs were sick too. So all 3 girls spent the past 9 days on the couch coughing, sneezing, oozing all sorts of snot and in the case of DD2 occasionally trowing up. Both DDs are feeling better and back in the kindergarden. I am feeling at 70% and feel like I can get a few things done. So here is a list for today:

1. Prepare 5 packages to post.
--- Book
--- Nappies 1
--- Nappies 2
--- Nappie covers
--- Belly band
--- Dreami
--- Carry sling
--- Mucki
--- Adapter
--- Ambi
2. Post all packages. First 4 done
3. Tidy up hotspots and general all round pickup
--- Bedroom
--- Kitchen
--- Entryway
--- Bathroon
--- Dining
--- Lounge
--- Study
--- Laundry fold and put away
4. Weekly home blessing
--- Vacuum
--- Dust
--- Mop
--- Polish
--- Rubbish&recycling
--- Linens
--- Bathroom
5. Calls about new apartment
--- Check cable access is connected WAITING FOR CONFIRMATION FROM BUILDER!!!
--- Find out provider for electricity
--- Find out provider for water
--- Decide on movers and contact them
--- Call building company to confirm dates
6. Contact
--- FB rounds
--- LJ rounds
--- Call a friend
--- Skype with family
7. Cook a double batch of bolognese sauce
8. For me
--- Nice long shower with a bit of pampering
--- Evening relax and stitching
--- Yoga
--- Postnatal gymnastic
9. Routines
--- Morning
--- Daytime
--- Evening
10. Get train tickets and post them
11. Handover 3 large frames to buyer
12. Meeting with builder regarding tiles
13. Dentist appointment
14. Meeting with landlord to check what repairs are needed
15. Cook chicken and sweet corn soup
16. Finish stitching test piece
17. DD1 Eye doctor appointment
18. Drop off referral at OB.

ETA: List is now extended to cover Mon to Wed

I haven't fallen off the face of the earth... I did fall off of the RtaH Wagon, then I tripped a few times and lost sight of it all together.

Its been quite an eventful start to 2012 in our house: 2 complete cycles of cold/flu (by cycle I mean we all got it in turn), 1 new crown (for me), a 2.5 day stay in hospital with DD2, several hiccups on the apartment building, DD2 is weaned, DD1 is daytime potty trained and DD2 started daycare (which involved many, many hours of me hanging out in the bakery close to the day care in case they needed me) and a few other things. Not all bad, just time consuming.

Oh and to add insult to injury, DD2 has been regularly bringing back up full bottles of milk on innocent bystanders - meaning whoever is holding her gets showered in vomit. I think she just drinks too much & too fast so nothing to worry about (big change from the fights to get her to drink 20ml). Anyway one fine evening when I was putting her to bed she managed to get every item of clothing I was wearing... so I put them directly in the washing machine. The next day I started the machine and went about my business like any good Flybaby would do. Halfway through the washing cycle I heard load clunks. Upon inspection I discovered that I had washed my trusty digital camera (it had been in my jeans pocket ready to snap pics for RtaH). Poor camera didn't survive the experience!

All in all the house is not that bad, but I have made no progress. So I am going to make a sprint to get back on the wagon and then continue on my journey.

Today is my first day at home with both girls in the kindergarden. I have 4.5 hours to myself! I am seriously tempted to just sleep... but I figure I can nap later if I still want to!

Over the next 3 months, before I go back to work, I plan to work on the home and also have time for myself. In order to bring a little bit of structure into my life I plan to use Pomodoro's, similar to the Flylady 15min...

Pomodoro's will be used for the time I am working on the home. Today, I would be very happy if I could do 6 x 21min:

1. Laundry
2. Tidy up and WHB 1
3. WHB 2
4. WHB 3
5. Paperwork
6. RtaH project

And now its time for breakfast...

This week started off strong and then mid week we had a bit of a scare with DD2, which completely threw off the rest of the week.

MONDAY:
- Had an enjoyable early morning with DDs, we had breakfast at home before heading out to the kindergarden. Got all the morning routine done before leaving the house.
- Was a big planning day, posted 101 bucket list, posted weekly routines, posted plan for the week. Also got a few things done.
- DD2s intro to kindergarden was cut short today because she was very tired. She fell asleep as soon as I put her in the car seat and slept for 3 hours.
- Had a cup of tea at the bakery and read for 20min. Then worked on updating my big todo list.
- DD1 is using every trick she can find to delay bed time (needs to do peepee, blow her nose, wipe the dinner table, read 1 more store, runs around, etc).

Didn't write anything for rest of the week... so here are the highlights:

HEALTH: DD2'S fontanella swelled up on Wednesday night and she got a high fever. It being the brain and all... plus its a potential symptom of meningitis, I took her straight to hospital. Of course, once there they don't let you go home until they are 100% sure all is well. The night of Wednesday to Thursday was pretty scary. Within the first 30min of arriving in hospital she was seem by 3 doctors and they were getting ready to put her under and do a CT scan. Fortunately they happened to have an expert visiting who advised that since she was behaving as a normal baby should, to monitor her overnight and decide what to do the next day. So they hooked her up to all sorts of monitors overnight and checked on her once or twice an hour (shining a bright light in her eyes and checking the swelling). Which woke her up every time and left me with having to calm down a very pissed off baby every 30 to 60min or so. In the end, they did a bunch of blood/urine tests and 3 ultrasounds. They couldn't find anything wrong with her beyond the massive cold that she is fighting off. They're not sure why the fever spiked up, but since it went down with just a small amount of ibuprofen, they figure its OK. The swelling also disappeared by Thursday afternoon. One of the doctors actually said that some babies get massively high fevers when teething, but that the vast majority of doctors would deny it, lol. The last doctor I saw said that in same babies the fontanelle is larger and when they spike a fever, which leads to higher heart rate and higher blood pressure, it can cause some swelling. Nonetheless, they said it was the right thing to do to bring her in... which I agree. Now that I know her fontanelle can swell up like that if she has a high fever, I'll probably be a little slower to rush to hospital next time - hopefully there is no next time. On the upside, I am now familiar with the hospital and won't have a problem taking either of my girls there if its needed. On the funny side, 2 of the "chief doctors" that did the ultrasounds insisted on also checking DD2's "deformed" forehead... they just wouldn't believe me when I told them the shape is genetic from DH's side of the family. ROFL.

STITCHING: no stitching.

FITNESS: will post about it tomorrow.

REFLECTIONS: No major breakthroughs this week... I did spend sometime looking through sites about minimalist wardrobes and I am convinced that I can change my wardrobe to a minimalist wardrobe... and actually look like I have more clothes.

RtaH: Learned to fold fitted sheets and put set in pillowcase. Spoke to store owner of teashop about ordering big tea tins to use to store dry goods in kitchen.

THINGS DONE: here.

Picture for the week, DD2 had a glowing big toe while at the hospital... she thought it was great:



Major items for next week: Return back to normal life, RtaH restart and support DD2 start in the kindergarden. Write up the instructions for Part 1 of the Belle SAL. Sort out open issues with apartment.

2.5 days into the 101 challenge and I've completed the first item:

1. List the other items for the 101 list. The items on this list will be mostly related to decluttering, getting ready for the move and moving... about setting up a home. I'll also include some fun stuff. There will probably be more than 101 items listed, some I must do, some I would be doing anyway and others are optional (because I like to have choices).

( Long list in no particular order )

Wow thats a lot, I might go have a nap!

lv2stitchnphoto and I decided to get fit this year and to report to each other on our efforts. This first "report" is just to record my starting weight and specific things that I plan to do for the next 3 months in order to get fit. I don't plan to loose weight fast, hopefully it will slowly reduce as I get more active.

My starting weight is 68.4kg. Exercise from the past week... 15min yoga. I've started using half the sugar in my tea/coffee.

The list below is not set in stone. I plan to change things as I go to achieve best results. What I want to do each week is:

1. 1xSweet: Reduce the amount of desserts/cakes/chocolate/cookies I've been eating to 1 "sweet" a day. Snack on fruit/veggies instead or drink a cup of tea.
2. 2xLiters: Drink 2 liters of fluids a day (anything counts, but hoping for at least half of it as water).
3. 1/2 Sugar: Use less sugar in my tea/coffee. Half a teaspoon instead of 1 teaspoon.
4. Walk/Run: Walk/run 12km per week (plan to build up to 25km).
5. Core: Do 90min sessions of yoga or core exercises per week.
6. Mind: Meditate 7min each day.
7. ZZZs: Go to sleep around 10PM.

Lets see how long I can keep it up!

Its time I bring back this habit. I used to post short reviews of my week on Sunday. It was both fun and helpful to reflect on the week. This was a slow week.

HEALTH: Monday both the girls came down with some kind of bug and were sick in the early part of the week. Then I caught it myself and been out since Thursday. We all seem to be on the mend now.

STITCHING: I managed a little bit of stitching some evenings but not much.

EXERCISE: Only some yoga on Tuesday (15mins). I did chat with lv2stitchnphoto about each of us making a plan to get fit and then to report to each other about it. So I need to review my exercise goals and see if they need adjusting.

REFLECTIONS: On Wednesday, before my head started getting fuzzy I was thinking about life. I am feeling rather frustrated because I feel motivated to be productive but seem to be held back. Then suddenly it clicked, basically:
1. Do it now, without going overboard. Do maintenance stuff a bit at a time as I see it needs doing (of course large projects need to be planned, but no reason not to pick up a used glass and take it to the dishwasher when I see it). This one has already started showing some benefits.
2. End of evening is free to do what I want. I tend to do whatever I feel like in the evenings anyway but feel guilty about it... so now I am giving myself permission to do what I want in the evenings. And hopefully I'll be productive during the day.
3. I can picture what life will be like once I am organised. Basically instead of waiting, start living that life now... behave like the organised, relaxed, content, fit person I am becoming. Now... not when I get there. Its the principle from fat2fit, applied to all aspects of life, not just weight loss. There will still be many days when I forget about this, but as long as I keep getting back on the "wagon", then progress will be made.
4. Get rid of the stuff: donate, recycle, throw out... no hanging on to things to sell on ebay. Most things are not worth the time it would take me to get the thing ready to sell (particularly clothes), take a picture, write the ad, answer questions, check for payment, provide feedback and post.

RtaH: Saturday saw the start of RtaH Plus: 101 in 101. I am pretty excited about that. I've been very tempted to make some purchases to organize my home. But after reading the Miss Minimalist blog decided against it. I now started a list of items I want to get. I'll wait until I am far enough along in the decluttering to know wether they are really needed.

Picture for the week, DD1 a sick little princess:


Major items for next week: I expect to get a few items on the RtaH list done and support DD2 start in the kindergarden. We also have DD2 baby checkup, a meeting about the kitchen and a meeting with the ladies from the postnatal gymnastic. Oh and write up the instructions for Part 1 of the Belle SAL.

So as I work on my RtaH project I keep thinking of things I would like to acquire. I am going to list them, and only allow myself to buy them once I know I really need them.

• Square mason jars to store things like flour, rice, etc. Although I might see if the tea shop lady is planning to sell some of her old tea tins (she does sometimes).
  
• An attachment for my desk from IKEA.
  
• Storage containers for all my craft stuff.
  
• New clothes, inspired by minimalist wardrobes: 10-item wardrobe and 6 items or less

I've written about my lake a few times before, here. It is time for an update...

Back in August of 2010 this is what my lake looked like:



Certainly an improvement on the bucket in a grey room, but really not much water in it. I know it was August 2010, because I took a picture of what it looked like... it looked like clear water inside one of my favorite teacups, resting on our dinning table. It pretty much reflects what things were like back then, I was beginning to feel better, but no energy for external things or any extras.

After that I don't remember looking at my lake until last week. I was pleasantly surprised at the change! My lake is now a vast expanse of water, so vast I can not see the shores, there is water as far as the eye can see. This lack of visible shores gives me a mild feeling of uneasiness, like it could all drain away any moment, its not enough to worry me, just enough that I remain alert. It is not easy to see where the water ends and the sky begins. The water is clean and the surface reflects the color of a pale blue sky. The surface is still, there is not a ripple to be seen. The lake is only a few meters deep, but deep enough that I can not see the bottom. The lake looks calm but under the water there are many currents. Hinting at hidden power and coming change. I suspect exciting times are coming and feel like I have the strength to cope, its fragile but its there...