The Sunny Side Up Show

Okay, some might judge me, but up until a week or so ago, Buggy never really watched tv. She occasionally would glance at it, stare for a second and then move on. It just didn't interest her.

Photo credit: Sprout Online

Until a few mornings ago. When we discovered "The Sunny Side Up Show" on Sprout. You see, Buggy hasn't been sleeping the best (read: up multiple times during the night) and because of that, Mommy hasn't been sleeping. Couple that with the fact that the hubster has been working on our new house constantly, every night since before Easter, and doesn't come home until the bats have already gone back to bed, and this adds up to a very tired Mommy.

So, a few mornings ago, I'm flat butt tired, and Buggy is up rummaging around our bed, babbling on about Mama, Dada, and all her other favorite things. When I suddenly feel the bright light of inspiration: television. Hey, people have been using it as a babysitter since the dawn of time. Okay, so since like the 50s. Whatev. Why couldn't I just try it out?
Fishing around in my nightstand, I find the remote and flip the tv on. Its on some home decor show, and while that may be entertaining for Mommy, Buggy was less than impressed. And hey, I may have had a moment of weakness allowing her to watch television, but at least I was going to find something kid appropriate. So, I flipped through the channels and found Sprout, and what happened to be some bath tub time show (which I later discovered is entitled the Rubbadubbers) and thought, hey, Buggy loves bath time, so we switched to it.

And it was over.

A few minutes later, I hear a jaunty little tune playing, and Buggy turns and starts dancing and bopping along to the music, which I have to admit, might possibly be the cutest thing EVAH and I looked up from my reclined position on the bed to see what was on. A group of singers is singing about a "Sunny Side Up Show" and theres a cute little barn and a puppet chicken, and fun kid friendly colors. Buggy was transfixed.

Then I hear it. A squeaky toy. Talking. Or trying to.

And Buggy literally squeals in delight, claps her hands and laughs hysterically. I look up at the tv again and what do I see? What is this that is making my daughter so. incredibly. happy?

THIS

Photo Credit: Sprout Online

Thats right, the squeaky chicken, aptly named Chica, had caught my daughters full attention. She wasn't interested in the actual shows that came on, but anytime that little muppet was on the screen she was glued to it. Glued!

So, we now have a morning ritual. We snuggle in bed after waking for a little bit, play, she nurses, and then we turn on the Sunny Side Up Show so she can hang with her favorite pal, Chica. Judge me if you must for letting my kid watch tv, but dangit, it makes her happy, ya'll. And she's not constantly watching it, and prefers to play.

Plus, Chica is SUPER cute. I actually found a little cat toy that looks a lot like Chica, and gave it to her today. It's cute, it squeaks a bit. I handed it to her, and Buggy got all hyper and guess what...

SHE SAID CHICA! No kidding. She's been saying it all day long. It's her first real word other than Mama, Dada, Nana, Papa and cat, which are all familiar words. I couldn't believe it.

So, sure, its probably not the best that the bugster watches a bit of television, but hey, it helped her say another word. I'm happy with it.

I think my babywearing days are over

and it makes me sad. But Buggy is getting heavy and super mobile. She loved being "worn" and I honestly love wearing her. Lately though, she squirms and squirms to get down. And cleaning while wearing her? Forget about it. Little hands are going a million miles a minute grabbing things and trying to eat them. The last time I was able to wear her was when she was about 7 1/2 months. Absolutely killed my back. And like I said, hands were everywhere.

I still have my hotsling, and I need to learn the hip carry. I can't do it very well, and I never feel very secure with her on my hip. Is that just a fat girl thing? Am I destined to not be able to do the hip carry? Trust me, I got big ole hips...

At least we have the memories though, right?

Anyone with toddlers that are still being "worn?" If so, how are you doing it? What do you use? Would it be worth it to invest in a more expensive carrier now that she's almost a toddler (ohmygosh!) or not? What do you recommend?

Love ya, babe.

Ah, it's that time of year again. The birds are singing, the trees are blossoming, the pollen is EVERYWHERE and

TORI AND DEAN ARE BACK ON MY TV!

Photo Credit: http://l.yimg.com/l/tv/us/img/site/71/94/0000057194_20090514164904.jpg

Yes, that deserves all caps. I seriously love those two, and I love their show. I love them. I love Liam. I love Stella. I love their dogs. I love Patsy. I love everything about them.

It's my guilty pleasure. I frickin' love that show. I'm not sure what it is about it. But whatever it is, they have me glued to my tv.

What's your favorite guilty pleasure show?

Prunes Poirot

I am Monsieur Poirot and I will find zee keeler.

Ah! Zees is harder than I thought!

It was you! You are zee keeler!

Cleaning Challenge #1

I know many people who are meticulous and keep such an immaculate home. I, however, am not one of them. Honestly, I struggle just to keep the house liveable. It's usually not until the dishes are piling up onto the counters that my brain triggers my body that "Hey, now might be a good time to do the dishes." And the bad part is, we have a dishwasher. Maybe I'm just lazy. I don't know.

However, I'm not a person that can live in filth either. I can't stand when my house isn't clean, and it makes me really anxious to see it when it's bad. Especially now that we have Buggy, I can't stand a dirty house, and want to keep it as clean as possible. She doesn't deserve to grow up in an unkempt home.

The last few weeks have been pretty difficult around here. As most of you have read, I was knocked on my ass by the swine flu. Luckily, Buggy stayed piggy-free, and the hubster didn't get it. Bonus! The house, however, took a turn for the worst. I haven't been able to do much lately. The swine flu leaves you with a killer cough that takes your breath away. So the cleaning has been severely lacking.

Today, I'd had enough. I got Buggy down for her nap (she's still down, yay!) and was sitting in my chair watching Designed to Sell (HGTV, holla!) when I started hearing my kitchen call me. It was a sad, pathetic, mournful cry. So, I got up. And walked in there. And heard the "ree ree ree" music from Psycho.

It. Was. Bad.

Worse than bad. It was hazmat suit terrible. Dishes were piled up out of the sink onto the counters. Trash was on the island. The kitchen table was being used as a nursing tank dryer (you can't dry these puppies, they shrink!) and there was just junk EVERYWHERE.

So, I decided to challenge myself. I figure if making a game out of cleaning helps kids get it done, why can't I do it myself? I looked at the clock, gave myself 45 minutes, turned on some music, and tackled the kitchen.

I finished in 40. The counters are clear again, and have been sanitized and wiped down. The dishes have been unloaded, and reloaded and the washer is happily churning away washing my neglected dishes. The table is clear and the nursing tanks are in my room (not put away, but hey, it's a step!) And it smells good, because lemon scented wipes smell delicious!

I'm not exhausted. I'm happy. The kitchen sang a glorious anthem to me as I switched off the light (gotta save that money!) All is well.

I'm thinking tomorrow, I'll challenge myself to the den!

Happy Easter

I know, I know, I've been a terrible blogger. We've been super busy with the new house and trying to refinish the floors. Honestly, it's a pain in the ass, but we are trying our hardest.

However, today daddy took off from working on the house to celebrate Easter with the kidlet. She enjoyed herself. He enjoyed himself. Fun was had by all.

We ended up going to my grandma's house and eating some fabulous food. I may or may not have consumed more macaroni and cheese than was needed, but it was necessary. Trust me. Grandma's mac and cheese is divine.

The Bugster really enjoyed her Easter basket. We filled it with an Easter Bunny and some Gerber snacks. It was fun watching her crawl and get all excited over her little basket. It was even more fun to see her freak out and play in the "grass" from her basket. ADORABLE!

We took Buggy outside to chill in the grass for a bit and play. It's been gorgeous here lately, and I really love taking her outside. I think she likes it a bit as well. She was having none of the camera and refused to look at me at all while we were outside. Hard-headed little girl!