The love/hate relationship with tile floors

I am so excited.  It is the last day for E to drive down to Pensacola which means we will have an extra $400-500 a month.  Buying gas twice a week was really messing up my budget.  Maybe now those student loan payments won't look so scary.

Today is my normal sweep and mop the floor day.  (I feel kind of sad that I have the days scheduled like that.)  I really have no desire to do it though.  I hate sweeping and mopping the floors. Tile is nice with the dogs and kid. Muddy paws?  No problem, it comes right off the floor.  Kid spills food on the floor, and no stains.  However, I find they are a pain to clean.  I rather run the vacuum and be finished.  Also, the tile scares me since it is so hard. Hannah is into climbing and I am afraid she will fall off something.  She is fast too. I go to wipe her tray off at the sink and she is already climbing on a box.  In the one minute it takes me to clean the tray, she has already climbed on something.  Luckily, she doesn't try to get down yet.  She just stands and yells until I help her.  She did try to climb into the bathtub yesterday.  The next few months are going to be fun.

I guess I have stalled all I can.  It is time to clean the floors.  The exciting life of a stay at home mom!

Parenting

Like most parents, I wonder if I am doing all the right things for my child.  Yesterday, I wondered if I let her watch too much television.  I have heard and read all the debates and research on television for young children.  In the morning I do turn on the tv so she can watch Mickey and Elmo which is usually when I can get some stuff done around the house.  I feel bad for using the tv as a babysitter.  She doesn't really watch it though.  Some days she will wave and say hi to Mickey or Elmo, and then she will go off to play (or help me with the housework.)  Some days she will stare at the tv like it was the best thing she has ever seen.  I guess it all depends on if there is music.  During the day I will turn on the tv and have adult shows on for background noise.  It makes me feel like I have some sort of adult interaction during the day.  When adult shows are on she ignores the tv, unless there is music.  I don't know...I guess I feel guilty for using it as a distraction to do my morning chores.  I try finishing some before she wakes up, but some are too loud.  Emptying the dishwasher quietly is not my specialty that is for sure.  I guess guilt is one of the joys of being a mom...

Money

Money is never a fun subject.  I thought the family was doing okay with the bills until I heard the news about repaying student loans.  They are going to put a dent in our budget.  I decided to look for a job, but the ones in my field either don't pay enough to make it worth taking the job or they are too far away.  I guess I will have to start looking outside my field or find a way to cut stuff out.  I am doing what I can with groceries, but I know I can do better.  I haven't checked into daycare costs around here, but I am afraid to find out.  Oh well, I guess I am literally paying for my younger days of not caring about the future.

Hannah

Tomorrow Hannah will be 14 months old.  I can't believe how quickly time passes with a child.  It feels like she was just born and I was holding a newborn in my hands.  Now she is walking and talking.  In the last month she has picked up new words.  Shoes, Rowdy, Pepper are some new ones.  Her favorites are still ball, Mickey, Elmo, and daddy.  If she is hungry she will look at some food and say "mmm" to let us know she wants it.  If you tell her it is bath time she takes off down the hall while pulling up her shirt.  She can sort of say bath as well.  Same with a diaper change.  She will walk to her room to have her diaper changed.  If you tell her it is time to brush her teeth, she will start to brush them with her finger.  It is pretty cute.  She is also starting to point out things in books.  I asked her to point to the duck in a book and she did.  I then asked her to point to the duck's shoes, and she bent down to point to my shoes.  She is growing up so fast.  It feels like it is almost time to enroll her in school.

I still go back and forth about having a second child.  On the good days, it seems like the best idea in the world.  On Hannah's cranky and stubborn days, I can't imagine doing this all over again.  I have to remember the good outweighs the bad.