15 minutes

So, I've found this new cleaning routine that might just change my life. Every day I'm going to take 15 minutes to focus on one room of my house. Now, 15 minutes may not sound like much, but to a cleaner-hater like me it might as well be 15 days (and sadly it's more cleaning than I'm currently doing so what have I got to lose). At any rate, I'll set the timer & when it goes off I can be done! Hm, not much different than when Hannah gets in trouble, eh?

Anyways, it's worked out beautifully this week. My house is 3 rooms cleaner than it was on Monday! I've been quite impressed with how much I can get done in only 15 minutes and how big a difference it has made in my life. Now, my house is only usually this clean when I know people are coming over. And by people I mostly mean a large group of people that I don't know very well. If it's family or close friends...well, they just have to deal with the mess. I feel great knowing that I'm keeping the house clean for myself and my family. Shouldn't I treat my family better than company? Well, I'm trying. Granted I have a small house so it's fairly easy to hit every room in one week. And in case you're interested here's my schedule:

Monday - Laundry Room
Tuesday - Living Room
Wednesday - Bathroom
Thursday - Kitchen
Friday - Me & Chad's Room
Saturday - Hannah's Room
Sunday - REST

We'll see how long I can keep up. The pregnancy hormones sure do help with the desire to de-clutter and keep clean! (Oh, and don't tell the fitness police, but I also count it as 15 minutes of light exercise because I'm usually up moving around quickly and exerting some energy!)

As I'm on my journey to a cleaner house I've been doing research on cleaning methods and products. If you have any tips or recipes that work for you please share!!

It's a ...

BABY!! So, Lil Baby Stu #2 had his/her first photo shoot the other day. It is quite ironic how closely the two pregnancies are timed. Hannah's ultrasound was 8/15/07 and she weighed 12 ounces. Lil Baby Stu #2's was on 8/10/09 and he/she weighed 13 ounces. So far so good. I was a little disappointed that baby wasn't bigger because that means all the weight I've put on is really from my poor eating and exercising habits! I am always amazed at the growth and development that happens in utero. It's pretty impressive. It must also be tiring doing all that growing because at the end of the ultrasound baby yawned! And here I thought I was the one exhausted from all this baby growing. Silly me.

This ultrasound went much better than Hannah's. I didn't throw up, for one thing. (Apparently I drank all the water too fast on the way to the hospital and when I got there I threw it all up in the parking lot! Oops.) I wasn't really dizzy or too nervous either. I guess I'm growing up. It's always nice to go to the hospital and not pass out or throw up!

However, it was me we're talking about. And I did spend about an hour in a hospital. So, of course, it couldn't be without incident at all. We were all done and went down to the first floor to leave when I realized that I really wasn't going to make it home without first going to the bathroom. I drank a lot of water, folks. I marched myself over to the bathroom (pretty focused on getting in and getting my business done quickly!). I walked in to the bathroom and realized something was amiss...they don't normally put urinals in women's bathrooms, ugh, I gasped, turned right around, ran out the bathroom, quickly across the hall, and into the women's restroom, where I immediately burst into laughter. Oops. Luckily there wasn't anyone in either restroom so it wasn't as terribly embarrassing as it certainly could have been! hehehe

I'm at 21 weeks for anyone who's interested. We also found out that the doctor schedules C-sections on the Tuesday of your 39th week. I think that means if we decide to have a planned C-section it would be Dec 22. Of course, that's only if we decide to have a planned C-section and if I don't go into labor earlier. Ah, the joys of labor and birth. It's a good thing we get a baby out of the deal!

To Van or Not to Van

That is the question at the Stuehlmeyer house. With Lil Baby Stu #2 halfway to being here, we're facing the decision that most growing families face. Do we buy a minivan or not? Argh. It makes me want to cry. It makes me feel oh so old. However, it also brings out the ultra-logical side of me. I do finally understand why so many families (ok, lets be honest...moms) have them. They are so stinking practical!! So much cargo room, seating for 7 (or 8 if you do a double bench), easy access, roomy, and in this day & age...many features (DVD players, etc). And the organized side of me gets a little excited that there would be enough room for everything to have its place! :)

At any rate...I'm looking for your thoughts! We're open to any & all vehicle options at this point, including keeping the tiny car that we love so much! So, minivan or small SUV or larger car? I'm leaning towards the small SUV myself (Honda CR-V, RAV4, etc). However, I'm still not sold because it doesn't hold any extra passengers & we'll have to stack the 2 dog cages on top of each other. Truth be told I like the Mazda 5, but they don't make it old enough for us to get a used one in our price range. Boo. :(

If you have a minivan...is it worth it?