Take a peek inside… & Day 90. 275 Days Left.

First, I will begin with the simple fact that I despise clutter. The hubby on the other hand has a terrible habit of cluttering every inch of the house. Counters are littered with mail and loose change, dirty work clothes piled on the bathroom floor and clothes laying around on the chair, the wicker bench in front of our bed and exercise bike (at least it is being used) in our bedroom.

Every couple of weeks I set out on a mission. My sole goal: de-clutter. I pack bags full of clothes that have not see the light of day in months and toys that have not been brought from the bottom of toy boxes for fresh air; they are donated and out of my house. forever.

This obsession began in my childhood. I was a slob. Lazy. Disgusting.

My idea of putting my junk away was shoving it in a drawer and what would not fit shoved under my bed. My sister and I shared a room and this drove her nuts. She would come home and throw all my crap on top of my bed. I was a repeat offender so most of my childhood I never saw the top of my bed.
Fast forward to today. Now most aspects of my life are clutter free. I do a pretty good job of staying on top of the messes my hubby and toddlers make. But every one has a dumping ground; and I think, three years later, I have found mine.

I have mentioned in previous post of my diaper bag packing champ status. Perhaps this is why. I have everything imaginable in here.

(My diaper bag- my crutch... when children in tote, I never leave home without it)


Take a peek inside my diaper bag…

1. change of clothes for both Addison and Jackson. MUST!

2. Old Navy sunglasses… I lose or break a pair once a month.

3. cutest foe-zipper turquoise clutch wallet by Xhilaration for Target.

4. non glitz and glamour cell phone.

5. Huggies moist wipes. Needed for sticky fingers and dirty little butts.

6. diapers for Jackson and extra Pull-Ups and undies for Addison. I have learned. The hard way.

7. travel sippy cups. Buzz Lightyear and Dora. because obviously.

8. Munchkin no-mess snack container filled with our favorite Plum Organics Super Puffs and dried fruits.

9. sunscreen SPF 50+ for those spontaneous park days. Apply and repeat.

10. cute lil’ froggie notebook , happy meal stencil and assortment of color pencils, pens and crayons for Addison while in the car… and for mommy to jot down all my crazy ideas that come at crazy times.

11. extra camera and back-up battery which may or may not be charged… I am a pathological picture taker and refuse to miss any perfect moment.

12. tissues. Toddlers need I say more.

13. lip gloss and chapstick. My go to lipgloss: L’OREAL colour juice in raspberry mash- yum!

14. NIVEA hand cream … a must have. I am a cuticle picker- can’t let them get dry.

15. REVLON nail polish in Amber. Mommy with two toddlers therefore always in need of touch-ups.

16. miscellaneous hair ties Addison pulls out long before we reach our destination.

17. lollies I use for bribery while in the supermarket or any other public place.

18. Napkins from Mc D’s, DD’s and Starbucks from the various stops for Happy Meals and iced coffees.

19. first aid at its best. Toy Story band-aids, children’s Neosporin, Infant Pain Relief and Benadryl (which I will forever carry since the bee incident).

20. hand sanitizer. Again toddlers one of which is a thumb sucker and another potty trained.

21. Plum Organics: tots mish mashes… love. love. love. Jackson agrees.

22. various tags and wrappers from new friends and snacks which have been opened, before check out, to prevent meltdowns; or new DVD’s opened for the car ride home.

23. a kazoo- which landed in the trash just after writing this post and bubbles to distract Jackson.

24. these adorable strawberries transform into reusable bags. I got them from a vendor while at a children’s event over Easter. They are awesome.

25. The true reason my diaper bag weighed 45 pounds…

I knew the hubby and I had a habit of tossing loose change into my diaper bag... but seriously?
Perhaps this is why the counter tops have been change free.


Best part about this post… my diaper bag is clean!


Have you done a what‘s in my bag post?
If so add your link to my comments… I would love to take a peek.
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Day 90
While on the subject of clutter

A Day with the Not So Potty Trained Toddler & Day 50. 315 Days Left

Toddlers are gross.

I wrote about some of my most disgusting toddler experiences thus far.

However, none can compare to this past weekend…

We went to a good friends baby shower. It was at a park so I packed a diaper bag accordingly. I must say after two children I am a diaper bag packing pro- I digress.

I decided to not only pack Jackson a spare set of clothes (he would definitely need it) but I packed Addison one just to be safe. It must be mommy’s intuition.

I will elaborate in a bit.

Addison is potty trained- she has been for a year; mostly accident free and very good about telling us when she needs to go potty. In addition to packing the change of clothes I decided to throw in a pair of pull-ups (which are only used for nap & bedtimes. Just taking precaution. I figured if she did have an accident (I was thinking more along the lines of pee) wet underwear and pants combined with dirt would make an awful muddy mess… little did I know what she had in store for mommy.

We get to the park and I remind her to let us or an adult know when she had to go potty- she was doing great. I was enjoying my time with my girlfriend, Justin was hanging out with Jackson and Addison was playing with her new friends. It was a gorgeous day. Perfect.

Suddenly I hear Addison… “Mommy, Mommy, Mommy hurry I got to go poopies.” I grab Elmo potty seat and take her into the surprising clean bathroom (which was five feet away from the party pavilion). She goes, I wipe her, she sit back and I notice shit on her shirt. After a certain age it is no longer poopies, it is shit. It is not cute. It is gross. Well, how the hell did that happen? I then notice her underwear, her pants, her leg, her Elmo potty…what is going on? She had shit everywhere- all over the inside of her pants, her clothes were covered. It. Was. A. Mess. A disgustingly huge and smelly mess. We were in a tiny cube and there was shit covering everything. I run and grab the diaper bag while Addison is waiting and crying about being covered in poop. I begin the clean up process which takes 20 minutes. Finally, getting her clean, putting her in a change of clothes (which were soaking wet because one of the sippie cups leaked all over… so much for my pro status) and cleaning the Elmo potty seat. Women coming in and out and laughing hearing the conversation Addison and I are having. We leave the cubical and I begin drying her juice soaked change of clothes under the hand dryer. Addison is standing there in her new pull-ups when my expecting girlfriend walks in and asks “what happened, you guys have been in here a while, is everything ok?” I ask her “do you really want to know?” I get her dressed and it is as though nothing happened.

An hour later, my hubby comes up to me. “We have another problem.” Are you fucking kidding me. What the hell is the matter with this girl? The bathroom is literally five feet away. So here we go again. Me, Addison, a tiny bathroom and more shit.

I have had my fair share of poopie moments, as most mothers have. I have been pooped on, cleaned up a dog poop eating infant and my share of finger-painting experiments; but this by far was the worst. I can handle "when shit happens" while at home. No one sees the mess; I have a shower, change of clothes and washing machine fully available. At the park I had nothing but the hope that no one smelt the remains of shit on Addison or me.

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Day 50
January Water Day in South Florida

Go, You Be Back & Day 17. 348 Days Left

Declares my almost three year old. She has decided that using the bathroom requires privacy.

Great, so how does that work? Where is my privacy? I can not recall the last time I used the bathroom or showered alone.

Using the bathroom is like a secret mission. I mouth the word and sign shower to the hubby. I sneak into the bathroom and no sooner I hear mommy what you doing? Mommy is going potty. Oh, you going poopies? Yes, mommy is going potty. This typically buys me just enough time to undress and quietly slide the shower doors open. But all three (yes, the hubby included) are conditioned to hear the shower door; apparently the noise from the shower door opening is a dog whistle. They come running. She opens the door; Mommy you take a shower? I come too. By now she is stripped down, Jackson is pushing her out of the way trying to crawl in clothes and all meanwhile, the hubby stands there just happy to get a peek.

Even pre-children showering alone was difficult. The hubby was then as bad as the kids are now. I guess that is why we have two children.

I relish the day I can say to all three Go, you be back. Until they fully understand, I will be showering and using the potty with an audience.
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Day 17
Our condo pet. A duck that lives on the second floor. We venture to see her when ever we have the opportunity. Daddy was home so Addison and I were able to sneak out.