Wonder Wednesday

Day three into my self-inflicted trial challenge and I'm beginning to see a few flaws in my plans!

The main flaw being I have a baby. And babies are unpredictable, havoc-wreaking, sleep-depriving, sticky, grubby monsters.

Munchkin Features is actually exceptionally good at entertaining herself. She is so intensely curious about her world which means she will often find her own ways to amusing herself and doesn't need to 'check in' with me too often. This allows me the freedom to only do 'domestic duties' when she is awake so nap times are reserved for activities that can only be achieved without a baby around...such as anything involving technology, scissors or concentration.
But Muchkin Features is going through a 'Wonder Week'. These are periods of time where babies undergo large developmental milestones; paradigm shifts that alter their whole perception of their world. They are also characteristically accompanied by 'clingyness, crankiness and crying'. And oh boy, has she got a case of all three this week. If I'm holding her she wants to be put down, if she's down she wants to be picked up. She's hungry but she won't eat. She's uncomfortable but won't let me change her nappy. Blah, blah, blah.

So what with my creative pursuits and policy of no cleaning during nap time, and the baby being unusually high maintenance this week, the house has rapidly reached a state of chaos.    

After a particularly bumpy night we reached tipping point today. My goal today was to sew Munchkin her birthday party dress, do the grocery shopping, do some washing, unstack the dishwasher and cook dinner. 

I did the grocery shopping.
And it was painful.
Oh, I also unpacked the things that needed to be refrigerated, the rest I left in bags on the kitchen floor (because the bench wasn't clear) amongst the containers that Munchkin had unpacked from the cupboard.

In the end, after Munchkin spent an hour not going to sleep this afternoon (in her defense it was 37degrees outside - which is like 98 Fahrenheit), we left and took refuge in Mum and Dad's pool. Then, with the help of Babushka (Munchkin's grandma), I blogged while my child ate packet baby food.

The problem with setting myself a challenge is that no sooner have I decided what is reasonable that I want to exceed my expectations!

Pinterest is also a problem. No longer can I simply have the family over for a simple birthday celebration, suddenly I need a theme, handmade decorations, outfits, gifts, gourmet untested recipes that need to be prepared days in advance! Suddenly I am so caught up in the detail of what would make her party a beautiful and grandiose declaration of how much I love her, that I have no energy or inclination left to actually love her in the details of everyday life. To give her the undivided attention she really wants instead of silently complaining about how she is preventing me from making the things I want to give her!

That being said, I did actually make a cake banner! Greatly assisted by some scrapbooking paper I had in alphabet print.   

   
So here's to setting the bar lower and worrying about the things that really matter! I think I'll make packet ravioli for dinner.