Miscellany Monday

Good Monday, everyone! I am excited to begin a new tradition on my blog. It is called Miscellany Monday. I saw some of my fellow bloggers doing this, and I loved the idea so much, I decided to establish my own Miscellany Monday! Without further ado, here's some of those miscellaneous thoughts that have been floating around in my head this week:

• Picture time! I heard a fantastic parenting tip from one of the women in my neighborhood. She said that whenever her kids did something ridiculous and maddening, like drawing with a sharpie on the wall or decorating the bathroom with toilet paper, she would grab her camera and take a picture before saying or doing anything. This gave her time to think about her reaction to the child's mischievous activity. I thought this was such a smart idea! I think you would have to be careful about how you let the child perceive the picture-taking, though. If they think that their surprise photo shoot means that they can get away with their misdeeds, it can easily make the situation worse. I think, if I decide to implement this trick in my home, I will take the picture with an "I'm taking this picture so your daddy will know just how much trouble you're in" attitude. What do you think?
• New fitness goals. I have made a fairly crazy ambitious fitness goal. I subscribe to a 20-minute yoga podcast on Itunes, and I decided to try doing one of their workouts 5 times a week. I also want to do some specific strength training 3 times a week, and to do a general cardio workout twice a week (zumba, here I come!). Phew. Just typing this list makes me tired! However, the yoga and the strength exercises (combined) really only take 30 minutes, so it's not too bad. My plan of attack is to wake up 30 minutes before Noah usually wakes up and get it in quickly before we start our day. Good luck to me!

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• Baby's first cold. Yep, the sicky winter germs finally made their way into my baby's system last week, giving him a really runny nose and keeping him awake at all hours of the night. I now know what a parent means when they say with an exhausted look "Oh, my kids are sick." Last night, Tyler and I stayed up until 1 am watching our fav TV show (Psych), only to be awakened by our upset little boy about 45 minutes later. Basically, we were up with him for a full three hours, and we had just enough time to snatch about three more hours of sleep before he was awake again. It's so frustrating to see such a little baby feeling so uncomfortable without being able to do much about it. Since he's too young for cold medicines, we've been spending the weekend pretty much locked in his room with the humidifier going, keeping saline spray, apple juice, and tissues at the ready.
• Downton Abbey! Please tell me there are some fellow Downton Abbey fans reading this! It keeps me at the edge of my seat with each new episode. I love Mary (isn't she so gorgeous?!) and I was so sad over what happened to Matthew in last Sunday's episode. And the grandmother makes me laugh out loud almost every time she opens her mouth. Maggie Smith is just brilliant! Ok, I'm done gushing now.

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• The abbreviation for miscellaneous. When I was little, I noticed that my parents labeled some of our storage boxes "misc." I always thought that the full word was "miscular". Even now, whenever I see something labeled "misc." I still think of that silly word. Don't ask what "miscular" is supposed to mean, because I sure don't know.

Well, there you have it. My miscellaneous Monday thoughts! Hope your week is off to a great beginning!