Sing us a song, you're the piano - toddler?

She's downstairs banging happily away at the piano, experimenting with different pitches at the top and bottom of the keyboard, engaging in her excellent sense of rhythm, and singing along - apparently she's playing "Pat-a-cake".

I have such a sweet daughter, and it's good that she's feeling better.

Bow to the Toy-Organization Maeven!

Well, maybe not.

The downstairs is probably more messy than it was before I started, but I did start and I made at least some progress.

I've sorted all the infant toys into a storage bag for the next baby - the ones Elizabeth no longer plays with. I've put all the stuffed animals and dolls into one basket, all the blocks into another, and all the puzzle pieces into a third. (No, I didn't put the puzzles together. That would be even more of an exercise in futility than sorting the baskets to begin with.) I've been trying to rearrange the books and toys on the shelves in the back room so that I can fit all my crochet magazines and binders into one shelf and still have a whole shelf for one of the three baskets (the puzzles, I think) and all of Elizabeth's books that aren't upstairs. (I wonder if I'll get to her room today? I should - it badly needs it.) I've found a bunch of the little dishes that came with her second-hand kitchen set; also a whole bunch of magnets from a little magnetic book on transportation that I got her for Christmas. The Megablocks bag hasn't been this full since we first opened it, and all those foam letters from the four or so different sets we got from the dollar store are now all residing in the puzzle basket.

I also vaccuumed. This is something to mark on an historic timeline. I never vaccuum. (Did I spell it right?)

Elizabeth realized I'd left the living room and went looking for me. Discovering that I was not in the basement (the door was locked) she immediately headed for the stairs, thinking I'd gone up to check my email. It never even occurred to her that I was in the back room sorting stuff. She stood at the top of the stairs calling, "Mommy, where are you? I don't know!" for a minute or so before I heard her and realized what had happened. Trust my little girl not to be content with her blocks for very long.

Still on the to-do list:

1) Finish the book-rearranging in the back room.
2) Rearrange the books in Elizabeth's room.
3) Laundry. Specifically sheets and delicates, in that order.
4) Clear the dining-room table. It's messy with all the stuff that came off the top of the piano for the tuner yesterday. Of course, we had solemnly sworn not to pile things on top of the piano ever again. Sigh.

I think four things is enough for an unexpected day off. I'll worry about spring clothes and such like on the weekend.

This feels soooo good.

At this moment in time, according to my online bank statement, all of our debts are consolidated at the lowest possible interest rate at the bank. All credit cards are at zero. The roof will soon be paid for. And we're in the black in the chequing account - enough to pay for the roof without landing us back in overdraft, where we've been constantly since last August.

I'm going to have the ceremonial cutting of the credit cards in a few minutes, symbolizing my freedom from expensive store credit and credit companies run by loan sharks forevermore.

If we can't immediately pay the roofers as well, I'll suggest we put the extra on the line of credit. We can always pay the roofers through the LOC, and it will reduce the interest on that loan for this month to have that money sitting there, if only for a couple of weeks.

Now comes the real work - paying off the line of credit. Frugality, here we come!

But first we're celebrating with a fast-food meal tonight. :) Old habits don't die quite that fast.

Dotta Who

"Dotta Who, Mommy! Look, it Dotta Who!"

And a new generation of fandom is born.