I'm now 34 and a half weeks along into this pregnancy. I had an appointment with my midwife today, and all is well. I'm sure many women, towards the end of their pregnancy, feel like I do; compelled to get EVERYTHING done now, before baby arrives. As I mentioned in my last post, my to-do list is seemingly overwhelming. Nonetheless, I'm trying to tackle one big project at a time.
This week we started cleaning out Darren's old office, which is actually our fourth bedroom, and I've decided to take over for baby's space, despite the fact that she probably won't sleep in there for a long time. We have a crib in our bedroom, and both our kids slept with us most of the time. But, it's nice to have a designated space for all things related to baby. And, we've decided that if Darren does ever get to work at home again, we'll just frame out our living room and add french doors, so that can be an official office on the ground level, where it would be easier to lug the case files in and out. Anyway, the major obstacle with that old office/new baby room was the years of old files and some work-related papers that we needed to sort through, and set aside to be shredded or burned, since they contain personal information and can't just be thrown out with the trash. This process took about four days of working several hours a day on it, but finally, it's done. Now, I'm just sorting through the remaining clutter and trying to find new places to store office related stuff.
Our friend, who is installing our bathroom tile, is starting this week, so I'm excited to get that project going. Within a couple weeks, we hope to have both upstairs bathrooms done. That's the plan anyway… we'll see. Our upstairs is a total mess because of moving things around, having office stuff in the hallway, bathroom stuff in the bedroom, and the usual kid clutter here and there. I'm eager to get the bathrooms done so I can work on putting stuff away.
Our stroller and infant car seat arrived by UPS today. That kind of made things seem even more real. There's going to be someone to fill that seat next month, and I guess that image is compelling me to get organized and do the "nesting" thing. I've come to accept my house will probably never be totally tidy and organized, unless I forgo sleep and interacting with my children in favor of being a 24 hour a day cleaning droid. And that's not going to happen. But, there's still some level of cleanliness and organization that I have to cling to, and that is what I aspire to accomplish in the next few weeks.
Since the baby will be arriving at the end of the summer, we've also been putting some thought into the next "school year," and what approach we'd like to take. So, we've been sifting through resources and talking about what has worked and what hasn't and have been trying to come up with some sort of plan for the Fall. I really like the idea of "note-booking," which allows a lot of freedom and creativity, as well as, a little structure. But, mainly if we can keep Flo enjoying reading, working on some basic handwriting and comprehension skills, and continue to plod our way through our Shiller Math curriculum, I will be happy.
So, I'll be working to make the most use of the next month, while waiting in great anticipation for baby #3, for whom we have yet to choose a name. Add that to the "to-do list."