My Next 30 Years

Tomorrow I turn 30 years old...the big 3-0!  And while I may at present be quite the opposite of "thirty, flirty, and thriving," I have no qualms whatsoever about leaving my 20's behind and entering a new era of my life.

Many people have asked me recently "How do you feel about turning 30?"  and "Are you OK with it?"  I find it funny because I guess it never occurred to me not to be OK with it.  First of all, getting another year older is something that's going to happen whether I like it or not.  I can spend a lot of wasted mental energy "fighting" to stay young or pretending I'm not turning 30, but at the end of the day...I am.  And I think with all the craziness out there in the world today and all the bad things that could happen but don't...I'm feeling pretty blessed to be here.

Another reason I'm super OK with turning 30?  My life is beyond awesome.  Everything I wanted my life to look like at 30...it does.  I have a beautiful marriage with a husband who is my best friend and who I love more every day.  I have an amazing son who fills each of my days with joy and wonder.  I have another son who will be here in about 3 weeks...and the miracle of that experience and what he will be like keeps me up at night and giddy with excitement.  I have a family who loves and supports me.  I have a Master's degree, my own business, and a house.  I have friends who bless my life in ways I could never thank them enough for.  And although money is sometimes tight, God has always provided for every single one of our needs.  Yes, life is good.

In my next 30 years, I know there will be good times and bad times.  I don't know exactly what the future holds.  But I do know one thing:  The first three decades of my life have been so amazingly blessed that I welcome the future with open arms.

 Thank you, God for the gift of life, the gift of love, and all the precious gifts You give me every day.

Nesting, Nesting 1, 2, 3...

Well it's official - my C-section is scheduled for October 29.  Which isn't to say this boy still couldn't surprise us and turn around to a nice head-down position before then.  And it isn't to say he could surprise us all and come early...but so far all signs are pointing to October 29 as the date when this boy makes his arrival! 

And there's just something about seeing the phrase "C-section Day" on the calendar in less than four weeks that is making me want to purge my house of every unnecessary thing and clean like crazy.  And that's exactly what I've been doing.

Today, for instance, I de-cluttered the books on our huge bookshelf in the living room.  I now have an overflowing box PLUS some other books to be donated to the library this weekend.  I'm hoping while my husband's there dropping them off (what, it's not like I can LIFT the things at this stage of life!) he will also get a library card so he has a fun place to take Josh and get new books once Mommy is otherwise occupado with his baby brother.  Killing to birds with one stone...lovely!

Yesterday, I cleaned like crazy until my back was KILLING ME and I was sweating...unfortunately it didn't take long (about an hour) for both of these to occur simultaneously.  My mind wants to go, go, go, but my body just isn't being as cooperative as I would like it to be.  Still, I have to hand it to my body...by all indications it is growing a very healthy baby boy at the moment...I feel I can't ask for much more than that from it being 4 weeks away from delivery.

I also got all the newborn clothes out and washed and put away (HOLY COW are they small!) and I am just praying every day to be ready when this little one arrives.  Well, as ready as I'll ever be!  Until then, I'm doing as much as I can every day to make this house a home sweet home for my (soon to be) three boys and me!

'Tis the Season...

....To make an Advent calendar!  I just made this the other day using a linen covered pinboard tile I've had forever, some scrapbook paper and a few Sharpies.  Why, you ask?  And why now?

One of my major concerns about having another baby is that it's going to limit the time I have with Joshua.  Which, I know...it will.  And he'll just have to get used to it, and we'll all have some adjusting to do...but it still makes my heart just a little bit sad.  Especially because this year he's two, and I think he'll actually have somewhat of an idea of what Christmas is about - so seeing him wake up on Christmas morning this year will be all sorts of fun that it just wasn't before because he was too young. 

That being said, I want to try to make this first Christmas season he will remember (hopefully!) a magical one.  I want it to be about more than presents under the tree and Santa Claus (though we will definitely have those too!).  I want him to have something fun and special to look forward to each day.  Which I know will be no easy feat since I will also have a newborn to take care of.  But still, I want to make this a special time for Joshua too. 

I had to make the calendar now because Lord knows I won't have time to think about such projects when baby boy makes his arrival.  So here it is, the middle of September, and I've already got Christmas on the brain. 

There's just some small thing to do or make or talk about hidden beneath each number.  For example, on the 7th it says pick out and decorate Christmas tree.  One of the nights is a family slumber party in the living room with the Christmas tree all lit up!  Another night is simply watching a Christmas movie, and another is having a candlelit family dinner.  Nothing huge, just something to make each day special.  Of course, there are also days to read about Christ's birth and sing Christmas songs - we don't want to forget the reason for the season!  And some of the days simply say something like go Christmas shopping or wrap presents...because I'm definitely going to need some motivation to do those things once my second son arrives!!

 

I hope my boy (and someday both boys) will have fun with this and make this Christmas season a very special one!

Small Fries

Last week I had to take BOTH my boys to the doctor because they are...small.  Which shouldn't come as a shock to anyone considering their mom is (pre-pregnancy) small and their dad is no football player!  However, doctors will be doctors and I have to try to put my mind at ease about it.

  Josh had a weight check because since his first birthday he has struggled to gain weight.  He has gained some weight, but not at the rate the doctors would like to see.  The exact same thing happened to me when I was about 15 months old - from that point on in my life (again, pre-pregnancy!) I, too, struggled to gain weight.  Our pediatrician doesn't think there is any reason to be concerned, given the family history, but told me it's just something we're going to have to keep an eye on...for the rest of his life.  AWESOME.  Still, I am thankful my boy is healthy and seems to be thriving in every other way.  He's getting taller, he's talking up a storm, his memory is awesome, and he's very active.  Just the other day he "read" an entire book to daddy from memory and the picture cues...I mean seriously, MIT, here we come!! :)

My other boy (still 2 months away from his due date) is now measuring small in utero, which is something that never happened with Josh.  The doctor is having me do ultrasounds about every two weeks from here on out to monitor his growth and development.  It's hard not to worry, but the doctor says he is just slightly smaller than she would like him to be for his gestational age.  She just wants to make sure he is growing and gaining in there - and stated he would probably just be a smaller baby when he's born - maybe 6-7 lbs. rather than 7-8 or 9.  That's fine with me!  As long as he's healthy and growing, that's all that matters.  In other news, the ultrasound revealed he is BREECH right now...UGH!  My doctor said he still has time to turn around, so I am VERY hopeful he will.  I was so scared to have a vaginal birth the first time around, but now that I know it's not so bad (with an epidural, of course!) I am more terrified of having to have a C-section.  Especially since the recovery period is much longer and I already have a toddler at home.  I know everything will work out just the way it's supposed to, but here's hoping this boy turns his little booty around (literally) in the very near future!!!

A Banner for the Boys

We used to have a really cool cream colored castle-thingy hanging on the wall in my son's room just above his changing table.  I loved it - it was so unique and cool-looking.  It was actually from my room when I was in high school and it worked well in Josh's room too.  Until, that is, I was changing his diaper one day and it fell on us.  Well, it fell on me.  THANK GOODNESS!  It just came off the wall - and it was SO HEAVY.  Fell right smack on my back.  Thankfully Josh didn't get anything more than a good scare.  But then we knew it was time for that old castle to go bye-bye.

That was about 6 months ago.  Since then, there has been nothing but a big emptiness on that wall.  I have long debated about what to put there, but couldn't come up with anything.  And with another boy on the way, it has to be something lightweight that couldn't hurt anyone in case there was another, um, mishap.

Enter the pennant banner.  I got the idea from this blog I have been loving lately and it was SO simple and easy to make!  And cheap!  I used scrapbook paper that I already had (which happened to match the existing decor perfectly) and made this cute little banner to add some color and life to the wall.

Ta-da!  Seriously, it's just scrapbook paper attached to ribbon with double-sided tape.  And I love it!  And I know someone else who does too!

Josh kept staring at it and saying "Hanging on the wall! Hanging on the wall!"  He also assured me his baby brother will like it as much as he does.

So I'm feeling pretty proud of myself.  Because seriously, I am the least crafty person I know.  And I did something that I actually like and actually turned out how I wanted it to!!

Organized Electronics

Above is what my dream electronics drawer would look like.  Hardly anything in it, organized, and everything is visible.  Neat-o!  Below is the actual nightmare of an electronics drawer that I have been living with (and choosing to do nothing about) for 3 years in our current house.

Folks, I'm embarrassed by it, but if you can't put an honest "before" picture on your blog, then where else can you put one!? 

Needless to say, something drastic needed to be done.  I enlisted the help of my husband and started by taking everything out of the drawer - which wasn't easy, because as you can see, there was one HEAPING HOT MESS OF CORDS IN THERE!  But, untangle them we did and ended up finding things that we seriously do not need and more importantly, DO NOT HAVE SPACE FOR!  Some fun examples include headphones from Continental Airlines (which I'm pretty sure date back to a trans-Atlantic flight to England circa 2007), a camera for our computer (2 computers ago, we did not have a built in camera!), and cell phone chargers for cell phones we haven't owned in 3 years.  EEEK!

After an hour of sorting and organizing, here is what we ended up with:

It's not perfect, but LOOK!!!  It's organized!  Those darn Wii-wheels were the only things that gave me real trouble because they don't fit easily in a storage bin.  But now, everything has a home within the home of the electronics drawer.  I used a couple tupperware bins for storing video game supplies and music devices/headphones, etc. I used a spare little basket for miscellaneous cords and chargers (only for those items we currently use).  Our video camera and camera are neatly in the corner.  Some spare red/white/yellow cords are tucked right up front.  WHEW!  A vast improvement!  And the best part?  Every bin is labeled so whenever anyone puts anything back (ahem, husband) there is no excuse to not put it back in the proper place!

Well I don't know about you, but I feel a lot better!  That's one small step for organizing my house...but it feels like one giant leap for organizing kind!  I have lots of other projects (bigger and even better!) swimming around in my brain, so hopefully these next few weeks will continue to be productive ones!

The Summer of Getting Stuff Done!

My husband and I (now that we are back from our WONDERFUL vacation to Disney World) have officially declared this:  "The Summer of Getting Stuff Done!"  We are trying to use the summer (when he's out of school) to do as much as we can around the house:  painting, repairs, organizing, cleaning so that we can be ready for when this baby comes!  And also...because this is the time of year when we can actually work collaboratively to get some bigger projects done.  It's just hard to dedicate much time to organizing and home improvements when you are pregnant and chasing a toddler all day.

Here are some of the projects I have in mind: 

1. Continuous, CONSTANT de-cluttering!  The logic is:  we are adding another family member to this tiny house in the fall and we simply need more room.  And we have too much stuff, as I have posted about before.  If it doesn't bring us joy or serve a purpose, it's going out the door!  We are still contemplating whether or not to have a garage sale or just donate everything - we'll see how truly ambitious we are feeling by the end of August before we make that decision!  I am paring down ALL my clothes, and even Josh's clothes (though I know there will be another boy who will need them at some point).  But for now, there is clothes overflow...we are going to SIMPLIFY life and keep just what we actually need.

2.  Find a place for EVERYTHING - I'm preparing for label-palooza!  So much of our problem with stuff is that we don't have a place (ONE PLACE) to put it all...it just gets thrown wherever and stays there until...whenever.  Which is sometimes a very, very long time.  So we're done living that way - I'm going label-crazy in the hopes that my hubby (and even Josh) will join me in putting things back WHERE THEY BELONG when they are finished with them.

3.  DEEP, DEEP cleaning - I am not the type of person who enjoys spring cleaning.  Or even regular cleaning.  Of course, I like the end result, but I am not a fan of the actual process.  I have requested my husband take our son to the lake or playground for a few hours a week so I can pump up the jams and get our house shining like the top of the Chystler Building - hopefully so clean, even Miss Hannigan would be proud. 

That's the main list for now - there are other little sub-projects that fall under the above categories, but for now, I'm trying to keep things as simple as possible.  Because, after all, isn't that what the decluttering and organizing is all about?