I've been frantically coming up with, and starting, projects. The closer the due date gets, the more projects I think of. Gotta do this, oh I should do that. As if my life is going to come to a complete halt for at least a year starting April 23. Which may not be exactly true, but not far from it, either.My cousin Aaron has been staying with us temporarily, and when he got home the other night he was kind enough to sit and listen to me rant and rattle off all the stuff I "need to get done," as I worked on one of the new quilts for the girls' room. As the oldest of eleven children, and a father of one, he smiled and said, "Yeah, I didn't use to believe that nesting was a real phenomenon, until I saw it firsthand when Katy (his wife) was pregnant. She did so much sorting, cleaning out and reorganizing - there was no other explanation." I stared at him. Nesting. I never even thought of that.
Sure, I know about it. I'm sure I've done it before. But when I had Hazel we moved 3 months before, and 3 months after, she was born, so I never noticed the difference between nesting and packing and unpacking and packing and unpacking. With Ginger, it's hard to remember. Everything from that time is hard to remember. Plus we moved during that pregnancy, too, to have room for her. More packing and unpacking.
But since I am happy to blame as much as possible on pregnancy (weight gain, heartburn, swollen ankles, poor sleep, cravings, forgetfulness, exhaustion, confusion, stuffy nose, etc.), I much prefer "nesting" to "totally unnecessary and unrealistic frantic mania," which is what I thought I had. What a relief.
So here's to nesting. That makes it OK to have a million things to do, mostly self-imposed. Here are just a few on the list this week:
- Finish quilts for girls' room (we got them bunk beds and fixed up the room a little - it will get its own post when everything is done)
- Finish Hazel's skirt I started sewing weeks ago
- Make 3 pairs of summer capris for Hazel (I have the fabric and pattern - now that she is in big girl sizes I hate almost all the clothes in stores)
- Make Ginger's baby book (if I don't do it now, will she ever get one?)
- Have my friend Julia come over and show me how to make her awesome peanut butter rice krispy treats since I can't get them right on my own
- Get way ahead on VGP posts
- Gather things for girls' Easter baskets, EBX basket, and surprise bags for while I'm in the hospital
- Finish consulting with Mom on the new baby's quilt
- Clean: all the bathrooms, master bedroom, stairs, doors, walls, all the floors
- Find and buy a great changing table/dresser from Craigslist
- Do all of Ginger's preschool paperwork
- Do all of Hazel's kindergarten paperwork
- Sign girls up for summer swimming lessons
- Plan and send invitations for Hazel's birthday party
- Attack pile of mending on my sewing table
- Write that children's book I've been thinking about
- Go through a huge stack of magazines I want to read before recycling
- Continue to harass the county about zoning our block for parking
- Make my 2008 and 2009 blog books
- Make a "Crazy Box" (an idea I've been working on - will tell more in a post someday)
- Make freezer meals and collect super-fast 20-minute recipes
And of course blog about at least half of the above.
A few things I've already done:
- Sort baby 0-6 month clothes
- Make one skirt for Hazel
- Sign the girls up for 1 week of summer camp
- Made - and devoured - a bunch of chocolate milkshakes
- Cleaned the office
- Got the girls' bunk beds set up, and a new rug for their room
- Finished VGP 2009 cookbook
- Pre-registered at the hospital
And then there's the regular stuff that must be done every day, like cooking, cleaning, FHE, seizing teaching moments, modeling perfect patience, limiting kids' TV time, reading stories, teaching Hazel to read, giving baths, doctor appointments, watching what I eat, visiting teaching, mailing the tax forms, teaching Peewees, reading parenting books, and keeping everyone happy.
I'm not overwhlemed. I'm nesting.
4 comments:
I hope you get to check a few more off your list, but don't kill yourself! I know that with number three we were a little worried since it had been 4 years. E was a little man and diapers were a couple of years ago. There were things we were excited for, and things we dreaded. And most especially, we had a lot of people tell us that the transition from 2-3 was the hardest of all their transitions. But luckily, I have found that to not be true. Our little guy is an angel. We all love him, we all crave his attention and smiles, and the 4 year gap has been wonderful. I actually have helpers and it is not nearly as hard as I feared, although there are those moments too.... But here is the best part, you know you, and you know how to be a good mom. You are practically an expert. So in many ways, number three is a lot of fun and a lot less stress. Enjoy.
Yah man, I went crazy nesting. I don't buy into a lot of the pregnancy stuff - no food cravings, no compromised thoughts, no huge purchases, no crazy emotions - EXCEPT the irresistible urge to nest. I almost drove Aaron crazy. He kept coming home and saying why are you doing this? Why are you destroying the house?
I wasn't destroying it. I was FIXING it. I had this palpable sense of things needing to be adjusted or made or moved for the kid's arrival. I don't know how much getting all that stuff done made oblivious little newborn R feel, but it me feel a WHOLE lot better.
I figure it's advantageous to have the nesting urge. You need stores, supplies, coziness for the newborn brooding period.
Anyway, Best Luck on all your projects!
We're enduring that phenomenon over here too, Kari. Friday I washed, folded, organized all the baby clothes; Saturday we had company which I took as an excuse to organize all the art supplies (not that they were going to look in the overflowing drawers where they are kept, but still...) and last night Adam was helping me tidy and organize toys from top to bottom of the house. Thankfully, he knows not to question my fits of hyperactivity but instead pitches in when he is available.
first off, contgratulations on your pregnancy! i had no idea. it has been a while since i've checked in. no. 2: i have deifnitely been a nester with my pregnancies. i have this sudden urge to totally clean up or throw away or organize everything in our house. it is exhausting but so worth the effort. i just cannot believe your list. i am tired just looking at it! good luck with everything. p.s. i LOVE what you did to the girls' room. i want that fabric and the dandelion...such a cool cool idea.
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