Pre-Baby To-Do List

I’ve wanted to blog the past couple of days but I find myself sitting in front of the computer not knowing what to write.

I have a few recipes in the queue, but I enjoy sharing more than just food here.  I don’t want to hide behind a bunch of recipes, so here I am.  Just sharing what’s been happening lately…

We have a pretty significant Pre-Baby To-Do List in the works.  None of these things really have to happen before the big arrival, but I’d love to get them out of the way and, more importantly, off my mind.

I’m one of those people who always has a mental to-do list and it can really stress me out on a subconscious level.  I’ll feel edgy or cranky and wonder what is up and then somehow my subconscious to-do list comes rocketing toward the front of my mind and I realize why I’m worked up.

So many things to do.

Big things and little things, but tasks nonetheless.

Once in a while Andy will unknowingly check off an item on my mental to-do list and I practically jump for joy!  I give him a level 10 response for a level 2 task which usually makes him laugh.  I just get so relieved when those little loose ends are tied up.

The Pre-Baby To-Do List isn’t only little things like “pick up a pack of newborn size diapers for the first week or so” (although I do need to do that).  It’s full of bigger stuff such as:

– prep and paint the office upstairs
-move our bedroom furniture to the upstairs bedroom
-set up Andy’s desk and shelves in the newly painted office (he’s been working out of the former guest bedroom)
-assemble IKEA bookshelf and table/chairs for Grace’s big girl room
-move my childhood bed and dresser into our current bedroom which is becoming Grace’s big girl room
-de-clutter the nursery, getting rid of junk and moving toys over to Grace’s new room
-dig through the many unorganized bins in the basement to pull out any of Grace’s old clothes that will work for baby sister

OH YEAH.  WE’RE HAVING ANOTHER GIRL!

-hunt down/create artwork for the white IKEA frames I bought to hang in the nursery and new big girl room
-go to Gilbert’s Hardware to get some expert advice on wood staining gone wrong
-fix the top of my dining room table which I botched while attempting to refinish it
-buy rugs for Grace’s new room and our new room
-lay compost and mulch in the backyard garden beds and trim back perennials
-don’t pass out while doing all of these things in the next few months

So yeah, we kind of have our work cut out for us.  And by we, I mostly mean me.

I’m sure Andy is totally willing to pitch in with all this stuff, but his school work comes first and I have the utmost respect for that.  He’s doing so well and I’ve been super impressed with his ability to maintain great grades while being a very present and attentive husband and father.  He’s super busy, ok consumed, with his studies but when he takes time away from them to be with us, he’s really with us.  He gives us his full attention and we soak it up because we miss him when he’s studying.

So…I don’t want him to spend all of his rest time working on these to-do’s even though he’s already done quite a bit of that by doing all the patching and priming in the office.  He’s just downright better at the patching than me and the primer we had to use is really toxic smelling so he did all of that so that baby girl and I wouldn’t be exposed to the fumes.  What a guy :)

My plan is to consistently plow through these items so I don’t get completely overwhelmed or push myself too far.  I’m actually really excited to have it all finished and out of the way before the baby comes.

When I’m painting or working on any of these things, I picture myself snuggling up with my babies this winter and enjoying all of the hard work.  It really keeps me motivated.

So, I guess that’s why I’ve been kind of quiet for the past few days.  I’m pretty exhausted.  We’re focusing on the paint job right now and because the room is knotty pine, every single step takes SO. MUCH. LONGER. than it would in a regular room.  Last night I finished up around midnight and literally fell into bed.

Today I’ve been super tired and it’s been an effort just to keep myself off the couch.  One of my only goals for today was to post something here, so voila!  I did it!

Oh yeah, and make oatmeal scotchie cookies.  I’ve been craving them since yesterday afternoon so I had Andy pick up the missing ingredients on his way home from school last night.  Grace and I whipped up a batch of them before her nap today and they are every bit as delicious as I had imagined.

Yum.