Drop by... I dare you!

I'm an organized person... well, at least I WANT to be an organized person. I like routine, I love to plan, I adore lists! But as life has gone by, I find it harder and harder to get the clutter, the toys, the LIFE we live contained in the proper bins!
When not pregnant, when I have more energy, and mobility I have a better plan. I can get the house clean first thing in the morning and get on with our day... nowadays I find that when I wake up, I want to go lay on the couch for just a few more zzzs. I see the clock at 8am and think "Laundry will still be there in 30 min!" And then its 10 and I'm dragging my feet to find an activity to occupy the kids. So keeping my house clean, decluttered, and organized is too overwhelming at times.
BUT... I am about to have FOUR children! I'm about to homeschool a 1st grader, a kindergartener, entertain a 2 year old and keep a newborn alive! I NEED that organization, routine, and plan!
So, for a week now, I've done it. I have a daily routine, a weekly plan, and a clean house! I've shared my routine before with a few, but lately (like the last 8.5 months) I've been a hypocrit. I am a lot of talk (and wishful, and WANTed a clean house) but inside my house was constanlty in disaray. I was mortified when people dropped by. When neighbors saw inside while we stood outside to talk. I was embarassed if my in-laws dropped by from church and saw what a complete slob I was. But now! This week, at least, I have it all together! I've worked hard, my husband is working hard, and the family is learning the new way of life!
And of course, as I wake and go to bed to a clean house, no one seems to drop by anymore... So drop by, I dare you!

And for those of you who want to see what this schedule is... (yes, I am bragging, but if you felt as accomplished as I do, you'd brag too!)
First rule: Go to bed to a clean house! That means you wake up to a clean house!
When I wake up I tell Dave to take a load of laundry down. I'd like to say, I ask him, but in reality, I tell him. Maybe when I can carry a basket safely down the stairs (and I don't have a huge belly) I will do this, for now the first thing I say to my husband is which basket to carry down for me.
Then I go down and start a load of laundry, and in reality restart the dryer from the load I forgot the night before... we're still getting there.
Then (if I don't sit down to blog first) I unload our dishwasher that we ran after dinner last night. This makes it easy to clean up after our meals throughout the day. Seems simple, but I was piling dishes in the sink a LOT before... so silly!
And I clean up after breakfast. By now the kids have already strewn toys all over the living room... but drop by anyway, I DO have 3 kids, and I have to be realistic.
At 10, I announce that we are going to do a quick clean sweep. The kids pick up their toys, pick up their rooms, and grab themselves a snack (its just goes well together!). I go down and switch the laundry around and pick one small chore to takle (See weekly plan).
At lunch time, the kids eat while I check the laundry again (this is HUGE for me, I have really been sucking in the laundry field lately!!) and begin folding a basket (and hopefully putting it away!). I like to eat when the kids go to bed, so I do this while they are eating. And I takle one more small chore from the weekly plan.
They go to rest time, I clean up their lunch and plop on the couch for my lunch and nap... hey, I get to have a daily nap while I'm pregnant... and for sometime after baby is born! hehe.
3:30 we pick up again, this usually only takes 5-10 min because we've already picked up once, AND we are all learning to pick up as we go (the kids learn by mom hovering over them and saying "Are you done with that? PUT IT AWAY!!!"). I run the vacuum and sweeper on the hardwood, wipe down the counter tops and while I'm at it, I may start the dinner prep. I am trying to have this be a "noise and toys" (phrase I learned from my sister) in the bedroom time. So that no toys make their way back into the living room, and I can actually hear about my husband's day without straining!
My goal is to have a clean house when Dave comes home. Then whatever messes are made after that point are 50% his fault! :)
Then we make sure to clean up after dinner, load and start the dishwasher, and wipe down the counters.
Once the kids go to bed, we look over the 2 front rooms, pick up where needed, and we are free to sit and enjoy our time together. I then usually only have ONE basket of clothing to fold, and Dave helps me put it away. (I put that last part in faith... Dave WILL help me put it away!).
It seems simple, and once we got it down, it WAS easy... but getting there was harder than I thought! And we have some problem areas that need to be squeezed in, but it keeps me from feeling like I am cleaning all day every day only to be embarrassed when a friend comes down for a cup of sugar!

**I do weekly chores throughout the week...
Monday: bedding, load of kid laundry, bathrooms
Tuesday: Mop, 2 loads of laundry, dust
Wednesday: straighten Master bedroom, 2 loads of laundry
Thursday: Bathrooms (including tub)
Friday: Declutter, finish any undone laundry
Saturday & Sunday: keep up with daily chores
And I have one weekly project... like cleaning the computer desk, organizing the school stuff, straightening closets, and eventually maybe I will just LIVE in a state of organization and won't need my lists... although I do love my lists!

Only 10 more weeks!!!

I'm pregnant. I'm HUGELY pregnant... and I'm okay with that! I actually love it again.
When I was pregnant the first time, it was so easy. I loved watching my belly grow... and grow... and grow. I loved the attention that drew, and the waddle I aquired.
When I was pregnant the second time, I was busy. I barely recognized I was pregnant, until one day I realized how HUGE my belly was, and the comments began. We moved to Wisconsin 3 weeks before my due date and I could hear my sister in law in the other room on the phone say "She's SO HUGE" and I actually smiled with pride.
When I was pregnant with the third child, I HATED IT! I was so scared the entire pregnancy. I was uncomfortable, and when people made comments about how huge my belly was I was just NOT in the mood.
Now that I am pregnant with our fourth child, I am in that maternal bliss again. I'm not sure if its because its my last child, last pregnancy (or so I feel God and I have an agreement its the last), or if its because I started off being pregnant with my first little boy, and now I am pregnant with my last little boy. I'm not sure if I feel so great because I see my three other kids so excited to see this big ole belly, and to meet their new brother! Or maybe the fact that I feel SO GREAT is the reason I love being pregnant this time! Whatever the reason, I feel so blessed.
He moves constantly. I am not sure if he never sleeps, or if he is just a mover while he sleeps, but he started making his presence known early and constant! And I love every part of it! I will miss entire shows while I watch my belly make waves.
I am down to 2 pair of pants that fit. My belly is bigger than ever. I carry low so I get comments like "WOW, you've dropped, your ready to pop at any moment" And that was at 5mo. I get looks when I waddle across the baseball grandstands to take pictures of Zech's baseball game. Looks of sympathy, looks of "She looks miserable", looks of complete shock when they find out I have 10 more weeks to go. (and technically, I have 12 weeks, but we should be having him 2 weeks early). But I love it. This is what my body does. I have big babies, I have a tilted uterus that pokes out early and large, and I never gain more than 20lbs. I love the total transformation my body goes through. Its a constant reminder of how AMAZING God is.
I have NO energy... but that may not be a pregnancy thing as much as a "mom of an active 18mo old" thing... either way, I get tired, hot, and irritated quickly... but God is showing me how to use the fruits of the spirit in the midst of trying circumstances. So in some ways I love this stage I am going through. I am learning. But its still really hot!
I can not roll over in bed without sitting completely up... or getting on all fours and crawling into a new position. But I smile and laugh at how funny I must look. I am just loving being pregnant. When I can't sleep, I imagine how this baby will look. How will I feel when they put my last baby on my chest to hold for the first time? I invision myself nursing with ease (wishful thinking, perhaps), caressing his hair (again, wishful thinking that he'll have hair!), and keeping him all to myself (or from the harm his siblings could cause) and I cherish this time of having him all to myself safe and protected inside.
I love this pregnancy. I love this baby!
And I love that from this point on, my family will be complete. We will get to raise them and watch them grow into what God has for them. And as much as I love it, I am looking forward to never being pregnant again (remember, God, we had this agreement!).
But for now... for this moment. I am loving this huge huge HUGE belly, however low it gets (I mean, come on I can't even sit with my legs closed anymore!). I am enjoying the kids' enthusiasm, and the alien type movements my belly is experiencing... I love being pregnant... for the last time.