- Finish wedding album
- scrapbook years 1-5 of marriage
- Baby album
- Use baby sign language
- lose baby weight
- shine sink daily
- Make bed daily
- Buy hotel quality sheets
- establish a night routine for baby
- Grow a square foot garden
- clear a garden plot
- re-side house
- build bookshelves for living room
- Fix floor joists
- Open up poorch
- Build cabinets in front bedroom
- install baseboards in living/dining room
- plant raspberry bushes
- finish crazy quilt
- finish rag rug
- bake bread weekly
- eat 5 servings fruit/vegetables eachday
- keep house company ready
- go backpacking or hiking one weeked a month during the summer
- invite company over once a month (at least)
- start a guestbook for our home
- insulate floor in back addition
- use cloth diapers
- cut down (dying) apple tree & pant a new one
- drink 64+ oz water each day
- write in my blog daily
- cut 20% off our grocery budget
- use the Tightwad Gazette to save money
- write letters to my loved ones
- keep in touch with my siblings/in-laws
- do the couch-to-5k running program
- host a small group Bible study in our home
- Establish a morning routine
- exercise daily
- declutter,dejunk, and free myself from this mess
- work on paying off student loans
- tile bathroom floor
- plant bulbs in the fall (daphodills, irises, tulips, crocuses, day lilies)
- learn to use GIMP, take a class if necessary
- Daily Bible study
- organize craft supplies
- get a woodstove for next winter
- celebrate my day every month
- try a new recipe each week
- make menus and follow them
- try frrezer cooking for a month
- participate in NaNoWriMo in November
Being a new mommy means lots of sleepless nights, lots of new worries, and (it seems like) not a moment of my day to myself. My mom came to visit and so much got done around our house, but now that she has gone home, I find that I have 10 lbs of demanding screaming for me when I put him down so I can made myself some breakfast. Do babies come with a a sixth sense to wake up when mommy is trying to eat?
In the first week of mommyhood, I found myself with a constantly hungry newborn. The hardest day came when he was hungry every 15 minutes. By the time B got home from work, I was hungry, exhausted, and on the verge of tears. I’m learning, quicky, that I don’t have that many urgent needs. Most of the things I need can be put off, but that day, I realized that I have to take care of myself so that I can take care of my family.
Moms especially put off their own needs to nurture everyone else. Hungry, drained, crying, she wonders why she feels resentful of all the demands placed on her time. In this crazy season, take time to nurture yourself. Make a vegetable tray so you can grab a carrot instead of another cookie. Take time to exercise. Go out for a walk. Read a good book. Soak in a bubble bath. Take as much care with yourself as you do with your babies. When you baby yourself, you will feel more prepared to baby all those around you.
Season follows season and as we transfer from fall into winter, I have found that my own life has brought me into a brand new season.
It started on November 14 when B and I got the keys to our very own home. This isn’t a standard tract home in the middle of suburbia. This is a house built in 1912, floated down the river to its current location sometime around 1926. I found out that the next door neighbor grew up in this house. It has sat waiting for a while. Waiting for a family. Brenton and I were happy to oblige and now this is home.
We took posession of the house on Friday and on Saturday morning 30 people showed up at our old apartment to help us move. Brenton had sent out a hep request at work and our needs were met beyond our wildest expectations. We had everything packed and in the garage at the old apartment. The time the first box went out of the old apartment to the time the last box went into our new home was 1 hour. Afterwards we “paid” our moving crew in chili and fritos for lunch.
Our move came just in time too. We had 11 days to get settled (and I use that term very loosely) before our baby’s due date. I expected the baby to be late, but I wasn’t going to take anything for granted. It’s a good thing I didn’t waste any time getting the house (somewhat) settled.
Last Wednesday, the long awaited day arrived and our baby decided to be uncharacteristically (for our family) punctual.
Samuel Isaac made his appearance in the world on November 26. Brenton and I spent Thanksgiving day with our hearts overflowing with thanks.
Since that day, I’ve been mastering such skills as diaper changing, sleep walking, and one-handed typing. At the end of the day I couldn’t be happier (even though I’m a bit uncertain right now as to when one day ends and the next day begins.
