ready {almost}

The infamous list.

The list as of Tuesday afternoon...

Well it looks like we are oh so ready.  At least if the lists means anything, we are.  We've gone from almost a hundred to-dos down to a handful.  So I think we are about ready.  (Honey thought we would be ready after car seats and crib.  But that is oh so another story!)

So what does one do when everything is ready?  Well, everything but the baby is ready.

Get to creating of course.  While Honey's list has gotten smaller and smaller and smaller, mine has grown a bit with my wishes for things to make and do before baby actually arrives on the scene.

A quick stop in a local fabric store?  Inspiration!  Oh yes, there should be time to have the kids make a baby blanket.

A brainstorm for presents I can give to the big brothers and sister once labor has begun?  Oh, yes a late night of stenciling fabric paint.

Tie dye a matching onesie for the baby?  Who wouldn't?

Working ahead on birthday presents for Honey...someone stop me now.

So as baby finishes creating inside, I am keeping my hands busy creating outside.  And of course I will share all of the fun details once I can.

this is me

This is me sitting.

This is me sitting some more.
Yep, more sitting.

Sitting, soaking my feet.

Sitting in the sunshine.
Sitting at the playground.

Feet definitely up.

So despite the longest nesting list in history, there's been some actual sitting going on around here.  But apparently mostly by me...I don't seem to have any pictures of Hubby sitting, after all he is taking care of most of that list!


P.S. To my dear readers, lest you think this is a silly, silly post, know that it is mostly for my parents, who are among my regular readers.  Just wanted to give photographic evidence reassure them that I am resting too in preparation for baby!
Sending hugs to all!
Claudine

this moment {our "first day"}

Joining Soulemama, and many others, in this moment. 

In Amanda's words: "A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember."

Please link to your moment too -- I love to see what you are savoring this week!

Wishing you a wonderful weekend!

anticipation

Baby talk abounds around here.  As do belly hugs.  And belly kisses.  And whispers and words spoken to the baby from three excited and anxious siblings.

For months Buddy and Munchkin and Lovey have been talking about how fun, interesting, wonderful (add any number of descriptors here) it will be to have a baby brother or sister.  And all along I've been telling them how lucky they will be to have another sibling.

Last night as I tucked these fun, interesting, wonderful kids into bed I realized that this baby, this baby is the lucky one.

could it be

Could it be I'm ready?  

This burst of energy I had today sure helped me complete the essential tasks of preparing to birth a baby:

~ cleaning the doors and many of the windows
~ vacuuming out the mini-van, and taking it through the car wash for good measure
~ scrubbing down the basement stairwell walls and steps
~ vacuuming out window wells
~ cleaning the bathroom
~ scrubbing the kitchen floor
~ keeping up with all of the laundry, and marveling at the four empty baskets near the washing machine
~ planting pansies for the front stoop, and I never plant flowers this early, never
~ sweeping the back patio
~ standing on the dining room table to clean the chandelier
~ organizing the outdoor toys in the garage
~ scrubbing down some of the lawn furniture
oh, yeah and
~ sharpening all of the pencils in the pencil drawer (seriously, don't laugh, they needed it)

I even got to paint my toenails and fingernails just before sitting down to write this post.  Unthinkable!

Now I do know that not a single one of these tasks is really essential to birthing a baby.  But I think in my oh-so-close-to-holding-a-new-baby self that having done all of these things brings a nice order.  A clearing out of any work I may be feeling drawn to, and freeing me to fully and wholly immerse into this soon to be babymoon.  Oh, the anticipation!

So until that  babymoon arrives, I am going to enjoy this clean, organized, sharpened-pencil house.

And sit a bit.  I did that today too.  For about two minutes.

I am in love with today

 

I am in love with today.

That thought came to me, and stayed with me as each moment of beauty kept joining the next.  The blue skies conspired with the sunshine to give us warmth enough to be in t-shirts, and sit on the grass and pause to play with our shadows.  The fresh air, tinged with the smell of maple, was restorative and playful.  Perfect.

Perfect.

Perfect for strolling slowly and picking up fistfuls of rocks.

Perfect for tasting sap straight from the tree and syrup hot from the stove.

Perfect for tromping through the fragrant woods and helping gather more.

Then this.  This might be the sweetest moment of all.

Just after I took this picture, my son patted the bench next to him, indicating for me to sit down with him.  And I did.  Not just sit down, but lay down and rest my head in his lap.  We talked.  He took pictures.  I felt the sunshine soak deeply into my body.  We stayed that way for a long, long time.

Perfect.  And in love with today.

this moment {checking baby}

Joining Soulemama, and many others, in this moment. 

In Amanda's words: "A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember."

Please link to your moment too -- I love to see what you are savoring this week!

Wishing you a wonderful weekend!

meaning

I am happy to say that as the days and weeks of being home full time grow in number I feel more at home.  I've learned to approach tasks differently, to let the children be when they need it (or I do), gaining confidence in small bits and pieces.

I am not doing anything big or grand, or even unique.  But with each small measure, small moment, small accomplishment, my confidence grows.

I've always been creative and resourceful, so I shouldn't be surprised when those talents kick in during our days.  But often still am.  Like the other day, when in a wee short amount of time I whipped up play dough for the kids.  I hadn't realized we were out when I suggested the always good distraction of play dough.  But oh yes, that volcano science experiment last week used up the last of it.

So in the bit of time I had, we made some.  And confidence grew as I realized that even on those days when I feel out of sorts, or out of ideas, or out of abilities.  I can do it. 

Nothing unique, nothing big, nothing grand. 

But something meaningful.

if you build it

{Bird photos taken by a camera-wielding kiddo, not quite sure which one!}

You may recall a bit of bird-house building that took place at the holidays.  Santa brought a beautiful cedar bird house kit for Munchkin, and he spent time that day building and painting the house.

Last week it made its way to a tree in our yard filled to the brim with seed.  It took no time at all for some birds to find it (thankfully!) and for very few squirrels to visit it (even more thankfully!)

So much time has been spent bird watching, mostly from a nearby window.  But sometimes that bird watching is so much more adventurous with full bird-watching gear of binoculars, bird guide, camera, and running shoes to chase those birds around the neighborhood.

We've been lucky to see a blue jay, male cardinal and female cardinal, chickadee, swallows, robins, a very large crow, and some others we couldn't identify quickly enough.

We've been even more lucky that this birdhouse has brought a pause during our days when we see the world at a slower pace, breathing the beautiful fresh air.

So glad it's built.  So glad they've come.

So glad Munchkin is a true bird-dog.

clean

Oh glorious day.  Glorious, glorious Monday.  For the house is clean.  Really clean. 

Now before you think that the list is done, let me reassure you that it isn't.  There are plenty of little details to be attended to.  But this morning I woke up, for the first time in months, with a sense of calm and normalcy because most things are in their places.  Much clutter has been cleared away, many items have been donated, furniture leaving our house has left, and new items coming into our home are here.

I've had the help of many loving hands with cleaning and clearing and sorting.  (And this weekend, help with the bittersweet decision to actually part with a much-too-worn-but-oh-so-loved couch of mine.)  Funny how we become attached to things isn't it?

So while I haven't yet photographed all of the clean and clear spaces, I will as the final pictures are hung and pillows are made and baby clothing is washed and in place.

In the meantime, I thought I would share another kind of clean we've been enjoying since Christmas.  My dear niece saw this idea on Pinterest and asked for us to send pictures of the kids to her...

Who wouldn't love washing their hands when they get to see some silly kids in the soap!

And just in time for this glorious feeling that I can actually sit a few minutes...

I am so excited that this new publication is in print.  When so much is going out of print or moving to screen-only media, there are still visionaries that recognize the beauty and tactile importance of having lovely reading material to hold in our hands, in ways that call us to relax and sink into aspects of our lives and minds at a slower, more mindful pace.

I simply can't wait to sink myself into taproot.

this moment {bedtime reading}

Joining Soulemama, and many others, in this moment. 

In Amanda's words: "A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember."

Please link to your moment too -- I love to see what you are savoring this week!

Wishing you a wonderful weekend!