It's really exciting to see that I'm starting to form some good habits that are making a difference in the appearance of our house and that will make homeschooling so much more successful this year.
I am LOVING "Large Family Logistics" by Kim Brenneman, a FAB book for any sized family. She has such great practical tips about making your house function well. So many systems for me to set up! I just saw that she has a blog with great info on it too, I need to check it out.
And I'm also listening to "Vicky and Jen: what really matters" podcast ad nauseum, ha! They have great talk radio personalities and my favorite series is "The big O with Monica Ricci." Quite a catchy name. I have gleaned SOOOO many fab tips from these podcasts.
I think my biggest motivator right now is the little one bumping inside my belly while I write this. I know that he or she will make a big splash in the middle of our semester and I just want my boys and my house and our schoolwork to be as clockwork as can be before baby comes.
Oh it makes me excited to write that sentence! You would think I would be more nervous about #4, but I'm not. Is it because chaos is comfy to me now and I've long tossed out high expectations? I think partly that and partly I feel secure, I've done this mommy thing for a while now, 8 yrs on August 23rd. I can receive this blessing without all added worries of "my life is going to be so different" that you feel with your first or the "how in the heck can I love another kiddo more that the sweetie I already have" that you feel with your second or the many unsolicited comments that you get about number 3, "now you are outnumbered." By the time you hit 4, people usually just accept that you are either crazy or that you have been around the block a time or two and you can handle it. Now, not saying that there isn't a whole lot of OVERWHELMED coming up soon, but at least I'm not spending my pregnancy worrying too much.
This will be my first home birth, very excited about that! Hoping that the logistics of transferring the big bugs to my mom's house won't be too hard. God is so good at logistics, so I need to not be concerned. But I am so glad that I can stay here. There is a sense of power and control birthing at home. I'm not sure why, because I'd be working hard at a hospital or birth center, but it just feels great to make a big physical statement birth is natural and I feel very excited to experience is in the center of my life, where I do dishes and sleep and hug my boys. And then afterward I get to take a shower and hop in my bed and nurse my precious one.
I also feel different going into this labor. With number one I just didn't know what to think labor/delivery would be like. And with number 2 and 3 I had a fair share of dread, because I darn well knew what it was like, ha! But every time I think about birthing this baby my focus is on meeting this new child and each pain carrying me closer to that goal. I'm sure that was somewhere in my thinking with my other children, but I think the image in my mind was some kind of dark and horrid tunnel that I had to go through to get where I'm going. I just don't feel that way this time. And if I continue my pattern, I am pretty quick when it comes to the nasty part. So, a couple hours of pain and then my babe will be here.
Well, I'm all positive today! Maybe it's all the birthday vibes that are sun shining on my thought process. Sweet baby, I want to treasure the next 9 weeks that you are inside. And I truly want to treasure that grey and murky newborn time, so precious and so elusive. Gone like a fog, which is a relief, finally you find some normal, but by then your baby has outgrown all his/her newborn outfits. Lord give me joy and slowness of mind in this next season of mommyhood.
