This and That

Since I always enjoy reading about real-life things on other blogs, I try to do the same for my readers. Here's a little catch-up of what's going on in my life; nothing blogworthy in and of itself, but noteworthy nonetheless.

* I am still running. My latest was 5 miles (well, 4.76, right Kristen?) on Saturday, in the rain. Not much to say about it, except it was 5 miles, in the rain, and it felt great. When you start your day with 5 miles, you can do anything (or so it seems.) I did finally take my training schedule off the refrigerator. I missed a couple of runs last week which was enough to make me feel like I was "off the program." Also, the training schedule started calling for 8, 10 and 12 mile runs on Saturday, and I capped mine off at 6. The half-marathon will have to wait until next year (November, maybe...?)

*Thanks to my running, I have started this pregnancy off with weight loss. Six pounds to be exact. With my body nurturing two babies at once, I committed myself to optimum nutrition. Also, a few months ago I made some changes in our diet to cut out refined sugars, which really helped me to get control of my eating habits. Now they are just that- habits. No dieting, no depriving, it's just a lifestyle change.

*Speaking of pregnancy, it seems I am being spared on the morning sickness. I'll be 9 weeks on Wednesday- the peak of the first trimester in all its glory- and I've had a total of two sick days (which passed by the evening.) I am very grateful needles to say , and feeling pretty optimistic with only a few weeks to go (but not letting my breath out yet.) As a kind friend said, "You'll get your trial after the baby's born." Yes, I thank you for pointing that out. : )

*Yesterday was a day of great change in our house in regards to sleeping arrangements: we took down the kids' beds and moved Rachel's crib into the girls' room. At first I was a little worried about her waking up Kaitlyn or vice versa, but she slept 8 1/2 hours! This was literally an answer to a prayer- or rather a plea. Sleep has been in short supply and I was desperate. For now, the older kids are on mattresses on the floor until we can find some new bunk beds. I figure if we are going to stay in this house I'm going to make it as livable (and likable) as possible. In the mean time, I am going to enjoy an empty bedroom for at least a few months.

*To all those who were in attendance at my Clutter Clearing class, I feel I owe you a confession. My upstairs is littered with laundry, and it is driving me crazy. This is not me. I love a clean house, I really do, but I can honestly say that in the year that we have lived here, I've struggled. Every day I wake up I have a choice to make: take care of my kids and their immediate needs, focus my efforts on homeschooling them, or catch up on the laundry. The latter has gone by the wayside. Like I once heard it said: "I can do one of two things really well: teach the kids or clean the house." Seriously, it's a constant battle in my life. The days that I do get my house clean to my standards, I feel like I don't spend an ounce of time with the kids. I do want a clean house, and I want happy kids. Why does it have to be a choice? Not to mention the fact that this mama needs rest, and sometimes I just have to ignore it all and lie down on the couch to heed my body's call for sleep. And I hate lugging loads of laundry down the stairs into the stinky garage where we keep the litter box. I can't fathom it when I'm feeling even the slightest bit nauseous. It was so much easier to keep up with laundry when we had the washer and dryer in the house. But honestly, it really, really bothers me. Any advice?

* I dream... no, I anticipate... no, I fantasize about an empty house... all the time. That's my other confession. Everything I see/hear/read about, I equate to, "Oh I can do that when my kids are gone." I know I have years to go, but seriously, I am excited. I told Forrest that this is a good thing. It's my way of preparing for this last baby. Every trial I will go through in the next year or so will be taken in light of, "But this will be the last time I will ever go through (fill-in-the-blank.)" There was a time when I feared I would mourn the loss of my childbearing years, but nope, no mourning going on over here. Only the happy dance folks.


*... one last thing. My mom still doesn't know I'm pregnant.