Where does it go? Time, that is.

How is it already Monday again? The days are just flying, and I am never EVER caught up! To think I'll accomplish half the things on my Have-to-get-done-before-baby-comes list is just a plain joke! Oh well. A girl can dream...

Here's the latest:

Neil's back at work on the basement. He's made great headway and is crossing his fingers he can schedule the next set of inspections (framing, plumbing and electrical) by this Friday. We have already ordered drywall. Next it's just a matter of getting a decent bid for hanging it. Neil is about as handy as they come, but he also recognizes his limits, and is absolutely planning to hire out the hanging of drywall, mudding and texturing. It'd be great if that process was finished by Christmas, but we're trying not to get ahead of ourselves. Oh, if only money grew on trees! Next on Neil's 'honey-do' list is wainscoting in the nursery. Very exciting.

Here are some of the projects I'm tackling these days:

• A bed skirt for Chloe (thank goodness for a helpful friend)
  
• Painting curtain rods for the kids' rooms (finally got drapes for Chloe's room - now it's just a matter of hanging them)
  
• Freezer meals (mostly planning at this point. The actual marathon cooking day probably won't take place for another week or two, when I'm a wee bit closer to my due date.)


• Re-painting the kitchen. I know, I'm retarded. The yellow walls (which have a lime green tinge in a certain light) have just been bugging me too long.
  
• Fabulous Friday stitcheries - 3 down, 2 to go (I'll take pictures when I'm finished).
  
• Birthday banner (another Enrichment project that I started, oh, a year ago! Chloe's birthday is approaching, and just like every other silly thing I'm trying to do, I know this will be much less overwhelming to finish NOW rather than a month from now). Again, will post pictures when finished.
  
• Tackling/organizing all those drawers and corners of my house that have over time acquired piles and piles of STUFF! "Throwing away" is probably a more fitting term for this "project" than "tackling/organizing". How does one acquire so much stuff anyway?
  
• Helping plan a baby shower.


• Rag quilt for nephew. Not sure it's gonna happen.


• Chloe's scrapbook. HA! Unfortunately I'm such a perfectionist, that it takes me hours upon hours to complete a single page, which I then find reason to be dissatisfied with. That pretty much explains why I've only completed a handful of pages in her nearly 3 years of life!
  
• Trying to finish the Twilight series before the movie comes out - what a joke! Any time I have a free minute to read, I quickly realize I'd rather sleep.

Then there's the every day stuff: cleaning the house, keeping up on laundry and dishes, trying to get organized, drinking plenty of water, not staying on my feet too long, etc. No one thing I've mentioned seems all that overwhelming, yet combining it all into a month's worth of work is another story. Maybe it's just me, but I never know where to begin. And it seems even when I plan things out just right, I still end up getting distracted or interrupted, preventing me from feeling fully accomplished at the end of any given day. It also doesn't help that Chloe's sole purpose in life, or so it seems, is to re-create messes I've just cleaned up.

By the way, don't I look hot in this picture?

In addition to all of this, I've been trying to get out of the house at least once a day. Chloe just gets bored so easily, and while I have plenty to keep me occupied, I feel like a horrible mother putting movie after movie on for her. It's hard to be motivated some days, but all too soon, my free (and fun) time with Chloe will be limited so I'm trying to take advantage of it while I can.

Speaking of Chloe, she's quite busy these days too... talking more than anything. She'll strike up a conversation with anyone who glances in her direction! While standing in line at the post office today, Chloe told the lady in front of us, "I'm 2 1/2! But I'm going to turn 3!" This girl is NOT shy! And once she starts talking, she doesn't stop. She's the queen of run-on sentences. Everything has happened or is so because of this, which happened or is so because of that! And on and on she goes explaining anything and everything that comes into her little head until she's out of breath, or until we politely ask her to stop talking. As horrible as that sounds, there have been a few occasions where it has been necessary.

She loves Loves LOVES talking to and caressing my belly. She's constantly pulling up my shirt and saying, "Hi baby! How are you?" and then smothering my belly with kisses. The baby almost always responds to her voice, and when s/he doesn't, Chloe quickly says, "Wake up!" and pats around until she has his/her attention. While she seems excited to be a big sister (if she even comprehends what that really means), I'm also noticing a more clingy and sensitive side to her. She definitely senses something big is coming. Perhaps part of it is all the talk about the baby and watching my body continue to expand. Part of it too could be that often when she asks me to pick her up or play rough, I don't have the energy (or ability). She's also made a very regular habit of coming into our room at night and plopping herself on the floor. It's pretty much every morning now that we awaken to her sleeping at the foot of our bed, blanket, pillow and all! Sometimes she'll wake me up in the night and even try to crawl into bed with us. But most of the time she just wanders in and goes right to sleep. It'll be interesting to see if this continues (or becomes worse) when the baby comes.

All in all, we are doing great. With less than 6 weeks to go, I'm definitely feeling the brunt of late pregnancy. I'm having strong contractions and feeling lots and lots of pressure. In addition, the baby has made it crystal clear that s/he is running out of space! I'm not sleeping well, but am still getting along okay. What choice do I have, right? Oh, if only I had ten times more energy and an extra six hours in each day! Some day I'll feel like I'm ahead. Maybe. Until then, here's to another crazy (and quick) week!