productivity

Being stuck at home has increased my motivation to get things done around the house. We've actually been doing a really good job at keeping up with the cleaning and such for having a newborn and a toddler. Since we've basically quarantined ourselves to avoid spreading this sickness or catching anything else, I've been getting even more done. Over the past week 1-3 loads of laundry per day (although I'm a little slower getting it put away after washing it), 1-2 loads of dishes, as well as keeping up with the clutter, sweeping, vacuuming, etc. All of these things I thought would go undone for a while longer as I transitioned to caring for my two boys. I even baked a loaf of pumpkin bread, a batch of cookies, and made two kinds of ice cream.

Today Ben got a bunch of childproofing done that became more of a necessity with my nursing Desmond and not being able to get to Kai in a hurry if he were to decide to get into or on to things. It's such a good feeling to have all of this stuff done, but I'm ready for us all to be healthy so we can visit with family and friends!








P.S. I'm attempting to blog every day this month as part of NaBloPoMo (I typed this out while nursing). It may be a few sentences, a regular post or possibly just a photo. We'll see if I can make it happen!

Getting Ready

All week long I've been trucking through my list of things I want done before we take Malakai in for his surgery tomorrow. I've been de-cluttering, catching up on load after load of laundry, rinsing dishes, and scrubbing everything in site. I want it all taken care of so that I can focus on caring for Malakai and not the house.

I've hit a few bumps in the road with this plan. One being lower back pain. I didn't anticipate it being an issue at only 17 weeks pregnant but after lifting laundry, my 29lb. toddler, and scrubbing the floors on my hands and knees I was not doing so hot.

Then we received a bill from the 1st surgery consultation we had. There is no way we're paying for this appointment. The surgeon knew what we were there for, but waited for the actual appointment to tell us she couldn't perform the type of surgery our son needed. So I've had to make some calls on that.

I've been on the phone for what feels like two solid days trying to get all my questions answered by surgeons, nurses, billing and insurance personnel. I've been transferred so many different times I wanted to give up, but I didn't. I was actually able to speak with the manager of the surgical wing at our hospital who is personally going to see to it that as soon as Malakai gets set up in the PACU, we will be called to come in! I was on the verge of tears through all the transfers until I was able to speak with someone who truly understood me. Once I finally got off the phone I burst into tears.

{this scrunchy little face made everything better}

I've been back at the cleaning and de-cluttering (when I wasn't on the phone), but someone decided to put a kink in those plans. I opened the fridge to make myself lunch after getting Malakai settled only to see this...

{what, you don't soak your veggies in sugary drinks?}

Ben + I had made Passion Iced Tea Lemonade (sweetened of course) and I think that my mischievous little boy must have pulled the tab on the dispenser when mama wasn't looking. It wasn't leaking when I discovered the mess, so it must have snapped closed on it's own. However, the damage was already done. 

Thankfully Malakai was already set up to eat lunch so he was content and out of the way for me to tear the fridge apart. The next problem came when I couldn't figure out how to put it back together. First I took out the drawers, salvaged what I could, and cleaned them. Then I discovered that shelf where the tea was had gotten soaked and sticky as well so I emptied everything and wiped it down, but there were spots I couldn't get to. I attempted to take the shelf out but it fell apart. I called Ben, and we resolved to put the food in as I could and have him fix the shelf when he got home. 

I managed to get Malakai settled into his room for nap and make myself a quick PBJ for lunch. As I type this he has put himself to sleep after 15 minutes of pushing the buttons on his twilight turtle. 

{yes, I'm obsessed with my snoozing child}

So now I'm off again to try to get the most important things done and let the rest of it go. Surgery is scheduled for 10am tomorrow. Sadly we can't feed Kai breakfast, we're hoping he does okay with that. We'll be deploying all our best distraction tactics. Please pray that he's brave and calm and that the procedure goes by the book and he recovers well. Pray for my nerves and emotions and my worrying heart and that my husband can withstand all the tears that will likely escape from my eyes no matter how hard I try to hold them back. 

I'll do my best to post a quick update after we get home tomorrow. All depending on if he'll rest, if not I might be MIA for a while. 

Thankful on a Thursday: Community

I truly believe that we are made to exist in community. I'm not theologist or pastor, so I'm not going to give you a sermon with a slew of Biblical examples. I believe this, because the Bible does illustrate it, but also because I feel it. When I'm in fellowship with others, my spirit is lifted and even when some things aren't going well, life feels more "right". If I'm away from others for an extended period, it has the opposite effect. Something feels off and I of course miss my family, friends, + church community.

I know this could also be due to the fact that I'm mostly an extrovert, but even so I'm also very much a home-body. I would often rather hang out at home than go out to dinner or a party. I also know many an introvert that know + feel exactly what I'm talking about when it comes to the need for community + authentic fellowship.

Recently our church went through some major changes. Much of it has been very difficult, and we've lost some valuable members. However, I feel an overwhelming sense of community among the remaining congregation. Especially among a new group of volunteers + leaders who have stepped up to make sure ministries still function to serve the congregation, our city, and the world. It amazes me how God uses hardships for change and gives beauty for ashes.

I'm so thankful for...

471. a community of believers with which to worship, serve, create, lift up, minister, love + so much more.

472. well fitting clothes + a husband who sometimes spoils me.

473. the way Malakai says "mama!" + smiles at me randomly throughout the day. It's like he's seeing me for the first time in ages, even though I've been right by his side the whole time.

474. lists. I just can't get enough of making lists. They help me stay organized get the jumbled thoughts out of my head to make room for more.

475. amazing deals.

{adorable slippers, $1.50 clearance yo!}

476. infant's ibuprofen + sesame street on our tivo. Without which, last night's sleep strike may have lasted forever.

477. being busy in a good way. When I feel depended upon to get something done, it motivates me and makes me feel useful. When I have a ton of things to do, none of which are enjoyable and all are thankless, that's when it gets a little rough.

478. God's way of guiding us by flinging doors open, gently closing them, or even slamming some shut.

479. the sun peeking through the clouds twice in one otherwise grey wintery week.

480. some quiet time to myself to type out this list of things + people I'm oh so grateful for.

What are you thankful for this week?

lists, notes, boxes, + checkmarks

I love lists. I'm always making new lists, referring to old lists, trying to find lost ones so I can remember what I wrote down so I wouldn't forget...or to prove to my husband that I DID tell him something that he inevitably forgot. Sometimes, lists save my life.

Other times, lists take over a bit.

I have a list for almost everything. Recently we went from one shopping list to two. One is for groceries and the other is for non-food items and sometimes {like right now} the 2nd one has a to-do list on it instead. Every time we run out of something I add it to the shopping list so that when we're at the store next, we won't forget. Except....I usually leave this list on the fridge and sometimes I remember to transfer what's on it to a smaller list.

The newest list is written in sharpie on an old dry erase board. It's a weekly chore list adapted the cleaning plan of another blogger. I like checking things off with my red dry erase pen. Sometimes I get more of a thrill when Ben notices how many of the boxes have red check marks than from actually checking them off..

The list from our move {packing, cleaning, address updates} is still on the wall. Below it is a list of things that need to be done here at the "new" house. Below that is another shopping list of sorts...a reminder for a lot of gifts we had to get or need to get soon for weddings, birthdays, + graduations. This one is very important in avoiding our usual trip to the store just before the event. I HATE doing that!

I also have lists that I make when I read. I jot things down when I'm reading through a magazine; fun ideas, websites to visit later, other things that pop into my head. I'm currently reading through The No-Cry Sleep Solution {more on that in the near future} and am making notes and to-do lists on our plans to implement it's advice.

Often I'll scrawl out quick to-do's in my pocket calendar, trying to keep track of all the events we have going on each day of the week/month/year. I also have a notebook of questions and advice from all of Malakai's pediatrician appointments with a list of things to ask at his next well visit.

Writing all this stuff down is really helpful for my tendency to forget things {that started with the infamous pregnancy brain}. Like I said, sometimes my lists save my life.

However, sometimes I need to stop writing stuff down and just start doing. I like to make lists of what I want done around the house. This is actually really helpful when Ben is also here and working along side me so he knows what to do next {he asks for this kind of help}, but when it's just me I need to forgo the urge to create a list and just get going.

This week- that's what I'm doing! Wish me well...