It’s been awhile since I’ve had time to blog – but I have a dozen posts in my head of things I’ve wanted to report, comment on, and share over the past few weeks. My mom graciously took time out of her busy retired life and part-time teaching to visit for a week while Steve was in tech number 2 of the month so that I wouldn’t go insane. The joy in watching Stella come alive in the presence of her grammy was amazing. Oh, this is what it would be like if Grammy could come over for a long weekend… or babysit on a random Tuesday night. I’m not just talking about the relief from the 24/7 of parenting, but the excitement of my daughter sharing her favorite moments with a grandmother. The book reading! The pretend play! The laughing! It was great for everyone. I, sadly, was high-strung, stressed out, and cranky due to the large bowling ball I’m currently packing under my clothes and an impending interview in Montana (which is over and more on that later…) Poor Mom. She took the full force of crazy prego woman for a week (something, I’m sure that Steve was happy to give over for a time) so I hope she’ll still want to come back when Bittle is born!
Her visit also reminded me of how much of a bad housekeeper I am. It’s not that she pointed it out, it’s just that she’s good at things like this, and I am woefully inadequate. I mean, I change the dirty wash towels and placemats when they are yucky, sure, but Mom tends to remember to also wash down the dining room table every day. (oops). Or scour the sink daily with something more than dish water (oops), or pick up the random stuffed animal that has been currently sleeping on a section of the kitchen counter top for 2 days (oops).
So in a burst of extreme nesting, I have been organizing and rearranging things all over the house, hoping that things might be a bit better when she returns. That box of framed art that is still in its packing materials from when we moved 16 months ago that has been sitting/hiding in a corner of the living room? Gone. The filing cabinet wedged in a corner that I don’t believe I’ve opened since I completed my dissertation 18 months ago? Cleaned out and moved. All the 0-3 months clothes organized and ready for Bittle? Done. I have found, however, that in making changes in Stella’s room, I need to do it in baby steps. I asked her to help me move all her dress-up clothes and tutus to a bin in the closet. No problem – but then take away the now empty bin that is sitting in her room on the floor taking up valuable real estate? Oh dear the tears! No mommy! No mommy! For a second I worried about the autism spectrum and OCD, but then again, I also remember that toddlers like routine and change is hard. Just wait until recycling day tomorrow when the cardboard box house that has been looming large in her room since Christmas goes out to the trash. She’s either going to give a good send off with the trash guys (since she is enamored of their truck) or she’s going to lose it big time.
I’m trying very hard not to disrupt her world too much with the impending arrival of her sister. I want things to be as familiar to her now as they will be in a month so that when everything else goes to hell, at least some things will be a constant. However, the need to organize, re-arrange, and clean up is so strong right now that even she might not be spared. But that book chapter that I’m supposed to have a draft of by July 1? Do you think that has fallen into the “extreme nesting” category?
Not so much.
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