Catching Up

I hate the "it's been so long since I posted" type posts, but I've got no choice but to do one here!

I am currently 22 weeks pregnant with our 3rd child, a boy! A lot changed in the 4 months since my last post, and a lot has stayed the same. Eric is now unemplyed/self employed and looking for full time work. I am still nannying with the girls, and that is going well. Now that the exhaustion and morning sickness are long gone, I am starting to feel the energy to (and the nesting instinct to) reorganize our home. The first thing that needed to be done was a LOT of purging, and there is still plenty of that to be done. I think the imminent birth of another child into our tiny house is making me a little crazy with the whole process. Eric and I tossed out 9 bags of clothing and junk from our bedroom! I have a hard time parting with a lot of the girls' things but I know that it needs to be done or we won't have any room for this next little one!

I am also feeling the need to establish some sort of routine for the kids. Our lives have been in total upheaval for the last year practically, and I know that they suffer from the inconsistency. Now that Autumn is getting older and becoming more of a toddler she is able to participate in more of our family routines. Their sleep schedules have seemed to even out and now Autumn is usually taking one afternoon nap and Hannah takes a nap about once a week or so. They are in bed by 8 at the latest, and they have been sleeping well past 6. Reorganizing and purging is also for their well being. I want them to grow up in an environment that shows appreciation for what we have (not an over abundance of junk and useless things). They need to learn how to take care of their belongings and their own hygiene. Hannah can now dress herself, brush her teeth on her own (she is just now tall enough to reach the sink with her step stool) take care of her own dishes and put them in the dishwasher and tidy up the living room all (mostly) on her own. I am working with her on getting her own shoes on and zipping her coat. She has some real struggles with fine motor skills so these tasks are still a bit beyond her abilities, although she can do most of her shoes on her own. My goal for her in the next 4 months is for her to be able to get herself up, dressed, teeth brushed and ready for breakfast on her own. I need her to be independent because I will have a newborn and an 18mo old that will need a lot of my help!

Establishing a routine of prayer and scripture reading is also on my list. We pray throughout the day together, and I can hear Hannah praying sometimes when she is playing alone. Ideally I'd like a time when we all sit down together and read a passage from the bible and talk about it. Maybe just me and the kids, or maybe as a whole family. If I plan to do homeschooling I will have to figure out how to adapt lessons to each age of my children, and why not start now?

I''m going to come up with a plan of action for getting really organized, maybe I'll break it down into steps. Maybe I'll post it. My life is all about maybes lately!