I am exhausted. And I've just gotten started...
I love this time of year. The smells (pumpkin and gingerbread...), the twinkle lights, the colors, the wardrobe (warm sweaters, hand-knitted scarves, cozy mittens...), the anticipation. Seriously, besides the lack of daylight, the last three months of the year practically make me giddy.
And stressed!
If you're wondering where I've been these last few weeks, let me let you in on my to-do list. My goal is to have all this accomplished by Christmas Eve (or earlier in some cases):
* Sew curtains for the girls' room (deadline - 11/21)
* Paint playroom (deadline - 12/11)
* Paint "art cabinet" for playroom (deadline - 12/11)
* Assemble furniture for playroom - a table and chairs set, a bookcase, and a toy organizer (deadline - 12/11)
* Sew floor cushions for playroom (deadline - 12/11)
* Sew curtains for the playroom (deadline - 12/11)
* Decorate house for Christmas - always a 2-day project with how much I decorate! (deadline - 11/30)
* Plan Shaelyn's birthday party, purchase all needed supplies, send out invites, and decorate (deadline - 11/29, at least for the invites)
* Design, address, and send Christmas cards (deadline - 12/6)
* Put together nephew's birthday present - involves a lot of sewing (deadline - 12/13)
* Sew/embroider Christmas presents for family (deadline - 12/13; if I actually do these, they are things to be displayed before Christmas)
* Assemble "Santa presents" for Christmas (deadline - 12/23)
On top of all this, our home is going to be a hotel to holiday guests between now and the end of the year. We had friends visiting this past weekend from Virginia Beach. Michael's parents arrive late this Friday night and will be staying with us for about 2 weeks through the Thanksgiving holiday. Michael's sister is staying with us for about a week for Christmas. Then my mom has a tentative trip planned at the end of the year to spend some time with Shaelyn and help me out pre-baby. So in the midst of all my projects, I have to keep the house clean, play hostess, and do all the "I have guests in my house" nice-ities.
Oh, and even though the baby isn't due until the first week of February, I'm hoping that while I have all these visitors, I can enlist their help and go ahead and get the girls' room set up (which involves a lot of furniture moving as we try to fit a crib and a full-sized bed in the small space). And before Rachelle is born, I would like to have the girls' room totally decorated (since I know there is no way I'm doing any kind of work or crafting after she's born and I'm in my post-baby stupor). This includes crafting some kind of headboard for Shaelyn's bed (since her headboard is now the crib) - I'm thinking of upholstering one like we have in our room, and decoupaging letters to spell out the girls' names.
Whew! I'm exhausted just typing it! The worst part of the to-do list: I've been having Braxton-Hicks contractions fairly regularly, which increase in amount and pain when I'm doing manual labor (ie: cleaning the house for guests), so I have to "take it easy". How I'm going to combine "taking it easy" with that monstrous list, I have no idea.
On top of my to-do list, this is the time of year for get-togethers, parties (both friends' and church), volunteering, and everything else that gets crammed into the last 45-or-so days of the year. We'll see what actually gets accomplished (and by the deadline, no less) on my to-do list. I'll keep you posted.
But at least I have some help. Michael came home from work and made us dinner. An even sweeter gesture when you know how often he cooks...
PS - If you have reconnected with me through my blog and would like to receive a Christmas card from us, please email me your address at bloggershelley[at]gmail[dot]com.
