friday night mind dump

I wrote this on Friday night and now it's Monday afternoon. But this is what I was thinking about on Friday night...

It has been quite the week. We had multiple days with huge events...and well, actually, any outing feels like a huge event lately. I just told Rory tonight that I can't hold Hattie over the sink any more to wash her hands. I am throwing in the towel on that one. So if I'm struggling to wash Hattie's hands, we know a trip out of the house is quite the ordeal.

On Tuesday Hattie had a big appointment at Gillette's that included a sedated MRI. The results came back in our favor and we are so grateful and glad for awesome doctors and for a good report. The moment the second doctor left the room and we were free to go home my stomach went tight as a rock. I had to sit there for a moment and let it pass, but I felt very clearly that the baby inside was saying, "alrighty, time to turn your attention to me. I'm coming soon." 

We got home and on Wednesday morning I woke up in full-on nesting mode. And my first task was the kids clothes. I went through each drawer, ruthless, trying to get each kid down to 7-8 outfits, and making a list of what I could buy to make certain items into an outfit. Then I did my own clothes. It felt great and in the end I had bags and bags to give away. That night we had a babysitter so Rory and I could go out to dinner and I ended up having him take me to a small town nearby where I was able to donate all the clothes to a little church that has a pay-as-you're-able thrift shop in the basement. You know you're in full purge mode when you use date time/ babysitter time to drop off stuff you want out of your house! We then went out for dinner and had a great night. We are usually pretty terrible about date nights but this summer we are trying hard to rectify that. We have our sitter come for two hours. This way we can afford her to come weekly. I'm just so glad she's on the calendar!

Thursday I woke up ready to gut Hattie's room and clean it from top to bottom for the new baby. I swept, mopped, rolled up the old and nasty rug (lots of spit up on that baby) getting ready for a new rug, wiped the base boards, downsized her toys and Rory built a second crib in the big kids room for Hattie. Elsie used 54 wipes to wipe down the walls and dresser and crib and I was so grateful for her help. That night Hattie had her first sleep over with her siblings and it went surprisingly well. She cries out in the night, not needing anything, but still startling for her big brother. He's may be the one who is having the most difficulty with the new sleeping arrangement. And I don't really blame him. Rory and I slept without a noise fan for the first time since Hattie was born. She is noisy...so Ivar may get a sound machine out of the deal. 

I also spent the day cleaning my laundry room which has become a catch all of every single thing that comes into the house and doesn't have a home. It was a great task since I am in the give-away spirit. The room looks flawless again and I am so pleased. Today I walked in there a few times just to take it in. I went out with girlfriends last night, which felt so good and will likely not happen a whole lot this summer after the baby arrives. 

And then Friday came and I was wiped out. Hattie and I walked to the barn first thing to find "Dada!" and shortly after Rory left for a meeting. It was then that I saw all the sheep out near the garden, out of their fence. I waddled back out there, opened the barn doors and took a good long while working them back into their barn stall. I texted Rory that I was panting has hard as the sheep. 

After lunch I called Rory, who was out in the garden, and told him I needed direction for the day. A friend had just left after a fun play date and I was aimless and exhausted. And he said, "go to bed." And I wanted to cry with thanksgiving. So that's what I did for the afternoon. When I woke up he took Elsie on a date to Dairy Queen, we ate rice and beans for dinner, enjoyed Family Movie Night with a little ditty about a Fireman named Sam and now I just read to the kids and put them all to bed in the same room. Hattie cried for a bit, but she's out now. And Ivar just came down and said, "I'm turning on the air conditioning." And he did! 

I'm not really sure why I wrote all of that out...you are likely bored out of your gourd. But I suppose if I read this years down the road, I might remember this season a little better. There were other things that happened this week too...like Rory and Ivar packing a lunch and heading into the woods near us for an adventure that led to an unexpected waterfall and giant boulder. And all the afternoons I spent up in the barn praying and reading my Bible while Rory took the kids for an hour before dinner. We had our friend's wedding on Sunday, Memorial Day at Rory's folks with the whole Groves clan, and even some impromptu meetings with our pastor as we worked some things out before baby arrives. Life is good and full. We are trying now to slow it all down before it gets even fuller. Tomorrow I will wash the newborn clothes in Dreft and then I'll probably need another nap again. :)