Modus Operandi

And now that we have our Latin out of the way for the day - oh, by the way, that means "Way of Operating" in case you didn't already know that from crime shows....

My M.O. yesterday during the snowfall was to sit, watch movies with the kids, let them make pictures for their Daddy, and play Play-Doh for a bit. I did nothing else. I didn't vacuum the carpet in Tiny Princess' Big Girl room, or Captain Chaos' room. I didn't put anything else away, or balance the checkbook, or bake, or really, anything "productive".

I vowed to myself that today would be different.

So far this morning, I've:

• watched 2 1/2 hours of Playhouse Disney with the kids
• read 14 blogs
• played 20 minutes of a computer game
• checked and hung out on FB
• drank a cup of decaf coffee (let me just say ICK!)
• read the newspaper
• did the breakfast dishes (i.e. put them in the dishwasher)

At 11:30, I booted the kids to the basement, put in A Bug's Life for them, and decided I had to get some things done that were actually noticeable from anyone else's point of view...so I:

• vacuumed Tiny Princess' Big Girl Room & Captain Chaos' room, and the upstairs hallway
• tidied up the closet and moved Tiny Princess' hanging items into BGR (that girl has a lot of dresses!)
• put away the items I'll need in March for the new arrival's homecoming and life thereafter
• tidied up the kids' bathroom as best I can with a carpet cleaner hanging out in there (it'll get used after we fully move Tiny Princess out of the nursery)
• thought about where to put 2 freaking fake trees (want to keep the silk ficus, but not the hideous plastic palm tree that LOOKS fake, even from a distance)
• folded and put away 2 loads of laundry
• stripped and changed the kids' beds
• decided that the things for the entertainment center in the basement will include movies on the top shelves, and bigger toys on the bottom shelves
• moved the adjustable shelves for said entertainment center to the basement, along with some as yet unpainted shelves for the bookshelves in the playroom that will house books and games, along with some other larger toys and art supplies that are "safe" for the kids to use unsupervised
• looked into her office space in the basement, cringed, and came back upstairs to make lunch
• fed the kids and returned them to the playroom
• thought about cleaning the snow off my car, as I see SUNSHINE but decided to wait until after naps commence

I have vowed that FB, email, and blogs must wait until after all my work is done in the mornings...otherwise, it is suddenly 4:30, BB has called to say that he's coming at 5 for dinner so he can dial in for his 6pm conference call, and I scramble to get things completed in 30 minutes, so it doesn't appear that I sat around on my fat butt all day on the computer.

I have much to do prior to March, and really, only have 21 weeks left to do it in...if I believe the doctor's calculation of due date...in my head I'm only giving myself 18 weeks, 2 of which will be spent in Oregon at Christmas...so I've got 4 months to get everything done and be ready to welcome this little into a clean, tidy and organized home.

Besides...I have to get it all done so that after the baby is born, BB and I can focus on our family for a month, and then start preparing for the Garage Sale he wants to have this summer...which will include all the baby clothing we don't need, and some of the toys, etc that we don't use...YIKES! All I can say is that I'm investing in a giant storage tote to use with the water for disinfecting all those hard baby items, and will finally use up the last of my Target brand of baby detergent, which makes my children break out in a rash...and have to find a place to put bags of socks, bundles of onesies, hats, shoes, and various and sundry baby items that aren't sentimental...

You know what? I'm secretly hoping this little one will be another girl...there are SO many girl clothes that weren't worn by Tiny Princess, and they are the right season and size combination...and just for that statement right there, it's sure to be a boy.

PS - our ultrasound is Nov 6. We aren't peeking, so don't ask me if I know boy/girl. We aren't sharing names, so don't ask that either. Just pray for healthy, on track baby, and healthy mommy!