Lydia came home from school last week with her cute little summer bucket list. "Go Fishing, Go Camping, Eat lots of Popcicles...." All the fun basic summer plans that a seven year old would want. I looked at her list and decided it would be pretty easy to check off her list.
Then I started thinking of MY summer list. Usually I'm not very focused on my own summer. But this summer is different. At the end of this summer, everything is going to change.
I've decided that August is actually a pretty good time to have a baby. Yes, it's hot. But I have two full months to enjoy this little island of easy that I've created in my family.
I have a seven year old and a 4 year old. Both are potty trained. Both go to bed easily. (Well, Collin is going through a get up a lot at night phase, but we are working on it.) When the two of them get up, they don't come and get me. They play for a while and sometimes make their own "pre-breakfast" to tide them over. I sleep until 7:50AM everyday.
When I make dinner, they stay out of the kitchen and play outside or use their TV time. When we drive in the car, only pleasant conversation accompanies us.
My house is pretty clean most of the time. Clutter happens and normal spills occur but I can keep up with it. I'm always caught up on laundry.
My nights are free to work on church projects, read books or organize.
Date nights are a cinch to make happen.
My life is my own and I am in control.
In two months my life will implode.
Let's be honest. I've done this twice before. And lately I've been up at night, staring at the ceiling thinking, "Am I really starting this over again?!?"
Don't get me wrong, I'm beyond excited for this baby. But I'm aware of what happens next. My life is about to about to be something I have no control over.
Mostly it's the exhaustion that scares me. That crippling exhaustion that is unlike anything you've ever experienced. You think you've been tired...and then you have a baby. Being awake is agony. Being awake and expected to function like a normal mother? It's its own special kind of torture. Exhaustion plus the pain of a c-section? I can't even think about it.
Laundry, meals, homework, cleaning, church callings, playing with kids, attempting to get them to school on time.....all these seemingly easy tasks morph into one insurmountable mountain that must be climbed while wearing an infant attached to my breast. And a husband who works hours that make him completely inaccessible.
So. There is not much I can do about all that. I'm getting as much ready before I have the baby. I'm praying daily I'll have a mild mannered daughter who sleeps well and is easily comforted.
What I can do is enjoy these two last months. Enjoy the calm before the storm. Or at least until the bed rest starts.
My bucket list - Before Baby
1. Tend my herb garden and cook from it.
2. Start making freezer meals
3. Go to Roaring Springs Water Park, pretend I'm confident in my maternity swimsuit. Lounge in the "lazy river" while Shane takes the kids on the slides.
4. Send the kids and Shane camping and relax in the house alone.
5. Go to "Movies in the Park" with the family and stay the entire time. (Done!)
6. Buy all Birthday gifts and school clothes for the next few months so I don't have to stress about them.
7. Spend two weeks reading next to the pool while the kids take swimming lessons.
8. Watch fireworks on 4 of July. Grill. Make smores.
9. See a outdoor play with Shane.
10. See a movie with Shane.
11. Go out to romantic dinner with Shane.
12. Have a backyard tea party with the kids.
13. Take Lydia on a special date.
14. Paint and decorate nursery. (Shane paints. I decorate.)
15. Spend a week in Spokane.
16. Eat at Rancho Viejo Mexican Restaurant.
17. Attend the Green Bluff Strawberry Celebration. Point to plump berries for my kids to pick so I don't have to bend over.
18. Let my dad take the kids fishing on his boat while I nap.
19. Yard sale with my mom.
20. Get a mani pedi the week before delivery.
21. Make Shane agree on a middle name.
My bucket list - After August 12th -
1. Cuddle with my baby and try to remember each smell and sound.
2. Watch my children fall in love with their new sister.
3. Accept help with basic duties.
4. Not stress about a messy house.
5. Help Lydia make the school bus on time with lunch money, clean clothes and matching shoes.
6. Ignore the phone/emails regarding Relief Society Presidency stuff. (Sorry. I need a couple months off.)
7. NOT look in any full body mirrors. Not worry about "getting body back" until c-section is fully healed.)
8. Give the kids extra T.V. time while I nurse and nap.
9. Stay patient with Shane's work schedule and remember he would be home if he could.
10. Get newborn photos taken of baby and take photos of the kids all together in matching outfits.
11. Hang out with visiting relatives and not worry too much about being a lacking hostess.
12. Take a long shower and cry for no reason.
13. Be loving to Shane and remember this is a exhausting time for him too.
What's on your Bucket List?