Impressive

Sometimes, I impress even myself with what I get accomplished. Now, of course, keep in mind that this type of occurrence is few and far between. Hence the commemorating and self-congratulatory post. 🙂

Yesterday, I managed to:

1) Buy a new mattress
2) Buy a new toilet seat (I just broke our 3rd toilet seat – DH broke one and I broke another)
4) Install said new toilet seat (I also installed another new toilet seat the other day)
5) Reorganize 3 kids’ bookshelves
6) Accept delivery of the new mattress
7) Rearrange the furniture in DS (and now DD’s) room – especially arranging the mattresses next to each other and setting up the bed rail so my kids don’t roll out of the window. (The frames are really high up!)
8) Sell a table
9) Start 2011’s yearbook (not just choosing and uploading pictures – doing the actual layout!)
10) Sell a bunch of stock
11) In addition, my normal day of feeding and caring for the kiddos

I’m awesome! Ok, not that awesome. But whatever. I will take what I can get. 🙂

 

To Do List

I just realized that I didn’t really have a formal To-Do List up on the blog. Just a smattering of stuff I had on my mind. Well, here is the formal list (so I can come back and cross it off and look awesome retroactively). 😀

1) Finish Living Trust
– 6/4 – Have finally read the thing and edited it and sent to the attorney. She has to get it out of storage and look it over. Can’t imagine why she doesn’t have it completely memorized from three years ago. LOL.
– 6/12, 6/15, 6/27  – Follow up email sent to attorney. (May have to go with another attorney.)
– 6/28 – gathering items for attorney (she responded yesterday)
– 6/29 – emailed stuff to attorney!! WHOOHOOO!
– 7/5 – After no response, realized that I sent to the WRONG email again. BLARGH. Re-sent today.

2) Sell craigslist items:
– Lamps
– Wedding Dress
– Floating book shelves
– Kindle Fire
– 2 Step Stools
– Charging/Docking station
– Sandbox
– Stroller snack tray
– Twin Headboard
– Kid’s Table
– Pull up bar

3) Put up garage shelving (this is DH’s job). It has been in our garage ready to go for at least a year. Harumph.

4) Finish DD’s 1st Year Baby book. (6/4)

5) Finish 2012 Year book (6/29)
– 6/15 – pics selected
– 6/26 – Done thru Dec – just need year end summary

6) Finish 2011 Year book (6/17)
– 6/4 – pics selected
– 6/12 – Jan and Feb done

7) Finish 2010 Year book (6/18)
– 6/12 – pics selected

8) Start 2013 Year book
– 6/15 – pics selected up through May
– 7/2 – Finished up through Apr

9) Get twin bed for DD (so we can make a giant king bed for the kiddos).

10) Install dresser latches on DS’s dresser. (7/11)

11) File 2012 taxes. (I know. I know. Ridiculous.)
– 6/29 – emailed all docs to CPA
– 7/2 – CPA said can’t finish until mom gives her the business files; also, she wants to talk to me about some questions. I don’t know what since it’s exactly the same as last year (more or less).
– 7/5 – CPA set up a meeting for Wed 7/10. I further realize that I really don’t like her. What’s the point of me emailing her all my docs if she’s just going to ask me to print it out FFS. I told her I wasn’t going to print out anything. I emailed her for a reason. I think in general, I don’t like older Chinese people doing my taxes. BLARGH. Looks like I have to find a better one come 2014.

12) Return amazon Halo Sleep sacks

13) Set up safe

14) Have DH Rollover his old 401ks and retirement funds (3)

15) Finish wedding album (7/3)
– 7/2 – pics chosen and uploaded

16) Submit medical claims for FSA (7/13)

17) Submit FSA dependent care claim

Wish me luck!

 

Cleaning House

It’s that season again – prepping for the new baby! As some of you long time followers know, for DS, my first, I never really had a nesting phase. With DD, I went crazy and did a massive purging of the house. As suspected, I didn’t do anything for another year and a half until the past few months while pregnant with DS2. 

Since then:

1) I finally attacked 3-4 years of mail and filing – it only took a full day. Sigh. If I would’ve just done it daily, then I wouldn’t have this problem. But it’s done now, and thus far, I’ve been pretty good about keeping up.

2) I am putting up all sorts of things on craigslist (finally). Including (but not limited to): my wedding dress, some floor lamps, an old Kindle Fire, misc. toys, shelves I bought but never put up, etc. Hopefully, I can sell all this stuff before the baby comes. I realize the wedding dress will not go as quickly as the floor lamps did. LOL. 

3) I have purchased a ridiculous amount of used small Legos. I think I’m done now. 🙂 My kids are all set for both the Duplos and the Legos – and all mostly used. 😀 I can’t believe how expensive these things are brand new. RIDICULOUS. What a scam!

4) I need to buy another twin bed to put it next to DS’s twin in his room. That way, the two oldest can share a big king sized bed and the baby can sleep with us the first month or so. Once the new baby is moved to his room, I’m sure the older two will find their way back into our room at night. 

5) I REALLY have to finish our living trust. I had it drawn up when DS was born – over three years ago! I just never read it or had it signed or put anything in it. SO STUPID. Must get this done before DS2 comes along. Otherwise, it’s never going to happen.

6) Since most of my food garden did NOT sprout, I’m wasting a lot of water. So I think I need to plant more stuff – otherwise, I spent a lot of money and water for nothing. I intend to do something soon-ish.

7) Over the years, I have purchased to box freezer to put in the garage and I have stuffed that thing (along with my freezer in the house) as well as my pantry full of food that I don’t even know I have. So, my goal is to eat out of my pantry and freezer for awhile. (Plus, I gotta let the thing defrost.) Perhaps it is finally time to get rid of the gallons of breast milk I have frozen – from DS. (Yeah, you read that right. DS. I gave away all of DD’s milk. I didn’t quite have my act together for DS. I have plans for turning it into soap – but that hasn’t happened. So maybe I really just need to bite the bullet and toss it. BUT IT’S LIQUID GOLD!!!) 

But ultimately, it’s silly to have all this food go uneaten – and since DH is unemployed (though receiving a paycheck), I’d rather we buckle down now and spend less on food we already technically have. It’s almost like a treasure hunt. We have a lot of frozen birthday cakes. LOL.

***

I think that’s it for now. When you have too many items on a to-do list, they tend to go undone. *sigh* I guess the first thing I should do is go to the garage and take out all that breast milk and toss it. It physically pains me but must be done. Wish me luck!

 

It Is Finished

At least, the office is. 🙂 YAY! I wouldn’t have been able to do so much if it weren’t for the help of DH, my insanity, and my friend’s mom watching DS and her granddaughter today. I was able to put the finishing touches on the office and all that really needs to be done now is vacuuming and hanging up pictures/things.

If I am feeling extra ambitious, I might tackle the garage. Now, all I need is to get off my duff and return a bunch of items to amazon already. I only delay because I can’t seem to find packing tape. How lame is that?

But mostly, I am feeling super-chuffed! YAY me!! And yay for getting it done under the wire. Hopefully, my posts won’t be so domesticated and lame going forward, but I doubt it. hahahah. Sorry Dear Brother. I am now even more boring!

 

The Frenzy, It Is Ending

Welp, we did indeed go out last night. Three hugely pregnant women and one of my friend’s mom. 🙂 It was awesome. And today, I am suffering! I am SO TIRED. I haven’t been tired in two weeks – and now, I’m exhausted. The thought of finishing the office is draining. But I will persevere – because if I don’t, it will stay that way until the next baby. *shudder*

I have a good hour to relax or so before I start though. Simply because the room is across from DS’s room and he’s just settling down for the night. No need to instigate him further.

Did I mention I was tired? And that the baby is about a week or at most, two weeks away? THAT IS INSANE.

 

Longer Than I Thought

Hmmm… looks like the office might take more work than I initially thought. Either that, or I am seriously starting to lag due to insomnia. Perhaps it’s that. 😉 I just have to keep telling myself it’s a work in progress and that two years worth of crap cannot be cleared within a two, four, or even six hour period. *sigh*

At least DH moved around the furniture a bit so there is a lot more room and doesn’t seem as cramped. I’ve cleared out a few boxes as well as five giant bags of stuff. Amazing how so much can be recycled, donated or thrown away only to be left with maybe a quarter of stuff to be kept. WHY have I been keeping 3/4 crap for so long?

I think that’s what I find so fascinating as I have been clearing my house. How much of the stuff I held onto because I felt bad about giving it away because my mom or someone special had given me something, or that something had cost a lot to acquire but I no longer (or never did) enjoy the item. It has been surprisingly freeing to just get rid of stuff. Each time I fill a bag (whether to throw away, recycle or donate), I feel as if a burden is being lifted from my shoulders. That slowly, with everything I get rid of, I am becoming lighter and less owned by my things.

What’s that quote from Fight Club? “The things you own end up owning you.”

So true!

It’s funny, too, how my mother has reacted to my clearing out my house. She was not really happy about it! (Can you even imagine?) She kept saying, you never know when you might need these things or fit into these clothes again. It’s as if because I was so free with getting rid of my stuff, she felt I was judging her for keeping all of hers! Hey, she has a 4000 square foot house. If she wants to keep at least three decades worth of clothing (of which, I believe she really only wears maybe 1/20th), that’s her prerogative. But she’s lying to herself if she’s going to wear clothes from 30 years ago (even if they do fit).

I, on the other hand, am no longer going to be beholden to clothing or things that don’t make me happy to wear, (and as a result, languish in the back of my closet, taking up emotional and physical space) or use. That’s something that watching all those TLC shows has been helpful with.

From What Not to Wear, I got the idea of “Why would you have a closet full of clothes that make you unhappy when you look at them? Why have clothes that remind you of when you were thinner, younger, or prettier? Why have clothes that other people gave you (or that you bought yourself) that do not fit who you are as a person and make you uncomfortable or not yourself?”

From Hoarders, I am reminded of the fact that just because you get rid of something that someone you care about gave you, it’s not throwing that relationship away. (I have a particularly hard time getting rid of clothes or things my mom bought me with good intentions. But they either do not match my taste and are clearly hers, or that I have never needed or wanted or given a crap about.) Also, that throwing away sentimental items does not remove the good memories associated with them. (That’s hard, too.) Plus, it is a fight to combat the idea of “What if I need it someday?” And then, to pull back and think that if I truly needed that item in the future, how much would it really cost me to replace it? Usually, it’s only a little bit of time and MUCH less money. Toss it.

As this honing and culling process goes on, I feel more and more myself. Someday, perhaps I will truly get rid of all non-essential items, but there are just so many drawers that contain little items that I doubt this process will ever be finished. I can only hope that the lessons are not lost upon me and that I muster up the energy to spring clean at least once a year. (And if not, perhaps popping out two more babies will do it.)

Whew! This post neatly matches the title – it turned out longer than I thought.

(That’s what she said!)

 

Nesting Continues

I am so pleased!! Pretty much I have only two more major things to get done (and it really is major):

1) Clear out the office/guest room. (I swear, I’ve done this twice this year so far, and I’ll just have to keep on doing this. Mainly because as things clear out from other rooms, they end up here. *sigh*)

2) Clear out the Harry Potter closet. (I know, my good friend helped me with this back in June – but another friend returned a ton of my baby items and they’re all currently stuffed in there. Plus, I bought more crap in bulk. *sigh*)

ETA: I finished #2 up there starting at midnight last night and finishing around 2:30am. This post was written the other day. hee!

Of course, vacuuming once we are all done!! YAY!!

I swear, by the time DD gets here, my house will be in the best shape it will ever be in. Only for me to ruin it in the next two years and I’ll have to do this all over again when Baby 3 shows up. What’s going to be my motivation after I’m done popping out babies? Ah well… that’s not likely to be until 2015 assuming all goes as planned.

 

The Frenzy Continues

Today, I was very fortunate that my friend’s mom came over to accompany her granddaughter on a playdate while my friend was at a doctor’s appointment. (She was due this past Thursday but baby 2 hasn’t yet been evicted.) Anyhow, my friend’s mom told me to relax or do whatever while she, her granddaughter, and DS went upstairs to play in DS’s room. So, of course, I cleared/organized the laundry room. It is so awesome. I am so pleased. Who knew I had so much wasted space? Everything is put away and I still have some room in the cabinets. Plus, I got to vacuum in some super dusty corners. YAY!

Oh, and I almost forgot that I finally washed several seasons worth (winter and spring) of bedding from my room, my kid’s room, and the guest room. Sometimes, I can get very lazy and leave bedding that I don’t need immediately on my walk-in closet floor for, oh… um, close to six months? Whatever. Now they’re all clean (I think I did 4-5 loads today) and folded and zipped in handy dandy plastic bags. Yay, again!

Then tonight, of course, I started my pantry reorganization project at 11:30pm at night. DH was DISPLEASED because I told him originally that he didn’t have to do anything, but then, I asked him to take everything out of the pantry and put it in the hallway. It’s not that he didn’t want to help, he would just prefer I tell him earlier in the night – and not when he’s close to bed or in a time-crunch.

At any rate, three hours later, my pantry is super-organized and I have a ton of left over room and space. YAY! (Plus, I found some food I threw out, as well as miscellaneous items I can add to my giant pile of Donate items.)

So, here’s the tally thus far in my crazy re-organizing/de-cluttering binge:

1. Master bedroom walk-in closet
2. Master bedroom linen closet
3. Master bedroom bathroom sinks (although this was done a few months ago, but I’ll count it as part of this giant decluttering project)
4. Guest bathroom sinks/cabinets
5. Laundry/utility room
6. Kitchen Pantry

Up next:

1. Hallway/Harry Potter closet (this is filled TO THE BRIM)
2. Upstairs hallway linen closet/cabinets
3. Office/Guest room
4. Kitchen drawers and cabinets
5. Garage

Of course, a ton of other stuff (mainly laundering cloth diapers and baby clothes to get things ready for DD). It seems that every time I cross a thing or two off my list, I think of two or three more to add to it. I am clearly going crazy – however, my house seems to benefit so I’m not complaining. I just know that once the baby gets here, I won’t be doing ANYTHING for a long while. And since a lot of these items are things that are nice to do, but really a lot of effort, I know I won’t get to it after DD is born. So, I’m very pleased that I have these insane bursts of energy because once I’m done with my giant list, I should be good for at least another year or two. (You know, until I get prego and all nesty-like with BB3.)

 

Out With the Old…

But hopefully, not too much In With the New! It is very tempting to fill up all that space that we cleared out of our walk-in closet. It is very tempting to go clothing shopping (but since I’m hugely pregnant, that isn’t really a problem for me at the moment). I really need to re-institute my old college and immediate post-college rule about a clothing item in and then a clothing item out. (Which is very similar to the method I mocked my friend’s husband for, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t a sound principle!)

I am super happy and excited about the clean closet. I really should have taken before and after photos. I still have about 20+ things on my To Do Before DD Comes List but I’m super glad because these were some of the BIG things. The other biggie items on the list include cleaning/clearing out the hall closet (because there is NO room in there – and it’s a Harry Potter type closet in that it goes under the stairs so technically, there should be plenty of room but it’s filled to the brim). And of course, the ever-present, clear out the office/guest room. That room is MUCH better than it used to be, but we could still get rid of more stuff (or at least, organize it in some fashion).

A never-ending task, this purging of clutter. (This is perhaps why I also watch Hoarders so much. You know, to get me motivated to get rid of stuff.) I really am as pleased as punch. So happy!

 

New Month, New Budget

My nesting has hit overdrive and I went to Ikea today to get more storage things. I’ve also culled a lot of my clothing (from office wear that I never liked, to clothes my mom got me that were expensive but I didn’t ever feel comfortable wearing, to clothes I will never fit into again) and currently have at least four bags of clothes and jackets and dresses ready for the Veteran’s curb side pick up at the end of the week.

DH “wants” to do the same for his clothing, but he just wants to relax right now. For the crazy nesting side of me right now, I find it UNACCEPTABLE. But I will get over it. He’s pretty much played with DS all day and was a great sport at Ikea so I guess I’ll let him watch some college football. The things I suffer.

Last night, at around 2am, I decided to clean out the linen closet and I went to town. Seriously, I’ve gone crazy – but I guess in a good way? Or something? At least things are getting all sorted out, right? RIGHT? Ideally, we’ll have a lot less stuff (in terms of clothes and clutter), I’ll be able to actually SEE the things in my closets and not have them fall on top of me, and I won’t just re-fill my house with more crap. (I hope.)

Here’s to a new leaf and a new baby!

ETA: After DS went to sleep and DH had some relaxing time, I forced him to go back upstairs and clear out his side of the closet. DH did stellar and then went to take a break. I forged on and reorganized the entire walk-in closet! I’m so pleased – we have so much space (which is what happens when you get rid of almost half your clothes) and we didn’t even spend that much on storage. DH had the brilliant idea when we were at Ikea to NOT buy a $100 drawer/sectional piece and see what happened when he got rid of a ton of clothes. Instead, I only spent about $50 on the storage stuff that we ended up using (and that I was going to buy on top of the $100 drawer). YAY!