So Emotional!

Pregnancy... one of life's most unique experiences.  And I mean unique.  From day to day this pregnancy is different.  I am 39 weeks pregnant and you'd think I would be 'used' to being pregnant, but I feel different everyday.  For instance, the past 3 days have gone something like this...

Friday - let's get stuff done!  Run errands, do some laundry, meet friends for lunch, keep the house clean, help Nate with the backyard project, rest... Along the way, I would just get totally overwhelmed and cry.  I couldn't get a staple out of something and it made me cry.  I was putting Briella to bed and the thought that she isn't going to be the 'baby' anymore made me cry.  Nate just laughs at me (in a good way), hugs me, and tells me to go rest if I need to... And I was having what I thought could be actual contractions every 15 min for a few hours, but went to sleep and they went away.  Ug!

Saturday - slept well and woke up SORE.  Very sore!  Didn't want to move.  Didn't want to get out of bed.  Just wanted to sit in the warm covers and do nothing and felt at peace.  But I made myself get up and I ended up spending time with many people, went on a walk, got groceries, and overall had a good day.

Today - I tossed and turned and kept waking up from the weirdest dreams.  Got out of bed and felt like I hadn't slept.  Craved a Starbucks and needed to run to Natural Grocers, so I went and felt fine.  I wasn't sore today and baby didn't make me too uncomfortable which is the opposite of how I felt Friday.  I haven't had any melt downs today.  I haven't felt any major contractions.

It's a mystery how I will feel from day to day with this pregnancy.  And by 'feel' I mean physically, mentally, and/or spiritually.  Being pregnant is just unique.  This being my 3rd time being this pregnant you'd assume I would just know what to expect, but I don't.  This child will be unique as are N and B and my pregnancies with them... The only thing I expect now is to be holding a baby before the end of September and we pray he or she is healthy and that I can stay healthy and recover at a good rate.  Other then that... only the Lord knows.  :)

No August baby...

I've decided that my children like to stay put when I am pregnant. This baby has shown very little sign that they are ready to vacate.  We were hoping for 8/28 b-day but no luck.  Then we thought there was still a chance he or she would come in August... but unless I have a super fast labor and they arrive in 20 min or less, that's not happening.  That being said, I had to stop typing for a moment and let a moderate contraction pass... they need to keep coming tho.  Usually they stop and I can sleep or just keep going about my business.  It's weird to think that this is my third baby, but I still am not sure when 'real' labor is setting in.  N and B's labors were so different... who knows what this kiddo will be like.

I don't have to go back to work now.  I got in all my professional training and was able to do some planning with my team and today Gail decided I didn't have to return to work.  It's just too much.  I was so exhausted that I went back to bed for almost 3 hours today.  There is no way I could keep working while feeling miserable.  No way.  So, I get to be home, rest, do some stuff around the house and wait.  I am praying I don't have to wait long though.  But we'll see.  The Lord knows when this baby will come and I think we are doing our part of being ready. 

I have to go to sleep now...

Attempting to declutter...

In effort to prepare for Baby #3 to join us in our smaller house, we've been decluttering and rearranging.  It's quite a task.  2 years ago we packed up our 3000 sf home in less then 20 days and moved all of our stuff into family and friends' houses... I breathe easier tonight knowing we aren't reliving that time again... it was very rough!  A huge part of it being rough was that we had just said goodbye to Nate's father after his 8 month fight with pancreatic cancer.  That is an entirely different piece of the story I will write about another time... back on point...

So... we took all of our belongings and squeezed them into other people's spaces and began the decluttering process.  We had the opportunity to use a friend's house that was empty and being ready to be sold to store our stuff and have garage sales while deciding what we were really going to keep and what we could sell, give away, or throw away.  I would have to look back, but I believe we did 3 weekends of garage sales from that house - one in June and then 2 more in September of 2014 - and it really helped us pair down on some big items.  In between all of the garage sales, we also sold things online which helped.  We still had stuff... and still do.

In the end, we had to get a storage unit to store extra baby clothes/items, suit cases, our kitchen supplies (since we were living with family for a while), our camping gear, etc. etc.  You know... all the stuff that we mostly had in our 1500sf basement that we'd use seasonally.  Well... we still have a lot of it and now that baby #3 is going to arrive soon, we had to get some baby stuff out and I am in awe of how much we have.  It's a TON!  No newborn needs 100 onesies...

To be encouraged to move forward with downsizing and decluttering, I've been watching some youtube channels and this one blows my mind!  I'm impressed and wondering if this is how we will end up living someday... our whole goal is to be debt free and have time to experience life together as a family and to be available to serve others... this family's home seems like it would allow for those goals to be achieved.  Their channel is called Family Minimalism: Becoming Minimalist with Kids.  It's quite extreme, but it's simple living.  I feel like the clutter and 'stuff' we have around us reflects some mental and spiritual baggage... or maybe it all just drives me nuts and if I loaded it all up and threw it in the dumpster one day I would seriously feel better about our house.  ;)  Who knows...

There are many many videos online about how to downsize, reorganize, become minimalists, etc. and this one just impressed me.  We have less stuff each month... we are making progress... It's just a process and takes time.  It's like we are choosing to live a different way and that change is challenging and time consuming.  We'll get 'there' eventually.

Thanks for reading. ~M