Yesterday was an INCREDIBLY productive day for me thanks to my husband for cheering me on and tempting me with prizes for accomplishing household cleaning goals. ;) I loooooove making lists when it comes to cleaning. However, I usually don't get as far into my lists as I would like. Yesterday I knew I needed to do housework, but as usual, I was tired and unmotivated to get up and work. I made a list and sent it to Michael. I told him, these are the things I want to get done. Some of these items were bigger and more time consuming, others could be done quickly and were merely another item on my to-do list. I asked Michael to help me come up with some incentives to encourage me to get the work done. While having a clean home is a pretty good incentive, it's hard to see the light that far at the end of the tunnel. So Michael and I devised a system to reward me along the way to my goal of completing the entire list. In all, there were 41 items on my to-do list. So here is the reward system we came up with/agreed to.
Complete 15 items - Receive a 30 minute massage from Michael
Complete an additional 10 items (25 total) - Receive a night out (with or without Michael and/or Avery), $25 limit
Complete an additional 5 items (30 total) - Michael agrees to complete 3 remaining chores from the list
Complete the entire list (41 total) - Receive one service (ie: pedicure or massage), $50 limit
Michael and I aren't really in a position to be spending a lot of money, so I tried to keep the cost down by only having 2 prizes that could actually cost money. The other 2 prizes were free labor out of my great hubby, which he agreed to do. I was very proud of myself yesterday!! I managed to complete 15 items on my to-do list!! :D I felt very accomplished!! Today, I'm paying the price for all of my hard work yesterday, and I'm moving a little slower, lol. ;) But it's worth it! I have a great start on my house and fulfilled that nesting/cleaning instinct that's been getting stronger. :P I plan on doing more today, but I don't think I'll be quite as productive as yesterday. As I mentioned before, I'm pretty wore out now. ;)
A reason I may be worn out right now is that I'm ending my 2nd trimester!! As of tomorrow I will be in the 3rd and final trimester of my pregnancy! Yahoo!! :D I'm looking forward to meeting my baby boy, but I know I'm going to miss pregnancy. It's been a fun chapter in our lives. I'll miss the feeling of a growing baby inside of me. I'll miss the wonder of his or her face and the excitement of setting eyes on my child for the first time. But we'll get so many wonderful things in return!! We'll get first smiles and steps, I'll get the intimacy and love in a nursing relationship, we'll get to enjoy learning his personality and seeing how perfectly he fits into our family dynamic. :) It will be wonderful welcoming Connor into our family. 3 months and 3 days (ish) to go and we'll be a family a 4! Where did time go?
Avery and Dayton have been doing very well together lately! It seems like we've been through a rocky stretch of late and they have been bumping heads a lot. However, in the last couple of weeks, things have turned around for the better and they are getting along quite well. :) Avery, who's usually very possessive of her food and drinks, has been offering to share (specifically her drinks) with Dayton. Dayton has been giving hugs instead of shoves to Avery. It's refreshing to see them playing cooperatively together instead of fussing at each other about every little thing. Now, that's not to say that everything is perfect yet. The firetruck is a constant struggle/fussing point. It's a comfort object for Dayton, but just another toy for Avery. So when Dayton puts it down, Avery picks it up to play with it. This sends Dayton off the deep end. He gets hysterical in a matter of seconds. If he would go up to Avery, stick his hand out, and ask for the truck, she would happily give it to him (they've done this a time or two before). But having a meltdown doesn't entice her to give it back, or me to insist that she does. :\ Right or wrong, that's how I feel about the thing. There is far less fussing when there is no firetruck at my house. *sigh* However, when Avery gives the truck back, or shares some other toy or drink, Dayton is very good about saying 'thank you'. I appreciate that kindness. For 1 year olds, I would say that these babies are not too bad. ;)
In just a few more weeks, we'll have three 1-year olds at my house!! It will be QUITE the adventure!! For those of you who haven't heard, at the end of February, Michael and I will be babysitting Madison for a week. Chelsey is having surgery and thought it would be easier on Nathan to old have to care for her instead of the kids too. So Madison is coming here Feb. 23-28th. Having her here will make an extra full house, but I'm sure we'll have lots of fun!
At the end of that week Nathan will come and get Madison, Michael will take a half day, and Michael and I will leave for Kansas City for our Valentine's Day/Anniversary weekend together! Our anniversary is actually towards the end of May, but by the time it gets here we'll have a 2 week old infant. :P So we planned a little getaway for the end of February, after the Valentine's Day craziness passes at my work, before we get geared up for Easter and Mother's Day, we'll have a weekend to ourselves to enjoy each other and celebrate our story thus far. I can hardly believe we're about to celebrate 5 years of marriage!! It seems so crazy that it's been that long. I'm feeling nostalgic, so for anyone who cares, here is a quick rundown of the significant moments in our relationship. :)
Jan. 5, 2007 - We met at DCC
Jan. 18, 2007 - We started dating
July 18, 2008 - We got engaged
May 23, 2009 - We got married
June 1, 2011 - We moved to Wichita
Feb. 4, 2012 - We bought our house
Oct. 5, 2012 - Our daughter was born
Sept. 1, 2013 - We found out we were pregnant (we wouldn't find out until later that we were having a son)
May 9, 2014 - Our son is due
May 23, 2014 - Our 5 year anniversary
It's been a wonderful and amazing journey. I feel like after Connor gets here, our lives will slow down for a bit (as far as significant, note-worthy events go), as much as they can with a 1-year old and a newborn. I'm looking forward to seeing what God has in store for us. He has blessed us in great ways so far in our relationship and lives. We are humbled and honored to be covered in His generosity. :) Life is good. :)
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