Getting Ready Ramblings

Wow! The date is approaching fast and there is still so much to do. Today I received the most beautiful little tea set from a dear friend for Miss Emily. Westley unwrapped it for me and didn't seem surprised in the least that a tea set should come for his little sister. We are all getting a bit more used to the idea of girl things and I have to admit feeling a little giddy putting away freshly washed little dresses adorned with flowers and duckies which all had matching little pants to go with them. How fun!

There is a long to do list, however, of things I want to accomplish before she arrives....like update the boys' chores, finalize a summer school plan for everyone and get all the winter clothes folded, labeled, and put away in Grammy's attic for next year. The garden will have to be on hold this summer, although I've been deliberate about filling the deck right outside my room with all my potted plants to keep me company through the summer while I am inside doing baby things! We did purchase some rather large pots at Costco for the tomatoes and peppers which are happily blooming on the sport court, but I have no wild dreams about getting down to the garden this year to plant anything that needs constant vigilance. I did put Wes in charge of the squash plants and Wy in charge of the eggplants, but the plan is really simple. We are trying some new varieties of heirloom plants from Seed Savers, and hoping to save the seeds for subsequent years. The challenge is keeping the seed pure by preventing cross-pollination from another variety. I like the idea, however, of growing a tomato or a potato that has been handed down through generations and has a story...

I've been reading The Discipline Book again and soaking up (again!) the strategies for dealing with tantrums as Mr. Will is in the middle of that phase and, as I told the boys, we don't want to fuel that jet anymore than we have to! It is difficult to teach them how to deal with a toddler; harder than I thought it would be actually. They have many moments when they are quite successful at it, and then other moments when they have had it and end up fueling the fire. I am really trusting God that everything will shake out and fall into place (at some point and in His time!) as the baby arrives and we begin to reorganize life around her. It has been a while since I had a toddler and a baby at the same time.