Progress!!

I feel like I'm actually getting somewhere!!  Last week, we started cleaning out the garage, taking things to Goodwill and throwing stuff out.  I went through the kids' toys one day while Keilana was at school and Dylan was occupied on the computer, and sent a whole bag of toys to Goodwill, as well as some old books, etc.   Doug has been using our 4th bedroom as a shop, which is slightly annoying just because it didn't have a lot of space for him to work and when he wanted to use things like saws and such after bedtime, it kept the kids awake (and kept Dylan very intrigued by power tools. . .ugh).   

So, now that we've gotten rid of a few things, we are working on making a switch.  Doug's work table and the majority of his tools are down in the garage now (where he is currently building me a pretty new oak coffee table).   There are a few more things he needs to get down there, which I'm sure he'll be happier about doing once he gets some pegboard hung up so he has somewhere to put his tools away.  Then, I can vacuum out the extra bedroom, stack up the extra boxes from the garage (hopefully getting them on some utility shelves soon).  Once that's done, we will have some more usable space, for visiting friends or play space.  Maybe I'll even do some sewing if there's space to set up a machine. :)

Today I got Doug's bass amp and speaker unit moved over into the corner by the desk with his guitar and bass, so there is actually nice, clean space by our bed to put up our crib.  Now if I could just manage to get the crib here from Amanda's, we'll be in business!! That was quite an accomplishment, because I had to move our desk over (a solid wood behemoth that's about 3 feet deep and four and half feet long), and those amps are no feather-lite things themselves.  I also got our infant seat and baby swing out of the garage, stuck all the removable parts in the washing machine and cleaned up all the rest.  They both look suitable for actually placing a baby in.

I've got out all 0-3 month size baby girl clothes.  When Mom and Sisterbella came down, she brought me a bag of random baby clothes. She wasn't entirely sure what all was in it, but it turns out there were several 3 month sleepers (as well as some great Grizwear!).  This is tremendously helpful, as Keilana was born in June and spent her first three months in Hawaii and California so she was scarcely ever clothed, let alone in anything heavier than a short sleeved onesie.  I still need to get a few sleepers and onesies and hats (oh yeah, and socks or booties--cold little feet!), but a friend of mine recently offered to throw a baby shower for me (because she's just awesome like that!), so I'll probably wait and see what I get there before I do any shopping.  Particularly since I haven't done any Christmas shopping yet!  

I'm still trying to get everything clean--the worst part, because a part of me can't ever relax because things aren't tidy yet.  I organized our closet yesterday, throwing some things out and getting everything else arranged in a way that actually made sense.  It looks SO much better.  Next I've got to get the blinds and windows upstairs cleaned (they are so dusty), but fortunately I was able to clean all the ones downstairs last month, and they still look pretty good.  I was able to clean out behind the stove and refrigerator a few weeks ago, but I still need to clean the oven and the fridge out.  Once we've finished rearranging boxes from the garage (a few of which are stacked in our dining room), I can rent a carpet cleaner and shampoo our carpets.  I am very much looking forward to that, because I cannot stand dirty carpets.  No matter how clean I get the house, I never feel like its really clean as long as the carpet needs to be cleaned.  

But once I've checked those items off my list, all we've got to do is set up the crib (and get that beautiful quilt out!), buy some diapers and get decorated for Christmas.  How I look forward to a being in a very organized, very clean house decorated for my most favorite of holidays, nestled down on the couch with new little baby in my arms, all in the glow of holiday lights.  

Three weeks til my due date, and 4 1/2 weeks at most until we welcome Kylie (and hopefully have everything else done).  Whew!