Mommy Needs An Aspirin: 12 To-Do's Before APRIL 2012

Lots of bloggers posting Top 12 New Year Resolutions of 2012 (man, what did we do in 1999?). However, we have one BIG agenda in 2012, and that's to have Welch #3 in April...so everything after that kind of just seems like faded grey fuzzy stuff followed by lots of wincing, and "oh, what did we do to ourselves?"

So I thought I'd give Jake's Top 12 To-Do's Before APRIL 2012 - because let's be frank, there is just a LOT to do before introducing a 5th (five, cinco, funf, holy-crapoly-my-right-hand-has-run-out-of-digits) family member (the non-furry) kind to the household.

1. Landscape the backyard: I'm expecting having my hands tied. I dream of having a perfectly manicured yard - flowers, fountains, and all, to release my children into. Self-entertainment. Let the neighbors listen to them scream while I enjoy breastfeeding bliss on my patio.

Before my husband discovered a chain saw and a 135 lb lab -
in no particular order.

After the mammoth lab killed our grass, and husband
cut down the fruit trees, and the deck, and the planter box...

2. Potty train Houston. I think he's ready? Really I just want to see him run around in Cars underwear - and the idea of washing 2 in cloth isn't really that exciting to me.

Got some Cars underwear and carpet cleaner.
I'm ready!

3. Set up a rewards/discipline program for Georgia. Call me military mom, but seriously! Some days I ask myself, "why am I arguing with a 3 year-old?" Her teenage years are not looking promising.

Sticker rewards used to work...not anymore.

4. Set-up pre-school curriculum for Georgia. I tried this before, but on the flip-side of military mom, I'm kinda a self-admitted slacker mom too. Because her birthday is in July, she falls into this weird category of being 5 when she starts kindergarten...which means she will be 18 when she starts her senior year - and because of the above (see #3), I'm not THAT excited about having an 18 year-old senior. Hoping for her to test early into kinder...hope springs eternal!

5. Finish Georgia & Houston's combined room. I really only have 4 things to do to be finished - everything else is just fluff; finish the binding and quilting on Georgia's quilt, start AND finish Houston's "matching" boy quilt, purchase a twin-mattress (the air mattress is doing a phenomenal job), and buy a bed-rail that doesn't attach to a box-spring.

An owl tree and paint doesn't do much if Houston
can't sleep on his big boy bed.

6. Knock down a wall. Ok, maybe not SUCH a little thing. Our kitchen is enclosed. I want to be able to spy on the little boogers. Something about a newborn in a bouncy seat and 2 un-supervised kidlets makes me reeeealllll nervous.

7. Become a freezer-meal goddess. Hubs can't cook. He thinks he can. But really, he can't. I'd rather depend on my own re-heat and serve skills.

Is there a nice way to give him the
Complete Idiot's Guide to Cooking 101?

8. Eat more Raw meals. We already enjoy eating Plant Based (with a few sneaks here and there). One of my fav bloggers and inspirational chefs, Amber Shea Crawley from Almost Vegan has her 1st cookbook coming out March 15. Waiting on her book has been my excuse for NOT eating more Raw meals. It's being released before April...what's my excuse now?

9. Provide a supplemental income. Right now I watch a lil guy 3 days a week for $25/day. It's not much, but it pays for my husband to fill up his gas tank every week. Hoping to meet AND exceed that. Small feat - but I'll be a mom of 3, three and under...sooooo...?

Well maybe not that much...

10. Find a recipe for home-made veggie raviolis. This one has been on my list for awhile. 2 failed attempts at pumpkin raviolis has me scared off my search. They can be frozen (see #7).

Just say no to Tofu.

11. Buy something truly AWESOME for myself! Right now, buying something for myself consists of Wal-mart nursing bras - buy 2 for $12.99. THAT'S a great day when FedEx shows up. Pretty sad when I think buying something for myself is cloth diapers, or a new cook book so I can feed my family...I want something AWESOME...but what??

12. Budget for and GO to my local Farmer's Market: Farmer's Market is on Wednesday. Pay day is Thursday. Usually by the time Wednesday comes, money is a little tight. I'm all about supporting local farmers and eating seasonally - better put my money where my mouth goes - or, er, something like that, right?