organized chaos

Would you expect my chaos to be anything other than organized?

The last ten days or so have been hectic. In addition to juggling two children, I've been trying to keep my head above the water with everything else.

MOPS started on Wednesday, and as co-coordinator this year, my responsibilities are significant. The preparations for the year have been underway since summer, but the heat has really been turned up since the end of August. Coincidentally, right around the same time Andrew was born.

In some ways, my leadership with MOPS feels like I'm working again. Special Event Planner Rachel enjoyed the buzz of Wednesday morning, the thrill of the seeing the two-hour agenda come together, complete with child care, registration, audio/visual, composing and presenting a devotion and, the ultimate thrill: observing fifty moms make meaningful connections.

Some of my responsibilities are ongoing with this ministry, but for the most part, the bulk of the planning is behind me. Which makes room for other time-sensitive things I've been itching to complete: writing Andrew's birth story, filling out some of his baby book, taking pictures of the kiddo, and keeping up with the blog (it's only taken three days to complete this post).

Then, of course, there are unplanned emergencies. Like, say, a leaking hot water heater? That issue managed to fill up a few hours Thursday evening and left us without hot water to wash dinner dishes or our faces before bedtime.

Combined with our weekly routine of groceries, storytime, laundry and cleaning, it's a lot to handle. So why not mix it up a bit? I decided to bite the bullet and called the salon I used to frequent when I was employed full-time with money to splurge on $40 haircuts. Turns out, I hadn't been since June of 2008, and my favorite gal was surprised to see me after so long. But I needed it. I'm a new woman, even without highlights.

So something had to give in the last month. Blogging has been neglected. So has any real form of communication with real people. Cleaning house? Take a look at the bottom of Morgan's socks and that will explain everything. Ick.

Sleep has slipped to the very bottom of the priority list, and I'm quickly realizing this should be first and foremost on my to-do's, even if it means going to bed at 8:00 p.m. Especially now that my allergies are in full swing. My body just feels like it's run ragged. And since my newest job promotion has me working non-stop from sun up to sun down, well, there's no room for napping. I still can't believe I'm running every day on five to six hours of interrupted sleep.

The one thing, though, that I keep up front in my brain are Scott's words of encouragement: It won't always be this crazy. True enough. Getting up twice a night will subside in the next few weeks, and my sleep will soon be filled with a little more quality than the small increments of shut eye I currently have now. And that will set the tone for a whole new lease on life. Soon, very soon.

What an eye-opening experience the past month has been. I know I have spectators sitting on the edges of their seats, just waiting for the moment when I realize that having two kids really IS hard and that life WILL be more hectic then I ever thought possible. Fair enough. I've more than recognized the difficulty. But you better believe that I'm not going down without a fair fight for routine, schedule and a plan for this household. Watch out, Doubters. I'm slowly making a comeback.

To help with the daily pre-dinner chaos, I make my first attempt at wearing Andrew with a borrowed Moby Wrap. I still need practice.



Scott's failed attempt at a photo for his desk at work.



A book before bedtime.



Andrew's first real bath. He enjoyed this so much more than the sponge baths he was previously getting.



Even more proof that this is Scott's child.
Definitely not seeing my features here.