A Project Project

I always have all these things I intend to do but never get around to. My projects. So now I'm going to try a little project experiment. I'm going to categorize my projects and not move on to another one until the one I've already selected is finished. That makes sense right? So my current project categories are "House" "Cooking" "Kaleb" and "School." These can change at will...depending on the project I want to do.

HOUSE - The project for the house is broad. Get it ready to sell. My very generous in-laws bought us a dishwasher so hopefully when that is installed we'll be able to talk to the realtor. I guess that means my deadline for getting the house ready is whenever the dishwasher is installed.

COOKING - I want to make the sausage rolls like Mrs. West used to make. Not the sausage balls, I already know how to do those. And this shouldn't be very difficult either. I'm pretty sure it's just sausage, cream cheese, and crescent rolls. The trick is going to be remembering that I want to do it and then finding the time to make them.

KALEB - I found the idea on Pinterest (of course) and thought it would be a good new project to undertake. I'm going to make an ABC book for him (and any other kids that may or may not come along the way). Each letter of the alphabet is going to correspond to a Bible verse. When we go through the book I'm going to say the letter and the verse. I'm trying to keep them simple so that he'll be able to learn them quickly. So far I've picked out all the verses I want to use except V, W, and X. There are some websites that have example verses for something like this, but none of the ones for those letters felt right. I figure I have a bunch of letters to get to before those so I'll just search while I'm working on the other ones.

SCHOOL - This is also a broad project. My goal is to finish my artwork and my lesson plans. This project has a very definitive deadline...February 2. That's when my portfolio is due. After that, I don't know what my project will be. I might do away with this category until something comes up.

Mommy Guilt

The past couple of days I have felt such mommy guilt. I come home from school totally exhausted, patience used up, and just needing to lay down. Of course, the 4 hours between when I get home from school and bedtime are the only times I see Kaleb everyday. I should be neglecting myself and spending time with him, right? I know that's not an option all of the time, but it should be at least some of the time. I mean, when I get home all I can think about is getting under the covers or about how much homework or housework I have to do. I know I can do that when Kaleb goes to bed, but let's face it, kids are exhausting. And after spending 8 hours with 20 kids that aren't my own, I feel too drained to spend time with my own. I know! It's horrible! But that's the reality of a teacher/mom. I've always said "No way!" when anyone asked if I would be a stay-at-home mom if I had the chance because it's the hardest job in the world and I crave adult interaction, but now I'm seeing the benefits for kids of parents who do choose to stay home. This was just a rambling of emotions I've been feeling lately.

Slow and Steady

We've been getting the house ready to put up for sale. We've painted the office so now we have to get all the excess stuff out, stage it, vacuum, and organize. That should be done this weekend and then I'll post a picture of it. We've also hung another shelf in Kaleb's room for his board books. Low enough for him to reach them so he can clean them up himself. We still have to clean out the top of his closet, do some touch ups on the wall, and vacuum. All that's left in our room is to hang the awesome picture I got for Christmas and take out the bookcase that's acting as a night stand. (It's going in the office where the tall bookcase is now) The guest room is pretty much done, too. We've got to hang a picture or two and that's basically it. The kitchen and living room are basically done. It's just going to be a matter of keeping everything clean while the house is on the market. The biggest places we need to work on are the office and the landscaping. We'll need to trim hedges, cut monkey grass, plant a tree, mow the yard, edge, and plant some colorful flowers. As soon as I get rooms finished, I'll post pictures.