Ti-i-i-ime is on my side, yes it is.

It is utterly amazing the amount of things I can get done with this new "no sock left behind" mindset in an hour or less... And my house is looking... dare I say it? Neat. Brandon and I are also crossing to-do's off of our list like it's our job. Productivity feels good. I have to say that for a while taking care of a home rather than an apartment was really overwhelming and intimidating to me but I'm getting into the swing of things and Jackson is playing on his own for periods of time which allows me to be able to do much more. Cleaning/straightening/crafting is much more difficult and time-consuming when you only have one free hand and a precious little guy on your hip. Though, I will say motherhood has a special way of lighting a little jet fuel pack under your butt. I think I just combined two metaphors. Like Milli Vanilli once lip-synched, "Blame It on the Rain"... or the pregnancy brain. I remember before Jackson, it used to take me at least an hour to get dressed everyday -- when I was in a rush for work or school, I could swing it in 45 minutes but these days a good ten to fifteen is all I need and I'm not talking about just throwing on sweats. This is including applying a bit of make-up and taming my coif... if I'm straightening my hair (which I rarely do) that takes a bit longer. Thank you motherhood for improving my sloth-like ways. I know Brandon thanks you too. How are you making your time count? I'd love to hear it.

Fall Bucket List

I am a fan of lists. A huge fan. They help me with grocery shopping, with errand running, house cleaning -- JUST to name a few. When I came across this 2011 Fall Bucket List, I couldn't pass up the chance to have a little organized fun. The boys and I have already knocked off a few and those will be up soon. In the mean time, check out devineacresfarm.com. If you're in central Texas, it's a great spot to relish in all that is fall and maybe scratch a few items off your bucket list. Happy hump day and happy Fall!!

Waiting for the "Right Time"

I was talking to a girlfriend yesterday who is beyond thrilled I'm pregnant. We both have sons who are roughly a month apart in age and she is really wanting to start trying to conceive her second. I asked her when she thought that she and her man would start trying and she said that she hadn't talked to him about it but was waiting for the "right time"... "Maybe after Christmas," she shrugged. I completely understand where she's coming from, as I'm sure most of us do. Neither of my pregnancies were planned -- we found out that we were expecting our first child exactly a week after my husband had asked me to marry him. I was wanting to wait two more years before attempting to have another but about nine months after Jackson (our first son) was born, I was pregnant again. Thank you, honeymoon.

I'm absolutely thrilled about this pregnancy... now, just as thrilled as I was the first time around and Jackson is by far one of the biggest blessings in my life. Was it the way I had planned it? No. Has the past year been the best of my life? Absolutely. The order may not be traditional or conventional but it really doesn't matter. The first baby came after love and before marriage and the second is coming before my husband or I have finished school but the order of things isn't really of importance here. What does matter is that we have a happy, loving family and we're doing all we can to be the best parents we can be.

This got me thinking -- if I had decided to wait for the "right time" -- perhaps after graduation, getting my MBA and being married for at least a year (this was THE plan), Jackson wouldn't be here... not now and maybe not ever. There are certain Native American tribes that believe a mother carries the souls of her unborn children until they are given life (so says my mother-in-law). I think that's beautiful but I believe these souls are up in Heaven and God chooses when and who to send them down to. It's hard for me to think that if Brandon (my husband) and I had decided never to have a baby, that Jackson's spirit would never have been brought to this world to experience life. There was a window of limited time for Brandon, Jackson and I to have been able to be brought together and I thank my lucky stars that everything aligned just so.

In my life, and perhaps in yours too, waiting for the "right time" can lead to serious procrastination and missed opportunity. I have a terrible habit of making myself believe that I can always do something later -- not just the big stuff either. I'm talking about menial, everyday things too -- walking over a sock because my hands are full and bending down with Jackson on my hip is a workout in itself. "I'll come back later," I say... two days pass and that sock might still be there... no, it's probably totally still there. Starting this blog, for example, is something I've been talking about for at least the past four months. Reasons I put off starting the blog? I couldn't find my camera connector to save my life ( blogs need pictures, right?) then when I finally did, my lap top crashed leaving me in techno limbo for some time. I used my iPhone to attempt to start the blog via the Blogger app but it just wasn't working out. Thankfully, we received a new computer from my husband's parents as a birthday gift. They are amazing. (Shout out to Rod and Laura Pitzer.) This seemed as "right" a time as any to finally push myself into starting this thing. I would not put it off any longer -- though I'm sure I could come up with some excuses why I could.

This, in a sense, is my call to action - and if you share in my procrastination woes, it can be yours too. I am refusing to go on thinking about putting anything off till later. Later turns to never -- so unless I sit down and assign something an actual date (in my planner that I am running to Target TODAY to get), I'm doing it NOW sisters. No more walking over socks. With this plan, I will not only accomplish much more, I will inevitably have more free time for playing with Jackson and working on projects for the house and trying new recipes to share with all of you. It is a win-win-win-win-win... and I really can't think of anything more "right" than that.