While my mom was here...

1. We played LOTS with Mallory, of course - the MAIN priority
2. We painted Ethan's room
3. We arranged Ethan's furniture
4. We chose all the fabric for Ethan's crib bumper, dust ruffle, throw pillow (for the coming rocking chair), curtain, and "E-T-H-A-N" letters. This process took 2 days and 3 fabric shops.
5. We talked A LOT about how all the bedding/room paraphernalia would be designed. We finalized all the patterns last night
6. Mom sewed an extension with the "main" fabric on the thermal navy curtains I bought for Ethan's room. Since his rocking chair is navy and will be next to the curtains, the extension will be a nice break between the two colors. It took us a little while to figure out what we were going to do, but since the curtains were so thick, we decided to nix the valance idea and just add the "pollyflox" onto the pre-made curtain. And if you've never seen how thermal curtains can darken a room...WOW is all I can say!
7. We hung the curtains. Lemme tell ya, we DEFINITELY needed each other for this process. We kept reminding each other of how it works and I don't think it would have gone smoothly if we didn't work as a team.
8. Mom sewed the dust ruffle for the crib (this morning!!!) and it's in the crib now. She went home with the "pattern' for the bumper and pillow. Those will be loving made in her own sewing room back in GA.
9. We rearranged all the furniture in my living room...including moving the entertainment center and 75+ lbs. TV. Don't worry...mom didn't allow me to strain myself. And I don't think she did either. Furniture on top of towels is VERY easy to move on wood floors...even with a 75+ lbs. TV on top of it! And gosh, it looks like a different living room. I absolutely love it.
10. We rearranged all the art that was hanging on the walls in our master bedroom and living room. I think we hung/re-hung a total of about 2 dozen different pieces of art work and photographs all over the house. Ethan's closet was filled with prints I hadn't hung. But no more! Again, it wouldn't have been as smooth of a process if we didn't have each other...and the laser level. I love the change in artwork between rooms. I think it will REALLY help with future decorating. :-)
11. I went through all of the "stuff" that was housed in Ethan's armoire (which used to be Patrick's clothes storage while he was growing up). That actually doesn't seem like a big task, but there was a lot of odds and ends in there!
12. I packed all of Mallory's blankets and put them up in her closet (they used to be housed in Ethan's armoire). I don't know how Mallory survived with only 14 blankets!!! Seriously, does a baby need THAT many blankets? Too bad they're all pink and girlie.
13. I came across the valance that goes with Mallory's bedding while riffling through all the stuff in Ethan's armoire. Since she doesn't have any curtains, we held it up to see if it would fit on her window. Though it hangs flat, it almost fit with about an inch on each side too short. SOOOO, my handy-dandy mom sewed a ruffle on the ends of each of the valance, which is now hanging on a spring-rod in her window. It's the perfect touch!
14. I sorted all of Ethan's clothes that have been purchased over the last few months from consignment stores, garage sales, and "normal" stores :-), organized them by age, and put them in little bins that are now in his clean and organized armoire.
15. We ate out for lunch twice!
16. I gave Mallory her first haircut!!! Well, it was just a bangs trim, but it made me a little sad knowing my baby girl needed a trim to get her hair out of her eyes. She's a big girl now.
17. I had 2.5 hours to myself this morning while mom watched Mallory for me. There's nothing like eating a Panera bagel and reading a book LEISURELY without worrying about all the food my child is throwing on the floor.
18. Patrick would say this task was #1, but I daily watered all the plants he worked hard at getting in the ground over Labor Day weekend. Watering is a task, but it's also good knowing that I was able to be a part of Patrick's "yardwork weekend", though it was more an "extension", but a necessary one!

I may be missing something...my mother would have to remind me of what we did that I didn't list. One thing I did do regarding dinner was make things to eat that Patrick would NEVER have appreciated, like Italian salad on top of basil pizza crust and Chicken/Veggie Pasta toss...with whole wheat pasta and olive oil. :-) We loved it. And I couldn't stop commenting on how much Patrick wouldn't have loved it. :-)

Gosh, it was great to piddle in my house and have the energy to do so. With the help mom gave me with Mallory, I actually as able to stay up until 11pm each night. AND I had a nap each day she was here. I felt like I was on vacation in a way...doing things I wouldn't normally do on an average day. I was going to post pictures tonight, but since Patrick *MAY* check my blog while traveling across the country, I'll post pics tomorrow. If you've read this far, thanks for your dedication to my posts. I know this was wordy, but there was a lot that we did that I just can't believe we accomplished.

And one last thought. While I was mopping my floors this evening, the Lord reminded me that what we did this week and what I was doing at that moment was a way of worshipping Him through this role he's given me as mother, wife, and housekeeper. I began to rejoice in the act of service I was currently doing for my family, even though mopping is one of the things that wears me out the most. It's amazing how the Lord helps me find joy in these tasks. I have to admit, the joy was becoming faint in the past weeks, but He opened my eyes to the delight He will give through the work of my hands. For work is a gift; it is not a hindrance. Thanks to my mom, who served me and my family humbly before the Lord. I know she had a million other things to do, BUT I do know (without a doubt!!!) that she wouldn't have rather been anywhere but helping me in these last few days. I pray that my heart will be one of servitude like hers when my children need me like I needed her this week.

My cup runneth over. Thank you Lord.