Laundry Habits, Menu Plans, Pregnancy Symptoms, and Other Fun Stuff

Our life lately:
-Loving our family. I just love the busy, somewhat chaotic'ness that is "us". Sometimes I take a step back and just smile.
-This pregnancy went from blissful to tiring. I think my body is worn out. Or Im old. Not sure. My legs get really sore and start cramping really bad (from the thigh down to my calves) if Im on them for to long. I also have a lot of small contractions if I over due things. Next week I hit 24 weeks (when baby can survive outside the womb) and I cant wait to get to that point, the contracting worries me a little. Im also feeling soooooo very tired.
-We had the busiest Easter EVAR! We rose before the sun to go to a sunrise breakfast at church, had to be there at 7:30 so that meant leaving home a little before 7. After the breakfast was church. We went home to a crock pot meal, ate, then took a quick nap. After that it was loading the kids up to go to the nursing home service that my hubs is in charge of. The old folks LOVE our kids so they all hung around afterwards and just smiled and watched and talked to the kids. We didnt leave there till 5. So we ran over to the gas station and got a "very healthy" supper for all of us to munch on until it was time for evening church. We *almost* just went home and I think that would have been the better plan. Poor Happy was one exhausted and VERY grumpy baby. I feel bad for the nursery workers. Anyway, once we got the kids to bed my hubby and I kicked our feet up and watched a movie.
-Happy has been sleeping 12 hours at night!!!! I LOVE it when my babies FINALLY reach that stage. Not a one of them has done it before they turn one but when they do, ahhhhh its so nice!
-Even though Happy is sleeping so well, I on the other hand am not. My hips and ribs are starting to hurt while sleeping, and of course I have to go to the bathroom several times during the night.
-We put our little garden in about a week ago. Unfortunately just a few days after we did it decided to frost and freeze for several nights. We covered the plants but I think we lost some :o( The kids were playing in the yard when we were planting and Tiny was in her own little world spinning around and singing. She fell (and I have no idea on what) and sliced her leg, the cut was about 6 inches long. I had to give her a bath to get the blood off her hands and leg. Poor girl.
-George and I have finished two of his school subjects and will finish another one next week. Just two more to go after that! Hes made SO much progress in his attention span and understanding of concepts this year. Its exciting! Im so glad because next year Blondie will start school. Shes really excited to learn how to read. The difference between her and George is polar opposite. I think shes going to be really easy to school. It should be interesting homeschooling two with a very new baby...
-I sent a plea out on Facebook for advice from other large families on how they keep up on laundry. I usually do mine once a week and end up with a HUGE pile (about six loads) to fold and put away. It literally takes all day. Anyway, laundry is my number one household duty that I kind of loathe. I often feel convicted that it takes till there are no more clean undies in our drawers before I get my rear in gear and put laundry away (we have a laundry room that hides the piles, which is nice, but not good because it can be easily ignored that way). My mom has told me for years that she used to do a load a day and thats how she kept up with it. I dont like laundry so I didnt want to have to do it everyday. BUT almost all of the people who commented said that they do about a load to two loads a day and it helps them not feel overwhelmed. That being said, amongst some other great ideas that Im going to implement, a new "chore" has been added to my morning, a load of laundry. There was a treasure trove of good ideas on that thread of comments! I have heard that it takes six weeks to break an old habit (letting laundry pile up) and replacing that habit with a new one (not letting it pile up). So I hope in six weeks I will be able to report back that I now have new laundry habits.
Oh and by the way, our clothes have had a weird not fresh smell to them even after being washed. My mom gave me a washing machine cleanse recipe, I did it yesterday and our clothes smell sooooooo good that as Im folding them I have to put them up to my nose and sniff every once in awhile. I cant wait to wash our sheets! Heres the recipe: Fill washing machine with hot water. Dump in 2 cups of Cascade dishwasher detergent and 2 cups of bleach. Let it sit 2 hours, stir once or twice during that time. Let cycle run until the rinse cycle. Once on rinse cycle turn to cold water. Let it run the rest of the way through. THEN enjoy how fresh your clothes smell!!
-I gained 8 pounds last month :o/ Ive been enjoying eating what I want (since its my last pregnancy) and I think I need to chill out on that a little. Because I do have to lose the weight again after the baby arrives...
-Happy is now completely weaned and its been such a relief. Im so glad I didnt continue on nursing her.
-We're trying to save on our grocery/dinning out expense. We've done really well, tomorrow will be two weeks (except for the gas station on Sunday) since we've eaten out. We've been writing up a meal plan to last two weeks, then grocery shop together (we go to three different stores to try to save the most), then stick to the plan. In the past Ive written up menu's but dont stick to it because on the night of such and such I dont feel like making it or it doesnt sound good. So we eat something else and "the plan" falls to pieces. Its nice going with R because it helps with keeping the kids from bouncing off the walls (since it takes a long time to shop at three different stores), he also puts all the food on the belt for me, helps put it in the car, and carries it all in once we get home, THEN he helps me put it away! I think grocery shopping is exhausting when Im pregnant. So I be loving this new way of shopping! Hopefully we will keep sticking to the "plan"... Or I should say "I" since Im the one cooking.
-Anyway, I should go, the dryer just finished so I need to go put the stuff away :o)