Nesting

I'll bet that if you read my post from yesterday, you thought--from the title--that this was an update on my nest-building robin.

Well, today I want to share with you what has been happening in our home since January...

Around the fifth month of pregnancy, the "nesting" instinct can set in. This is an uncontrollable urge to clean one's house brought on by a desire to prepare a nest for the new baby, to tie up loose ends of old projects and to organize your world.

Females of the animal kingdom are all equipped with this same need. It is a primal instinct. Just as you see birds making their nests, mothers-to-be do exactly the same thing. The act of nesting puts you in control and gives a sense of accomplishment toward birth. You may become a homebody and want to retreat into the comfort of home and familiar company, like a brooding hen. The nesting urge can also be seen as a sign of the onset of labor when it occurs close to 40 weeks of pregnancy.

I am thankful that God has planted this instinct into "moms-to-be." There are just some things around the house that are better put off until tomorrow...and have been!

Like cleaning the mini blinds. I don't know how others do it, but I get out the box of baby wipes and start cleaning. I have one more window to tackle--my goal is to have it done by sunset! Today's sunset!
















Oh--and if you have any suggestions on a different way to keep the mini blinds clean, please let me know! I really don't like this job.


O.K. See all those tins up there on top of the cabinet? I couldn't tell you the last time that I got up there to clean. It's a real mess. I had a couple of close-ups of the tins but decided that the amount of dust up there was just too embarrassing to post. I'll let you use your imagination. This job has not been tackled yet. Hopefully sometime in the next week I will be able to cross this one off the list.


Our bedroom was the big job this week. The ceiling fan was a mess. Paul got up on a ladder to clean it--and when he got down from the ladder, he had these huge dust bunnies all over him. They were so big and scary that I don't even know if I could call them "bunnies." The last time that the ceiling fan had been cleaned was when I was pregnant with Joshua. I told Paul that we would either have to get on a yearly schedule of deep-cleaning the ceiling fan or have our babies closer together. He decided on the yearly plan.

My wonderful mother-in-law came over on Tuesday and helped me wash curtains, dust, and sweep in my bedroom. It took all day--and I think we were both exhausted--but the results were well worth it! Thank you so much, Judy!




Here is William and Joshua's bedroom.





And this is Carrie's bedroom.








These rooms have been cleaned since February. Maybe you remember the pictures that showed how we cleaned Carrie's room.



All right...I won't leave you wondering.
Here is a true inspiration! She did it! She took bits and pieces of all sorts of things and created her nest! In the rain!



I'm sure that she is feeling quite pleased and content--ready to place her eggs in the nest.

There's also one other thing she is feeling--very protective.
As I came close to take the picture, I could hear her chirping at me from the branches of the nearest maple tree.
I know how you feel, Mama Robin! Isn't that the same sound that I emit when my nice clean rooms are tampered with?!