Not much blogging going on around here lately...I'm trying to get us into our fall routine and it's taking a bit more than I imagined. I am on a new house cleaning schedule where I do two big things a day and by the end of the week, everything is clean (except the things I did on Monday are already looking dirty again--this is the downfall because not everything is sparkling clean at once). But, I just don't have a 3-4 hour block of time to do it all at once so this is the way it must be for now.

This also holds me more accountable to get things done, and, if I actually do find time to sit down during the day, I realize there is probably something on my list that still needs attention. I've also been trying to spend less time on the computer and more time just playing with the boys. And can I say that Joel has a small Candyland addiction right now? The boys are actually both really into playing any board game, but Candyland is the current favorite. I put a cap on it after 5 times in a row--then we must switch to something else for awhile. On Friday we played 12 games (a mixture of several different board games)...it was thrilling! haha.

It's a little tougher to play when Brody is awake because he's like a little wrecking ball who just comes crashing onto the board and eats all of the pieces. He is in this funny stage where he'll come barreling over to you (crawling) when you are on the floor and just start climbing all over you. He grabs hair, glasses, clothes, and smothers his face into yours. It's a very slobbery, rough way to get attention but he just loves it!! After several hours of this each day, I eventually have to move up onto a chair or the couch because I am tired of being a human jungle gym. Apparently my growing belly also makes a good step for him, but not so pleasant for me. He's starting to stand unassisted and I'm thinking his first step is right around the corner. This looks like it will come just after his first tooth which is breaking through as we speak!

My boys are late teethers (Brody will be 11 months old on Saturday) but I kind of like it that way. It doesn't hinder what they eat, and it seems like they are better able to handle the pain when they are older. Joel's pediatrician wanted him to see a pediatric dentist when he was a baby because at 12 months, he still didn't have any teeth. I declined because I was pretty sure the teeth were in there somewhere and would come out when they were ready. I didn't need to pay someone a lot of money to tell me that. :) And sure enough, they started coming in quickly after that, two at a time.

This reminds me of one of the benefits of having lots of kids...the more you have, the less you worry about the small things that you worried about with the first. Nothing seems quite as alarming, you know there is a huge variation in development, and that mystery rash will probably just go away on it's own in a few day.

But, while I am spending less time worrying about the little things, I AM spending a lot more time cleaning, organizing, grocery shopping (my boys can EAT!!), and doing laundry. I guess that's the trade-off! And speaking of that, I've got to go and organize my closet, it's about to eat me alive! We have a tough week ahead of us...hoping all goes well :).