Where have the last 6 months gone?!

I knew when I had kids that someday I would have to start keeping a schedule. Tracking appointments, dance classes, playdates, school events, etc. But I honestly didn't think that when my daughter was 2 years old, I would depend so much on a calendar.

The other day when I was at my OB appointment, they told me it was time to make all my remaining appointments. I looked at the lady dumbfounded and asked "Why in the world would we do that?" She smiled and said, "My dear, you only have 7 weeks left before your due date. At this point we need to see you at least every 1-2 weeks until the baby arrives". I looked at her with what I'm sure was a shocked expression as I came to the realization that my pregnancy is almost over. And then it hit me...my life just got considerably busier.

As I pulled out my IPod to check my calendar so I could make the appointments, I noticed that I have something scheduled nearly every day of the week for Lucy or I. It wasn't exactly easy to make the appointments and despite the frustration of the lady helping me (who kept telling me I should have done this a month ago because it would've been easier), we got it all figured out.

So I went home and started marking up the calendar that I use to use for counting down J's deployment. Now its covered in scribbles that say things like "PICTURE DAY!" or "Lunch Date with XYZ". I've even marked Lucy's school and dance days just so I don't forget (because I actually forgot that Lucy had school this past Tuesday until 8am).

I'm not really a super organized person. I'm the mom who hides the mess in a drawer or closet to be dealt with at a later time (it took 2 years to clean out an Armoire in my living room). When I do manage to find the time, I'm all about organizing clothes by size to be put away and could spend hours buying shelving and Tupperware to straighten up a room. Its just that I always seem to find something better to do. But now with one little angel in school and another on the way, I realized I actually need to become a little more organized.

One of my mommy friends had this great little organizer the last time I saw her. It was bursting at the seams with notes and mail. At the time I thought, thank goodness I don't have to worry about something like that to schedule my days yet. Three weeks later here I am, wondering if I'm missing an appointment or a playdate and wishing I had one of those handy little organizers.

I don't necessarily want my children's lives to be filled with non stop classes and school. To me, play time is essential to mental and physical development. I just have to figure out how I can better manage our time and schedule. I guess I just didn't realize that I would have to "grow up" so soon.