Onward

Now that Pessach is behind us, it is time to move forward.
On the one hand, it feels like a huge burden has been lifted and I do not have a deadline looming anymore, on the other hand, I sat down to make a list of all the things that need to be taken care of, and it was quite long. Among them:
-several doctor and dentist appointments for both the children and myself. I am embarrassed to say how long it has been since I have seen a doctor who was not an OB/GYN, so it is definitely time for an annual exam.
- find a way to get to Israel this summer without going broke
-catch up on my developmental psychology course- do my journal assignments, write a paper, etc.

But really, you do not really want to see my to-do list. My point is just, there is always something going on.
I was talking to a friend recently and telling her that my life just feels really full these days. Not overwhelming (although some days it does feel that way) but just busy. There is always work to be done. I am not saying that I do not have a free minute. I do and I am thankful for the breather, but still. Having a fourth child and returning to school has definitely tipped the balance towards taking up most of my days (and nights, with night feedings, other children waking me up, etc)
But I guess that is a good thing. The Torah says that our matriarchs and patriarchs lived "full" days, where every minute was accounted for. Now, I am obviously not comparing myself to the Avos, but it does feel good to be productive, busy and doing good things.

Back in Town

M and I arrived back in NY at 2 pm on Sunday. I can't say much about the flight except that it was long, long, long. 9 hours during the day with a toddler and non working videoscreenis a bit tortuous. To his credit, M was pretty good. The car-seat (big plug for shlepping along a car seat again- totally worth it!) was a huge help in getting him to nap for a bit and to sit still rather than jumping on the head of the person sitting in front of us. I had bought a new Elmo book for the trip and I must have read it about 15 to 20 times. I am not kidding. I am ready to throw it out. By the end, M knew huge chunks of it by heart. It's kind of cute hearing a little kid say in his squeaky voice: "Elmo happy to see you." Well, the first time anyway.
The past few days have been spent doing laundry, cleaning up and getting back to normal life. And also trying to get back to NY time, which has been surprisingly smooth. Thank goodness we have had no 3 am wake-ups.
 I have a huge to-do list for the next few weeks, some of which includes:
-sitting in on Y's therapy at school to see the progress he is making
-toilet training Y (something I have been putting off for a long time, but I think he is ready and I need to get cracking)
-deciding if we want to keep Y at his current school or look for other options
-finishing to write recommendations for my babysitter, so she can leave us and go to social work school
-weaning M off his pacifier- he just turned 2 and as much as I rely on it, I know the time has come. (Kind of like the toilet-training. Bite the bullet and just do it)
-scheduling playdates for A for her upcoming intersession
-finishing a charity blanket I have kind of abandoned mid-way
-going through the kid's toys and deciding what to discard/give away....that one is probably a long-term project
-finding some doula clients for the upcoming months

I am sure I have left some things out but I am feeling overwhelmed already just rereading all my tasks. I guess I will just tackle them one at a time. What's on your to-do list at the moment? How do you motivate yourself to start working on it?