due date eve.

*i obviously started writing this post last night. obviously still no baby.  

you know how christmas eve is so exciting because you know that when you wake up, it's christmas morning? and christmas morning means family, presents, bloody marys (if you're like my family), and sitting by the fire in your cozy pajamas? well, due date eve is a lot like that, but with one little twist: you have NO IDEA when the baby is going to show up. could be tonight. could be tomorrow. could be in ten days.so it's awesome, because it's great that you made it to d-day. but then you have this whole unknown stretch of time in front of you, just made for waiting. you can't really make plans, but also you should probably try and do something other than wait around for baby. so in the spirit of staying busy, here is a brain dump of what i've been up to in the last few weeks of waiting, and what's going to be happening around here until baby zee decides to show up!

• cooking all the freezer meals. like, a lot of them. our freezer is what you would call, stocked up. when i was pregnant with Amelia, i did not cook even one thing to put in the freezer. and that was fine. we got a lot of food cooked for us, and we also had the luxury of choosing not to eat dinner until 8pm, when she went down for her evening catnap. this time around, we have a 2 year old who DOES need to eat a healthy, balanced dinner at 6pm every night. so pre-made meals will be a necessity while we find our new normal. here's a sampling of what i've cooked up: the pioneer woman's chicken spaghetti, enchiladas, enchilada casserole, mini pizza quinoa bites, chicken pot pie, tortellini soup, and white chicken chili, along with some gluten-free pumpkin muffins and homemade yogurt popsicles for easy snacks for Amelia. it's amazing what you can get done during naptime with a plan and a rotisserie chicken, i tell ya.
• making fun lunches for miss Amelia. i don't know what came over me, but i decided due date week would be the perfect time to become pinterest mom. and then i made these for lunch:

who even am i anymore??

• sitting on an exercise ball. trying to make sure this baby stays head down, and maybe try to trick it to come out? picture me rolling around on this ball, with my shirt pulled up over my belly (because it's less restrictive and more comfortable), looking like a goon. this is my new normal.
• taking all the baths. i feel very heavy these days. and with that, comes a lot of aches and pains. and i happen to have an amazing husband who forces me into the bathtub as often as i can take one...sometimes he even brings me a ginger beer and some popcorn to go with it. i usually throw in some epsom salts mixed with a few drops of peace and calming essential oil to really up the muscle relaxing factor. i'm soaking up this time while i can.
• watching all the t.v. mostly in the form of "the voice", "this is us", and "grey's anatomy" (i can't quit that show!). i mean, i know i won't have as much t.v. watching time as i did last time i nursed a baby, but there will still be lots of time doing nothing in the evenings, and i need to know which shows to catch up on during those times, right? also, i'm just too tired at night to do anything else by veg out if i'm being honest.
• twiddling my thumbs. because what else do you do when you're about to be overdue?

• spending quality time with my firstborn. i have been trying to give Amelia as much attention as my energy allows while she is still the only child. in the past few days, i've started to notice that she is more clingy and needing her mama than she normally tends to be. this is a child who typically refuses to cuddle or hug because she's too busy doing other stuff. but lately, she's been wanting more songs and more attention and even hugs. and i'm not complaining, because it's awesome, but i know it's happening because she subconsciously senses that things are about to change in a big way around here. she will still get tons of attention and love when baby arrives, and i have no fears about having "enough" love to go around, but i want to make sure she can feel that from me too.

any other tips for me as i try to retain my sanity over the next who knows how many days? please share them in the comments. PLEASE.

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