Any day now, Buster

You know you've really neglected your blog when your own grandmother calls to remind you that you've been slacking off. (Hi, Grandma. Thanks for checking in!)

Ok, how many times can I say this without sounding like a broken record? It's not that I haven't wanted to blog or that I have nothing to say. It's actually the opposite: I have so much to say that I don't know where to start.

Here's what has happened in the last month, all of which warrants its own blog post but I'm currently feeling both overwhelmed and lazy so I'm going with an update through bullets:

• My friends threw me an amazing shower (see Buster's little hat and mittens from his Grandma Margaret)
• I found out that I'm going to be an aunt in May! Congrats, RT and Paul! We can't wait to meet "Yogi". (Where my brother comes up with these stupid nicknames I have no idea but we will eventually pay him back.)
• Chad had his meniscus repaired. Compared to last year's ACL surgery, it was a total breeze. ACL surgery for his left knee is scheduled for December 22. He is currently going to physical therapy so often that he got a t-shirt for "perfect attendance" last month. Not kidding.
• We went to a cabin in the Shenandoah with my sisters and their husbands as my birthday present. I can honestly say I've stayed in a barn! The weather was perfect and we spent two days playing cards, games and eating. A lot.
• Janice and Nick hosted an incredible Thanksgiving. Evening entertainment consisted of finding objects (ie: hot cups of coffee, glasses of wine, etc.) that would balance on my gigantic belly.
• Black Friday and Cyber Monday came and went. I worked. A lot. I even did my share of TV, though my clothing options were much more limited.

And that brings us to today, for the most part. This is Buster's due date. While I never expected an early baby, I have been giving this child the benefit of the doubt and told myself over the past few weeks that Buster is waiting to arrive until:

• The furniture gets delivered
• We go to a childbirth class, take a tour of the hospital, and choose a pediatrician
• His clothes get washed
• My hospital bag gets packed
• The Christmas tree and decorations are put up and the boxes go back to the attic
• We make a final decision on his name
• The car seat gets installed
• We spackle and paint the hallway and complete a zillion other household projects, much to Chad's chagrin
• We go out for our "Last Supper" (as we called our evening out last Saturday night)

Now that those tasks are all done, I hope he's not waiting for it to warm up outside because that doesn't appear to be happening for some time. So on his due date, the date I have had circled on my mental calendar for the last nine months or so, I sit. And I try to remind myself that the days I work now will be more days I have off later, that even though I'm not sleeping much I am also totally on my own schedule, and that every day that goes by without a baby is one more day I get to think about how amazing it's going to be to meet him!