It’s rare that a weekend strikes a balance between leisure and productivity, but this one did.  I’m looking at the calendar to realize how little time I have left, and thankfully that is working not only to motivate me to finish up some last tasks but also to take time for a few things I won’t get around to for a while.  I worked on some crafty nursery-related things on Friday afternoon as Jude slept.  I’ll soon do a whole post with the finished product because I am still not done with everything but about this close to completion on most of it.  It’s coming soon though, friends!  Almost there.

My mom recovered my old American Girl doll from her attic, and even brushed her hair for me and spiffed her up.  I placed her on the shelf where she’ll wait to be played with one day.  There are so many wonderful things about having a boy, and I’ve enjoyed it so much.  That said, it’s really fun to think of passing down a few toys and traditions to a girl one day.

Then Friday night found me at a cozy Italian place with some close friends from my teaching days who were incredibly generous and threw me a baby celebration dinner of sorts.  I’ve already washed and folded some tiny soft baby clothes and blankets, and I love having a “crew” that is waiting excitedly on Norah’s arrival.

Saturday continued the theme of reunions and valued female friendships with alumnae weekend at my alma mater.

The weather was perfect, and while I missed out on the mimosas at this year’s brunch, everything else felt warm and familiar, and I cherish having a space to visit every year to reconnect with old friends,  share memories, converse with loved professors, and be reminded of some of the best memories I’ve got.  Tradition runs so strong there, and it’s a thread that binds closely.

Maybe it’s because I somewhat overdid it on Saturday with all the driving and walking and chatting and just generally forgetting that I am almost 36 weeks pregnant, but yesterday morning brought contractions that weren’t strong enough to call my midwives or anything, but I’d say they were a little beyond my comfort zone of oh whatever, these are just Braxton-Hicks; I’ll ignore them.  The thought of a baby before 40-41 weeks has not entered my mind until the past week or so, but every time I feel a twinge or I am reminded of how low she is getting these days, it’s a nice little nudge that maybe I should be ready before the weekend after my due date which was my original way-of-thinking. Ha! (That said, there is still a good chance that she’ll be late given my prior history, but I am trying so hard to find a balance between being ready for her arrival in a suitable time frame and not going crazy that last two weeks with nothing to do but wait.)

So these contractions worked to light a fire under me, I think, because I froze food yesterday and planted my little herb garden for the year and also managed to finally finish sewing the curtains for her room – a project I have said I’d complete for ages and never got it done until last night.

Then we finished off the sunny weekend with some naked sprinkler time in the backyard, a promise of summer afternoons that are just around the corner.