Baby #2: The Countdown

I am a terribly impatient person. I am always thinking about and planning for the future. It's not that I'm not satisfied with my life now at all--it's just that there are always fun and exciting things to look forward to and I know that life is going to get progressively better and I sometimes dwell too much on that.

But nothing tests one's patience like being in your final month of pregnancy. It's hard for everyone at this stage but I could drive myself crazy if I didn't find some ways to use my waiting time productively. 

And since I know SO many lovely girls who are also pregnant right now (and quite a few due in just the next two months!) I thought I would share my ideas and hopefully inspire them, too. We all just have to hang in there. It feels like the wait will be endless, but a little while from now we'll be looking back and saying, "Wow, time flew!" and "I'm so glad I got so much accomplished before the baby arrived!" So without further ado, here is my busy list for the next month:

1. Priority #1: Finish my online English class (which means writing just one essay and taking the final)
2. Start (and get as far as possible!) my next online class. Maybe I'll take a fun one as a reward for how horrendous this last one has been for me. 
3. Find a few more gifts and plan for Dalin's 25th birthday in less than a month!
4. Plan out gifts for Valentine's day! (for Dalin, Tenley, (baby boy), and maybe a few others)
5. Put together some little notes/treats for my delivery nurses and doctor
6. Purge. We have so much stuff. I have so much stuff. Way more than I actually wear or use on a regular basis. I'm going to continue to (it's been an ongoing process) gather up the stuff we haven't used in a long time or that we've never used (sadly, there's a lot of that) and sell or give those things away. It would be so nice to clear up some space around here for the baby. 
7. Stay on top of organization around here. I wish I could say that should be easy but Tenley likes to make messes so it's actually pretty much impossible. 
8. Finally rent Maleficent and/or Austenland like I have been meaning to FOREVER! 
9. Do some painting. Because it makes me happy and I feel like I've accomplished something after. 
10. Try at least two new (easy and healthy) recipes that I will feel up to making in the weeks following our baby's birth. 
11. Prepare for my mom's arrival on January 27th! I can't wait! She hasn't been out here in forever and it's always such a relief to have her around--she always does so much for us when she's here! Hello to consistently clean laundry and regular meals:)
12. Stock up on diapers and wipes for little guy. Besides the double stroller Dalin got me for Christmas (which I love and am so psyched about!!), pretty much all we've needed for this guy are some boy clothes, diapers, and wipes. We got a lot of gender neutral stuff (intentionally) the first time so thankfully we haven't had to spend a ton of money. 
13. Eat 6 dates a day (and take my prenatal--blah, I've been bad at that). At first I thought dates were disgusting, but they've grown on me. I read a study that suggests it helps increase natural induction by the due date and reduces recovery time among other benefits. I kind of am skeptical of anything that claims to truly induce labor (because I tried almost everything last time and I didn't even get a contraction until I was induced at 41 weeks) and tend to think that everyone who has had some random measure work for them was probably just going to go into labor that night or the next day anyway, but this seems simple enough that it wouldn't require too much effort to do daily for the next few weeks. If you're interested, here is where I read about the dates...it was a small study so who knows how accurate it will prove to be, but dates are healthy so why not.
14. Get my hospital bag packed (which will take two seconds now that I know how little you actually need so I'm not too concerned about this one). 
15. Go on a few more last-minute dates with just Dalin before we have two kids to fill up our lives (though it'll be a happy thing to fill our lives with;). 
16. Continue good habits for 2015--get 9 hours of sleep (including naps if I ever take any), drink a water bottle (or more) a day, read scriptures and pray daily as a family and privately. We've been on a roll this year so far. I am seriously considering painting a sign that says "It has been ___ days since the last time we missed a prayer or scripture." 

Do you have any other ideas to help keep me busy over the next four weeks?? I'd love any!

Best,