Maternity Leave - Day One

I will now freely admit that part of the reason I started my maternity leave before the baby actually showed up was that I was sure the mere act of doing so would actually prod said baby into appearing. After all, as long as he's not here, I'm eating through paid leave just so more of my leave can be unpaid, and I'll have to wait that much longer for disability. Plus, look at all the stuff lying around the house that I can do with this time off... surely, fate wouldn't actually allow me to get it done! Well, it seems fate is once again laughing at me.

Since I was sick last weekend, I couldn't do ANYTHING. Kitchen was filthy, laundry was unfolded, beds were not changed out (so were were still sleeping on the sheets we slept on while sick... germ central). Fortunately, my mother came over on Sunday and she and her best friend scrubbed my kitchen top to bottom and even cleaned the living room. So today, my to do list was as follows:

• Change sheets on two beds and crib
• Fold and put away all laundry (except Chris' -- his I fold, but he has to put away)
• Empty and refill dishwasher
• Pay bills
• Complete Maternity Leave paperwork (mainly for Short Term Disability)
• Write final two Thank You notes (well, final for now)
• Go to Ultrasound appointment
• Complete paperwork for increasing Home Equity Line
• Go to bank to turn in said paperwork and make a small deposit
• Put in four hours of work in an attempt to make up for time out last week
• Program friend's new numbers into mobile phone so she can be reached when baby is born
• Clean Master bathroom
• Cook dinner
• Pick up dog from vet

Now, here is what I actually accomplished today:

• Change sheets on two beds and crib
• Fold and put away all laundry
• Empty and refill dishwasher
• Pay bills
• Go to Ultrasound appointment
• Take two-hour nap
• Put in thirty minutes of work in an attempt to make up for time out last week
• Pick up dog from vet

I suppose one could say that I got a few things done. But alas, picking up the dog gave me new to do items (Get prescription food from Petsmart, Read 30 page article on Cushings disease, make another appointment for more tests to see if dog really does have Cushings, sell kidney to pay for vet bills), and paying bills also gave me another to do item (figure out why I cannot make a single payment to a payee in my web banking if I have them set up for recurring payments. And then how do I cancel the recurring payments?!) And even putting away the laundry gave me another item (continue to pester husband and/or cat to find the damn mouse that the bastard cat obviously brought in but neglected to kill. Mr. Mouse had moved into a throw blanket which I had the nerve to move today, and now the mouse has entered the Rodent Protection Plan and his whereabouts are unknown. So far, the cat's response has been to sleep on my feet, as he is currently doing.)

So tomorrow's list is as long as today's, only the ultrasound appointment is replaced with a doctor's appointment. Incidentally, the ultrasound was ultracool, and the baby's estimated weight as of today is 8 pounds, 5 ounces. The error rate is 15%, which she estimated to be 3/4 of pound up or down. So he could be anywhere from 7.5 to 9 pounds. And still growing. Mama mia!

Fortunately, my mother-in-law will be here, so perhaps between the TWO of us, we can get more done, plus actually both have some time to put into working. So any of you who thought that maternity leave must be so RELAXING... it isn't. Even when no "maternity" has actually occured yet. Going to bed now. Perchance to dream, perchance to labor.