March 2020: the month we (will most likely) meet our baby girl! My due date is March 26 so it's not out of the question that she could be an April baby but I hope it will be this month. The beginning of March brought spring to the desert. As much as I love the fall and winter, I love the fresh feeling of spring. What a lovely time for a baby.

I'm writing this from our breakfast table, while eating oatmeal and drinking cinnamon tea, on the first day of the boys' spring break. The back door is open letting in the cool morning air and I'm watching a woodpecker hop along our backyard wall, inspecting the tall blooms of our aloe plants. Chris set up Legos for the boys to build at the dining table and I can hear the wonderful sounds of engaged, cooperative play. Let us hope spring break continues thus! Rain should arrive tomorrow and hang around for the week which sounds like an absolute delight to me. We'll go see movies, visit a trampoline park or two, build forts, and bake cookies (I've been eager to try this recipe after hearing the Friendlier gals rave about it).

This past weekend I reached the big goal of editing and scheduling enough Girl Next Door Podcast episodes to take us through mid-July! I'm so proud of the work that Erica and I put in to record so many extra episodes over the past month and a half and the work I put in to get them edited. It feels great to know that new content will keep coming out while I adjust to life with a newborn and three kids. Plus it will just be nice to get a creative break and come back fresh to the podcast later this summer.

Otherwise the themes of March are savoring and eager anticipation. I'm sure I've overused these phrases already here and on Instagram but those are the feelings I'm dwelling in when every day could be "the day!" while also appreciating the pre-newborn calm and another day our baby grows fatter before being born. Whatever this girl's birthday is going to be we feel ready for her. I'm so happy to be heading into March feeling that way. I had hoped that we'd be READY in early March so that I could spend the last few days? weeks? of pregnancy...savoring and eagerly anticipating. Considering we really didn't start preparations in earnest until early February I'm thrilled to find we met my goal.

March, I can't wait to see what you'll bring!

Big things happening in March:

+ Spring break for the boys. They're off for a whole week plus a Monday.

+ A visit with Sarah of the Friendlier podcast. I've known Sarah as an online friend for years and am so looking forward to spending a morning with her.

+ My mom arrives. As eager as I am to meet our baby I also hope she waits until my mom is in town. (My dad will arrive in early April.) I've never had my parents in town for the birth of my children and that will be really special.

+ Our due date! Dashiell was born on his due date. I went into labor four days before Cedric's due date and he was born the next day. I've asked my midwives several times if there's any pattern with third babies after two relatively "on time" births and they only say that third babies are wild cards. So I'm trying not to focus too much on my due date but we are getting so excited to meet this girl.

March goals:

+ Keep the house tidy. I'm hoping that every weekend we can do a good reset of the house so that we head into life with a newborn with an organized and tidy house. So far so good!

+ Stock the freezer. Once the boys are back in school after spring break I'd love to cook one or two recipes a day to put in the freezer. I'm planning on vegetable lasagna, wild rice-mushroom soup, banana-date bread (from Half The Sugar, All The Love), enchiladas, superhero muffins (from Run Fast, Eat Slow), lentil tortilla soup, and cauli-walnut taco filling.

Recurring monthly goals:

+ Track spending in Mint.

+ Have a budget meeting with Chris.

+ Put phone away at 5 p.m.

Happy March, friends!

March 2012 | March 2013 | March 2014 | March 2015 | March 2016 | March 2017 | March 2019

Also...a season of change.