Maternity Leave Bliss

I'm now starting my 3rd week of maternity leave and have so enjoyed this period of leisure that I'm afraid I'll kick and scream when it comes time to give it all up for 2am feedings in a month's time. Somehow it didn't seem like such a big deal the first time around - probably because I had plenty of time back then to do my own thing in the first place. But after 3 years of running after the Pig I hardly know what to do now that I have Mondays-Fridays to myself whilst he's off to the kindergarten. My days are half industrious - I'm back to doing my own cleaning, unpacking boxes from the move, baking and putting up jam, trying new recipes as well as obsessively tracking the US election coverage. I was also flirting with the idea of getting in touch with other expat moms just to build up an English-speaking network but must say I haven't been motivated to see that one through.

So as of yesterday I've readied my birthing playlist on the ipod (just kidding - Goldfrapp is probably not going to cut it), packed my hospital bag, and confirmed Plan A (standby babysitter to come stay with Felix) and Plan B (new hospital instead of the originally planned - long story, one which will be told depending on how traumatic the birth is this time around). These things out of the way, I plan to blithely continue my slacker ways, stay up until all hours and swill alc-free wheat beer until Monchichi decides to come out and see the world.

By the way, I have mixed views about Frank Rich, but Ms Palin's lack of self-insight supports the dire scenario he paints this week:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/05/opinion/05rich.html?em