It’s been just over a week since I finished work and I’m very much in the swing of mat leave life, the

only thing missing is the toddler groups which have stopped over Easter, but they will be back from

Monday. It’s very strange these weeks in between finishing work and the baby’s actual arrival. I

mean you’re basically just waiting around for some sort of sign (so every little thing is a sign!) to let

you know that it’s time to push a little person out of your who-ha. Not knowing when it’s coming

certainly keeps you on your toes and like I say every little sign must be the first sign of labour. It also

means that most messages start with “Baby here yet?” and when you catch up with people in person

in the street they give you that knowing look of sympathy as you waddle by. So, yup I’ve very much

reached that stage where things could happen at any time but at the same time I’m very aware that

it could be another 4 weeks if this one decides to surprise us by arriving late (this shouldn’t really be

surprising as this is a family trait).

This week has also seen the nesting kicking up a notch which I find infuriating. I really do want to put

my feet up a bit, spend some time with Polly and watch some crappy TV while bouncing on a giant

gym ball eating Maltesers. However, this ridiculous urge just creeps in and I can’t help but pull out

the duster for the tenth time. This stupid concept of prepping the house has seen me rearranging

the dining room furniture in my pjs while Polly finished breakfast, rearrange the conservatory and

scrub it’s floor on my hands and knees before teatime, remove all the balls from the ball pit to clean

inside it while trying to stop Polly throwing them round the house and has seen me using the hoover

at least once a day. All this cleaning has had some perks though, the main one being the ‘lost’ items

that have reappeared including a piece of train in a flattened box that was waiting to go to the tip in

the corner of the conservatory and the best one of all- the DVD remote that had been missing since

Christmas, of course the culprit was predictably the little person in the house who had hidden it in a

bag in her toy box. I’m hoping though that once I’ve tackled the last room on the list- the kitchen-

which I’m planning on pulling to pieces tomorrow, that this instinct calms down a bit and I actually

feel happy to just put my feet up for the 10 minutes a day I can with a toddler running around.

In other news, my sister and her husband have now moved in to their new place and are now living

20 minutes away which is great news. My parents have gained a new family member, an adorable

bundle of fluffy cuteness who Polly loves to squeal at over FaceTime- ‘Cat, cat’. Henry is trying to

squeeze in some reading and assessments before our world is flipped on it’s head shortly which

might set him back a week or two. Well time to sign off now as a little trip to the park is in order

before I come back and hoover yet again as the girls are coming over this afternoon for a catch up, I

mean I’d still be doing it even if no-one was coming over but at least that can be the excuse for it

today.