High Anxiety: Maternity Leave Begins . . . Now?

So my maternity leave begins today, on my “official” due date (update: no baby yet) and I feel . . . completely paralyzed. It started like an ordinary day: I fed us all breakfast, handed Scott and Sid their lunches, and saw them off to school/work, while I . . . stayed home. I’m currently sitting in my pajamas, watching an episode of Hart of Dixie on Netflix, while my heart races and I stay off email. After sending out reminder emails to my co-workers.

I’m not sure what I was expecting. There were certainly times at work when I encountered an annoyance and thought, “Thank god I won’t have to deal with this for a few months.” (And frankly, work probably felt the same way about me!) But now that I’m on hiatus, all I can think about are the things I’ve left undone.

How to Make Delicious, Easy Clam Linguine

I love clam linguine, and this recipe is perfect: briny, wine-y, salty, tangy, and garlicky–with the fresh flavor of parsley tying it all together. It’s an ideal dinner choice; not only is it quick and easy to make and elegant enough for company, it’s cheap (under $10), and the majority of the ingredients are pantry staples.

My recipe is a hybrid of Julia Della Croce’s Linguine With White Clam Sauce from her amazing The Pasta Book (which calls for fresh clams in the shell) and my own college version (which calls for the convenience of canned clams). You can whip it up in the time it takes to bring a pot of water to boil and cook a pound of pasta!

Recipes Coming Soon!

Clam linguine–recipe coming soon!

If you know me in real life (or have been tolerant enough to follow me on Twitter or Facebook), you’d think I’d have filled up this blog with recipes by now! I do have some big plans for posts–including a couple of epic articles on the freezer cooking I’ve done this summer–but pregnancy has been weighing heavily (ha!) on my mind and taken preference thus far.

Pregnant Lady Porn: 40 (?) Weeks

It’s not what you think . . . sorry!

Two new pairs of shoes I ordered came today. I’m looking at them wistfully. Will I ever be able to wear them? I will not share a photo of my feet, which have swelled up into little hooves. We’ll be together someday, new shoes . . .

Things I’m Thinking About in My Last (?) Week of Pregnancy

Oh my god, my desk at work is such a mess–if I go into labor early it will be so embarrassing if anyone tries to find anything.

Thank you notes thank you notes thank you notes. Wait, did we finish the thank you notes for our wedding? 

Are baby pictures a suitable apology for two-years-late wedding thank you notes?

I’m down to the final two episodes of Murder, She Wrote–should I just watch them or wait for Sid to cool off from his Star Trek obsession?

How to Create a Maternity Wardrobe on the Cheap

I’m not someone who spends a lot of money on clothes–I get easily overwhelmed while shopping, and I’d rather spend my money on food, anyway! However, four months into my pregnancy, it was amply clear that I needed to start gathering maternity clothes. Not only was I looking ridiculous trying to squeeze into my regular jeans, but I was acutely uncomfortable.

My issues: one, I had recently become a convert to the idea of the 10-item wardrobe, advocated by Jennifer L. Scott’s Lessons From Madame Chic (an awesome concept that both simplified my life and jibed with my own desire for the perfect “packable” wardrobe, and something I’ll write more about at a later time), and two, I didn’t want to invest a lot of money into clothing that I would only wear for five or six months.

Things People Have Actually Said to Me During My Pregnancy

“September 22. It’s a girl. We haven’t decided on a name just yet.” If I weren’t already 38 weeks pregnant (due September 22!), I would probably put that on a T-shirt, just to skip the three most common questions I get from (very nice, well-meaning) people. However. There are other people out there, people who have the strangest and most hilarious ideas of what is appropriate to say to a pregnant lady. Here’s a small sampling, most from near strangers: