Happy Tuesday-Before-Christmas, Friends! I hope you are all enjoying the final few days/weeks of this fun holiday season and are ready for all the gift-giving and merriment that is just a few days away! I had intentions for a different blog schedule this week; but in all honesty, I think I am ready to cry “Mercy!” I usually hit some good blog burnout this time of year and take some time off by now. Although I could feel the fatigue creeping in a few weeks ago, I tried to keep going strong knowing I would be taking some time off once baby came. This past weekend, I found myself stuck between wanting to knock out a ton of things before baby came (yep, still not here!) and just wanting to sit and relax, soak in and savor every moment of this exciting, scary, overwhelming, and special time for our family. The later sentiment rightly won out so I didn’t snap any photos of our holiday home or prepare my end-of-year survey. Instead, we went to see Santa, watched a Year Without a Santa Claus (my fav!), made some cookies, and finished up some shopping. So I didn’t leave you hanging here at the end of the year, I thought I’d pop in with one more coffee break post before checking out on Christmas/maternity break! Read on to find out the latest on Baby, the blog and other life happenings!

Catch up on past Coffee Break posts HERE!

Bump Update

I am 39 weeks today and the little babe is still cooking. Between Henry being 3 weeks early and all the Braxton Hicks contractions I’ve been having for a month, I’m admittedly shocked to still be pregnant. I thought for sure he would be here before Christmas; but with just days to go, I’m starting to think I might be opening presents with a still very round belly! I’m not horribly uncomfortable (although the numb hands I’ve had for the past month due to pregnancy-induced carpel tunnel are NOT fun!); I just really wanted him to be here for Christmas. We are now heading into a situation where we could be in the hospital on Christmas Eve or Day. We have all sorts of contingencies in place for Henry and for Santa/presents, but I am still hoping we won’t need to use any of them. As many of you long-time readers know, my birthday is on Christmas, so my family knows a thing or two about Christmas babies. And while I think it would be super special to share a Christmas birthday with this little one, I just can’t shake the visions I have of our family of 4 around the tree on Christmas morning. I know, I know…babies come on their own time…but any prayers and good vibes to get this baby out before Christmas would sure be appreciated 😉

Last week, on a whim, I hired a photographer to do a maternity photo shoot. Anyone who knows me knows that this is SO outside my personality. But in recent weeks I’ve been reflecting a lot on what a difference a year makes. I can distinctly remember my mental state last Christmas. I was pretty much completely out of hope, feeling betrayed and frustrated by my body’s inability to get pregnant. The readings at church this time of year were painful to listen to, and I couldn’t look at a pregnant belly without holding back tears. Now a year later, I have wiggles and kicks (and heartburn!) alive inside of me, and we are practically consumed with the anticipation, hope, and excitement of how our family is about to change. This year, I feel so grateful for this body of mine and for the chance to get to carry another baby. If our journey has taught us anything, it’s that we don’t know what the future holds. So while I don’t love the way I look or feel, capturing this crazy wonderful time on “film” suddenly felt right. We haven’t gotten the photos back from the photographer yet, but I will likely share on Instagram once we do 🙂

Christmas Blog Content – Where Do You Stand?

I am beginning to think I should start taking December off of blogging each year. Every single year I struggle SO much with blog content in December. I am usually burnt out from various projects, commitments (and moving!), and putting together holiday content just overwhelms me for some reason. I don’t know how other bloggers churn out SO much holiday content at the end of a full year AND amidst all the hustle and bustle this time brings. Scrolling my Instagram feed sure is inspiring but it makes me tired just looking at all those pretty pictures, lol! I find myself wanting to post organizing posts and other house updates, but worry they would get lost or overlooked among all the holiday content. This is the second year in a row that I really couldn’t bring myself to deck our halls like crazy. Last year our whole life felt so temporary and this year, well…#baby. Admittedly, seasonal decorating really isn’t my “thing,” and the clutter and fuss (and cost!) of it all weighs on me. But as a blogger, it feels like some strange responsibility that I am neglecting. I also can’t get on the bandwagon to decorate my house super early, which puts me behind the curve when that content needs to be posted. I’m starting to wonder if my energies would be better spent in December taking some time off, preparing content and posts for the New Year and making site/backend updates rather than forcing myself to keep up in a race I don’t really feel like running. I’d really love to hear your perspectives as readers! Do you love all the holiday content that is overflowing blogs and social media right now, or is it all just too much to take in? I bet you can guess which camp I’m in 😉

The Next Few Weeks

Next week, I plan to have my annual end-of-the-year reader survey up for you all to take. I do hope you will take a few minutes to give me some feedback, as I take it all to heart in order to make this platform as fun and helpful to all of us! Some of the most successful things I’ve done here on the blog came directly from ideas and suggestions from you all so I can’t wait to read what you all have to say this year! Look for that next Tuesday.

Beyond that, I am planning on taking some time off over the next month or so to snuggle our sweet new baby boy. However, I don’t have intentions of disappearing all together…I hope to pop in here in there with a few announcements and posts. It will take me a little bit of time to find a new rhythm to life and the blog; but once we do, I’ll be sure to update you on when exactly I’ll be posting since I know many of you check the blog directly on post days. I so appreciate your understanding, encouragement and support as we navigate this new and exciting time!

(Pssssttt – Although I am sure I’ll be popping in before then, be sure to check back here on January 10th for the reveal of my big kitchen printable project that I am so excited about! You won’t want to miss it!)

See You Soon!
Megan