My days are numbered.

At work, that is. After much debate and indecisiveness, I have officially decided that Friday, December 9th will be my last day at work prior to Claire's arrival. That's just 6 short days before her due date, while only 3 of them are actual work days. Thankfully, I have time on the books that I have to use prior to going on maternity leave (you are only allowed to keep so many hours of each kind of leave), so it's going to work out to get an extra week of paid vacation wedged in there. My short term disability only covers 6 weeks of paid maternity leave, but I will be taking the full 12 weeks off. Kevin and I have talked at length about my departure from work (and, thus, a paycheck) for this period of time and we've come to the conclusion that we can afford it and it will be best to take off the complete 3 months. We have been preparing for this lack of pay for months. At my mom's suggestion, we've been buying boxes of diapers when I find them on sale or have a coupon. That way, we'll have a little stock on hand for the first few weeks or so (Kevin seems to think we already have like a month supply but I don't think he realizes how many changes newborns go through). Plus, we have been setting extra money aside to cover our bases while I am out. It's times like these that we are so fortunate to be savers, almost to a fault, and not swamped in debt. I knew all that hard work, budgeting, scrimping and saving would pay off for something more important than a rainy day!

So, as of today, that means I officially have 29 more work days to go between next Monday and December 9th. That includes a full paycheck for October, a full paycheck for November and 6 weeks of pay for December/January. Plenty of time to continue to save and feel ready to leave work confidently. Overall, it feels great to have a set-in-stone plan. Who knows if it will actually work out the way I planned considering she could arrive early but I'm not holding my breath. (If you want to know the truth, I have had an inkling for a while that I will go into labor on the 14th. I have no idea why or where this thought came from...it's just a gut feeling that popped up out of nowhere.) I suppose we'll wait and see! You have no idea how much I'm looking forward to taking a break from work and focusing on learning about and caring for my little doll!!

Best Christmas gift, ever.