{finding a space for her}
In the next three months, things in our house will either remain basically the same or there will be lots and lots of painting, shuffling, and rearranging of rooms and furniture. My prediction on which it will be changes depending on my mood that day.
I never would have thought when we house- hunted last year and agreed on this five-bedroom, 3800 square foot house that it would ever- in a million years- not fit all of our needs. We bought it because of the square footage and all of the possibilities we felt the space would allow us. But we failed to think the floor plan all the way through and now this sweet little baby girl's impending arrival is causing me lots of stress. Where am I going to put her?
The problem is this- three of the bedrooms in our house are upstairs and two of the bedrooms are downstairs. The kids are young enough that I really prefer to have us all on one level. We have made this work so far by and putting the boys together in one room and keeping everyone upstairs. Unfortunately, we can't ask Gracie to share a room with her new little sister- though she would be thrilled to!- because eight years is just too large of an age difference. Also, Gracie's room is the smallest room of the house and will not fit a twin bed, a crib, a rocker, a changing table, Gracie's bookcase, her American Girl collection, and clothing for two little girls.
So Ben and I will either be sharing our not very large bedroom with our little baby girl or there will be some serious shuffling going on in the house as we adjust rooms to try to find a better solution for everyone. I am not afraid of the work it means for me in terms of setting up new rooms, in fact I think I would enjoy putting all of this nesting energy to good use. To be fair, though, since I can't do a whole lot of lifting or painting right now, the majority of the heavy work will fall on Ben's shoulders. Considering how very busy he has been with work, it really doesn't seem fair. The room shuffling would also cause some expense that I am being sure to take into account. There would be some furniture, some paint, some bedding, and other goodies to be purchased in order to make the adjustments we are considering.
So as we struggle with our decision and try to make sure that everyone will be happy with the outcome, I have to put my nesting urges on hold for a bit longer. Currently all of her clothes and baby gear are housed together in a closet in the guest room, just waiting to be placed somewhere for her.
I have a folder sitting here with paint color swatches and my dream nursery bedding and I will be honest and admit that I really hope for the chance to decorate one last nursery and can't get quite as excited about throwing all of her things in our closet and setting up a crib next to our bed. As much as I long to set up a nursery, though, I am forcing myself to think through everything rationally. I have promised myself that my urges to buy sweet frilly little things and pull out my vintage baby decorations one last time will not overshadow reason. Wish me luck on this one. :)
I never would have thought when we house- hunted last year and agreed on this five-bedroom, 3800 square foot house that it would ever- in a million years- not fit all of our needs. We bought it because of the square footage and all of the possibilities we felt the space would allow us. But we failed to think the floor plan all the way through and now this sweet little baby girl's impending arrival is causing me lots of stress. Where am I going to put her?
The problem is this- three of the bedrooms in our house are upstairs and two of the bedrooms are downstairs. The kids are young enough that I really prefer to have us all on one level. We have made this work so far by and putting the boys together in one room and keeping everyone upstairs. Unfortunately, we can't ask Gracie to share a room with her new little sister- though she would be thrilled to!- because eight years is just too large of an age difference. Also, Gracie's room is the smallest room of the house and will not fit a twin bed, a crib, a rocker, a changing table, Gracie's bookcase, her American Girl collection, and clothing for two little girls.
So Ben and I will either be sharing our not very large bedroom with our little baby girl or there will be some serious shuffling going on in the house as we adjust rooms to try to find a better solution for everyone. I am not afraid of the work it means for me in terms of setting up new rooms, in fact I think I would enjoy putting all of this nesting energy to good use. To be fair, though, since I can't do a whole lot of lifting or painting right now, the majority of the heavy work will fall on Ben's shoulders. Considering how very busy he has been with work, it really doesn't seem fair. The room shuffling would also cause some expense that I am being sure to take into account. There would be some furniture, some paint, some bedding, and other goodies to be purchased in order to make the adjustments we are considering.
So as we struggle with our decision and try to make sure that everyone will be happy with the outcome, I have to put my nesting urges on hold for a bit longer. Currently all of her clothes and baby gear are housed together in a closet in the guest room, just waiting to be placed somewhere for her.
I have a folder sitting here with paint color swatches and my dream nursery bedding and I will be honest and admit that I really hope for the chance to decorate one last nursery and can't get quite as excited about throwing all of her things in our closet and setting up a crib next to our bed. As much as I long to set up a nursery, though, I am forcing myself to think through everything rationally. I have promised myself that my urges to buy sweet frilly little things and pull out my vintage baby decorations one last time will not overshadow reason. Wish me luck on this one. :)
Comments
I'll post a picture of the bedding and rug I like just for you. The rest is all just reworking the baby stuff we already have. The boys used a blue changing table that I'd like to repaint a cheery yellow. We have a pale yellow upholstered rocker we used with Gracie that she wants to donate to her baby sister. We'll use the same crib, white storage baskets, and the dresser that was ours when we were little. I have thought so much about this potential little nursery that I could have it completely done in a matter of hours. :)