Nesting: It’s an Obssession!

There’s definitely something wrong with me. I’m either obsessed or possessed! I’m 37 weeks pregnant and I can’t seem to stop organizing, cleaning, and putting things in order. This is like nesting to the 100th degree! It’s 2:37 AM, and I’ve done everything that I can do as far as organizing and reorganizing my daughter, Miranda’s old clothes and placing them in marked bins by size. Shouldn’t I be sleeping and resting instead?

I’m trying to get things in order before the baby arrives. And it seems like once I cross something off my To-do list, two more items have been added. I know that I’m anal retentive, but this nesting thing has made me even more obsessive. It’s quite maddening to witness. I feel like I’m watching myself go insane. (OK… that sounded insane!)

Last week, I caught up with my scrapbooks, ordered any digital albums that had been sitting on my desktop, and bought a new baby book for the little munchkin. I disinfected all the old baby toys that were in storage. I packed (and repacked) my hospital bag. I packed my daughter’s overnight bag. Every time I wash a load of baby clothes, I find something else to wash. Aaaaarrghhhh! It’s never ending. I need to stop! But I don’t…

Last weekend was dedicated to cleaning and organizing. I cleaned all three bathrooms (while doing four loads of laundry) because my husband was too slow to get to them. He was busy installing the baby car seat, washing both of our cars, dusting, and vacuuming. (You’d think he could manage to get to the bathrooms and the laundry done as well, huh?) And when he was done with all that, I yelled at him for not spending time with Miranda. So I made him take her to the park. (Oh, the mood swings!) Three more weeks… three more weeks…

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“Vintage” le•top Baby Outfit

Over the weekend, I was going through my daughter’s old baby clothes, sifting through what I saved, and figuring out which ones I could use for my next little munchkin. I felt like I was going down memory lane as I perused and combed through each article of clothing. Oh, how much my little baby girl has grown. I can’t believe she’s 4 years old!

As I continued to go through the box, I found a le•top baby footed coverall! It was a baby shower gift I received when I was pregnant with Miranda, and I remember exactly who gave it to me, too (a very close friend of my mother’s). What’s so amazing about this little outfit was that it still looks and feels like new, especially compared to the other outfits I had tucked away. The fabric is still soft and luxurious. It didn’t look worn and overwashed. It looks just like the first day I got it! Amazing… after all these years! (I could probably save this one for my first grandchild, which will be many, many, MANY years from now.)

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The Nest Is Ready

It’s finally done! After two weeks of nesting, our nursery is ready for baby. This room was our spare room. Actually it was my husband’s personal space/office space (a.k.a. “The Doghouse”). As soon as we found out we were pregnant, he moved into MY office. Now we have to play nice in our shared office to give our new child his/her own bedroom. The things we give up… it’s all worth it.

The first project to tackle was to empty out the closet. It was full of empty boxes, files, rolls of gift wrap, an air mattress, extra pillows and linens for guests, and other random things. It was like a huge junk drawer! We didn’t know where we were going to put all of THAT stuff.

Next, we had to dig through our garage, my parents’ garage, and other storage areas in our house to look for the baby stuff (swing, bouncer, crib, toys, clothes, play yard, etc.) Good thing I’m so meticulous: I’d put everything back in the same boxes after my first-born stopped using them, and labeled everything so I’d know what we had without having to open up every box. Surprisingly, since all the baby stuff came out of storage, we found space for all the closet junk. Yippee!

Thirdly, I had to make sure all the bedding and clothes were cleaned, washed and ready for use. I know I still have roughly 8 more weeks to go but I figure, I could always wash the sheets and clothes again each week. It’s best to be prepared than not.

Lastly, I had my husband hang the curtains, shelves and art on the walls. Ahhh… now I can rest easy knowing that my nest is ready.

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le•top Tip: Another Favorite Stain Fighter

We love to eat berries in the summer, and inevitably, berry juice drips its way to the shirts and shorts of the wearer! Sometimes certain stain sticks don’t work, but this usually does:

Mix a few drops each of vinegar, dish soap and water, and apply to the stain on the machine washable garment. Let it sit for a while and rinse. For tough stains, it may take another application, then machine wash as usual.  I used to use it on dark juice stains too – but I’ve noticed most juice in juice boxes now are colorless!

(I don’t know which is more troubling… Juice that is over-colored, or juice that has none at all!)

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Le Top Tip: Favorite Stain Fighter

I love clothes. My daughter loves clothes. She likes to get them dirty, and I like to keep them clean and stain-free, especially when they’re not her typical play clothes. A couple of nights ago, we ate at an Italian restaurant, and my daughter had spaghetti with meatballs. I’m sure you can imagine what happened next. As she stabbed her fork into a piece of meatball and proceeded to put the fork in her mouth, a little morsel of meatball and tomato sauce fell off the fork and rolled down the front of her Flower Power sweater, then landed on her jeans.

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