Nesting

It's so cool to be part of something so instinctive and primal...something that has taken over my free time (and not-so-free-time) in the past couple of weeks. I can't just relax on the couch or read a magazine during the little guy's naps or sit with my husband on the weekends to watch that movie we've been dying to see. Nope. My nesting instinct has kicked in. Full gear.

Unlike my first pregnancy, there is no need to rush around buying baby gear, cribs, clothes, etc... We have almost all of the essentials that we need for Baby Boy #2. This time is different. Instead of concentrating solely on the nursery, I am obsessed with getting every room in the house organized.

For example, I slipped away by myself last Sunday to my usual stomping ground (Target) and walked the aisles until my cart was filled with the following items: 3 plastic crates, 5 canvas storage bins, 1 dry-erase calendar, 1 bulletin board, 1 wall-mounted iron/ironing board holder, 2 storage baskets and, of course, a curtain rod for the baby's room. I wondered as I waddled down the aisles amid all of the college students returning for the fall semester at ISU and Illinois Weslyan, "Do I look like a knocked-up, 10th-year senior preparing to get my dorm room ready?" I was buying all of the typical storage containers that college students might need.

As I returned home with my purchases, I had to quickly put everything in it's place. I organized the cleaning products and laundry necessities in the plastic storage bins on the laundry room shelf. I coerced Troy into hanging the bulletin board, calendar and ironing board holder as well. The canvas bins perfectly fit into the empty book shelf in the basement, begging to be filled with toys, and the storage baskets nestled in the messy, remote-controlled strewn, magazine-filled ledge underneath the coffee table.

Even now, I can't sit still. My biggest challenge has been finding something to go over our living room mantle. I've found a piece of artwork, but I've bought and returned several candle sticks, vases and decorative-doo-dads that I've hoped would complement it, and haven't. Maybe I should post a picture of my bare mantle and take suggestions!

I realize that a living room mantle has absolutely nothing to do with the well-being of my baby and his ability to survive or feel loved in our new house. It's just that it drives me crazy, and I want everything to be complete by the time November rolls around. If only I would become obsessed with working out, becoming a great chef or learning a new song on the guitar!

If only. For now, I'll keep trying to give this house some (decorative) personality along with functional organization so that I can go back to laying on the couch and taking naps with the little guy by the time mid-October rolls around. I'm quite confident I'll be back to Hobby Lobby & Gordmans a few more times this month (ok...this week) to return some items I've purchased and try for something new that will set the entire living room off, just so that I can move on to the next room.

And at least now I finally have a "medical condition" that excuses my constant trips to the stores. Troy...this is all part of nature. Accept it. :)