Preparations

Do you ever go on cleaning rampages? I did a little while back - before I was so pregnant - and it was awful. I started by organizing the closet. Not a big project, especially taking into consideration the size of our closets. But then I realized the closet needed a good sweeping (no carpet in these apartments!) so I cleared everything out and did that too. Of course then I wanted the bedroom to match so I ended up pulling all the furniture out from the walls, pulling everything out from under the bed, sweeping and mopping the entire floor, and scrubbing the corners and hard-to-get areas with a rag. For the next couple of days our bedroom was a sterile environment... until it was contaminated by the day to day life of a family with two toddlers running around.

Joseph is the one who has dubbed these bursts of activity "cleaning rampages." They drive him crazy because when I do this he cannot find anything. I once hid his slippers in my duffel bag for 6 whole months before we realized where they were (which happened, incidentally, during another cleaning rampage of the kids' closet). Poor Joseph had to go through a whole winter without his slippers and he loves those slippers! The night before I had Emily I was on my hands and knees scrubbing out the refrigerator and oven. I called that nesting for a while, but I think it was just another rampage.

Things are different nowadays. When you're pregnant and you wake up and have energy, you take advantage of it. Yesterday I did laundry and swept and mopped. That was about all I could do before I was wiped out. I went to bed afterward, though, and realized that if I had the baby today I would not be ready at all. I'd pulled baby girl clothes out and that's it. So today I finally stripped the crib of Caleb's jungle animal bedding, raised the mattress, put in the pink dust ruffle and bumpers, assembled the baby bouncer and swing, and prepared the pack-n-play for a younger baby.

Then Caleb, Emily, and I were driven out of our apartment by invading cooking smells so we went to the store and bought new sheets and bedding and even a blessing dress for the girl (yes, we spent way too much). Now I feel a lot more prepared, I just have some laundry to do and a hospital bag to gather supplies for and I'm good. Oh, and we also need a name.
We're just about ready for a third, baby girl!