t braindump E and I have been edging towards "WANT BABY NOW" mode for the past year or so, and this past week, E's been freelancing at Child magazine, and he keeps coming home with new parenting tips. It's adorable. But then I look around our apartment and it's clear we don't have room. I don't want to have to choose between kids and Carroll Gardens. Maybe we'll win the lottery. Technically we could turn E's office into the baby's room, but then E wouldn't have an office, which, as a freelance writer, he kind of needs. (Plus, neither of us is remotely socially equipped to raise an only child, so we'd need a bigger place in a few years anyway.)

I hate FedEx today. They've been and gone with one package, but not the one I was waiting for (the one I *specifically* scheduled to be delivered today). On the plus side, the package they delivered turned out to be a DVD of the next BSG ep, so at least I have something to watch until they come back with my mom's anniversary gift. (Which is probably money, which we REALLY REALLY NEED.) As it is, I can't even leave the apartment to get lunch. I'll have to have something delivered.

There needs to be a moratorium on articles titled "Serenity Now!" Please, publishing industry, think of another pun. Anything. Really.

I was going to clean the apartment today, but since I'm stuck at home waiting for FedEx, I can't go buy cleaning supplies. I guess I can still tidy things up. Oh, and do my hand-wash-only laundry.

I still can't process the Katrina damage. It's too big. The closest I can come is flashing back on the book The Rift, which I thought was staggeringly accurate even at the time I read it, before all this happened.

t /braindump

Jessica, as 2 people in a biggish 1 bedroom apartment, it's maazing how far space can stretch. And, when you do get pregnant, you've got time (9 months IIRC-hee) to rearrange. Plus, if you breastfeed, you won't want the baby that far away from you (at least, I didn't. You might. Not sure.) so you don't really need to think about giving up the office so quickly.

Just my 2 cents that wasn't asked for but since I became a mother I am allowed to spout off advice at will. Or ad nauseum. One of those.

Get a haircut! t /mom

I am attempting to retrain myself as a non-packrat. I've made a lot of progress actually, though I have to be vigilant.

I've found that the more I de-clutter the easier it gets to be ruthless. Also, honestly, watching Clean Sweep helps a lot too. I think about what those organizers say to the homeowners as they help them get rid of stuff. Basically, "What does X thing really mean to me? How does holding on to it enrich my life?"

I really don't need to keep books that I just liked okay and will never read again just because they're books! They can go to the free book exchange and somebody else can enjoy them and my shelf space is freed up for something better.

She won't be offended that I was praying for the her while making it, will she?

I doubt it very much.

We should probably hold ourselves back from shipping too much to Perkins (point!) so that -t does not have to get it all back to NO, or wherever they end up. I'm thinking the BayAreaistas can take her out to lunch one day and then Target or Bed Bath & Beyond, arm her with the little guns you use to register and make her pick out new stuff.

In our old (biggish, 1-bedroom) apartment, it would have been much easier to rearrange and make space, because it was just 2 really big rooms. In our current (small 2-bedroom) apartment, we've got more square footage, but the arrangement of rooms makes adding any more furniture completely impossible. We'd have to put the crib in the master bedroom closet. Or maybe knock down the wall in-between the bedroom and the living room (and find someone to get rid of the fake fireplace, which is a COMPLETE waste of 4-6 square feet). So it's just barely doable, but it'd be a lot MORE doable if we were willing to move to Bay Ridge.

But, you don't really need a full sized crib for awhile - you could use a bassinet.

t /baby enabling

Yeah, don't need to say it twice.

Yeah, don't need to say it twice.

Twins!

But, you don't really need a full sized crib for awhile - you could use a bassinet.

We didn't use ours regularly until O was 9 months old. He slept better in his bouncy seat than anywhere else (which is why I bought two of them).

But, you don't really need a full sized crib for awhile - you could use a bassinet.

Even that would be pushing it. It's a REALLY small bedroom. Do they make underbed storage bassinets? 'Cause we might have room for that...

(I don't know why I'm obsessing about this today, since I'm not even pregnant yet. It just seems like it can't POSSIBLY be September, and if the summer went by this fast, then so will next year, and before we know it we'll be planning a family for real and STILL have no money to move with.)