The Gold Medalist of Nesting

Nesting is the process by which soon-to-be parents prepare for the arrival of baby--painting the nursery, assembling the crib, laundering tiny onesies. I guess I'm just a nester on steroids. Because just 10 weeks before the arrival of baby #2, we're tearing apart the top floor of our 3-level rowhouse. Seriously. As I write this, our upstairs level--which used to offer two perfectly adequate bedrooms and a bathroom--has no furniture, no walls, no electricity, no bathroom ... just plenty of strange men standing around listening to AM radio.

Welcome home, baby.

We must be crazy.

But this isn't our first trip to the renovation rodeo. My husband and I joke that HGTV is going to approach us about starring in a new spin-off of "Property Brothers" (you know, those freaky-looking twin brothers who love tearing apart houses) called "Property Spouses." Because frankly, we're serial renovators. This reno is our 3rd major project in 5 years, and our second in this home. Last year, we tore apart the rest of this old house, essentially gutting it and relocating the kitchen from the 1st floor (read: basement) to the 2nd floor. We didn't touch the 3rd floor, reasoning that it met our needs just fine... that is, until we were expecting baby #2 and suddenly realized we needed more space and privacy.

So that's why all of our dressers are now lined up in our living room and my husband, daughter, and I have been sleeping in the basement for the past 2 weeks. Why this 30-week pregnant mama spent part of last night sleeping with a restless toddler on a twin mattress on the floor. And why I now talk on the phone with my contractor more than I talk to my husband.

Umm... did I mention that we're f-in CRAZY?

But I've decided that I'm just that serious about becoming the very best nester I can be. And I've been training for this--all those other projects were mental and physical preparation for this ultimate event. So on the final day of our renovation, I will stand up there on the podium and collect my trophies of recessed lights, reclaimed floor boards, and dual-flush Toto toilets. Because on that day, I'm proclaiming myself (in a very manic, delusional kind of way) the Gold Medalist of Nesting.*


*unless the renovation isn't finished when baby arrives, in which case I'm just a big LOSER.