There's no place like home....

For all those that are wondering, we are not moving before the baby arrives. Michael and I live in a cozy two bedroom (with walk in closets)/two bath condo in Germantown. While the "second bedroom" has been home to our OTHER huge flat screen TV and our guests when they arrive, it's the perfect spot for Poppy to call home. She'll have her own bathroom, walk in closet & view of Target to boot! What else could a girl ask for!? (If Pop is a boy, I'm sure he'll be just as excited about the storage space for his wardrobe and to know that Modell's is just around the corner from Target)

We were not the first owners of the condo and when we moved in the carpet was in okay condition. Shortly after we settled in, our beloved cats Carrie & Mitchell started to do a number to it. We let it slide because we knew we'd eventually have to get it replaced when we moved on to a bigger place. Since the housing market has been as bad as the Redskins the last couple of years, we've come to terms with the fact that we'll be at Eton Place for longer than we initially anticipated. As soon as this realization hit me, I started thinking about the floors. Begging and pleading with Michael, he strongly said, "Let's save our money and wait until we move". I reluctantly agreed. Until Poppy came into the picture :)

I think our kid would have died from cat hair inhalation if we let one toe touch the carpet. Not only that - I was getting pretty embarrassed to have people over with the stains/torn up sections (Thank you Carebear). Grinning from ear to ear, we purchased our carpet from Lowes - making our first step to baby proofing our home.

While our carpet was being installed, there was no way that Carrie & Mitchell could have stayed at home. They freak out when they hear a phone ring, so I could have only imagined what they would have been like if they stuck around to see their 1100 square foot scratching post ripped up and thrown out the door. So we packed their things, forced them into their crates and took a ride down to my parents house. Was this a practice round for a weekend away kid-free? Would I make it through the night without having to call and check in?

I failed miserably. They were so scared when we got there they wouldn't even come out of their crates. When they finally did emerge, they cautiously scurried around to get familiar with their surroundings and found comfort in my dad's workroom. After a few attempts to have them come out from their EXTREMELY secret hiding places to say goodbye, I left with a heavy heart. Will they eat? Are they scared? Will they rip up my parents carpet? I fretted about them all night and all day. Of course they were absolutely fine and as soon as I let them loose back at home, they were back to the good old Carebear & Mitch.

Mom/Dad - Thanks for kittunsitting! As much as they looked scared, I'm sure they had a great time exploring a place that is twice the size of anywhere they've ever been. And I'm sure Mitch shed a few pounds going up and down the steps for the first time in his life :)

Now, I know my baby won't be able to hide from me and I know that Poppy will need my parents to make it through the night, but omg! If I was this upset about leaving my CATS - how the heck am I going to be able to leave my KID!? Sigh - I guess I'll cross that bridge when I get to it.

So I've heard that people start nesting right before the baby arrives....is that true? Because I think I've probably gone through every inch of our place and reorganized, donated or trashed something since finding out I was going to be a Mom. I guess I'm just a little anxious for the baby to arrive. I'm sure in about 37 days from now, I'll be grateful that I worked so hard to organize. The day we find out the sex - I'll just obsess over the nursery :)