Moving (in) house

This week I found myself, for the millionth time, in my too-tiny sewing nook trying to find a square foot of space to get some sewing done, and it just...broke me. I was jammed in a corner with no relief. I'd downsized my desk but still had to move two things out of the way to get to my fabric shelves; there were far too many things going missing in the various crannies and cracks behind double-parked shelving units, and I felt hemmed in.

I wanted to sew but I really felt like I couldn't.

Something had to change.

Back when we lived in a tiny apartment, I sewed in the lounge room. It was nice, because I was right in the middle of stuff, but it meant I had to keep my sewing area SUPER tidy (company tidy, which is a whole other thing to normal OCD-level tidiness). And as Piper grew up, and grew mobile, I knew having pins and scissors in the same room as her toys would be a bad idea. So when we bought this house, it was such a blessing: I finally had a sewing room! I nobly took the tiniest corner of the tiniest bedroom, and we have been making do.

We tried, you guys. We really did. We downsized and moved furniture and changed things around. Eventually, I had a whisper of an idea, but I kept ignoring it. I destashed. (By the way, if you bought something this week, THANK YOU! I have really enjoyed posting out all those lovely fabric parcels this week! And more will go up in the store Monday night!) I cleaned. I cleaned again. I threw out a garbage bag full of things. And still, it wasn't working.

The niggling, wiggling thought formed into a fully-fledged thought. And as it happens in my brain, soon it was accompanied by graph paper, measuring tape, and a steely determination. We needed to move the study into Piper's bedroom. I drew it out; everything fit beautifully. I could even have a design wall IN the room!

I sprang this on my poor surprised husband, and he very reluctantly agreed, on the caveat that I was not to move anything by myself. (I am seven months pregnant. I am also very impatient. But more on that later.) Mr Poppleton hates moving furniture, or moving house, or even moving his fountain pen one inch to the left of where it normally goes, so it is essential to have him on board. One time, I moved furniture for him, and it took him four months to go through and put everything where he wanted it. Literally, he did not use that area of the house for FOUR MONTHS. But I suspect he's been feeling the crunch, too. We stayed up late last night and hammered out a plan of attack. It was all set: this weekend we'd bit the bullet, stay inside, and get it sorted.

Well, except...I got started a little bit early.

And by the time Mr Poppleton was home for the evening, I had a fully functional sewing room.

Officially, I am to let Blogland know that I am very, very naughty for moving a sewing cabinet, a drawer unit, a computer desk, and a 16-unit Expedit while seven months pregnant. In my defense, everything had felt pads and we have very smooth wood floors. I really just pushed it around. I used my legs, I promise! But I am never to do that again. Ahem.

(Sorry, dear.)

So here we are, stealing the baby's bedroom. Terrible, isn't it? Except...

...she never uses it as a bedroom.

I'm going to come right out and say it: we co-sleep. We bedshared with Piper until she was a year old, and then spent a miserable two months getting up with her every couple of hours as we tried to get her to sleep in her own bed. (She slept through the night from 8 days old, tucked right in next to me; it was wonderful. So to switch to a suddenly clingy, needy, miserable little girl was like being dashed in the face with cold water.) We gave up one night, and put her mattress on the floor on Daddy's side of the bed and climbs in when she needs to. (About 1 night in 6.) And we don't care. Literally, having her in with us is easier for everyone. And in the mornings, she wakes up, says, "Oh!" grabs Ruby, climbs in with me, and snuggles in for another half hour. It is perfect. When she weaned, she never looked back or missed breastfeeding, but I missed the cuddling and closeness. This is where I get that, now. And I wouldn't, if she were running out the door of her room to get to her toys and Timmy Time. Because she sees us first, she's immediately registered that she is not alone, she is safe, and doesn't have to go all manic to hide her alone-anxiety. And that makes for a much happier little girl, day in and day out.

I feel absolutely no guilt stealing a bedroom she didn't even care about. Firstly, I'm not sure who I was pleasing by pretending Piper needed a bedroom. Society? Family? Some idea of what parenting a toddler is like? Our kid is amazing and totally into us and loves us and wants to be near us (often, sitting right on top of us, with all her pointy elbows and knees finding soft, weak spots to poke). Putting her in a room without us is not the kind of parenting I wanted to be doing. Lying about it to everyone (including myself!) was just making me feel guilty: why isn't she in her own bedroom yet, why is she so clingy, why am I irritated every time I open the door to the room she never uses, etc. So here's the official line: she'll tell us when she's ready to have her own room. And then we'll help that happen.

Until that point, though, there is no reason we shouldn't be able to move ourselves into the front half of the house. The green room (formerly Piper's bedroom, currently becoming the study/sewing room) is right next door to our bedroom. Bonus: we can hear Piper if she gets up. Bonus: I can sneak away for a few minutes here and there to sew. Bonus: no longer will we miss parcels because I'm not near the front door. This is one of those win-win-win-win-win-and-so-on-situations.

Right now, Mr Poppleton is moving his photographic equipment into the second set of shelves. I am typing this up. I'm not entirely done (I figure I've got about two hours of sheer sorting tomorrow morning), but I'm tired. (Something about being pregnant? And being so impatient that I sorta kinda went nuts and moved a  bunch of stuff around? Argh. Silly self.) But I am loving this already. A new space. And so much of it.

And of course, it seems so obvious, now that it's done, but...you'd never believe it took me months to decide this was okay.

Sleep well, chickadees. You are all really pretty.

Penny xx