A few days ago we got word that we will be able to move into a two-bedroom townhouse in on-campus family housing at the university where Mr. B. is a PhD student.  We’ve been on the wait list since April and we’re incredibly excited and relieved. Our lovely one-bedroom apartment has been feeling more and more cramped and claustrophobic as the Chickadee continues to grow and become more mobile and sensitive to noise and light (for example, it’s tricky now to go get clothes out of the bedroom closet if she is asleep in there–she wakes up much more easily now than she did when she was younger).  I’m proud and pleased that we managed in this small apartment for as long as we did; we never expected to be living here as a family, but we made it work anyway.  We have a gigantic dresser-cum-change-table slotted into the living room along with our rocking glider and her diaper pails, play mat, mirror, and toy/book shelf; a crib in our bedroom; laundry drying racks and wine-making set-up in our hallway; forumla cans stored under the crib; camping gear, Mr. B’s construction gear, wrapping paper, guitars and more under our bed; empty bottles for beer-making and spare curtain rods behind the couch; and so on.  Somehow it all manages to look cozy and even a little bit aesthetically pleasing–as long as I’m vigilant about keeping everything picked up and in its proper place.  It’s amazing what can be done when you have no choice.

That said, I cannot wait to be living somewhere with more space.  The townhouse we’re moving into is still small, old, and uninspired by many peoples’ standards–we’ll have industrial non-color carpets and Generic Rental Suite Beige walls, and if we want in-house laundry we’ll have to buy a portable sink-hookup washing machine–but to us it’s pretty much a mansion.  There are so many closets and cupboards!  That alone is enough to make me dizzy with anticipation.  I told Mr. B. this morning that one of the things I’m most looking forward to is not having to store stuff under beds and behind couches.  It will be so nice to be able to vacuum under furniture without having to move half our belongings out of the way first.

And, of course, we get to set up and decorate the Chickadee’s very first room of her own!  I’ve been surfing blogs and etsy.com for inspiration and it’s a lot of fun.

I think I just heard her wake up–time to go for a run while the sun is out.