Spring Cleaning

As a first time mom, there are many mistakes that I've made.  One that I'm not afraid to admit is about the  outfit I packed for Logan to come home in from the hospital.  In the moment, this little outfit is so important. When I was shopping for the perfect "boy" outfit, I kept looking at the newborn clothes and thinking... "There is no way this baby is going to be that small.  I don't want to have an outfit that is too small for him."  So, I found the cutest set of brown pants, a cream onesie, and a brown/blue/orange fleece vest.  And I bought it in size 3 months and packed it in the hospital bag.  I was sure it would fit.  Well, much to my surprise, an 8  pound baby is still pretty small, and size 3 months clothes are definitely not appropriate for most newborns!  Like I said...first rookie mistake of many : ) 



3 months old in his "homecoming" outfit



This memory leads me into yesterday's spring cleaning project...

I'm not sure what got into me yesterday...maybe just being inside all weekend because of the rain?  Logan's overflowing closet and dresser have been bugging me for probably the last 3 months, but I just haven't had the time to go through all of his stuff.  I know there are boxes of size 1 and 2 diapers in there, bibs that no longer fit around his neck, mismatched socks, etc.  We have been so lucky to have been given so many hand me downs.  Two wonderful teachers at my school with 5 boys between them gave Logan a ton of winter clothes.  I swear he has worn a different pair of pants everyday since November!  And then my sister, with Jack and Eddie, has passed along her favorites to Logan as well.  Needless to say, this kid has been well-dressed, and fortunately, I have had less of an excuse to shop for him (well, I can't say that's completely true, but...) Anyways, for some reason, yesterday was the day.  I had to get his closet organized.  So while Daddy and Logan napped, I began just pulling everything out and laying it on the floor.  But then the dilemma set in...how to organize.  Should I sort by season, by size?  If size, how should I separate newborn, 0-3 months, 3 months, 3-6 months, 6 months, etc.  This is where that perfectionism gene can be a bad thing...I can imagine my mom right now saying, "Oh my gosh, are you kidding?  Just put them in boxes and be done with it : )  So I began making piles according to size as best as I could.  Instantly I realized that I did not have enough rubbermaid containers to fit all of his stuff so much to my dismay (not really), I headed out to Target with Logan.  The pretty aqua blue containers were on sale so we stocked up.  This "outgrowing clothes" thing isn't going to end anytime soon so why not buy 4?  By the time my project was completed (and it's still not completed to my satisfaction), it was 8:30 at night and Olin was pushing me out of the room so he could turn out the light and put Logan to bed.  I'm not sure why I couldn't just finish the next day, but I felt like it had to get done that night.  I'm sure I'm not the only one who gets this way...right?  I guess I know myself too well, and I know those clothes would've sat on the floor for another two weeks before I got around to finishing the project!

I have always had a hard time throwing things away.  My mom will attest to this.  She threatens every year that unless I come get my boxes of high school stuff out of her basement , she will throw them away.  I still have boxes of basketball cards that I collected when I was a kid, and albums full of pictures from middle school...I just can't seem to get rid of them.  So, as I went through Logan's clothes, I unfolded and refolded every item so I could remember when/where he wore the outfit   (I guess that's why this project took all day).  Some of the clothes have been worn by all three grandbabies (Jack, Eddie, and Logan)...like the red and black Christmas outfit with the fuzzy cuffs, or the Old Navy one piece outfit with the alligators on it.  They each bring me back to a certain time and place with these babies.  I am happy to report that no tears were shed in the process of this project.  Mainly it was disbelief that Logan has grown so much in 14 months!  I kept holding up the smaller sizes of clothing and wondering if he really was ever that small!  Those little pajamas, the little booties, and mittens...yeah, I must admit I put some mittens on his hands just to see how he would react.  Bless his heart, he just looked at his hands and then at me with this puzzled look on his face : )  I swear God gave us the sweetest baby in the whole world. 

 


Logan's room at mid-project

 


Helping out!

I'll admit rookie mistake # 2 in another post...surprised this kid survived his first night home!