Home Economics for Moms-to-Be

I packed six boxes for the attic this weekend. Six boxes of decades old photo albums, journals of teen angst, nursing school notes, even my sixth grade yearbook. Six boxes of me before marriage and motherhood. I have never sent a message in a bottle, but I imagine the feeling is similar: seal up an emotion or experience, toss it out to the sea, and hope the winds of change will bring it new purpose. The weekend was like that, minus the ocean breeze. One day I will pull those memories down again, uncork the bottle, and giggle with my children as we read circa 1999 essays on feminism.

Nug wasn't quite as nostalgic. She was eager to cut the tape and seal the boxes- she's crazy about scissors- and kept rushing me to the next box. Prom pictures, attribute lists of my dream partner, and melancholic adolescent poetry were all met with an urgent, "ready for tape, Mommy?! Ready yet? Ok! NO! I DO IT MYSELF!" It killed the sentimental mood, but kept me on schedule.

Before photo of our junk / sewing / toy graveyard room

Our extra bedroom of memory storage is now empty in preparation for takeover by a new human. Well, first for takeover by a handyman. It needs a closet, some safety work, and due to the sagging nature of a 100+ year-old home, the door no longer closes in its frame. But to see it in its pluripotent state makes this baby number two thing feel really real. The nausea, fatigue, and jelly belly were my private reminders, but this is a tacit, public acknowledgment of Cookie's upcoming arrival. Whoa!
(Thank you Violet- Nug's best friend- for seeing my Teddy Graham blog post and giving this fetus a nickname.)

And now that I'm feeling better (so much better, yay!), I can start to make plans for Cookie's birthday. If there was a seven month prep course for me, I imagine it would resemble the home economics classes offered to women in the mid-century. Sure, my eighth-grade home economics class taught me to sew a guitar pillow and make jello salad, but I need to know how to roast a turkey while dangling an infant while rolling homemade play-doh with a three-year-old while folding cloth diapers with my toes while sleeping. Right?!

and where's my name-embroidered apron?!

So I searched the internet for advice on how to prep for baby number two. I came across a neat historical website on the "domestic sciences" and from there designed my personal home-ec crash course. Let's see how much I can get done in the next seven months.

Food Preparation & Nutrition

make ahead dry mixes, like muffins
test a dozen new recipes
purchase disposable dinner ware

Clothing & Textiles

sew Nug's quilt for her big girl bed
make or purchase thank you cards
sort through Nug's old clothes (we plan to find out Cookie's sex in another eight weeks)
sew or purchase drapes for new bedroom

Child, Personal, & Family Development

make ahead toddler activities
go on a baby-moon with W
find a gift to and from Nug to welcome Cookie
pull down the cloth diapers
Other Domains (resources, home maintenance, healthy lifestyle, coping with stress)

do thorough house cleaning

prep the third bedroom, buy a big girl bed

work on budget, trim a few expenses

pay bills ahead of time where possible

go away on a weekend by myself!*

*do this before working on budget

So, experienced mamas, what else would you add?