One of the more miserable parts of the first trimester funk is knowing how badly you need to do things but not being able to do them.

Nine weeks was a bad week for me, and I spent most of it in bed. But ten weeks brought (as it typically does) a fresh wind of energy in the form of one good day (usually followed by four bad ones) and I used the opportunity to do what I’ve been thinking about doing that whole week I was stuck in bed.

I had become mildly obsessed with the idea of swapping the rugs in the living room and the girls’ room. The rug in the girls’ rug was actually bought for the basement and moved into their room a few months ago. The rug that was in the living room was actually bought for the room that Elvie and Eldore were sharing at the time. So I hoped to swap them mostly because I thought the (current) girls’ rug had more autumnal vibes. I don’t decorate for seasons very much, but I did like the idea of having a rug with a fallish feel to it for a little while.

I also very, very badly needed to clean the girls’ room, which had what seemed like a permanent layer of toys and clothes on the floor that had been there since my morning sickness started in earnest four weeks ago. For some reason, “swap the rugs” felt more exciting than “clean the floor.”

Above shows the girls’ room (which I call “the nursery” since both Beatrice and Aurick sleep in there, so there are two cribs) yesterday after significant cleaning of the floor had already occurred. After this I vacuumed, had Ephraim lift the furniture for me so I could roll up the rug, and took it out to the living room.

Unfortunately there was an immediate objection to my plan. Elvie loved the room with no rug. “Oh, Mom, I love it! Please don’t put another rug back in!”

Really? Really? No rug? Cold, mid-century-orange, wooden floor?

Yes, apparently.

Fortunately I had two homeless throw rugs that I could put before the beds to make the room not feel so cold. I have to agree, though–the room does feel nice with no rug. It feels a little more open. That’s something I’ll have to remember for small spaces in the future.

There are a lot of things I didn’t really finish when I moved the girls into this room back in the spring. I never really gave the pictures real locations (everything on the walls is hanging on existing nails without consideration of the shape and scale of the art itself.) The curtains need some work. And you can see the stack of books on the dresser/changing table that has no home. There is a lot in here that still needs to be done. Nevertheless I’m pleased with this move re:rugs (thank you Elvie for the suggestion.) The room does seem to breathe more easily, despite it being packed to the gills with furniture.

I don’t have a picture, yet, of the rug in its new spot in the living room. But when Jeremy came in and saw what I’d done, his response was typical of a husband watching his wife go through pregnancy for the eighth (technically tenth) time. “Mom’s nesting, everybody!”