The Delaney and Waylon Diaries: As Tim Gunn says, "Make it work!"

One of the top five questions on the minds of family and friends since we announced this pregnancy is, "Where ya gonna put that new kid?" Because we live in a shoebox it stands to reason that people would wonder. When we found out we were pregnant with Delaney three years ago we assumed we'd have to move before she was born. This house would be way too small for three people, or so we thought. But, we stayed and we adjusted. We didn't do any major decorating to the extra bedroom that we turned into our nursery other than adding a border to the top of the room (John Lennon's Musical Parade -- it was Delaney's nursery theme) but we did transform it from a bedroom/office into a cute, comfy place to raise our baby.

We didn't want to move then, and we don't want to move now, because we love the area in which we live. It's less than 10 minutes from the center of the city. It's not crafted out of suburban concrete and strip mall centers rife with chain stores. Our 'hood has big, shady, old trees and independently owned restaurants and shops. It's got personality. And the housing prices, even in the current market, only continue to increase. Our dream is to one day add on to our house but that hasn't been feasible yet.

When we found out about new baby's impending arrival we again considered moving but after thinking through our options (which, let's be honest, is generally limited to one option: us moving north and into the suburban area that we're just not crazy about) we decided to stay. That meant getting creative with our current shoebox. Delaney and her brother will be sharing a room so we've spent lots of time planning how to rework and rearrange things to create more space. We sold the queen bed that had been taking up residence in Delaney's room and was rarely used. We transitioned Delaney from her crib to a toddler bed. Roger took the doors off of the closet and added closet organizing and space maximizing hardware. And he painted. This weekend the room finally came together. And, while it still needs a few design touches that we'll be adding in the next few weeks, it looks great. I'm amazed by how much space we were wasting in there that will now be used.

Here are some "before" photos. Tomorrow I'll have some "afters" for your viewing pleasure. It'll still be cramped in this tiny home we've made for ourselves. I'm still not convinced that we won't go crazy with four of us living here. But I'm proud of us for making it work, at least for now and at least until a better option presents itself.

BEFORE: