BABY IT'S COLD OUTSIDE

We did it. We turned the heat on in the house. Actually, we turned it on a couple of weeks ago, but until this week it only kicked on a couple of times a day. Now that the Little One is around we decided to add a few degrees to the near-chilly 66 degrees that we have kept the thermostat set to in winters past. The house is bearable with warm clothes on but not the comfy 75 plus degrees that I'd prefer.

The change in temperature brought on an unplanned chore today. As I put away our laundry it was painfully clear that it will be several months until I can wear the short-sleeve tops and light pants that were still in my closet. It was time for the big clothing switch-er-oo.

Out with the summer clothes and in come sweaters, long pants and dressy scarves. It only took about 10 minutes to gather everything and put it in neat piles on our bed. Then I trudged down the hall to the Little One's room and grabbed the "sad pile." By that I mean the two large gift bags that have been sitting on the floor collecting clothes he is now too big to wear. We call it the "sad pile" because it gives our hearts a little tug in two directions to both see how much he is growing and to remember the tiny guy we brought home who fit into the newborn Redsox onesie.

I stood next to my bed and sighed as I tried to figure out how to contain the mountain of clothes before me. We have a designated storage spot downstairs, but somehow the plastic bins we usually use had found another purpose in the house. I was clueless for a minute when I remembered that the Little One's frequent diaper-filling habit meant that we also own a collection of large, empty diaper boxes. Once again, but not in the usual way, Pampers saved the day.

In the end, the boxes were the perfect fit. I loaded, closed and labeled five in all. Our closets and drawers are not the cramped mess they were this morning. And downstairs, in a dry, dark, cozy corner of the house, our family's summer clothes are tucked in for a long winter's nap. I'm sad that it is cold outside, but take comfort in knowing the joy I will feel when I open those boxes next spring. I wonder what I will wear first?