Lifelines.

Once in a while it occurs to me what an idiot I really am. Seriously. Knowledge of useless trivia: high. Knowledge of pop and rock lyrics: high. Knowledge of statistics, economics: high. Practical, useful knowledge: non-existent.

First, there's the matter of the house. SchnauzerKing and I know NOTHING. I am serious. Contractors frequently look at us like we are from Mars. And we might as well be, for all we know about maintaining a home here on Planet Earth.

Then there's the matter of this baby business. I have to admit it...now that there are only 26 days worth of LIDs sitting between us and a referral, I am obsessed. Weirdly, I am not obsessed with checking the CCAA or Rumor Queen sites because I know we aren't getting a referral before April, at the absolute earliest. What I am obsessed about is preparing for motherhood. The nursery furniture will be delivered on the 24th. And I am obsessed with making that nursery look wonderful...a warm, safe, welcoming, calming place for this baby girl we've longed for for what seems like forever. I've been stocking up on books. Also, I've begun registering. I toyed with the idea of using myregistry.com, which allows you to register for stuff from lots of different stores. However, I recently used that for a friend. It wasn't too bad in terms of the confusion factor, but I could definitely see it making the less 'net savvy folks among us want to kill me. However, when I started registering, I discovered the stuff I wanted was all over the place. For instance, this really cool letters and numbers playmat, I could only find at One Step Ahead. And then, BabyUniverse.com had some more pieces from the bedding set I finally decided on ("Sweet As a Daisy" by Lambs and Ivy), which happened after I decided that the bedding set I ALREADY have wasn't feminine enough for the crib we ended up buying. That bedding set is now on reserve as a back up in case of baby poop or vomit explosions, or for a second child. I also registered at Babies 'R Us and Target, figuring that not everyone has a BRU close by. Oh, and Target was the only one that had the highchair and pack 'n play pattern I loved, Family Tree. Lots of animals, and we are big on the animals in our house.

Speaking of high chairs, don't get me started on that. I decided early on that I wanted the Stokke KinderZeat. Yes, it's pricey, and I know we will probably buy it ourselves, which I am totally OK with. It gets excellent reviews and is made of solid wood. Bella will be able to use this for a long time, and it can pull right up to our dining room table. I consulted with Tim on this, and he was convinced that we'd still need a regular high chair first. So I registered for the Graco Family Tree one, which is supposed to be easy to clean. But I still find myself wondering if we really need it.

Then there are all these baby gadgets that I wondered about. Like the wipes warmer. Is it really necessary? The Boppy pillow. Mothers swear by them, but aren't most of our girls too old by Forever Family Day to really get much use out of them? Egad.

And then I freak out at the prices of some of this stuff, not wanting to put people off. We really don't expect people to buy us some of the more expensive items we registered for. Part of the registry's function is for us to keep track of what we want. There are some areas where I don't mind spending the money, because there are items that will be used almost everyday and where safety and comfort are especially important. For me this is stuff like the car seats, the high chair, and the stroller.

My one saving grace is that I have friends that know stuff. In particular, LaSalette (mom to two year old sweetheart Emma) and Cheryl (mom to one year old cutie Mya) have been helping me out A LOT. They've been there, done that. Emma came home from China in November 2005 and Mya came home in December 2006. So they're in the know. Even more importantly, they are kind and patient with me. And it's wild watching these girls grow. I had no intentions of getting a jumperoo until I saw Mya rocking out on hers. Hysterical. I do think she needs a Hair Band wig, though. And a good dose of MTV Headbanger's Ball. LaSalette assured me that while a wipes warmer isn't really necessary, it sure helps nighttime diaper changes along. Neither one felt a need for the Boppy pillow. Also, Cheryl tells me that a total change of bedding typically isn't necessary, but reminded me to register for lots of extra crib seats. LaSalette and Cheryl have consistently cheered us on, even as they are now smack dab in the midst of motherhood. They haven't forgotten what it's like to be waiting, and I love them for that.

Then I benefit from being the last person in my MIW/RLM posse that will make the transition from Mother In Waiting to Real Life Mom. Luca is already home with Lea, and Kikalee and Sparky will soon be departing for China for their little ones. By the time I get my referral, they will all be home. And I plan to pump them for info, believe you me.

SchnauzerKing is one of the few men I know that takes pride in his utter absence of handy-man ability. Since the furniture company won't assemble a crib, he came up with this idea of the "Build a Crib" party. This is where we invite men that actually know stuff (like Cheryl's husband Bruce) to come to our house and assemble Bella's crib. Remarkably, Bruce has already agreed to this, and we have a few other candidates in mind (friends of ours with skills, beware). SchnauzerKing has agreed to wear a hard hat, supervise and cook some gourmet pizzas. What a man, what a man, what a mighty big man.

Thank God for those lifelines.