MARIAH CAREY has put her plans to become a mum on hold - because she and husband NICK CANNON can’t decide where to raise their kids.

The couple bought a home in Los Angeles earlier this year (09), amid reports Carey was already pregnant - but she has made it clear she’s not ready to make Hollywood her permanent base.

In an exclusive new interview with America’s In Touch magazine, the R&B star says, “Definitely, we want a family… but don’t think I’m moving to L.A.”

Cannon adds, “We live in both places (Los Angeles and New York). We need to figure out where we are going to raise our kids. Here (New York) or L.A.”

But the couple is in agreement about how many kids they want.

Cannon explains, “We’d like two.”

Carey adds, “Of course, we’d be happy with one. I want to be able to manage the right amount of attention. We are so busy - if you have six kids running around, no one gets what they need. Kids need a lot of attention.”

And Cannon isn’t ruling out adoption if their baby-making doesn’t go as scheduled: “It’s never out of the question. I was raised by my grandmother, who was also a foster mom, so I grew up around a lot of kids.”

Carey admits she hopes to be a mother by the end of next year (10), and has no qualms about gaining the baby weight: “I’d be fine with it. I’m not one of those people who is usually a size two to start with and gets scared they will end up a size three.”