Monday, May 7, 2012

Becoming a Nursery

FINALLY. I finally sent in the nursery art - art which was inspired by Pinterest and tweaked slightly by moi - to Staples. Sure, I won't be able to pick it up until I get a chance to swing by the joint (which is about a half hour away), but the prints will end up costing just over $10. I'm happy with that. An alphabet print, which I decided to use with a humongoid frame I picked up awhile back (I believe half off of $2.99; a steal for a 12x16 frame with that's matted to 9x12) ended up costing $6.99, just due to the weird sizing, but everything else (four other graphics) were $2.36. All the frames were Goodwill goodies, so the ultimate cost is less than $20 for five pieces of art. I'm hoping they all fit the frames! Now, back to my "handmade art" projects.

We also officially have our crib set up in the nursery. Anything non-nursery-related is outta there (except for a couple of items that will be sharing the closet...y'know, a wedding dress), so we've just got our honest-to-goodness nursery work to do in there. Oh, and when I say "crib", I don't necessarily mean mattress. Still gotta pick that out. I'd like to go organic with it, but may just settle for a mattress with, for lack of better description, "low emissions." ;-) We shall see, but it was awesome that Dave and his papa got the crib together in under 30 minutes -- and I'm in love with the wood color (even if I wanted white all along; sometimes a husband and wife have to compromise...and the wife has to get creative in her decorating choices.... *wink, wink*). I'll take pictures after things come together a tad more.

The big nursery "to-do"s include:
- A major cleaning of the wood floors (and everything else - that toy train, for example). Those floors are in rough shape, and no matter what I clean them with I can't seem to get up the film...or the rough patches.
- Hang the blinds.
The curtains I made are already up, but our Christmas Tree Shop bamboo blinds (I believe $6 each) need to go up to block out more of the light - can you say "naptime"? Don't worry, I'll either replace them or find a way to make them child-safe when the time comes. I'm not too concerned about them considering that their construction is much simpler than regular blinds, and we may not even be in this house when the toddling starts - who knows?
- Sanding and painting the dresser (AKA changing table). I'd been waiting for the perfect weather, but when the sun finally shines, "other plans" coincide. Maybe I should learn how to ignore guests and just get to the dirty work while the weather cooperates. ;-) Oh, and it has occurred to me that the frames also need painting. And perhaps the bookcase. Hmm. Now, where IS that nesting instinct?
- Closet craziness. We'll be putting up an overhead shelf (ie big ol' board from Lowe's), and actually shifting where the rod (currently a huge wooden dowel - use whatchya got) resides. I know this will be a crazy feat, mostly because it was when we did this in our office closet. But, who knows? Sometimes projects surprise us. ;-) 
- A ragin' game of hangman. This will involve all the aforementioned art, as well as whatever else I can rock out myself. I'm still popping out more ideas, so we may simply have too much darn art for this kiddo! I don't want to overstimulate them (there are a lot of verbal graphics going on), but if I group them in collage form, I'm hoping they won't overwhelm. I also have some simpler art ideas, too, so it's all good. I'll edit if need be.  
- Finishing (and hanging...again, see above...hangy, hangy, hangy) the mobile. I'm thinking of putting this over the changing table rather than the crib. Y'know. Just to rebel a little bit.
- Finishing touches. Y'know, bringing in the rocking chair (which currently resides in our front room), move stuff around, find spots for all the goodies I'll be getting at my upcoming shower, and all the fun "final touches" decorating. Then share 'em here!

More importantly, our biggest job right now is researching our pediatrician options and putting in a phone call about a possible daycare provider. And, of course, I have to make the final cloth diaper decision (but that's technically lower on the list). There are a million loose ends I'd like to tie up all over the house - especially outside (our curb appeal is driving me CRAZY right now!!!) - but the energy levels are diminishing while the belly size is increasing. And why is it that every time I get halfway through a sewing project, my bobbin tension goes all wacky?! Is it the Universe shouting "It's time to call your mother" (mind you, the Universe in this scenario has a middle-aged Jewish accent, similar to Mrs. Costanza)?! Sheesh.

However, I must say that our weekend was quite eventful, between getting the full-sized bed hauled to its new home (the in-laws :-)), the crib built, a post-birthday celebration at Beardslee Castle with my favoritest people, a trip to Oneonta to visit a former student (who's like our first child, truth be known) and stop by an awesome natural food/product store and antique shop, and heading home to do a bit of yard work (during which I had an epiphany - the foundation is okay as it is, for now...the paint chipping off of the basement windows, however, could stand some paint - much easier mini-makeover, don'tchya think?! And I can totally do that with the right cushioning...hee hee). Oh, yes, and I sanded down the dresser only to realize that we needed more wood putty and to decide on some hardware for that sucker. So, while my energy lacks for more sanding/painting, I DO think I can head to Lowe's and grab those items...then fill some holes and call it a night. Whew. So, that's all for now!

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