Thanks to our hostess, Jennifer at Conversion Diary, who has a snazzy new, bookish profile picture.
1. We got our tax refund. This is the first time we’ve actually gotten a refund in…well, anyway, we got our tax refund.
I know that, were I following Dave Ramsey or Clark Howard or various other authorities’ guidelines, I would be thinking, “Shucks. The government earned interest on our money while they borrowed it from us in the form of excess withholding.”
I’m not thinking that, though. I’m thinking, “We have a new bed! We finally bought a bed! After (almost) ten years of marriage, we have a new, non-handed-down bed!”
Wow…that refund was fun while it lasted.
2. Properly dressing a bed is an investment. Even when one shops around, as I always do, it’s expensive to get all the stuff for a bed. My poor, poor husband, who thought I *liked* the minimalist approach we’d formerly taken to not buying anything for our room…at all…is somewhat alarmed by all the pillows.
Oh, but I need more pillows. The picture that came with the comforter set ($80 on Overstock.com! Even though it is somewhat taupe-ier than pictured, it was $80!) shows 12 pillows on the bed. We have half that.
Are they called “throw pillows” because you throw them on a chair at night after they sit politely on the bed all day?
3. The first time these pillows are appropriated for tent/fort-making purposes, someone is going to be in a world of hurt. I don’t care how cheap they were at Tuesday Morning (GO!), they are for impractical purposes only.
4. Our having a new bed means that the baby has a new bed, and I don’t mean our bed, although – yes, the baby is in our bed, and I echo some of the sentiments expressed by the more articulate MrsDarwin on that topic. I’m giving up on the crib. We could try to train him to sleep in the crib, only to train him to sleep in a Big Boy Bed once he can launch himself out of the crib, or we can just skip that part and stick the baby monitor right next to his head on the mattress on the floor when he’s sleeping, and intervene when he awakes.
You have to remember that intervention part, though, as today’s nap ended silently and found him happily exploring his sister’s dollhouse while I read my Entertainment Weekly.
5. Do you know, in 34 years of living indoors, I’ve never put window treatments on windows? At any location? Part of it has been that we’ve always lived places that we knew would only be for a couple of years. I couldn’t bring myself to invest in window dressing, and I mean that both literally and metaphorically, I think. But tax refund + eBay + sewing machine = big plans, with big mounds of fabric.
6. So, there have been a lot of packages arriving at our house, and I can tell the children think this is going to be The Way We Live Now. At first, every day brought new excitement. “Is that fabric? For me? Are those picture frames?” Now, it’s just part of the routine. “Mom. UPS man at the door for you.” Funny how the thrill wears off. At least, I hope I’m interpreting that correctly, because the last item (shower curtain for the kids’ bathroom) arrives Monday, I think.
7. Goodness, this has been materialistic. But, you know what? It’s okay to enjoy the making of a home. I am really pleased to have a bedroom that looks like it was decorated “on purpose,” as my husband put it. I’ve always tended to treat our room as the go-to storage area for junk I was going to get around to dealing with. And I’ve always been a terrible sleeper, even before I was being interrupted infinity times a night by a squirmy so-and-so. To the point that, lately, I’ve been feeling apprehensive as bedtime nears, knowing I would just have another crummy night of sleep and begin the coffee-Excedrin-anger cycle again in the morning. So I’m going to renew my efforts to not spend hours on end reading about politics and sewing on the computer after everyone…or mostly everyone, save the baby…is in bed.
See? Signing off now.
Oh, shoot SHOOT. Tomorrow is Block of the Month at the quilt shop. I didn’t do my block yet. Well, I guess watching a movie while sewing is still more relaxing than bloggy-tweety-click-click.
Goodnight, all.
Congrats on your new bed! I remember the feeling when we bought our first mattress after sleeping on the floor (with a baby) for nearly a year. Wow. I need to sell my never-used-except-for-storing-clothing crib; thanks for the reminder. Also, welcome to Texas! I think I remember you from the NFP board.
I can relate to so much in your post. However, we have backtracked and given our precious bed to our two daughters. We use the futon downstairs now and make it every night. It's working fine but I love my bed. MY bed. sniff
Congrats on the bed Dorian! I'd like to make a foray into the world of lounge suites (aka couches), but am still working up the nerve.
Latha just got her first "big girl bed," which turned out to be a queen bed, because we had a spare one (frame, mattress, box springs, the works). We felt a bit reluctant to give her such a huge bed, but… economics won out on that decision. And– hey– they make a pink bedspread with ballerinas on it in queen size (who knew?) so we were covered! (Wow, that's a pun! Cool!)
I can relate to reading endless articles about politics, though sometimes I get sort of obsessed with it. Or, not obsessed, exactly– just kind of astounded at the level of dialogue.
Good luck with keeping the pillows in mommy and daddy land. Hope it works out for ya.
My bedroom is the junk room of the house, and the unfolded laundry room too. I hate living in a mess, but I hate folding laundry even more, it seems.