Medical Test / Shop / Set Up Playroom

Monday, January 25, 2010

Blogging by Jack:

Finally getting caught up on the blog.

I had a medical test in the morning. I was told that I might have adverse effects from the testing that lasted the whole day, so I took the entire day off instead of the original 1/2 day that I really wanted to take. I am trying very hard not to use up all my vacation and sick days, but these tests can never seem to be after school or on the holidays I need them to be.

SO... when we finished the test (Melinda went with me and was reading our mandatory reading book, "The Connected Child" in the lobby), we decided to look at a baby store that Melinda had been told to check out before heading home to work on the house. We went to a small baby boutique called "Right Start" in Dallas. They had some unique-looking items that we needed anyway, so we got them.

As we were going home, we stopped by "Buy Buy Baby" http://www.buybuybaby.com/. VERY COOL. It was better than Toys-R-Us or Babies-R-Us (which we have visited several times) and much cheaper than either store. It was warehouse prices but with a huge variety and selection of any item. Not one or two brands of bottles and one or two nipple sizes in those brands, but a boatload of options with every size nipple and plenty of them. Additionally, there were dozens of car seats (maybe over 100). We chose the Advent bottle system ("Thank you, Alison") with the 2-minute sterilization cleaning setup. Forget Wal-Mart, Target or any of the other stores. If you see a Buy Buy Baby, stop and check it out.

Some of the things we bought Sunday and Monday include:

• Dr. Seuss books (several of the big classics)
• A Disney anthology of 22 stories with plenty of pictures -- all the big movies from Little Mermaid to Mulan to Pinocchio
• Fischer Price Little People Farm (like the classic ones, except all plastic and the Little People are slightly bigger so that kids have a harder time trying to choke themselves on them)
• Mr. Potatohead
• Gund Teddy Bear  - gotta have one of these!
• Diaper machine like a Diaper Genie, but, by many accounts, substantially better -- the "bags" are a lot less expensive, too
• An art table (that kids can write on with dry erase markers) and four chairs
• "Sippy" cups, spoons, etc.
• Forehead thermometer that also checks the temperature of food and bath water plus a whole baby medical kit

After arriving home, we started the major redecoration of the house. We moved out everything from the study except the over-stuffed leather chair (that will be our "reading corner" chair) and the hall tree (which we still need to move). We moved most of the other items from that room throughout the house including the 8' x 10' beautiful black rug, but we still are scratching our heads on some things. As part of the process, we switched the low black china cabinet from the kitchen for the tall, very, very heavy dark wood tall china cabinet in the study. This was quite a feat for the surgery-recovering Jack, plus Melinda, but we made it happen. Yea, Team Nelson!

Once we put everything in the cabinet (which included vintage books from Melinda's and Jack's childhood), it started to look like a playroom. The BIG thing we need now is a large, fun rug. We have several designs we like. We also eventually need new curtains and built-in bookshelves. We plan to get canned lights installed overhead. This study has a very high arch in the center and no lights -- just plugs that have a light switch on the wall. We had an electrician scheduled a week or so ago, but the electricity went out temporarily with a storm that blew through hours before he arrived and we cancelled him. Of course right after that the lights came back on, so now we have to reschedule him.

We still need lots of wall decorations, a new paint job to more fun colors and maybe some small furniture. Many things may wait until we have a child or two actually there, but we want to be all prepared and make the room inviting.

AFTER we do this room, we will concentrate on the baby's room and the child's room (two different rooms).