Tuesday, July 1, 2008

Moving On, Moving Through

We're making some great progress on LadyBug's "big girl" room re-do. Did you know that Big Lots has some great deals on window treatments? Nothing overly fancy, just some good basic pieces. Just what we were looking for to create a more stream-lined, grown-up look. For a mere $40, I was able to purchase 4 panels and two scarves for her windows last Thursday. The Boss has worked late these last couple nights, so the curtains will have to be hung over the long holiday weekend.

Today's big day of errands was precipitated by a pretty Chinese lantern that I'd seen on sale at my local Lowe's yesterday. I was originally going to make a hanging light fixture for LadyBug's room, but there it was already assembled and only $10! I was there helping my sister make some design choices for her kitchen re-model. It was a great distraction for me and a much-needed afternoon with one of my favorite people. My Lowe's didn't have more of the lanterns in stock but they called to a store about 25 minutes north of home and that store agreed to hold one for me. So while I was "up there" today I made plans to also hit K-Mart (we don't have one locally) and Wal-Mart. Our two local Wal-Marts had versions of the particular curtain rods I wanted but neither had the right size or two at once. You know the drill. We got a late start for us, but we decided to try and hit all three stores in one fell swoop. Lowe's was a piece of cake: in for the lantern, swing by for some light bulbs and on our way we went!

K-Mart turned out to be a big disappointment for curtain rods and curtains alike. Even their lamp selection was lacking. It used to be that I could always score great quality table-top lamps & shades there. I was disappointed at the variety this time, and really frustrated with the prices. But while we were there, LadyBug found some adorable summer clothes for school and church and had a ball spending b'day money from Grandma & Grandpa. (A point of maternal pride here: this girl has excellent taste in style and color. And she's very frugal with her pennies! That's my girl!!)

At Wal-mart, I finally found both of the decorative rods I have wanted, and they were on sale! I'd been praying about it all morning because I wanted trip to be efficient, both time- and fuel-wise. In addition to the window hardware, we found a pretty sham that matches the bedskirt that our neighbor gave us. LadyBug picked out a decorative pillow with her birthday money and I sprang for one to coordinate. Seriously, that girl has such an eye for color - she went right to the aqua-striped pillow and said, "Mommy, this is the perfect blue-green for my room. I think I like this one best." And she was right: when I brought it home and put it on bed, it is the perfect aqua. From memory! That's my girl!

Once home, I was excited to see that Dr. D had been busy sanding down a five-drawer dresser that I found on the roadside last week. (Not the greatest quality piece, but certainly a find for "FREE!") Shaggy had emptied, organized and swept out the whole garage. And both boys had washed their sleeping bags and dried them and put them away after the camp-out over the weekend. (I was giddy with joy at not having to handle those gross things!)

I got right to work ironing the bedskirt and sham and re-assembling the bed. What a gorgeous room this girl has. I love it when a project comes together even better that I've pictured. All that's left to complete this big-girl dream room is to paint the knobs on her dresser and night-stand, hang the Chinese lantern, paint the lamps for the dresser and hang curtains. We have some wall-hangings to work on but that can happen as we find what we like. I should be able to post pictures soon - without the curtains, the pics will just come out glare-y and harsh.

It was a satisfying and productive day and it sure helped the time pass quickly while we wait to hear from our agency about the big "where do we go from here" question. While the whole mess was never far from my mind or my heart, it was refreshing to spend the day hanging out with my little ones, and giggling and planning pretties with my pretty. (Baby BlueEyes was such a trooper through all the girly stuff!)

We're moving on. Not completely past it, but we are moving through.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Glad you found something else to occupy your thoughts, if only for a few moments.
So you're waiting for LH to hear from CCAA at this point?? More waiting. It never ends in the adoption journey, does it? Or maybe it's just China. Either way, it's enough to break you. Good thing you're strong in your faith and your heart (and regardless of what you think, you are a strong woman!)
Looking forward to talking to you soon. I guess there's no guest room now, huh? No room for "the four of us" to cop a squat for a few days??
Love ya,
Kateri

Livin' Life said...

Still in my heart and prayers. I can't believe you guys though, busy beavers. You do in a day what takes me a month. :)