Do one thing

Thank you all for your kind words of encouragement on the last post.  It felt so great to let all that stuff go that I actually felt myself getting sleepier as I was writing, as though releasing that weight made me lighter and heavier at the same time.  Does that make sense?  At any rate, thank you again.  I'm so lucky to have readers and friends like you guys.

With that weight off my shoulders and your advice under my belt (I'm holding off on the stroller purchase until I absolutely need one.  We're going on our first vacation as a family of four in May, so I'm guessing that'll be the first time I really need a stroller), I've turned my attention to other, smaller things that I can accomplish.  If I do just one thing at a time, it doesn't feel so overwhelming.  And decorating always makes me feel better, so that's what I did and this little bit of nursery progress has gone a long way to helping me to relax about the whole thing.

Let's start with the crib skirt - I actually finished that a while ago but never got around to writing about it.  When I first bought the fabric I was going to sew a ruffled crib skirt with the burlap.

Like this one from here.

However, those kinds of ruffles work best on a crib that has nothing on the bottom, so you can really appreciate the ruffle effect.  My crib has a drawer on the bottom, so it's not the same.  Not to be deterred, I figured I could make one big ruffle.  But then I read that sewing burlap is super hard and has the potential of jacking up your sewing machine and since this is me we're talking about, I would most definitely jack up my sewing machine.  However, I do plan to make a pillow and floor cushion so I'm going to attempt the muslin sandwich thing and pray to Jesus I don't ruin my sewing machine.  But back to the crib skirt!

Once again, I bought entirely too much fabric.

One day I'll do the math, I swear.

You're smarter than I am so you don't need to be told, but 

nonetheless:  Don't iron foil applique type stuff.  It'll melt off

and then you have to stop and curse and quickly clean off your iron before

the iron is ruined.

Luckily, this will be on a side that no one sees.

I was too scared to sew and the velcro squares were still on the crib

from Sofia's crib skirt, so I took that as a sign that I wasn't meant to sew this one either.

 So I gathered and safety pinned my ruffle and I was rather pleased with myself.

Until I put the ruffle on the crib and was totally Sad Clown about all my hard work.

You can't even see that it's a ruffle and you can barely see the gold polka dot detail!

I considered unpinning the ruffle and just hanging the burlap straight 

but let's face it; if I haven't done it by now it's probably not going to get done.

I mean, it's not ugly but it's just not the look I was going for.

Plus as the crib mattress gets lower, the polka dots are going to all but disappear.

E for Effort, Desiree.  Moving on...

Next on the list were the Goldilocks of wall stickers.  Allow me to explain. In a pregnant hormonal fit of "I need to buy wall stickers and I need them right this second or nothing else matters" I bought three sets of wall stickers.  Excessive?  Absolutely, but I fully claim to be everywhere but in my right mind.

First on the list was Walls by Mur.  I didn't do my research; that part's on me.  I just saw 'mini' and gold and my hot little fingers ordered those wall stickers in the blink of an eye.  Then they came and they were huge.  In my world, polka dots that are nearly three inches in diameter are not 'mini.'  So I promptly rolled them back up and scoured the site for instructions on how to return them, of which there are none.  They will 'happily' give you a store credit or an exchange on another set of stickers, but they don't 'do' refunds.  Not only that, you have to pay for the return shipping.  F THAT.  There are far too many companies in the world for me to be dealing with poor customer service.  So I'm stuck with these 'mini not mini' gold dots and I'm none too pleased.  The moral of this story:  Only buy from Walls by Mur if you're 1000% sure of the product you want because you ain't giving it back.

Next on the list was Urban Walls.  This was the company used in my inspiration picture so I figured I couldn't go wrong with them.  Again, my fingers flew over the keyboard and I ordered some wall stickers faster than you can say 'debit card.'

But wait.

She put hearts on her wall and I'm putting polka dots on my wall.  There's probably a difference right?  Plus, these dots are half the size of the other ones - won't that be *too* small?  The doubt crept in and then I did what I should have done from the start - I pulled up the polka dot inspiration picture to see what company *she* went with.

image source

I decided to go with the confetti pattern because there was no way I would've had

the patience to properly measure a grid pattern to keep all my lines straight.

A confetti pattern is far more forgiving.

I hopped on over to Walls Need Love and ordered a third set of stickers.  They were just the right size and turned out to be the cheapest option of the three.  Then I hopped on back to Urban Walls and cancelled my order, and I'm currently waiting on my refund from them because *they* have a refund policy and they were prompt and courteous about it.  If I order wall stickers again, I'll have a look at Urban Walls or Walls Need Love before I go back to Walls by Mur.  Walls by Mur can suck it.

I wrote my anxiety post and the very next day the wall stickers arrived.  It was a sign; it was my one thing that I could do that day.  However, I was feeling ambitious.  I didn't just do one thing - I made it out of the house and I bought my one can of gold spray paint.

I taped off the wooden handles and used an exacto knife to cut it away so the green parts

would be exposed.

Then I took it outside and gave it a couple of thin coats and brought it back in to the garage

for a full day and night so it could dry and not be as fume-y.

The whole thing took about 30 minutes and the majority of that was taping the handles.

It was quick and easy and all I needed was a kick in the pants to get it done.

After it dried or cured or whatever it is spray paint is supposed to do, I brought

it back in and loaded it up.  Having this little thing done makes me so very happy.

But I wasn't done yet!  Up next, wall stickers!  That project actually took longer than I thought it would because random patterns aren't as easy as they look.  I placed them one at a time, stepping back each time to make sure it was *just* random enough, but that it didn't look sloppy.

Plus, the best thing about going with a random pattern is that Sofia got to help 

decorate Baby Sister's room.

I don't know how well I executed the same confetti pattern but I sure like it.

I didn't use all the stickers and I periodically go in and slap another sticker

on the wall where I think it needs one.

Ruffled crib skirt notwithstanding, I think I'm doing a pretty decent job keeping 

it all cohesive with the pink and gold and dots.

And, and!  Remember when the closet looked like this?

We've even made progress in there!

Drew is going to install a second hanging bar and then I can free up some drawer 

space for the stuff that's on the top shelf.

This is Sofia's closet from her room in Texas.

New Baby's closet is a little bit bigger, but 

I'm going for the same layout.  If it ain't broke, don't fix it!

I still have to hang pictures, paint the bookcase, sew that flippin slipcover for the big chair and figure out some more storage options.  As of January 22, I will have one month (saying that sounds longer than 30 days (!!!) left in this pregnancy and if I get in done during that time, great.  If not, I'm pretty sure the hospital will still let us bring the baby home. 

I want to get it all done, but I seriously need to start relaxing and calming down because I didn't even touch on all the anxiety surrounding the labor and delivery.  You know, new city, new hospital, what if they push all their hospital crap on me, will I have to fight with them, what if I have to have a c-section, what if there are problems with the baby, what if I don't go into labor by myself and they induce me and it doesn't work, what if there are complications with me, what if what if what if.  You know, the usual.

But starting now and today, I'm working on simply inhaling and exhaling.  Everything has a way of working out, just the way it's supposed to - you all reminded me of that.  All I have to do is remember that.  I also have to remember to find happiness in the things I have accomplished instead of just worry about the things that remain undone.  It's easier said than done but if anyone's worth the effort, it's my baby and my family.

So here's to calming the F down *as I raise my fake oh how I wish it were real glass of wine to you all*  We're in the home stretch!