Monday, July 30, 2007

Yellow does not cover green very well...


I can't believe it- only 2 weeks from today and we'll be with our son!! I picked up an XpressPost envelope this morning from the agency- it had our luggage and name tags, itineraries, airplane tickets- so, it's all VERY real to me now. And I'm vacillatiing from excitement & joy to sheer panic at least twice an hour. I'm trying to take on the attitude of a fellow travel mate, who left for China yesterday to do some touring; she said "I stopped stressing when I realized all I needed was our Notice of Coming, some US cash, and a credit card." Nice. I'm just trying to convince myself to believe it!

So, we bought paint on Friday evening, and started painting our son's room on Saturday. It's actually also our 8 year old's room. We decided to move Daniel in with her for the first year or so, given that he's so used to being in a room with other kids. Plus, she's happy to have the company, since her big sister moved into her own room a few months ago. But, of course, being 8 years old, she has definite opinions on how the room should be decorated. We decided that "Winnie the Pooh" would be appropriate for a room that is being shared by a sister and a little brother; and she already has a Pooh Bear comforter and has been a fan of Winnie and Tigger forever. All we needed was a Pooh Bear bedspread for Daniel's bed, and some accessories for the walls. Simple, right?

I should have been suspicious when I bought the Pooh wallpaper border for $5/roll (regular price $17.99). It was, and still is, a great deal- but the reason it was on sale is that, as it turns out, most Winnie the Pooh wallpaper AND bedding for children is now history. Out of stock. Not being manufactured any longer. Except maybe in the UK and Australia. No local store carried any Winnie the Pooh comfortors or bedspreads or duvet covers. LOTs of other Disney things- Cars, TinkerBell, Pirates, etc... but no Pooh Bear. So, I figured I'd be able to order it on-line. Not so easy, either. Finally, I found something new on eBay and we ordered it yesterday. We may get it before we go to China- or not.

And, yes, the weekend we decided to paint was one of the hottest ones on record for our cold little province. Did you know that in high humidity, paint doesn't dry very well? Especially the yellow paint that we bought to cover up a sage green. We're going on coat #4.... I know, I know... we should have primed it first... I've learned my lesson.

I have also learned that you should never paint shelves on your deck in the evening and leave them out overnight to dry. We tried that last night and I don't even want to tell you how sad it makes me to think about how much those little flies must have struggled to break free.

On a brighter note, the clouds that I painted on the sky blue walls are smashing! I'm trying to convince my husband that we need clouds in OUR bedroom, or the dining room, or maybe the bathroom ;) Have glaze, will travel.

Painting misadventures aside, I think we have time to get most things done. Whether Daniel has a Pooh bedspread or not won't really matter. Having a partly-sane mother and parents who are still speaking to each other are probably more important.

I'll let you know how that turns out.

13 comments:

Yoli said...

I am sure it is going to be beautiful. How exciting. Can you believeyou are almost there?

wzgirl said...

Oh yeah. Paint follies. We've been there - recently. Good idea to move on, some things just weren't meant to be.

"M" said...

How fun to be doing this knowing how soon Daniel will occupy that space. Good luck getting it worked out. And the clouds sound very fun. May need to paint myself some.

aimeeg said...

So totally exciting to be working on a room that Daniel will be in so soon!!!

4D said...

Keeping busy...good plan!

So exciting...almost time.

Love that advice...must rememember it.

Keep smilin!

Anonymous said...

I'm sure he will love to hear about these misadventures someday, they make life fun and interesting.
Soon all your misadventures will include him as well. How fun. Congrats!!

redmaryjanes said...

I am so excited that you will have your son soon!!

walternatives said...

Less than two weeks - holy cannoli, you're almost there. Very sweet of your daughter to share her room with her baby brother.

Red Sand said...

I can't believe how close you are!! So very exciting.

Kelly said...

Thanks for the smile of the day Carolyn! I can just imagine! Been there, done that. I can't believe our boys will be home so soon. I just dusted and washed the bedding last night for Aidan's room! Can't wait to see our kids together in Nanjing!

Are you just about ready?

Carolyn said...

What do you mean exactly by "just about ready"!?! LOL! We'll be "ready enough", I think!!
I'm washing some clothes for Daniel this week, trying to start piling things together to make packing a bit easier (thanks for your list, btw!), and we'll probably put his bed together this evening. I'm looking forward to finally meeting you all in Beijing/Nanjing also- I guess we're all on the same flight out of Beijing?

Wendy said...

Despite the problems with the room I am sure it will turn out great. I can't wait to meet you guy and Daniel

Anne Marie said...

And now because I am so late, you have only a week to go!!!!

I'm sorry preparing the room was a little trying, but it sounds so cute!

Can't wait to see what Daniel looks like now!