Four Wal-Marts, a Target and a Babies R Us

We went over to Lisa and Brian's Saturday to help get the nursery ready for Clara Ann and to get Gracie's room put together. Well, with the best intentions, the afternoon quickly deteriorated into quite an adventure. First off, we attempted to turn Gracie's 4-in-1 bed from a toddler bed to a full size bed, but it turned out that three years ago they were given the wrong bed rails. So now Gracie has a half built bed in her room for the next two weeks while we wait for the right bed rails to come in (they were out of stock and had to be re-ordered).

So we decide to tackle Clara Ann's nursery instead. Brian and I brought in the crib and changing table. The crib was a "floor model" but was the perfect match. In our mind, floor model meant it had been a display, but was the last one and was re-boxed. No, we could only be so lucky. The first piece out was small side rail, about one foot long with a picture on the side of what the crib would look like. The next piece was the headboard, again with a framed picture of the crib. Finally, we pull out all the pieces, line them up, and realize that the crib was a miniature of the actual crib -- a floor "model." Well, that won't do. Thus began the evening of four Wal-Marts, a Target and a Babies R Us.

We promptly returned both the model crib and the changing table to the Camden Wal-Mart (they didn't have a full-sized version), then headed into Columbia to check Target. No luck at Target, so check Wal-Mart (where the car-jacker got shot in the butt), but no luck there. Drive through Chick-fil-a and head across town to the Babies R Us. Nothing was right there, either, so hit the next Wal-Mart. No dice, even though their display showed a picture of the crib we wanted. It appears that they carry the crib, but in the wrong color. They also carry the changing table in the color we wanted, but with no cribs to match. When asked about this, the sales associated could only say, "Yeah, I can't explain it either."

Jeni decided to call the last Wal-Mart in Columbia, and they said they actually had two cribs in the style we wanted in the walnut finish we wanted so we loaded up the crew and headed back across town and back toward Camden. Once we got there, I took Gracie off looking for lobsters (yes, it appears some Wal-Marts have lobster tanks, so a trip to Wal-Mart for Gracie means a visit to the lobsters). While I was pushing Gracie, I head them page a flatbed to children's furniture! It turns out that, no, they did not have the one we were looking for in walnut, but they had a comparable crib (and one we ended up liking better), so we bought a full-sized crib for Clara Ann, re-purchased the same changing table from before (I'm sure this one is better, though), loaded up the Tahoe and hit the road.

Almost six hours later, seven stops, but we got what we needed. Just to be sure, Brian and I put the crib together that night (we got home around 10:30), but wisely waited until Sunday morning to do the changing table.

Jeni and Lisa went through all of Gracie's old baby clothes, washing about 10 loads and sorting them by size into tubs. Lisa has enough clothes for triplets (not that I'm trying to jinx her).

We also hung another shelf in the laundry room for the detergents to get them off the dryer, reversed the dryer door so it opens the right way, hung shelves in the nursery, hung hooks in Gracie's room, hung decorations in Clara Ann's room, and built two sets of cabinets and a toy box for the play room. Overall, I'd say it was a successful weekend, and with Clara Ann carrying so low, I think it's a good thing we got this stuff settled when we did. From here, I think it's just the little stuff.

Oh, and if Jeni and I hadn't sworn off Wal-Mart already, we definitely have now. It's like locking a kid in the closet with a pack of cigarettes until you know they'll never touch them again...