Furniture Woes

We've had more than our fair share of furniture woes lately. Things are looking up and stores have done right by their guarantees and their products, so I had to share!

Woe #1: Mattress
We bought a Simmons Beauty Rest Mattress at Denver Mattress (part of Furniture Row) on December 31, 2005. We sprung for a Simmons because of its good reputation and durability. Over the past few months, we've been noticing some major "dips" in the mattress and that those "dips" have caused the mattress to be less comfortable. I pulled out the paperwork that came with the mattress to find that it was guaranteed for 10 years to not "dip" more than 1 1/2 inches. I called to see how we should measure the "dips" and they told me to lay a yardstick across the mattress and measure with a ruler. You can see pictures below!

The mattress had two places with close to 2 inch "dips" and a few other places over 1 1/2 inches. We took pictures and took them with us when we went to Denver Mattress last week. There were NO QUESTIONS asked! The saleswoman pulled up our invoice and showed us our mattress choices. We ended up selecting one that was equal in price to the one we have already. We set up for delivery and went on our way. It was really that easy! We'll be getting our new mattress delivered within the next week or two. Hooray!

Woe #2: No living room furniture

11 weeks ago today, I we ordered a sleeper sofa, a love seat and an ottoman from a furniture store in Austin. When we ordered it all, they told us it would be ready in 6-8 weeks. WELL, this is what our living room has looked like since then...

R usually sits in the black computer desk chair, and I sit in the brown easy chair in the right of the last picture. Too bad if we have any guests over. The dogs lay on their bed (or in C's little easy chair!) and I usually have my feet up in a camp chair or in one of the dining chairs.

It has seriously gotten ridiculous! 11 weeks? Seriously? Yes! I called on Thursday to get an update on the furniture. The very nice lady told me that it was set to be shipped from the manufacturer next week. They don't deliver to our area, so then we'd have to set up a time to go get my dad's truck and trailer, go get it, and bring it home.

I told the lady that I was not pleased, and she was very apologetic and understanding. When I told her that I was 28 weeks pregnant with twins and that I'd been without living room furniture for 11 weeks, she was appalled! I asked her what she could do to make the situation right. She went and talked with the owner/manager and came back with this offer: They will deliver the furniture to our home (which is WAY out of their normal delivery area) AND they will deliver it for FREE! I thought that was a generous offer to keep the customer happy. So we should have furniture within the next two weeks!

Woe #3: Desk chair

I mentioned here that sitting at my desk in my desk chair had become almost unbearable. I packed up my at-home set up and took it to my cubicle. This is where you will find me sitting most work-days. Camp chair with a pillow in the back, laptop on my lap and feet in another chair. I can reach my phone, my water and I have my cell phone in the drink holder pockets! It is a great set up for the time being! I thought you would all enjoy a picture!

Halloween 2009

Halloween 2009 didn’t go exactly as I had hoped it would. I have a bit of a stubborn (and yet completely precious) almost-two year old on my hands. She must get that from her father. I digress.

She loves picking “flowders” so we decided that she’d be a pretty pink “flowder” for Halloween. Gammy made a precious collar with shimmery petals that C could wear, and we got her a pink t-shirt and green leggings. I knew she wouldn’t be willing to wear anything on her head, so the elaborate costume was out of the question. Also, like me, she doesn’t like to be hot, so a “suit” of any kind wouldn’t have worked either.

I will let the pictures tell most of the story…

R trying to convince her to put on the “flowder” collar so she could go get candy. Eventually she got mad because I was taking her picture! She would wail if we got the petal collar anywhere near her.

Big, pregnant mommie decides to wear the “flowder” petals for our trick-or-treating adventure. About 4 houses down the block, I snuck up behind her and tied the petal collar around her waist. She looked down and squealed with delight, “I have costume! Woo-woo!” She pranced around for the rest of the evening thrilled with her costume. *Heavy sigh!*

We let her enjoy as much "cany" as she wanted, so she had a mini Hershey bar, a sucker, some sweet tarts and some M&Ms. Needless to say, she was sugared-up! She had the best time entertaining her guests (Mimi, Papa, Uncle Mikey, Aunt Teesa, Kaylie, Matthew, and Gammy) and running around like a banshee!
OH it is amazing how much I LOVE my little "flowder"!

Pumpkin Pics

Favorite Picture #1

Favorite Picture #2

All pictures were taken before C got mad because I wouldn't buy a little pumpkin with a rotten spot on it. She proceeded to throw a HUGE screaming, crying and snot-infused FIT in the middle of the church parking lot! Lovely! So glad I snapped these beauties before all of that nonsense!

And just for LAUGHS, here is my favorite picture from the same pumpkin patch last year...my little schnauzer!

Maybe next year we'll make it through the whole excursion without tears...or maybe not!

Picture it!

Okay, so I can't take a picture of myself, so you'll just have to imagine it...

I can no longer sit comfortably at my desk and in my desk chair for more than a few minutes at a time. This obviously poses a problem and interferes with my productivity! Recently, I started turning my desk chair around and working with my laptop on my lap while my legs are propped up in another chair. That has worked okay for a while, but there is ZERO support for my back which is most of the problem. I finally gave up and came home to work this afternoon, and I must say I believe I've found a solution.

I'm sitting in one of our fold-out camping chairs (you know, the kind with the drink holders on the arms?) with a pillow on my back and my feet propped up in another chair. My laptop is on my lap and for the moment, there is not any pain or pressure on my body. I can lean back enough in the chair that my back is relaxed, and the pillow is just giving me that extra support. Ahhhh.

I will probably try and take this set-up with me tomorrow to work. The only problem is that we are STILL waiting on our living room furniture to come in and removing one of the camping chairs is going to equal removing half of our current living room furniture. Hmmm. Ryan said I could fold the chair up every morning and take it to work and then fold it up every evening and bring it home. Wouldn't that be a sight?

I'm TRYING so hard to maintain my sense of humor and keep a positive attitude, but my body is just entering a really uncomfortable phase much earlier than it would with a singleton pregnancy. I get frustrated with myself when I can't go and do certain things with C anymore because my body just says, "NO!" The only time I'm truly comfortable is when I'm laying down in bed...And oddly enough, that isn't too much fun to C!

I'll make it through this. I do not want to be a complainer or a whiner, but I'm told that folks can tell by the look on my face that I am struggling!

Going to the doctor on Friday for another check-up! Woo-hoo! We're taking C this time, so I'll be very interested to see what she thinks about her Baby Brothers!!

I carried a watermelon!

In "Dirty Dancing," Baby is disgusted with herself when all she can think of to say is, "I carried a watermelon!" That was all I could think of when I saw these pictures. I look like I'm carrying a watermelon! I promise, I'm not carrying a watermelon! Just two active little boys! Pics taken at 25 weeks and 6 days.

Big Girl Bed Update

Exhibit A: Big girl in her big girl bed after mommie and daddy FINALLY got it all set up! She was GIDDY with excitement when it all came together! She went and got her “friends” (Sammy, Lovey & Giraffe) and put them in the bed along with her “boppies” (pacifiers)! She kept saying, “Mommie, I sleep in big girl bed! Good night!”

Exhibit B: Big girl actually asleep in her big girl bed after wallering and tossing all of the pillows about! She’s slept in the bed the past two nights and has done really, really well! This picture was taken on the second night!

Corrie’s Tips for Moving a Big Girl to a Big Girl Bed…

1. TALK IT UP! Talk about it for a week before the switch is to happen. Point out “big girl beds” any time you see them on television or in books. Make it sound SO cool! The day of the switch, talk about helping take down the “baby bed” and putting up the “big girl bed.” Ask her, “Where are you going to sleep tonight?” to which she will reply, “My big girl bed!”

2. Let the Big Girl actually help put the “big girl bed” up. We gave C an Allan wrench, a screwdriver and a tire gauge (?) and she had the best time “helping” us work. We praised her like crazy and she was so interested in watching every step.

3. Get the Big Girl some pretty new sheets! We got some at Kohl’s with pink flowers on them. I made a big deal about all the pretty flowers in her new bed! When the sheets are covered up, she asks to see the pretty flowers!

4. GET A BEDRAIL! The one we got is from Target. It was affordable (around $35, I think) and it has two small pockets on the inside where C has her “boppies” stashed. She is so jazzed about the “boppies” being so handy! She keeps saying, “Boppies go in there!”

5. Do your normal night time routine and when you are saying prayers thank God for the “big girl bed” and then put the Big Girl to bed like normal. Turn on the monitor and wait! The first night Ryan had to go in there once and remind her to close her eyes and go night-night. Last night, she didn’t make a peep!

We’re very relieved that things have gone so well. She did have one incident yesterday afternoon when she asked to play in her bed. I put her in the bed and left the room. A few minutes later I heard a thud and then some serious crying. She jumped out of the bed, fell out of the bed or slipped out of the bed. She’s got a red pop-knot on her head, but I think she learned a valuable lesson…Call mommie or daddy when you are ready to get out of bed! Later yesterday evening, I heard her say, “Mommy help you get out!” The girl picks things up SO quickly!

Flu Shot Finale!

I promise this will be my very last post about the flu shot issue. The way things ended is just too good not to share, though!

I posted yesterday about finally giving up on my quest to find a preservative-free seasonal flu vaccination for myself. A friend’s mom had offered to save a vaccine for me and administer it, but it was going to be the regular kind and not preservative-free. After talking about it with Ryan, praying about it and weighing the pros and cons, we decided it would be wisest for me to just get the regular shot.

I felt really peaceful about the decision as I waited for my 3:00 appointment to get the shot. I knew that God was bigger than any shot and was much bigger than any issue that getting the shot might cause.

Well, when I walked into the office a little after 3:00, I was greeted with the news that the single-dose syringe that had been saved back for me WAS in fact the preservative-free kind! I couldn’t believe my ears! After I got the shot and walked back to my car, I stopped for a few minutes to think about what had just happened…

God had asked me to trust HIM. Not science, not “my gut”, not my own misgivings, and not statistics. When I stepped out on that faith in Him alone, He provided in ways beyond all of my expectations! He didn’t want the “victory” to be mine in this situation. He didn’t want me to be given credit for “finding” the preservative-free vaccine. He wanted me to trust Him…vaccine with preservative or vaccine without preservative. When I finally let go and was willing to do that, He got to shine and do His thing!