Nursery Progress

I didn't call The Buttface all day. I'm still burnt up about the malicious joke and, to a lesser degree, the crabbiness on the phone.

Today I installed the floor boards in the main area of the nursery. Then Susie and I moved in the furniture! The Beloved Buttface has always had a grand time picking on me for having a penchant for too much furniture. But it has come in very handy! At our old home I had a tea room with matching pine shelves and dressers and a buffet, along with a tea cart (it was really a fancy decorative microwave cart) and a media stand. And it has aged over the years to a lovely golden patina. Perfect for sage green walls and toffee colored carpet! Yippee-skippee! So Miss Susie and I - okay Miss Susie - moved the dresser and two tall bookcases into the nursery, and my Mother's rocking chair that I'd used for both of The Littles. I pretty much stood there in the way saying helpful things like, "Watch your fingers! Don't smash your toes! Watch the paint! Okay, you're going to have to stand that on end to get it through there!" I'm sure Miss Susie found my help invaluable invalid.

Once Miss Susie had everything where I suggested, she moved it a few more times to other places that I suggested. And then a few more times again. Miss Susie deserves a raise! Once I stopped tormenting Miss Susie - I mean once I was finally happy with the placement of the bookshelves, the Lovely Daughter started filling the shelves with her old favorite books and three volumes of nursery rhymes. Apparently that pinkie-swear was magic because she said she was going to sit in the rocker to read to baby Jack. So it's only a long dresser and two bookshelves, but it's looking like a baby's room! I cannot wait to get the crib. I kept the crib we'd used for both of The Littles, but it was white. In the grand scheme of things it will be cheaper by far to buy a new Jenny Lind crib for $100.00 to match, than to buy all new furniture to match the crib.

I didn't call Buttface and he didn't call me, so when 5:00 rolled around and he hadn't shown up, I started thinking that maybe he wasn't coming home tonight; it's always good news when these jobs last longer because it usually means premium pay. Then 5:30 came and went. At 6:00 we walked down to the mailboxes and came back. Dinner was in the oven and there wasn't much else to do. By 6:30 I was sure he wasn't coming back tonight. Then at 6:45, I heard the key in the lock. I was about to serve dinner to the kids, and in he strolls. He asked what we'd done today and I said not much. He asked if I'd tried to call and I said no, to which he asked why I hadn't. I said between him being crabby on the phone when I did call him and the cruel joke he played on me Wednesday, I didn't feel like talking to him, and I continued serving dinner, setting a plate for him.

I went to take a bath instead of eating. I'm not supposed to sit in water, and I'm only supposed to be showering, but tonight I indulged in a bubble bath. That danged stitch has been infected since it was placed, so really, what harm can be done with one bubble bath? I think the kids must have taken him to the nursery to see our progress because that's where I found the three of them. He jumped right in and went to work on the door, and I showed him the moulding. He thinks we should get an awning for outside of the nursery window so it won't be so hot in summer. Then I served dinner for the two of us, noting that his plate was still spotless. It was a rather pleasant meal. Hmmm. What's up here? So after dinner he went right back to work on the nursery, cutting the moulding for the remaining floor boards and the door frame, and he cut the door to fit. We installed the door together. I'd already said thank you, but when he asked if I was happy with the work he'd gotten done I said yes, very, and thanked him again. I'll be really glad when he finally gets back to normal and stops with the Dr Jekyll/Mr Hyde thing.

Once he'd stopped working for the evening he was pleasant and funny with me and the kids. He had the kids in fits of laughter and he was affectionate and joking with me. Just like normal. Once the kids were in bed he sat behind me on the couch to massage my neck, head and back. He made an attempt to massage my feet and legs but they are so swollen and puffy that it hurts too much to touch them. Once we finally went to bed, he was even cuddly and talkative. Then he dropped like a rock and was snoring.