Plans are in the Works

Now that our adoption is finalized, I can finally mobilize all of the plans (large and small) that I have noted on my lists of for the longest time.  Other than purchasing a very few pieces of clothing, and indulging in a girly Pottery Barn duvet cover when we were in San Diego over Christmas, I refused to do let myself get ready for additional children until we made it through court.

I'm finding it such a joy to finally be able to dig in and get things going.  For example:

• I am now officially on the hunt for beds for the boys' room...in fact, I plan to order two twin beds on Monday.  Matthew is dying to share his room with his brother, and I think the plan for their room is coming together.  We'll also need to buy mattresses, duvets, duvet covers (my mom has volunteered to make these), sheets, etc etc. 

• I've begun to clean and clear out the guest-room-soon-to-be-daughter's-room, so that we're ready for a painter to come in just over a week from now.  Yay.  Her new duvet cover is in a tiny pink and white check gingham pattern (and I have little throw pillows in pinks, greens and yellows).  I'm going to order a bright green area rug, and plan to have the walls painted in a very soft pink colour.  I'm not very good at this decorating stuff, so when you see the results in a few weeks, be gentle with me!!

• Geoff and my Dad just tonight measured both kids' closets, with the goal of fitting them with shelving that will be more useful than the current configuration.  Hopefully the shelves are installed in the next seven days, before the painter arrives. (Dad, Geoff, are you reading this??!!!

• I'm also, with fear and trepidation, beginning to look into what I'll need for hair care...as you may recall from previous posts, hair is my single biggest fear in all of this.  I know, I know, it should be attachment or developmental stuff that I spend my time worrying about...but it's hair that I wake up about in the middle of the night.  I told my seven-year-old niece just a few days ago, when I was making a sad attempt to 'do' her hair, that I'm way out of my league just putting in one little pony tail on top of her head...she giggled (as she always does on this topic) and said she'd try to help me.  Seriously, I felt like a fish out of water just doing her straight, fine, hair; how on earth am I going to manage Lizzie Senait's hair??!!  Anyway, I'm trying to figure out which basic products I'll need to comb and care for their hair and am happy to hear from any BTDT parents.  I don't think the kids have the tightest kinds of coiled hair (though I could be wrong)...to me it looks just slightly looser than the super tight and kinky curls that kids sometimes sport.  But if this is true, I don't know if this actually makes their hair easier or harder to care for and style.

• We're going to need one more car seat.  Lizzie Senait will use Matthew's outgrown one, which is still in great condition, but we'll buy another booster seat for Seth Asrat which is exactly the same style that Matthew currently uses...the Britax Frontier.

• I need to organize a whole whack of stuff in the basement storage area, the office, and the dressers and closets in the kids' rooms (and heck, maybe Geoff's and my walk-in, too, while I'm at it!).

• I want to try my hand (for the first time) at some Ethiopian cooking...perhaps a little late in the game to be starting, but hopefully better late then never.  I've collected a few recipes over the past year, and I'd love to try!  If it's edible, I'd like to get some into my freezer before we travel, just to have something available for the kids when we get home.  Can one freeze injera (that I'd buy at a restaurant, whose owner offered to sell me her injera in small quantities)?

There is a lot to get done around here, but I'm so excited to be moving ahead with our plans.  This is  awesome!