Three-hundred and Fifty-five Million Dollars

After a weird night of tossing and turning, I woke up yesterday prepared for a battle with any and every "associate" at Babies "R" Us. It was the day we were finally going to pick up the new crib, and Richie was no longer going to have to sleep in his small, though safe, pack'n'play. My whole body was tense and cold during the drive to San Antonio. My heart was already beating hallow in the icy cavity of my chest at the mere thought of confrontation. Unfortunately, yes, the closest and only baby store is in San Antonio. That's a three hour long drive, complete with aggravated toddler. In mommy time, when you factor in screaming and snacks, the trip is actually an eternity. Trust me, I did the math. Point is this, I had a very long time to think about how much I was going to hate the entire day. I wouldn't usually get all huffy over, well, anything. But! This is my son's leg, so I figure this was one battle I would choose to fight.

Thankfully, Richie was well-behaved. It was almost scary. Also, we made good time in getting there. Once we arrived, we left the crib in the car and headed up to the customer service desk. About four women listened to my sob story and complaints against Jardine. A big ol' macho man helped bring the crib in as one nice lady pointed us in the direction of the furniture. I had already called earlier in the week to have the Wendy Bellissimo crib put on hold until we could make it out to pick it up. The helpful girl who had talked to me on the phone was working that day and assisted us in retrieving the new crib. We were also purchasing the Summer custom fit gate for wide openings. (We have a, you guessed it, wide opening that goes into the great room and no standard gate would do.) When we realized that the giant wonder-crib would block back seat passengers from exiting the car until it removed, we decided to grab a bite to eat and pick up the crib after. We paid for everything and left, on the hunt for sustenance.

Enter Mr. Mysterious-So-and-So. Stage left.

I was terrified that, since the day had already gone so well, we were going to return to find that the baby store had probably been blown up. Nope. Smooth sailing. The crib was packaged so well that, after taking it out of the box, it was still protected so as not to receive a single scratch on the drive home. Hopefully.

Fast forward; we survived the drive home. Barely. Richie was less than impressed with being stuck in back with only a view of his new bed. Fortunately, we arrive home with time to spare before bedtime for the little one. Time to assemble! The crib price was decidedly in direct correlation to how many pieces and parts were included. Even so, the process began easily enough. Richie was determined to test my skills as a crib-assembler, and attempted to destroy all progress. I ought to recommend his methods as a way of insuring the absolute safety of nursery furniture. It wasn't until the mattress support that any problem became apparent. The problem turned out to be human error. My son probably could have figured out to match each "a" sticker to the other. I, on the other hand, had to stare at the crooked mattress support for who-knows-how-long, before realization occurred. Ok, so I'm no master crib-assembler. There go my hopes and dreams. Still, I think I'll live.

Due to my mattress support fiasco, Richie's bedtime passed by while he amused himself by sitting in the tray that fits in the track of his toy box. A quick diaper change, shimmy into pjs, and Richie is ready for bed. As per our usual routine, I turn out the lights, turn on the lullabies, cradle my angel, kiss his forehead then his nose and lips. I tell him "Sweet dreams. Mommy loves you." and I lay him down. I'm pretty sure that Wendy Bellissimo designed baby heaven, and Richie seems to think so too. He's thrilled with his new crib! He sleeps through the night, no problem. He even wakes up in a chipper mood!

So, I've decided I am going to win the lottery and buy Wendy Bellissimo cribs for everyone!




Wendy Bellissimo Honey Crib and Antique Firetruck Bedding