I feel exhausted and overwhelmed. 

The meeting with the interior decorator did not go as well as I would have liked.  First, she seemed a bit ditzy.  And then I'm not sure she really listened to me.  No, I know she didn't listen to me because I kept trying to explain what we'd already done and what we'd thought of already and she just kept talking.  That's all normal new interpersonal stuff.  The part that is bringin' me down is that if we switch bedrooms, only one piece of furniture besides the bed will fit in the new "master" bedroom.  That's if we put the bed in the room in a grown-up way.  If we put the bed in the room with the headboard against the window, we can fit both pieces of furniture in there but it would be crowded.  Of course, bad feng shui.  But furniture would fit. 

I love our house.  It is so cute and has such great character.  But it's  cottage/bungalow.  It's very small. 

Then she suggested that we put some of the bedroom furniture in a hall or in the dining room and store our clothes in there.  Now folks, I'm willing to be flexible in how I arrange things.  But I'll be dadgummed if I'm cross right over into white trash territory without a bit of a fight.  Store our clothes in the dining room?  Are YOU ON DRUGS???????????????

We didn't even discuss paint colors so much and she didn't bring a color wheel with her.  And that's what I was hoping would come out of this.  She ix-nayed the stripes idea in the baby's room.  Too bold for such a small room.  Yes, it's even smaller than the new "master" bedroom.  Small small small small small.  It describes everything about this house except for Dave and me and our love for it.  That's not true.  One half of the house is nice sized and big (kitchen, dining room, living room).  The other side of the house is small, small, small, small, small.  You know, that really doesn't bother me that much.  I like the philosophy of the "Not so Big House."  I don't want a McMansion.  I just don't want to look like I live in a white trash house as I go to the dining room to get my underwear.

You know what I think went wrong with that interaction?  I think we jumped too quickly into advice dispension without enough time for understanding of the current house and our goals for the future.  And at one point, she asked if we would paint our really nice Arts and Crafts style bedroom furniture.  Refinish? Yes.  Paint? No.

It wasn't a complete waste of time or money.  But I think I need to just trust my instincts and get on with it.  And if it sucks, I can change it.  Nothing but a can o' paint going on here. 

5:59:37 PM     Comments? []

Doulas and Decorators

We've started the search this week, ironically, for professionals to assist us in getting the baby out of me and into the home.  We called our architects for an interior decorator rec and also an estimate of how much it cost to put exactly (or even roughly) where we're supposed to add the windows and doors they recommended for the garage to office remodel.  Our man-child called back three days later saying he had more questions for us before he could "run the numbers" and did not mention any decorator recs.  When I had called he said that his firm could do the interior decorating, but I said we needed something really simple (i.e., what colors to paint the walls) and apparently, my request for a rec went out the window--the one we aren't sure where we should install. 

On to decorator option #2, from the Mecklenberg Furniture Market.  She's coming over at 2:00 today for a consultation.  Her rates are reasonable and I'm looking forward to hearing what she has to say about our house.  Hopefully, it's not Yuck! 

As for the doulas, I checked out both the Charlotte Doulas and the Doulas of North America (DONA).  We starting our options with the certified doulas, because apparently, anybody can claim to be a doula and not have any real training.  So far, I've talked with two women:  one is very pro Bradley method and one served as a doula-on-call in a hospital in Indiana.    Although the Bradley method doula seems very "reasonable", we've found that the mominators tend to gravitate towards this group. The mominators are the ones who are so dogmatic about their birth choices and how if women don't do it their way, they are clearly going to be bad mothers (e.g., "don't take hospital birthing classes because they teach you how to be a good patient").  I'm not so fond of dogma, especially in areas of real personal choice.  Again, this doula doesn't seem dogmatic at all.  But I'm not very enthusiastic about wading into those birthing waters. 

The other doula seems to be on the other extreme--she's worked for a hospital.  She seems to be much more laid back in terms of what might occur during the birth and she's had completely natural, a c-section and an epidural.  I'm not ruling out an epidural--especially after 12 to 15 hours of labor.  I'm not sure someone in the Bradley school of thought would support that notion.  An added bonus, this doula is new to Charlotte and is offering her services "on sale" for nearly half the price of the other doula.  She has years of experience, just not at the hospitals around here. 

So that's the scoop on doulas and decorators.  I'd like to call a couple of more of the doulas in  the area.  I hate choosing from the edges.  However, the doula on sale seems like a very good option.  And I like the idea of helping someone break into the Charlotte region.

No snow today.  All rain.  Still, the radio is calling for "an inch of snow" by noon.  It's the excitement and drama of potential winter weather.  Woohoo.

7:15:29 AM     Comments? []