C'est Fini

Not that I'm one to obsess about things...but when I woke up last night at 1:30 a.m., like usual, instead of going back to sleep after my customary trip to the bathroom I started thinking about all the things I've got to do to get ready for this baby. Finish painting the chest of drawers, arrange and finish decorating the nursery, set up the bassinet I borrowed from my sister, pull out the baby clothes and blankets and figure out if I need anything new... And then I started, well, not panicking exactly, more like stressing out about how little time there is to finish it all (4 or 5 weeks). And then I was wide awake--at 3:30 a.m.

So, I decided I might as well use the time to check something off that to-do list...and hopefully calm down enough to get a little more sleep before the alarm clock went off at 6:30 a.m.

With paintbrush and polycrylic in hand (and Brian groggily wondering what the heck I was doing), I tackled the last stage of painting the girls' chest of drawers...in the middle of the night. I even managed to catch a few winks on the couch after I finished the first coat.

After another coat this afternoon, and some quick help from the boys attaching the drawer knobs, the project is finished! Some sanding and dent-filling, a coat of primer, two coats of light ivory craft paint, antiquing gel brushed on then carefully rubbed off, and two coats of satin polycrylic make this old chest of drawers look new, well, old-new again. Unfortunately, I approached this project like I do all my painting projects--just get in and get it done--and I ended up with the same results I always get: it's not perfect, but it'll do. I'm certainly not going to start over on 6 coats of paint. Besides, the dust and dried paint flecks caught in the finish just add to it's antique character...right?

Tomorrow, I get to sort through tiny pink onesies and itsy-bitsy socks!