Inspiration struck me last night as I pulled into the parking lot to get some bits and pieces for dinner. Home Depot was right there – so why not go in and see what they can do on carpet?

Turns out, they can do a lot. And our Home Depot card can do a lot for us there too. While re-carpeting the house isn’t gonna be cheap, it won’t be as much as we feared. (I really like the idea of re-doing the whole house in one fell swoop instead of leaving the bedrooms with the old carpet.)

So I have a measuring appointment set for next weekend – which gives me less than two weeks to whip the house into shape. I think I can do it, but it’s not gonna be easy. I’m praying that at the stroke of 14 weeks (2nd trimester) I’ll get this huge burst of energy that will make all this craziness much easier to tackle.

The timeframe is looking like mid-late February for carpet installation, so we’re hoping we can find out the sex of the baby, figure out a nursery design, pick paint color(s) and actually get the painting done before the new carpet goes in. Would be MUCH easier that way. (Here’s hoping the little critter cooperates at next week’s appointment!)

Oh, and a note about carpet vs hardwood/tile: Paul’s father has really terrible allergies and asthma. So every house they’ve had has been fully tiled, with little to no carpet at all. We’re glad that works for them, but personally Paul and I hate it. We LOVE carpet, and are both absolutely in love with the idea of laying on the floor, playing with our baby. We have absolutely no desire for hardwood or tile anywhere but the kitchen and bathrooms, regardless of how easy it is to clean. Plus, I shudder to think about a little one learning to walk on tile. The softer the landing pad in that case, the better methinks.

So on Friday we’ll head over to Home Depot and take a good look at the carpet options available to us in our price range. What a way to spend our 10th anniversary, right? (We’re both taking the day off work to spend together.) I assume Mr. I-Wanna-Paint-Our-Whole-Bedroom-Red will have some interesting ideas about color. (Our bedroom, btw is now a lovely shade of goldenrod with hunter green in the lit alcoves, thankyouverymuch.)

Feels good to be making progress – like I’m finally *doing* something.