Bed Shopping and the Blue Balloon

Well we finally did it, we FINALLY bought a new mattress set. I think we'd been talking about doing it for a few years, but especially the past few months when our backs have been hurting more and more and we'd get less and less sleep. We figured it was time... so off we went on Wednesday to multiple stores ready to bite the bullet. Ethan was an angel the entire 4 hours we were shopping. Let me tell you, 4 hours of mattress shopping is EXHAUSTING! Who knew?! the up, down, up, down, roll over, etc was just so tiring. At the first store, they gave Ethan a blue balloon and tied it around his wrist. It was a lifesaver the entire day as we went from place to place trying to keep track of him while we're laying on beds, and he really enjoyed playing with it. We could spot him almost anywhere, or at least spot the bouncing blue balloon winding in and out of dining sets, sofas, loungers, you name it, he walked around them for hours.

He happily opened and closed drawers on dressers and dusted them with his "B" (blanket) and climbed on couches or on the beds we were on. Every store said he was the best little boy they'd had come in there. He really was amazing and never whined once till we were in the car usually. Jordon and I were so tired after a while, we'd lost count of how many mattresses we'd laid on and eventually they started to blur together and you forget what you liked most (we tried our best to keep written notes). On top of all that, by the end of the day, ANY bed was feeling good at that moment because we were so tired. So we called it a day and this is how we all felt on the way home... Ethan explains it best. (This photo was after we had lunch and he popped the balloon. We thought he'd cry, but instead it was a big "pop" followed by really sad silence and then some even sadder whimpering in the back seat. Poor little guy.

We spent the evening and this morning discussing the best choices. I dream of getting a king size because I love having my space and don't like getting elbowed in the head (all my fault, I toss and turn and roll into his elbows and arms, etc). But then all of a sudden we're laying in bed last night and I'm dreaming of a King bed and the amazing beds I laid on that were too expensive... and how wonderful it'd be (though we'd have hardly any walking space in our current bedroom if we got that size it really just wasn't in our budget... not really even a tiny bit), and feeling mighty guilty about wanting to be so spendy! And then the thought came that we'd have to buy entirely new bedding (flannel sheets for winter, my favorite jersey cotton sheets for summer), new comforters for summer and winter, new electric blanket (which we use every winter) and I realized that on top of the extra few $$$ we'd be spending for the size of bed, add another few $$$ for all the new bedding, the new frame, blah blah blah. This thought quickly blew that dream away very very fast. At least until we have a stable job and maybe when we move to a home where we've got a spare room to put the queen in for guests and then we can get a king! I feel so vain for saying all that though... oh well, we all can dream right?! So this morning, we headed back to the store and laid on the 2 mattresses we'd narrowed our search down to. And finally bought the bed! Best is still yet to come, it was delivered by 5pm today! WOOHOO! Of course that meant spending all afternoon cleaning our disaster of a bedroom and vacuuming, dusting around areas that never get dusted, etc... and impatiently waiting waiting waiting...

but it's finally here! 

Here's the before... Good bye old friend, you've served us well, but we've moved on to better beds!

and the after... so pretty and firm looking

So here's to you new bed! We hope that you are everything we've literally dreamed of! And hopefully here's to having better nights sleep.

I will add an exciting note that Jordon got the fellowship he had wanted and applied for with the company he's currently doing "pro-bono" research for right now. We're very excited to have him working over the summer in this job and getting the experience he needs for the future!