Boy do we ever have boxes.  And strips of cardboard.  And packing stuff.
Should keep the cats busy all night.

The reason we have boxes and cardboard, yesterday we had new carpet put into
two bedrooms, and this morning I headed off to IKEA to pick up some basic
furniture for one room.  Oldest grandson talked us out of his bedroom
furniture when he moved, and his younger brother was getting tired of
camping out on the air mattress.  (Theoretically, he doesn't live here.
Practically, he is always here.)

So after a tiring 100 mile drive and shopping trip I came home with a load
of "some assembly requireds"

Seventeen year old hauls it all in and things go fairly quietly.  I take
Kayla to the park and then come home and crash on the couch.  Go in to check
on assemble progress every so often.  Nine year old is helping seventeen
year old.  Grandpa checks on progress and discovers he needs to go run
errands.  Some one mentions that there are no instructions for the
nightstand.  I tell them "I didn't buy a night stand"

There are mutterings and grumblings.  Then I'm told there is no hardware for
the large chest of drawers.  By now grandpa has come back, checked things
out and is trying to prod me off the couch to get a number to call.  He even
shows me a picture in one set of assembly cartoons of someone waving paper
and talking on the phone.

Nine year old wants to assemble the smaller chest because it will be his.
More grumbling as no one has the energy by now to help him.  But he doesn't
want help.

Finally I get a little rested, and go to take a look at things.  The bed is
nicely put together.  Tomorrow I have to get a mattress for it.  And in
three neat piles in the other three corners of the room.  One is the small
chest with its instructions and hardware.  Another is half of the parts for
the large chest along with hardware.  And the third is the rest of the large
chest with instructions.

Like I told them, I didn't buy a nightstand.  In the meantime I'm most
relieved that I don't have to make another trip tomorrow to exchange
anything.

For now the living room looks like one giant kitty cat playground.
Cardboard boxes and tubes and stacks and piles of things to play on and
knock over.  I'll bet they have a fun night.

Jo