the ikea diaries

Ah Ikea.Things happen there! I had labor start there once... yes it's a very happening place. Let me tell you about the last time I was at Ikea.... Obviously I wasn't alone (I'm never really alone). There was Lara, Julia, Max and my cousin Jiska in the backseat (of our aptly named Nissan Micra), and Sander and I in the front. We went through our usually Ikea routine: first meatballs, then dump girls in play area then browse both ginormous floors of STUFF, then the 'koopjeshoek' (sale items that they really really want to get rid of), pay for way more junk than you had anticipated and try to leave before the kids remember about the ice cream stand at the end. It was no different this time. Our spicific goal was to decide on a new bed and a new dining table. 

We were very happy to find one of each to both our likings and were going to leave with a good sense of accomplishment (we would come back and actually buy them another time) UNTILL. Untill we went into the infamous 'koopjeshoek' which can change absolutely everything. And it did just that this time! We found the exact bed we had just fallen in love with, standing there, a little bit dirty-ish from having been in the showroom, and marked down a 100 euros!!! The wheels in our brains started turning faster than you can say 'ekeskog' (gotta love the ikea names) and we decided we couldn't pass up this bargain. That's where the real trouble began: getting it home. No way was that bed going to fit in that car with us all in it as well. You're not allowed to reserve items in the 'koopjeshoek', nor are you allowed to put them on Ikea Transport to have them delivered. It was then 8pm, Ikea closes at 9pm.... and it takes at LEAST 30 minutes to get home once we were all in the car and going... let alone the 20 minutes it would take to go through the register and collect the girls and buy everyone ice creams (we succumbed!). And then come back and pick up the bed? Wasn't gonna happen folks. There was only one thing left to do: Buy the bed, take it out to the curb, and make my lovely husband sit on it while I drove everyone home, put the girls to bed, and drove back. I

left Sander looking strangely pleased with himself at about 8.40 and tried to do everything as quickly as possible but still didn't get back to him until 10.20! Funnily enough still looking quite smug.... hmm. Then began the task of getting THIS (this is a link mom, click on it) bed (in white) into THIS car. You would be surprised at how many people are still outside Ikea at 10.30pm with nothing to do but watch you struggle to squeeze Sander and that bed into a car. We actually got a round of applause and some cheers when we got it done!

We were so happy to be on our way home again cause it was getting late by this time, we were tired, and we still had to look forward to dragging that bed up 2 flights of stairs... but as we were driving happily along (I was driving because Sander couldn't fit into the driver's seat anymore due to some, erm, modifications?) suddenly the brakes started acting weird. As in, not working so properly.

A light had also come on that we didn't know the meaning of so we checked it out in the manual: it was the brake fluid. That was all! No biggie! Just need to stop at the first gas station we come by and fillerup! So we did. Or so we though... turns out we were a bit hasty and put fresh brake fluid into the reservoir for the powersteering fluid! Was the car now going to explode upon turning the key in the ignition?? The gas station attendant assured us that it wouldnt. So we put the rest of the brake fluid in the correct reservoir and drove safely home... whew! We were finally in bed (not yet our new one unfortunately!) at 1am. Sander put the bed together the next day and we're SO happy with it! The old bed was so incredibly noise, we couldn't turn around at night without waking each other up. Oh and I treated and washed all that white fabric that lines the frame and headboard and it cleaned up completely, looks brand new. Ikea SUCCESS!