Okay, so we have the colour scheme, crib, &amp; mattress taken care of (although there still is the actual putting together of the crib to tackle).  We are far from done though.  So, what do we have left to wrangle?
<ul>
	<li><strong>Crib:</strong> in transit (thanks to our sweet friend, Jimmie who surprised us and made it a baby gift)</li>
	<li><strong>Mattress:</strong> in transit</li>
	<li><strong>Crib sheet:</strong> we picked one out, but have not ordered it yet.  Maybe this weekend will be the weekend of taking care of all crib-related items.</li>
	<li><strong>Crib bumpers:</strong> I was convinced that we did not need these.  My mom's opinion was "YES, YOU DO!" (along with a facepalm).  Any other opinions on this?  I would rather not waste money on something that we do not need and at the same time do not want to put our baby's tender little head in a dangerous situation.  The facepalm seemed to intensify the feeling that we may be missing some important facts.</li>
	<li><strong>Crib skirt:</strong> I planned on DIY-ing one, but it does not feel absolutely necessary right now.  The reviews of the crib read that without one, you can see right though the suspended mattress into the drawer underneath, so if anything this will be an *after the setup* project since I will need to take measurements.</li>
	<li><strong>Rug:</strong> Let's be real here.  Our house can get cold.  The sun is out and the birds are chirping today, but I am in REI sweatpants, college sweatshirt, and wool socks.  I mostly blame the large expanse of white tile that runs throughout Villa Oswald.  A rug is definitely needed in the nursery.  I've been trolling Naples All Hands (the Craiglist-ish used items website that military folks maintain here) for the past year for rugs, so I'm thinking we may have to hit up IKEA (pronounced E-kay-ah in Italian) for some little jute or wool beauty.  We *do* have a fantastic play mat (thanks to our friends The Burkes, who recently left Italia for their next duty station) and cannot wait to put that out.  When is too early to put out a pretty play mat?</li>
	<li><strong>Changing table:</strong> We already have a usable piece of furniture for this (yay for sunk costs--my Economics professor would be so proud).  It's kind of perfect actually.  I used it in my San Clemente apartment as a computer desk, but with the addition of a changing pad on top (we will end up bolting the security straps into the wood) it should do the trick.  Bonus is the open shelf perfect for a basket or two <span style="text-decoration:underline;">and</span> the drawer down below to hold all of baby's diapers, etc.</li>
	<li><strong>Changing pad:</strong> picked out.  Still to purchase, along with a pad for the pad (giggle); I even found one in the same colour as the crib sheet (score!).</li>
	<li><strong>Baby monitor:</strong> I've done my research on these, but am still unsure that we actually will need one.  This might have a lot to do with how co-sleeping, breastfeeding, and crib sleeping go.  If we went with something, it would prob not be one of those high-techy video models.  Again, advice is most appreciated.</li>
	<li><strong>Rocker:</strong> I always imagined having a chair for those wee morning hours of feeding.  Alas, I left my antique pink velvet chaise (bought from a B&amp;B in downtown San Clemente in 2005) for my niece before leaving the States.  *sigh*  We do have a soft sofa and loveseat in the living room, so not sure if we'll need a rocker too.  Again, this would probably be a weekend find on Craigslist or at a garage sale in America.</li>
</ul>
We still have fun details like decorations to handle, but we are most concerned with moving those big pieces into place before getting into the small stuff.  I have little touches that I cannot wait to share, like small items given to me by my mom while I was home earlier this month.  The point is that the nursery <span style="text-decoration:underline;">is</span> coming together.  :)