File this Under "Why Didn't I Do This 10 Years Ago"

We moved into the house to these tiles with fruit on them. While I don't think they're hideous, exactly, I do not like them. At all. I'm the biggest fan of symmetry there is, but even I can see it just doesn't work here. Plus, fruit? Really?! I think I always thought that I'd have to redo the entire backsplash or rip out the offending tiles, but one day I saw something that said you could just paint them. So I did. And now I'm mad I didn't think of doing it ten years ago. I love it so much.

Before


After

Dining Room Changes

I've wanted to add some board and batten to our dining room for a long time. We had the main level painted almost a year ago, and even then, it was my plan to do it. So when I looked at my list of "Stuff to do to the house" and saw this, I was determined to do it NOW. And so I did. With the exception of Chuck helping with the second coat of paint, I did it all by myself. This is not a jab at Chuck. I knew he was busy with other stuff and I knew that he didn't really need this project. So I didn't want to bother him. I got some work done the first weekend, and then the rest was done when he and the boys were away on Fathers and Sons Campout the following weekend. (Quick quiz: Did you know that Fathers and Sons campout are typically done in the spring? Do you know why?)

Anyway, here's what the dining room looked like when we bought the house: (doesn't that curtain look like it got its bangs cut a bit too short?)


Here's what the room looked like one year ago: (yep, that's textured wallpaper on the bottom half)


And here's what it looks like now:




I'm super happy with it. It's amazing the difference the white on the bottom makes. It really separates that room from the rest of the house, which is a good thing.

Also, it was really empowering for me to learn how to use the saw and the pneumatic nail gun for the first time. I Can Do It!

House Updates

I briefly mentioned that we got rid of most of the boys' toys a couple of weeks ago. In order to soften the blow, we sold them and told the boys they could use the money to spend on Legos. Why Legos? Because other than Magformers, Legos are the only things they play with regularly. I wanted everything else GONE. And except for a set of baby balls and this strange kitty piano, everything sold!

To house the Legos, Chuck and I put together a Lego table. The entire house loves it. All the Legos can stay out, I can vacuum, and there's less clutter. I love when everyone wins. And of course there's a hairbrush on the floor in the playroom. Isn't there one in your house?


And just for documentation, we also replaced four closet doors. The old doors were bi-fold doors with mirrors on them! They drove me crazy. I love these new ones. Plus, I don't have to look at myself 50 times a day.

Updated Family Room

I got tired of beige. So tired. We've been in the house for nine years and so I thought I "earned" a new paint job. We still had wallpaper on the bottom half of the walls. It was time. So we painted the kitchen and living room grey. And then, because the beige couch no longer looked good with grey walls, we HAD to get a new couch and chair. Which was okay because the chair was seriously dead, comfortable but dead. The arms were so destroyed by the boys that it was fully justified.

This is what it looks like now:


And yes, that's our family motto sign you see there. And next to it is where a new family picture will go. Until then, we have SpongeBob. Because that's part of living in a house with small boys. (I requested a hand-drawn family picture, but that didn't happen. Obviously.)

I Made Stuff

Remember that update on my bed? Well, I finished the bed runner, made a curtain, and bought two throw pillows just to make that plain grey duvet cover less plain. I think it worked.

You can't see the curtain very well, but it's this funny almost-kitcheny fabric we got at Ikea. But it's yellow and grey, so I don't care what's on it. I didn't line it, so I'm afraid of the sun in the upcoming months. I may have to address that later. My boys and dog get me up early enough; I don't need the sun making it worse.


Close up of the runner. In my head I'm obsessed with gingham, so I'm glad to find a place to use it. I'd put it everywhere if I could.


This is all so much better than that grey thing all alone. Trust me: it was hideous.

Coat Tree

I can't handle clutter. It makes me anxious. And so this whole business of little kid backpacks, coats, and hats drives me crazy. We now know that my house does not have a mudroom (something I want more than a garage, another thing I'm without), and so I thought about making some sort of "drop zone" in our entry way. But then my smart sister suggested a coat tree. I saw one on Pinterest and thought, yep, that's it. So we did it. I love it. Sure, it doesn't look super neat with stuff hanging on it, but the mess is contained. And the boys now know exactly where their backpacks go. And if it ever gets cold, they'll know where their hats go. Not that I'm complaining about high temperatures in the 60s in late November.

Someone thought it needed a Christmas hat.


Naked. And don't worry: it doesn't sit in the middle of the room.

Drop Zone

Now that Ollie and Rhett are both in school and the weather is cooling, I'm finding the backpacks/shoes/coats mess a bit unbearable. Our house has no mudroom nor garage, so when you enter the front door, well, you're in the family room. We have a box where shoes are supposed to be deposited. We have a coat closet, but really, the kids can't reach to hang up clothes there. We also have buckets in that same closet where kids are supposed to put hats and gloves, but let's be honest: they never make it that far until I ask nicely, or not-so-nicely. Basically everything gets dropped right at the door. Not awesome.

My so-smart sister-in-law (who has such a nice mudroom/drop zone, lucky her) suggested making the backdoor (the one that enters the playroom) our main door. We could create some sort of "lockers" for the kids to put their things.

So there you have it: our two options. Now you get have to vote. Here are some examples and pros and cons of each.

Front Door:
We'd need to add/create something like this:


or this:


or this:

Pro: The pergo floors in that room are better suited for Maryland's wet climate.
Con: All of that mess would be in our main room, probably making me crazy.
Con: We'd have to move/take down what's already there, and I like what's already there.

Back Door:
We could go with something simple, like the first picture (but would include a second hook for coats and storage underneath for shoes and gloves and probably exclude the large corkboards):


or create something more elaborate like this:

Pro: As the boys know their letters (well, Ollie is getting there), taking down what we have on the designated wall is no problem and probably, timely.
Con: The carpeted floors will get destroyed.
Con: We'd have to move around some stuff to make room.

So what do you think? What do you do in your house, because maybe that would work for me? Rule: If you read this, you must comment. This policy will be strictly enforced by unknown methods.

Look What I Got

Last week while at a park, new signs were being installed on the nearby trail system. Of course I'm too embarrassed to ask for the old ones; that's why I have kids! I sent Rhett to ask what they do with the old ones and he returned with the answer of, "Take them back to the warehouse." Oh well. I tried. BUT later the guys came over and offered one to us! Of course we took it. What's a 3/4-mile walk home carrying an awkward, sorta-heavy, definitely large sign? Nothing!


And when Chuck took his math clock to work, he left a vacant spot on the wall in the playroom. Perfect.

P.S. Holy crap. Here's a math problem you've likely never seen: humidity + trail run + late dusk + light rain = ??? FROGS. For reals. My running partner and I screamed and peed like little girls. I'm pretty sure we left behind us some serious carnage. Grossest run ever. 

Vote For Our Floor

Chuck and I are considering redoing our kitchen floor. We really like this product named Marmoleum, and it's laid out in tiles or planks. Here is the one pattern we like the most, shown going in opposite directions. What do you think? Which direction do you think is better? (Note: We're not doing these colors. Don't worry.) UPDATE! During nap time I put together a third option. Re-vote if you feel inclined.

Pattern 1:


Pattern 2:


Pattern 3:


Vote now! Exercise your democratic rights!

Being an Adult is Lame

I'm sure I've discussed this before, but man, sometimes (most of the time), being an adult is soooo lame. And one of the biggest, most-overrated parts of being an adult is homeownership. Don't get me wrong; I'm not about to sell my house an move into a rental. But sometimes (most of the time), I just wish we had never bought a house. I feel like Chuck and I end up making bad choices when it comes to repairs. Putting in the window well caused floods when we get tons of rain, the porch has bits of paint that are chipped already, the refaced cabinets are peeling in one spot. UGH. And the latest: our basement shower. I'm still pretty worked up over the whole thing, but let's just say that I won't be purchasing any more home improvement Groupons/Livingsocials/whatever. However, I will say that the shower looks better. Too bad I'm afraid to actually use it.

BEFORE




AFTER (as if I needed to say it)




We think (hope) most of our problems in that shower are due to the humidity. There's a fan in the room, but it doesn't do enough. So we bought a small dehumidifier and hope that will help. Also, because that shower is super tiny and we have a standard shower curtain (which therefore is always really folded), I'm going to cut it in half so the moisture doesn't just hang out in all the creases. And then hopefully we won't have to do this again in five years.

One of These Things

These are the new bushes we put in a couple of months ago. Can you see that one of them is not like the other? Do you know how much I stress over whether or not these plants are okay? Being a homeowner is hard, I tell you. Being as cute as Ollie, not so hard, however.

The Scrabble Wall Returneth

Remember the scrabble wall? The one I had to take down when we put up the bunk beds? The one I got to put back up when the boys requested that the bunk beds be dismantled? Still love it.



P.S. And of course their room always looks like this. They never rip off all the bedding and put it on the floor. They never take out all the animals from the stuff animal jail and put themselves in instead. They never leave clothes on the floor. They never throw diapers all over the floor. Gosh.

What To Do?

Chuck was in charge of decorations for our ward's Christmas party last week. In addition to cutting more than 100 paper snowflakes, he made 16 of these large, red, popsicle stick snowflakes. But now that the party is over, what are we supposed to do with them? A friend suggested hanging them on the ceiling (not from the ceiling, but on), but I'm afraid of the asbestos-filled popcorn ceiling and prefer to leave that untouched. Our walls are pretty filled, so, uh, where?


Image taken from here.

Things in My House that Make Me Smile

This table. I love the runner (when I blur my eyes and don't see the crazy corners, that is). I love the napkin holders.


I love the ornaments that Chuck was inspired to put on our strange-but-I-love-it branch.


That is all.

Laboring Over Labor Day

The library has been driving me crazy. Every time I walk in there, I develop facial tics. So when we were given a weekend with minimal plans, I knew it had to be tackled. So we cleaned, organized, and moved until we were happy. We moved this little table from the library to the kitchen, and I couldn't be happier. Not only can the kids color and draw on it, but they can eat on it too. I believe their eating on it will save the table, because Ollie was single-handedly destroying it with his dirty hands and inability to remain seated during a meal. (I'm sure my sporadic cleaning added nothing to its dirty condition. Nothing.)



To aid in cleaning, I covered it with some laminated cotton. Love this laminated cotton. It smells like my kindergarten lunchbox. Quite apropos, dontcha think? And no, this is not staged. Rhett loves looking at the weather page over his breakfast repast.


I thought this looked happy.


P.S. Rhett LOVES this dinner. I feel like it's my first real Rhett-food victory.

P.P.S. I'm leaving for Alaska tomorrow to attend my brother's wedding. I don't have anything interesting to write anyway, so this space will be quiet until sometime next week. See you!

A New Porch

When you and your husband live in a humid environment and are not good at taking care of wood, bad things happen. But when you and your husband save money for home improvement projects, then you get to hire someone to fix bad wood for you. I'll spare you the in-between photos, but here are the before and after. We're super happy about how it turned out and can't wait to sit and enjoy it with some lemonade!

Before


After


And yep, the big bush in front is gone. Chuck did it, and I am pretty impressed.

The (not very new) Boys' Room

About a month ago we got bunk beds. It was a bit sooner than we originally planned, but a friend needed the crib and we just knew Ollie was about to climb out anyway, so we did it.

The bed covered some of the wall decor in the room, something that started really bugging me last Friday night as we're about to put the boys to bed. What to do? Rearrange right then, of course! So we did. It ended up not being big changes, but enough to make it work. And since this picture was taken, the Scrabble names have been taken down. I'm heartbroken, but we have no real other place for them. I'll get over it.

So how are the boys doing with the bed? Rhett gets an A+. He stays in the bed once we put him down (something he wasn't doing so well before the crib) and he's happy up there. He makes his bed in the mornings and just loves being in it. Ollie, well, take a guess. He gets a C-. Because he's basically oppo-Rhett, I should have guessed that he wouldn't stay in a non-crib. And he doesn't. He gets out, throws around Rhett's socks, tosses his own clothes, and gets into the Vaseline and spreads it on whatever he can find. (Yes, we've since learned he's not to be trusted with Vaseline.) But otherwise, we're still working on the adjustment.

And now I can smile again when I walk in the room. Unless it's covered in Vaseline.






Totally-unrelated P.S. After introducing Rhett to Cake's version of "Perhaps Perhaps Perhaps," he has had a change of heart towards the song. Awesome.

Dishes...UGH

Does anyone else look at a dishwasher full of clean dishes waiting to be put away and a sink full of dirty ones waiting to be washed and think, "UGH. There goes my night." Then, of course, you do them and it takes, oh, seven minutes? Yeah. I totally do this.

Hurricane Sandy

Two posts in one day! It's a miracle! Or it's a hurricane and I'm afraid power will be out shortly. Either way: two posts! It's getting windy (as of 1:30 p.m. EDT) and it's incredibly rainy. I can't tell you how many times we've already had to siphon the window well of water. We figure 30 gallons maybe? Ugh. But it's better than a flooded floor.

How grateful I am for a husband who figured out how to do this as it's so much better than just bailing. So grateful. It's working great. I am dreading the night, however. It will be worse than having a newborn, what with our frequent wake-ups to drain the well.


After playing a bit in the morning, we took advantage of power still being on and did some chores. Rhett loves vacuuming up spiders, so I let him have at them.


These cookies are technically for his preschool Halloween party Wednesday, but we baked up a couple and enjoyed them for sure.


But by 11:00 a.m., we were ready to get out of the house. When some good friends invited us to go to lunch, we couldn't get out quickly enough. I was surprised at how many cars were on the road.


After lunch I really wanted to see how full the local creek was so I made Chuck take a detour. Uh, let's just say it's super full.






And while it might seem like I'm taking this lightly, I'm not. We are prepared (water, food, etc.), but when the weather says that the rain is only going to get harder tonight and the wind is already making me nervous, let's just say that I'm not at all comfortable and probably won't be until Thursday. Friday. Saturday at the latest.

Update: Or I feel better today! We didn't lose power and given the winds have really calmed, we're not likely to. Schools and government are still out, giving us a day to recover. Chuck was a superman and woke every hour or two to bail the water and we escaped flooding! Of course we're grateful for how lucky we were, but saddened by the devastation that rocked other parts of the country.

Updates at Our House

We've been trying to get some things done around the house in our few free moments. The biggest strides were made in the library and in the shed. (We reorganized three upstairs closets as well. So much more functional!)

After waiting to get the appropriate hardware to support such a map, we were able to hang it. I love it. I love walking by it. I love pointing out neat places to Rhett.


Also, we needed some way to control all of Rhett's art work. He will not "let us" throw anything away. So we put up these wires and told him he could keep only what's on the lines. So far, so good! I've seen "Hoarders," people; I know that the ability to throw away is a pretty important life skill.


And the shed. Oh this shed. Getting in and out of it for the stroller was such a hassle. But now, it's clean! It even has a small aisle.  We tossed lots of stuff we didn't need and even cut some wood to make another shelf. I love it. I know what's in there and, better yet, I can find it. I even found my bike. Not sure if I can ride it, but that's not as important.




Finally, the kitchen chandelier. Last Christmas we hung up Christmas cards and letters as we received them. This was great...as long as it was actually Christmastime. In August, not so much. So in September I finally decided to do something about it and voila! No doubt these will hang up there until this year's Christmas cards start rolling in.


P.S. We had an awesome weekend, notwithstanding Rhett's 5:00 a.m. wake-up calls. Chuck had work off Friday and we had a great mix of getting things done AND getting nothing done. I love those weekends.