Tuesday, July 29, 2014

The Never Ending House To-Do List | Part 1

A fitting post title:)

Here is what I would currently like to tackle over time, for the 1st floor:


DOWNSTAIRS

Living Room:
--Hang artwork
--Hook up surround sound (the previous owner put a Bose system in our living room but we never hooked it up..slackers, I know)
--Re-Paint the Accent wall a different color? Maybe Navy?
--Get a basket for blanket storage
--New sofa

Kitchen:
--New pendant light over the sink
--Re-organize cabinets for baby items
--New baking storage canisters
--Artwork at the peninsula
--Hang mail holders
--Fix Broken Dishwasher

Dining Room:
--New dining furniture set
--floor rug
--hang photos/artwork
--Create small desk/work area for me?
--new draperies

Staircase:
--Hang large wedding canvas
--new frames on collage wall
--Remove 1/2 wall at the top of the stairs and turn into railing with balusters? I've had this idea for a long time but I worry that this change would be less kid-friendly.


OUTDOORS

Garage:
--Re-program garage door so that it actually works
--Organize. Organize. Organize.

Porch: 
--Seasonal decorations
--spray for ants and bees
--Finally plant some new flowers
--Clean furniture
--Re-stain front door

Backyard:
--Patio Project
--Make it much more awesome.
--Find a way for Kona to not dig out of the fence.


The ones in red are obviously things we HAVE to do instead of our wants.  Because when you own a house, there's always something that's broken or needs fixed I feel like!




Friday, July 25, 2014

Crazy 8 Sale!

Well we all love a good deal on clothes.  Even more than a deal for myself is a deal for itty bitty baby girl clothes.  Let's face it mommas of little girls, we could probably all go broke buying up clothes, shoes, and accessories for our girls.  Everything is just so cute. 

Even before Ryleigh was born, I set myself a $5 limit on any one clothing item.  I shop friends' hand-me-downs and yard sales, clearance racks and try to buy bigger sizes that she will grow into, buy out of season so that it's cheaper, etc.  I've only gone above my $5 limit for a few "novelty" items--a pair of  BabyTMoccs because baby moccasins are adorable, comfortable, and this girl's moccs are about half the price of FreshlyPicked, but she's got great reviews about her quality.  We'll see, we are still waiting on them to arrive! :) We also went over for her UGA baby uggs ($15) that I can't wait for her to wear this fall!! and her Vera Bradley coming home outfit...that she actually didn't wear until she was about a month old because she was such a peanut!

So, yesterday made me really happy.  Crazy 8 [I love their clothes!] is having a big clearance sale and is doing free shipping with the coupon code STANDOUT.  I've been looking into some spring/summer clothes for Ryleigh, and scored everything below for $57 including sales tax!

The dresses and rompers were $4-5/each, the onesie set was $6, the shorts and skirt were $3, the bathing suits were each $5.59.  Hello awesome deal!  I couldn't pass it up, 13 items for $57, making it an average of just over $4 an item, for a great brand and new clothes.  Including bathing suits! Good quality, UV protected bathing suits.  I couldn't believe it!


I'm in love with the little white tankini, it's got sea turtles, seahorses, and fish on it in fun colors.  The rashguard bathing suit is cute but not my favorite print..but who can pass up a suit for $5.59?!   I like that the onesie set is white and coral because those colors are so popular that it's very easy to find matching bottoms to go with them, including the purple skirt and tangerine/coral shorts.  Love the cute coral & yellow romper, it's got rosettes around the neckline which is hard to tell in this picture.  The chambray dress has white and pink bows embroidered on it which I thought is a sweet little outfit for spring either by itself or with some pink leggings on a colder day.  The ikat and butterfly outfits are cute dresses/romper that are nice enough to be worn to weddings but also good for a casual summer day.  And let's face it...with our age group/large group of friends we have about 5-6 weddings to attend every year!






Wednesday, July 23, 2014

5?!

How is my baby 5 months old?! I guess it's true what they say about women forgetting about the pain and intensity of labor, because it seems like February was yesterday but forever ago all at the same time.  On one of mine and Ryleigh's first outings to Target when she was a few weeks old, we saw a couple and their little girl in the baby clothing section, and they were  looking at Ryleigh saying "aww she's so little, they grow so fast...our daughter is 5 months now, I miss her being that small!"  And now, that's me.  Looking at new babies, even ones that were born bigger than Ryleigh, I just can't believe she was ever that little.  She's such a long string bean now, and she's starting to give my arms a good work-out carrying her around.  Her long legs hang off of my lap now when I'm rocking her or feeding her a bottle.  It's crazy how quickly babies change!



RYLEIGH'S 5 MONTH STATS:
[no doctor's appt this month so we're guestimating at home]

Weight: around 16lbs
Height: somewhere near 26-27"

EATING
Slowly transitioning to 5.5-6oz bottles.  We had her on 5oz bottles but she seems to be ending them still a little bit hungry.  She is eating about 30-35oz a day. I'm pumping in the ballpark of 40oz a day, and I notice that if I ever have a day where it's on the low side, eating a cheeseburger is like magic to boost my supply.   

Ryleigh has now tried squash, carrots, peas and green beans, and still loves her sweet potatoes!  She loves them all. I'm convinced that if it's served on a spoon she really doesn't care what it is.  She does seem a little bit happier about the orange veggies though.  She's eating the entire 2oz container, and could always eat more when it's finished.  My little piglet.   


TEETHING
Still nothing poking through, but her drooling and fussiness have steadily increased so I know that it's just a matter of time.

SLEEPING
Baby girl is a wonderful sleeper....at night.  She has the fun habit of fighting naps during the day.  She takes one 2 hour-ish nap, then tends to take about five 20-40 min naps.

 ACTIVITY
Always!  Her little legs never stop moving. She is a master at rolling all around and flips over almost as soon as you lay her down.  She has also discovered Kona this month!  Baby girl loves her fluffy white dog.  She is starting to have a small interest in Reece, but the second Kona is within view she is smiling at him and reaching out for him.  Her jumperoo is one of her absolute favorite things!

DIAPERING
Size 2!

 
CLOTHES
She's mostly 3-6 month sizes, but she's getting so long that some of them are getting a little snug.  Jake put a 6-9 month onesie on her by accident the other day, and I was surprised that it actually wasn't all that big on her.  We will probably move her up a little early to 6-9month size just for added room.

SPECIAL FIRSTS
--1st real belly laughs...this is absolutely adorable!  She will laugh so much she gives herself hiccups :( It's the cutest and saddest thing ever.
--Really good rolling.
--1st Camo outfit (totally noteworthy...)
--1st time in a big pool! She likes water and splashing her feet, but hates sitting in a wet diaper or swim diaper.




Monday, July 7, 2014

House Projects

Ahh the lovely experiences of homeownership.  We have been in our 1st home for 3 1/2 years now.  It's crazy how time flies.  We have already gotten some of the big and little projects off of our my our list, but I think when you own a home there is always the next project that is on the honey-do list either because you want to or because you have to.  Here's a re-cap of some things we've done already...this list is surprising me with how long it actually is:

DOWNSTAIRS

Initial House painting:
Living Room accent wall and Dining Room Faux Finishing, man cave

Thermostat Replacement

Living Room Draperies

The year-long kitchen remodel which included:
Cabinets
Hardware
Granite
Backsplash
Sink
Faucet
Peninsula Chandelier
Accent Wall
Patio Doors

Kitchen artwork


UPSTAIRS

Guest Bath Refresh included painting & over-toilet towel rack

Master Bedroom Remodel included:
Painting
Artwork
New Furniture (when we moved into our house)
Flooring
Rug
Bedding
Draperies

Upstairs Hallway Nightlight Receptacle

Closet Door Giftwrap Organizer

Of course the Nursery/Bedroom3 Remodel which included:
Flooring
Painting
Furniture & décor
Ceiling Fan
 
Then there was the Flood which prompted:
New Washer & Dryer
Ceiling patching & painting
New flooring downstairs
Replacement carpet on 2nd floor hallway and staircase
Replacement Vinyl floor in laundry closet

Hallway art project

Hanging our Photo collage frame on the staircase


 GENERAL

Getting things on the walls always seems to take forever.  We still don't have this completely done.

Having my own space for art/crafting/sewing.  This is a work in progress and my "art corner" from this post actually no longer exists.  Thanks Pack & Play.

Landscaping will be the death of me.  We haven't really done anything in the past couple years.  Probably should get on that.




 ...I've been itching to tackle some projects lately.  I feel like so many rooms are halfway how I want them, or we have things partially done.  Instead of doing a little here and a little there, I think I want to start tackling one thing at a time to completely get it done.  So, look for that list tomorrow and I will of course slowly update as things get checked off the list!