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!

 

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!

 

37 Weeks....Baby is Full Term!

 

This past weekend Jake and I had maternity pictures taken by the very talented Griffin Poulter Photography [GPP facebook page] and I must admit I'm a little obsessed with them.  I was so nervous going into Saturday of how they would turn out--would the lighting in our nursery come out right, would the room be too small to get good shots, would the weather hold out since it was calling for rain, would I feel pretty or feel like a blimp?  I could not be happier with not only the final product, but also with our whole experience!  Griffin was very thorough, making sure to get all of the shots that we wanted [from posing/style ideas found on pinterest] as well as making some suggestions of her own.  Looking at these pictures makes me so excited to welcome our little girl :)

How far along?  37 weeks, 2 days

Total weight gain/loss: +29 lbs 

Maternity clothes? Yes. 

Sleep: I'm getting in about 2-3 hours straight before I have to get up to turn over, go to the bathroom, eat a snack, or let the dogs out.  I guess it's preparing me for nights with a newborn though!

Best baby moment this week:  Seeing our maternity pictures! 

Have you told family and friends: Yes

Miss Anything?  Sleeping through the night.  Moving quickly.  
 

Movement: Little baby feet in my ribs...rolling around in there...

Food cravings: Granny Smith apples w/peanut butter! Lots of fruit.

Anything making you queasy or sick: Not really

Have you started to show yet: oh yes

Gender: girl- Ryleigh Marie :)

Labor Signs: Found out at my appointment this week that some changes are already happening...which doesn't necessarily mean I'm about to go into labor, but hopefully this will make the labor process a little quicker/easier when it does happen...Definitely a reality check though!  I can't believe that my due date is less than 3 weeks away.....

Belly Button in or out?  Half & half?

Wedding rings on or off? On

Happy or Moody most of the time:  Happy/tired.  

Looking forward to:  Continuing to get things settled around the house...also starting to pack my hospital bag and we need to install the car seat...just in case!

 

 

 

Decking the Halls

Or should I say Decking the Kitchen....because after 2 years our kitchen is officially fully remodeled.  Maybe we were just taking our time, maybe we I was a little picky, maybe it just wasn't a top priority...but let's take a look back at this remodel that started back in the Fall of 2011...

Remember that our kitchen originally looked like this?

Oak laminate cabinets and laminate countertops

Old flooring

No Peninsula dividing the kitchen & living room spaces

and the slowly but surely all of this happened...

New wood cabinets

Granite Countertops, new sink and faucet



New lighting over the peninsula



New Patio Door

Did a little painting...

And, the final piece, the backsplash...

Here's the final product!

 

It's been a labor of love, and we love the results!  Of course, we owe many, many thanks to my Dad and Mom for volunteering their free labor to help get these tasks done!

 

29 Weeks!

Whoa hello 3rd trimester!  I can't believe we are already a week in, and that I'm going to be 30 weeks next week! That number just makes me feel like I'm sooo far along! 

Had my Glucose test this morning for my 28/29 week appointment.  I guess it wasn't quite as horrible as I had built it up to be, but it was still pretty nasty.  I took the first sip of my drink [I had the red one] and thought "well, maybe this won't be so bad" because it tasted like really strong Hawaiian Punch.  However, by the time I got to the bottom of that bottle I was questioning if I'd be able to hold it down for an hour!  I was told to put it in the refrigerator so that it tasted better, but I think that made it thicken a little.  Yuck--makes me gag just thinking about it again.

Everything else at the appointment seemed good! Measuring on track, baby's strong heartbeat at 143 bpm, and got my T-dap [whooping cough] vaccine.  Also found out yesterday at my follow-up renal ultrasound--for checking my kidneys/Hydronephrosis--that baby girl is head-down.  Of course, it's early and she could still move, but that's a good sign for being on track for a "normal" delivery.

Me & hubs before my company Christmas dinner last weekend :)

How far along? 29 weeks!

Total weight gain/loss: +20lbs...little bit of a jump in the past month! Let's blame it on Thanksgiving....

Maternity clothes? All the time!  With a couple pre-prego shirts and sweaters mixed in, although those options are starting to dwindle because they won't fully cover my belly. [And let's be honest--some of Jake's sweatpants and shirts for comfy lounge clothes and pajamas!]

Sleep: This past week, pretty terrible.  I think it's a combination of being extra tired from the weather, a growing baby, Jake's crazy work schedule last week, the dogs being unsettled because of the weird work schedule, lots of things to do.....I guess I've probably over-done it a bit.  I just can't seem to get comfortable, my kidneys have been acting up again [but still not as painful as 6 weeks ago-thankfully!], I've had more back pain from my ever-growing belly.....the list goes on.  I'm just glad that although I toss and turn all night long, the sleep I do get is pretty darn good--like when you've only been asleep for 45 minutes, wake up/toss & turn, and feel like it's been 5 hours--so I'm not walking around like a zombie all day. 

Best baby moment this week:  Feeling her STRONG kicks.  Some so hard that they move my whole body.  Jake was talking to my belly the other night, and she kicked so hard my belly hit him in the face! haha...Also, had a great time Black Friday shopping!  I found some great deals on things like picture frames and a bookcase for her nursery :)

Have you told family and friends: Yes

Miss Anything?  Being able to sit down and get up quickly...being able to sleep on my back or my stomach...putting on socks or underwear without difficulty...

Movement: tons

Food cravings: Still pasta.  Always TONS of milk, chocolate milk, and juice!  Ice cream/milkshakes--not necessarily a craving but it's the only thing that seems to help my terrible indigestion/acid reflux or whatever it is. 

Anything making you queasy or sick: The drink for my glucose test made me super queasy.  I think the worst part was having to have an empty stomach.

Have you started to show yet: Oh yes :)

Gender: GIRL!  

Labor Signs: No, and better not for a while!

Belly Button in or out?  In, but getting a little shallow. 

Wedding rings on or off? On, but some days it's a little snug.

Happy or Moody most of the time:  Happy/tired.  I do get emotional over sad/sweet things.  My lack of sleep has made me a little moody/irritable this past week though.

Looking forward to: Childbirth class, Christmas, and getting the crib set up!

 

 

 

Fiasco Avoided!

Well, let's take a peek at the nursery progress, shall we?!



Paint selection, Behr Premium in Botanical Tint

Accent Wall painted! [BIG thanks to my parents for helping!] 

And the big fiasco that was thankfully avoided...furniture lead times.  Let me tell you.  I've read several different things before about how some nursery furniture takes 4-6 weeks to come in, and we already picked out the set that we wanted, so I figured it was about time to order.  Thankfully I called and checked on that this week.  Of course, the set that we chose--after much research and discussion--has a lead time of 16-18 weeks!?!  what the #(*@#%$?! Just in case you need a refresher....we've only got 13 1/2 weeks left until our due date!  Well, we were extremely lucky and the Charlotte location of BuyBuyBaby had ONE double dresser in stock, but no crib.  I called the Columbia store, and they, by some act of God, had two cribs on order that should be arriving within two weeks.  One was already sold, so I snatched up the other one as quick as I could!!  We should be getting a call by December 5th to be able to go pick it up, so by mid December it should be all put together :)  I think seeing her crib [although it won't have sheets or anything yet] in the room will definitely make reality sink in a little more!

P.S.--Jake decided that as soon as I got the dresser home it had to be unboxed and brought up to the nursery.  My stubborn husband was determined to get it upstairs and in place.  It was my  job to carry the individual drawers up [and down and up and down] the stairs...talk about  a workout! haha...At least he knows the proper way to move and carry furniture since he had to pretty much get it upstairs himself.  I would help to "stabilize" while we maneuvered it around the staircase, all while he would fuss at me every two seconds not to pull or hold any of the weight.  Then, once we got it up in the room and the drawers back in, I walked back in the room to find him doing this:

...Those would be all of the beanie babies and stuffed animals that my parents had saved from my childhood for my children to play with.  We went through the boxes this past weekend and picked out a few bunch that were cute or girlie or she could possibly be obsessed with after watching a Disney movie [i.e. the Gorilla beanie baby if she likes The Jungle Book or Tarzan, the baboon beanie baby if she likes The Lion King, or the fish beanie baby if she likes Nemo].  I know that's a little silly but hey, we're first time parents :)  He also decided to take it upon himself to put the pants and onesies that are not being hung up in the closet into that top drawer...and he tried to throw away two little skirts that he deemed "too short".....ohhh, this little girl is in for some rough teenage years.

 

Nursery Planning...

Little Bedroom #3, the smallest of the 4 bedrooms that we always knew would eventually be the nursery.  It started out pretty bare, with the old builder light fixture and a sea of tan.  Then, we moved in the set of furniture that I got when I was little...A twin sized  bed, tall dresser, and vanity [excuse the heap of laundry and untucked sheets]. 

 

 

That brings me to Part A of the plan...Since kid #1 is a girl, once Ryleigh moves out of the nursery she will move into a bigger bedroom with this furniture.  Of course, with a different bedding set.



 

 

Now, Part B...my amazing dad came up to visit and helped install a new ceiling fan and flooring, the same color that we put into our master bedroom.


  



 

 

Part C, furniture shopping! A very fun part.  Also a highly researched part.  We knew that we wanted a convertible crib and wanted a dark finish.  We decided on convertible because it just makes sense that if you are spending the money on a suite of furniture, then you want to be able to get many years of use out of it!  We also decided that this furniture will not only be for Ryleigh, but in the far away future we will hopefully be blessed with kid #2.  Since Ryleigh will be using my girly childhood furniture, then kid #2 will be the one to use this nursery furniture into his or her teenage years.  That also made us decide on the darker finish, because we felt it matched the room and would be suitable for either girl or boy.

 

Here is the set that we chose! We're getting the crib, dresser, and adult conversion rails to eventually make it a full-size bed.

 

 

This one passed my "scratch test" which consisted of me trying to scratch and dent the surface of every crib that I liked with my finger nail so that I knew how well it might hold up to a toddler.  I'm sure the sales associates loved me. 

 

And this gives an idea of possible room layouts.  It's a small room, not even a full 10'x10', so we have to get creative.  I think I like the option on the left the best, so that the window won't have the sun and moonlight shining straight in on the crib.  (This is just a basic layout tool, so the finishes are not exact):





Lastly, Part D....Design & decorating!   We started looking at crib bedding sets and couldn't find anything that we loved and could agree on.  I decided to just make my own crib skirt, blanket, and some other accessories.  That was when I stumbled upon this fabric:

Giraffe Love in White, Michael Miller Fabrics

I'm obsessed with the adorable little girly giraffes!  It also met Jake's requirements of (1) Not too much pink, and (2) No flowers.   I also love that it's a clean, white background with so many bright, fun colors on it so that we can mix & match crib sheets and other items in the room.   It's definitely the centerpiece for the room inspiration, and my mind is already crazy with ideas!


I'll update once we start getting some of this going! We have a little bit of organizing and spring cleaning fall cleaning junk-purging either to donate or trash.  

Crazy & Excited!

So, I'm getting slightly excited that in only

more days we will know if Baby Walden is a little boy or little girl!!!!

 

 

My imagination and patience have been going crazy.  Sunday night I started our baby registry at Target online because I couldn't take it anymore and I figured it might actually be nice to get some of the general/neutral items out of the way. 

 

 

 

In other very exciting news, the work has officially begun to fix our water-damaged house!  Here is a picture that Jake took this morning:

 



This is a corner of the living room.  I'm also really happy that they are laying down a pad underneath, which will help with insulation and wear.  Our old floors only had a thin layer of black plastic underneath the flooring (which was discovered after the damaged floor was ripped up).

 

They told us all of the flooring (carpet, vinyl, and wood) would take 2-3 days and the drywall patch and repairs would take another 2 days.  I'm so happy that this will be finished by the end of the month and behind us for good!

 

 



 

Making some house progress!

Remember this fun surprise that we have been dealing with for the last 3+ months?

Well, we finally have a signed contract with Andrew Roby after lots of back and forth with our insurance adjuster.  I am so, so ready for the work to begin so that my home is no longer a construction zone.  I know it's going to be a slight mess during the process, but I just keep telling myself that hopefully by the end of the month this will be long behind us! 

I'm also excited because we decided to upgrade the floors downstairs to the same type that we put into our master bedroom.  I realized I don't have a good picture of it on here.  The flooring in our master is Toasted Chickory that we got from Lumber Liquidators.  We are working with a different flooring company through Andrew Roby, so the flooring downstairs will be Riverside Birch by Floorcraft.  They are very similar... 

I can't wait!!  Shortly after this project finishes up, it will be time for us to start on Baby Walden's nursery, and finishing our backsplash in the kitchen [also a long overdue project! oops]

 

Baby Clothes Cuteness...

I know that I should be patient, but I would really like to fast-forward about 5 weeks so that I know if Little Bit is a he or a she.  I know at as soon as they are here I will be praying for time to stand still, but I can't help but want to be able to get a better idea of what our near future will be like.  I can't stop looking at cute baby clothes and baby items online, and [being the bargain shopper that I am] I would be scooping up so many clearance deals! Like these...

Also, can we please take a minute to talk about the overload of amazing that is Carter's Halloween costumes?!  Here are my favs:

For a little Mister...

or a little Miss :)

Only NINE more days until it is September, which means officially time to break out the Fall decorations, scarves, boots, cider, pumpkins, and spice candles....Makes my heart happy :)

 

Patio Door

Here's the before & after....

Action shot...hard at work!  The worst part of the whole thing was getting the old door out!

Finally done! It took all day so sadly this picture doesn't show the pretty view into the backyard, but I LOVE the new door!!

Of course, there is still some paint touch-up that we need to do to the wall inside, and the door is just prefinished white right now so once the weather cools a little bit we will paint it with regular white enamel.

Big thanks to my parents for coming up and helping with all the labor.

Another project checked off the list!