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!

 

Nesting Mode

Yay for things coming together!  This week I have been nesting like crazy.  I don't know what it is...I will be tired and worn out, dealing with sciatic nerve pain, but then all of a sudden get this huge urge to do something.  Opening the box of Amazon goodies turned into opening the box, unboxing and putting everything away, setting up the sound machine, reorganizing the changing table [which was covered in baby shower goodies], cleaning and organizing the guest bath vanity, master bath vanity, kitchen countertops, completely cleaning out and reorganizing the pantry, and I ran two loads of laundry...within a span of about 2.5 hours!

 

 

Then last night, Jake had to run to Walmart to get a couple things, and I all of a sudden had a burst of energy and decided to finally sew the crib skirt.  The design I was going with was really simple, the skirt is actually 3 pieces [2 sides and front] that stay separate and as you lower the crib you can adjust the three skirt pieces so that it doesn't get all bunched up and lumpy looking.  I still need to get the Velcro to attach it, but we taped it in last night to make sure the size fit and see how it looked :)

 

 

And to further help with my need for organization, I found a fun diaper bag today!  I originally chose one from Target, but saw this deal on Zulily today for a Built brand diaper bag--usually retails for $120 and I got it for $55 including shipping!  That's still $20 cheaper than the original one I wanted, and I'm excited because I love Built products...

 

I love all of the pockets and the two options for shoulder straps.  I was debating which pattern to go with, and ultimately decided on the black/white polka dot one.  It's neutral but still fun :)  It will also match our Travel System and my designer mind really cares about that...I can't wait until it arrives and I can start filling it up!

 

 

 

31 Weeks!

Not the best picture, but it was the only one we got on Christmas day!

How far along?  31 weeks, 2 days

Total weight gain/loss: +23lbs...darn those Christmas cookies! haha but really things seem to be on track and my OB is happy with where we're at so far....

Maternity clothes? All the time!  Now I'm also trying to focus on nursing clothing and taking that into account when/if I purchase any clothing.

Sleep: Seems to be okay...getting tired and taking some weekend or evening naps here and there.  I've gotten a few leg cramps in the middle of the night which is not fun.  I'm having a little more back/hip pain as this bump gets bigger and bigger so sometimes it's difficult to figure out a way to lay that is comfortable.

Best baby moment this week:  Several!  Jake and I went to childbirth class on Saturday and learned lots about preparing for the exciting, yet dreaded, childbirth.  I have to admit that it pretty much scares the mess out of me.  But, I'm now feeling super informed and finding some confidence in myself and the choices that Jake and I will make for bringing our daughter into this world.  We had a great instructor and both really liked the class.  

 

On our way home from class, we bought little one's crib mattress!  Selecting one seems overwhelming and impossible to do with all of the choices available, but I did some research and we settled on the Lullaby Earth Stage 2 crib mattress from Buy Buy Baby [thank you 20% off BBB coupon!].  It's a huge matter of personal preference, but the important aspects came down to organic materials, firmness/support, and it's waterproof so it will be easy to clean and hold up well.

 

Also all the love and Christmas gifts for Ryleigh :)  She's already one lucky little girl.  She got some outfits and pj's, bedtime prayer board book, squeeze/teethe blocks, and two handmade quilts!  I had to hold myself together when I opened up the beautiful quilt from my friend Shanti, which she also had embroidered with Ryleigh's name and it has the softest minky fabric back.  That will keep her warm next winter for sure! 

Have you told family and friends: Yes

Miss Anything?  Being able to sit down and get up quickly...being able to get dressed quickly...being able to do anything quickly...haha

Movement: lots, especially around meal times or after 7:30pm.  Night owl!

Food cravings: Still pasta, chocolate milk, and juice!  Trying out some out-of-the-ordinary flavors but not necessarily weird--like Hawaiian pizza.   

Anything making you queasy or sick: Not really

Have you started to show yet: Oh yes :)  belly bump is measuring right on track at 32cm/32 weeks [I've been measuring 4 days ahead for a while now]

Gender: GIRL!  

Labor Signs: No, hopefully not until sometime in February!

Belly Button in or out?  In, but getting pretty 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.  

Looking forward to: More nursery progress, and celebrating on New Year's Eve--closing out one pretty great year and looking forward to 2014 because I know it will be even better!  Also our maternity pictures and baby shower coming up in a few weeks!

 

 

 

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!

 

Mid-week Randoms...and an exciting purchase!

Well, first let's start with the update from my doctor.  Hydronephrosis confirmed, and the safest way to move forward is pretty much do nothing.  They can put in a stint to help my kidney drain, however in pregnant women stints need to be replaced every 4-6 weeks.  That means having several surgeries between now and the time I give birth--no thank you.  The stints also tend to cause more discomfort in pregnant women, and have been known to cause pre-term labor--again, no thank you!  I'm perfectly fine with managing and dealing with the pain if that means little miss gets to cook all the way!  So, course of treatment now is a follow-up renal ultrasound of my kidneys and bladder in 6 weeks so that they can make sure the dilation is not getting to unsafe levels.  Over the past two weeks I have learned certain things that help the pain to subside and have been able to manage it pretty well.  I just plan to continue with that so that I don't need to resort to any pain medication. I'm allow to take Tylenol but I'm not crazy about putting medicine like that in my body that will get to the baby. 


So, on to more fun and exciting things, let's take a look back at Halloween:

Pretty cute for being thrown together in about 5 minutes, huh?
I had several costume ideas but procrastinated a bit and put this together at the last minute by cutting up some old
cotton t-shirts and pinning it to the outfit I wore that day.

 And now a peek at the Nursery progress:


Room cleaned out, floor mopped, rug laid down, diaper shower goodies brought upstairs, and washed all of the baby clothes that we have so far.  The two green and two clear plastic bins in the picture above need to go up into the attic, but we did not have our ladder so couldn't get that done this past weekend. 

We also changed out the electrical duplex in our hallway upstairs [to the left of the nursery door].  All we need it for is one plug-in to vacuum, so we put in one of these:

LED Nightlight and Receptacle

For about $9.00 at Home Depot, we got this nifty receptacle. The nightlight has a sensor so when it is a certain level of darkness it turns on, which will help tremendously during all-hours-of-the-night trips to the nursery so that I don't have to turn on any brighter lights in the hallway.



While that was an exciting purchase, that's not the one this post title is about.  No, that would be Ryleigh's "coming home" outfit!!!  I'm a little obsessed with paisley and mint green, and this cute little set was too perfect to pass up [plus it comes with a cute little bunny rattle]...

Tutti Frutti Layette Set from Vera Bradley Baby
[I found this set on sale from Zulily...still a little pricey but it's her coming home outfit so I'm justifying it!!]

Also, two good sales going on right now for you mommas and mommas-to-be!  Apparently, with the code THANKSGIVING you get five free pairs of baby leg warmers at www.babyleggings.com, you just pay $12.95 shipping.    The other is at www.Crazy8.com, where they are doing a B1G1 for 88 cents!  This is only for regular priced merchandise, but you can still get some great deals. 


That's all for now!

 

Nursery Rug

Have I mentioned before just how much I love a good bargain?  Because I do....and I found one today!

Pretty much every day I peruse the deals on the Zulily site.  I've been doing it for a while--they have great deals not only for moms but also for women's clothing, holiday items, and housewares.  They also tend to have deals for guys--it seems like this is more "seasonal" around Father's Day or tailgating season. 

Well, they often have rugs on there and I've been trying to find a good deal and cute, kid-ish [like that new word?] 5'x7' rug for Ryleigh's nursery.  I just can't bring myself to pay $125+ for a large area rug that's probably just going to be drooled on, spit up on, etc.  BUT, the dilemma comes in because I also don't want my baby to be laying all over a cheap, itchy rug.

Today, I came across this one and decided to snatch it up!  It's exactly the size I need, the light pink matches the bedding fabric, and the brown will go with the color of the furniture.  It's not exactly what I had in mind, but I think it will look really cute.  It was $250, on sale through Zulily for $84.99+ $10 shipping, and I had a $20 credit on my account so I ended up only paying about $75!  It's from Mohawk Home, which is a great carpet and rug brand and they typically have very soft pile.  We actually have a giant [can't remember if it's 8'x10' or 9'x12'] Mohawk Home rug in our master bedroom that I found for a great deal at TJMaxx last year.  I'm hoping that this rug for Ryleigh is just as nice!

Here is the bedding fabric...

...and here's the area rug!

I also like how it looks as if the colors are heathered, which might also tie in the white from the bedding.  If it is, that's an added bonus.  If not, still cute! 

 

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]

 

Adding another branch to the Family Tree....BABY WALDEN!

Yes, it's true and we are so excited!  Jake and I are going to be welcoming a little one into the world sometime at the end of February [Due Date Feb 25th]! 

I'm 11 weeks right now, and we have been pretty much bursting at the seams so we decided it's time to share with the world.  It's still pretty surreal. 


How I found out...
The good Lord above gave us the best anniversary present we could have asked for this year, with a positive test very, very early in the morning back on June 11th :)  We had just gotten back the night before from our anniversary vacation to Nashville, super tired, and the dogs woke me up in the middle of the night to go outside.  I thought--heck, why not, I'm going to take a test [I was a few days late at this point but took a test before our trip that was negative so not feeling very optimistic]...Well, maybe it was early or maybe I was impatient, but I looked at the test right away and saw one bold line.  Yes, I know it says "May take up to 3 minutes to appear" but I was looking for the instant gratification.  Well, thinking it was another negative test I just set it down on the counter and let the dogs back inside.  On my way back upstairs I picked it up to throw it away and looked again.......I FROZE.  I kept blinking and rubbing my eyes to make sure that I saw that second, beautiful, faint pink line.  I couldn't believe it. 

Can you see the 2nd line? So faint, but you don't get false positives!
I also ended up taking 3 more in the following days that were much bolder...

I had my own little dance party in the kitchen.  My heart was beating so fast and I couldn't stop smiling.  But, it was 4am, and I didn't want to wake Jake up because I had always thought that, just like the guy gets to do the marriage proposal, this was my special thing.  I wanted it to be really memorable.  Of course, I couldn't fall back to sleep because my mind was going a mile a minute, so I just tossed and turned and daydreamed for the next 3 hours before my alarm went off to get ready for work.  I didn't know exactly how I would tell him, but I knew that by the time I got home from work I better have a plan!


How I told Jake...
So, on my drive home from work I came up with this--call him and tell him I'm running late because of traffic.  Totally believable..thanks I-77.  I quick went to Books-a-Million searching for the perfect children's book.  Something that we would be able to hold onto for years, make memories with, and something that would represent the bond of father & child.  That's when I found the absolutely most fitting bedtime story possible.  I quickly paid and drove home, hoping that I would get there before him.  Nope.  I pulled into the driveway and tried to figure out how to cram the book into my purse and get upstairs to hide it from him.  I needed to wrap it and write a note to him.  Our plans that night were to meet some friends at a pizzeria for a 21st birthday party [yes, on our anniversary. But we had just gotten back into town from 4 days of "date time" and we missed our friends! Just call us social butterflies...] so I hid in our closet while I was changing and did a laughable wrapping job and scribbled a note out.  I was so worried he would find me mid-scheming, but thankfully he didn't!  I brought the gift out to him and said "I know we weren't supposed to get each other any more presents, but this is just something little..." to which I was fussed at because he said "You always do this! and I didn't get you anything!" I kept telling him to just open it, it was something small and it was okay.  He didn't realize what the book was a first because he saw the back cover, but then he saw the note fall out and read..."Daddy, I thought you might want to practice reading this to me...I can't wait to meet you in February!"

So, it's overwhelming and crazy and we are so blessed.  Thank you all so much for your love, support, and kind words!  Follow along on here if you want to read more updates on Baby Walden :)

 

Christmas in July..

Anyone else getting really excited for the upcoming Fall and Winter holidays?

I feel like this happens to me almost every year once the 4th of July passes.  We're halfway through the Summer season but I'm already getting over it and ready for Fall...Football season, pumpkin spice, cider, scarves, cozy sweaters, boots, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Black Friday shopping, buying Christmas presents....it goes on and on.  My favorite time of the year!

 

 

Decorating and holiday parties and baking cookies....Anyone else as excited as me?