The new room

When I started converting the nursery to a big girl room, I didn't realize just what I was undertaking. It's starting to cost more than I expected.

For starters, I picked out a new bed set. That was $150 (with the sheets) and I picked up a chair as well for her to sit in which was $30. We decided to keep the walls the same color and just update the top where the trim was. I picked up one double roll of wall paper thinking it would be enough, and I was glad when I realized it was a $50 roll! Yeah, not so much, I need two more rolls. Yikes! Which I ordered today. At the same time, I picked up the two curtain rods Husband wanted, which were $20 each. I still need curtains. I know which ones I want, I just need to pick a color - those are $25 each. I picked up a few pictures/accessories, but those were truly bargains - only a few dollars each. The furniture is staying the same, however, we need a bed frame and mattress and box spring. I've priced those out at two local places and yikes! And we need to pick up (and paint) the chair rail border we're putting up.

But overall, the room is coming along smoothly and I like how it's turning out. Here's an in progress picture.


Unfortunately, I haven't been able to pick up any subbing hours. They haven't had any available that fit my schedule. :(

The Diet - week 2

So the two weeks of phase one on the South Beach diet went past with no issues- other than the girls wanting our food. It really wasn't as bad as I thought and I lost 13 pounds! I fairly confident that I'm going to stay on some sort of modified version now - adding in some "taboo" foods but keeping the portions small and more frequent.

What I did notice was that after day two, I was no longer tired. That's right, I could go from morning to night (even waking earlier!0 without the dreaded mid-day sleepies. I no longer had highs and lows throughout the day as my blood sugar went up and down - it stayed at a constant level. And I was happier. Which made the girls happier. So yes, I feel great.

I really wanted to keep the fact that I was on a "diet" from the girls - I didn't want it to impact how they thought about their bodies. Yet they knew. And they asked. In fact, Einey - all teenie tiny her - declared that when she was 18 she was going on a diet. So we talked about how some people weigh a little more then they should and that they need diets, to get healthier. She seemed to accept that.

Meenie pips in with "I know someone else who needs a diet. Uncle Meatball - he's too big".

Heh. If only Uncle Meatball knew. Of course, she justified this by standing on her chair and reaching up as high as she could (after all, Uncle Meatball is really, really tall).

To which, I answer the question

"It must be nice having all the girls in school,"

"Just what do you do all day now?"

"You must be bored."

The answers - it is nice having the girls in school. It's quiet and I can actually get things accomplished. It's not boring because I'm doing many, many things.

To start with, I've cleaned out the playroom - getting rid of bags of toys and garbage, organizing things and rearranging a few items. I've cleaned out the girls rooms, bringing most toys downstairs and books/stuffed animals upstairs. I've cleaned out the closets, bagging up the clothes that are too small for Moe and putting away most of the summer clothes. Fall is definitely here and it's a tad too cold for tank tops and sun dresses. I've washed floors and started cleaning out things in the basement. I've given away DVD's and movies that the girls have outgrown. I've packed up the bathing suit and other beach items. I've worked outside (another post for another day).

But most of all, I've been working on converting the nursery to a tween room. We moved Einey into her own room over the summer and she was happy with it, however she's getting bigger. And that means she needs a real bed. A bed that isn't the crib converted to a daybed. And to get a big bed, we needed to order bedding. And we found bedding, just nothing to match the walls. So now had the dilemma of how to paint the room. We've come up with a solution. Were going to wallpaper the top, where the mural is and leave the walls the blue. Then we're going to put up a border (either paper or wood) to separate the two. After scouring wallpaper books at Lowe's and then bringing Husband to check out what I liked, I found the paper we are going to use. And the border. Only, the border was paper and would be too big to use as a border (even though Husband wanted to cut it into tiny chunks - uh no - this actually caused us to get into an argument at Lowe's and sent Husband storming off). The result - we're not using it and will probably just use decorative molding to us as a divide. So now, back to Lowe's to actually order the wallpaper.

Once that's finished, I can order the mattress and bed frame. I've put that off until we have the walls done. It will make life much easier. I have however, gone out looking and know what I'm ordering and from where.

I've ordered and received the bedding and ordered a chair for her room - which is freaking awesome! Now all that's left is to order the shelves I want from Pottery Barn Kids.

New Bedding

I'm pretty sure I know what the placement of all the furniture will be, with the exception of her two bookcases. I have to see how the bed fits into her room first. And I'm not sure what I'm doing with the bins of clothes (I store them in her room, but would like to move them - I think I need to clean out the closet in the master bedroom and see if I can fit them in there). And then we need to decide whether or not we are putting the old computer or the small TV/N64 in there.

But yeah, that's what I've been up to in a nutshell.

Here's what the room currently looks like. Click on the pictures to enlarge.





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Fell in Love....

Today I fell in love. I know, I know, I said I wasn't looking for a new one yet. I know I've also said I wasn't going to look. And I'd never buy an old one again. But this one just caught my eye. I saw it, mentioned it to Husband and that was that. A few days later, I mentioned it again because I could stop thinking about it. He admits he's thought about it as well and even researched it online. We did a drive-by and it was perfect. Well almost perfect. But we can look past a few imperfections, right? So we called to see if we could see it better.

And you know what, it was everything we ever wanted. "It" is a 90+ year old farm house. Complete with a barn (okay, so the barn isn't in that great of shape, but it could be). It has 7 bedrooms and 13 rooms all together. It has a yellow kitchen (I always wanted a yellow kitchen). It has a stone patio and swimming pool (we've always wanted a pool). It sits on just over 2 acres, which is enough for me. In the center of the stone patio, is an old fountain, but it would make a great fire pit. Or fishpond - we've both claimed it for different things. It has a tree swing and an old wooden swing set. It has an old tree house. It has a driveway! A circular drive. One where we could actually, you know, have friends come over and park in. It has a large bay window. To sum it up, it has everything we've both ever wanted and everything we've dreamed of. It is the house we've been trying to make this one. Moe's face was just one of absolute joy as she sat one the swing as we looked around the yard. Her tiny body swaying back and forth as the cool air blew in.

The price is low for it. We went in expecting it to be in need of a lot of love. But it has a new roof, new furnace new electrical. All it would need from us is new paint - more modern paint. It's in a different town with a better school system. One that if I chose, I could be tempted to send my kids to public school. It's off the main room, but not to far from the house we currently reside in, so we wouldn't have to change anything. The girls could still be on the same soccer team, play with their same friends and go to the same school.

We walked in the barn, from one room to another when Moe looks up and asks "but where are the horsies?" . No honey, no horses, but we could if we wanted too. As we walked to the back of the barn, where there were some old stalls, she again asked where the horses were.

In that hour, I envisioned parties on patio, the kids running into the pool, them chasing each other through the yard. The leaves were falling and I could "see" them running through the leaves. I could see them in the tree house. I could imagine them playing hide and seek - in the hidden stair case, or one of the many bedrooms. I could imagine coffee on our private balcony or sitting outside with a friend in the morning for a nice cup of joe. I could hear the laughter and see the joy. I could see the place where I'd plant my roses and my vegetables. I could see the barn cats we'd get because the girls always wanted a kitten but daddy has allergies. I could see the puppies chasing our older dog through the field.

But alas, as quickly as I fell in love, I knew it's too good to be true. While the house is much lower than what is expected, it's still a little out of our price range. If I was working, it could probably be done. But there are too many "ifs". If we didn't have to worry about a new oil bill (we'd be leaving a house here we never had to worry about a heating bill. Solar power is definitely a great thing). I know the market may be great to buy a new house, but it's not so great to sell an old house. And while we'd still probably make a profit off our house, I don't think it would be enough for what we need.*

And so, I sit here with a heavy heart and dream of the house I love.


*We'll find out in a week when we have the Realtor come do a market value assessment.

100th Post and other Random bits

Okay, so technically this is my 102nd post, but have I told you before how I'm always late? Well there's no exception to that rule here!

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I swear I have the cleanest toddler on the block. You can't even think about taking a shower without Moe climbing in before you. She is constantly obsessed with bathing. If she spills water on her self, she tells you "dirty, need bath". You mention bath and she's naked and in the shower before you make it up there. As a result, I have been bathing at night while she is asleep just to have privacy.

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I posted a picture last night on my other blog but decided to throw up the challenge here.

So just what is on your computer desk? Mine is a bit messy at the moment, but normally, I try to keep it organized. Currently, I have games, the printer, the scanner, 2 digital cameras, books, toys, diaper rash powder, a watch, sippy cups, a phone, a brush, pictures, CD's, a Gameboy homework and dice. Plus tons of assorted papers. I really try to keep it clean, but sometimes, it just doesn't work! Anyway, post links to pictures and/or descriptions in my comment and I'll come check out your work area.

edit: The picture is different as with some of the pictures on my photo blog. For some reason, I lost half my pictures today and had to find some. They may not be the same version of the one's I had posted.