Dream House - Mudroom

This is a pretty small space but I can't even begin to tell you how much I love having a place to hang jackets and put away sneakers. In our first home you walked directly into the living room and both Matt and I grew up in houses where you walk directly into the kitchen. A mudroom was on my "must have" list for the dream house.

For my birthday I asked my super talented in-laws if they could make me a mail station with chalkboard. The end result is just perfect and I love it. With this one special feature completed I just had to paint and finish the rest of the space. I chose a sandy color for the walls, and then decided to paint the entire garage this color also. I had Dingle sand and poly a few pine 1x2s so that I could make two coat racks. So in love with the kids being able to hang their own coats! Lastly, I filled a few new frames with pictures of the kiddos. For once I think I can say that a project is 100% done!

This is the last of the house updates for now...but the bathrooms are calling my name! 

Dream House - Garage

As is par for the course I completely forgot to take a true "before" picture when we started our garage makeover. *sigh* You'd think one of these times I would remember, but apparently this was not it. In any case I do have a picture of what the garage looked like when we did our inspection. To be honest this is as good of a before picture as any...this just isn't our junk! 

The door opens into the mudroom which I will reveal tomorrow...spoiler alert, there are no before pictures of that either! 

Our house in MA was a perfect starter home in that it didn't need a lot of work, just a lot of updating. We painted and got our feet wet for slightly bigger projects like replacing electrical fixtures and tiling the kitchen. When I told Dingle that I would really love to have a deck in the garage I think his exact words were something like, "well, we've never done that before." "That" of course being really building anything from scratch, you know, like out of wood. We took measurements and priced out the project (in the end the materials cost us about 200 dollars including paint). Before sending him to the hardware store we watched a This Old House episode on how to build a small deck. I am not kidding, that was the entirety of our education. 

We got this!

First we removed the old stairs and saved them to reattach to the new deck. Next we built the frame and added the joists and brackets. Matt made all of the cuts, I wielded the hammer. A boy in a pair of butterfly wings acted as our site manager. 

After the first day of construction we had the entire deck built and all that was left to do was add the railing and attach the decking. 

I'm pretty sure it was at this point that I realized that the new deck was going to look so beautiful and the rest of the garage looked terrible. Obviously, I would need to paint the walls that surround the deck. And if I was going to paint the walls surrounding the deck then we should probably build a bench on the deck...and paint that as well. 

Oh hey...those wall surrounding the deck look amazing! Look how terrible the rest of garage looks!! Better paint those too...

Let's finish this project! Hang some hooks, organize the rest of the garage, and have a beer! 

So it's finally finished...well almost, I still need something for the wall to the right of the door (damn you last 2%, haha). It is SO nice. Now the kids have a place to take off their coats and kick off their muddy shoes. Dingle did an amazing job making my vision a reality. Of all the projects we have done, this one might be favorite! 

Dream House - Master Bedroom

We have been busy with a few house projects that were long overdue. I wanted to wait to reveal each project until it was 100% finished...it's always that last 2% that gets me! The walls in our house are a mix of split logs and drywall. When we moved in, every single wall that was not split log was white. We do not like white walls! It has taken us quite a while to get the ball rolling, but once again, I am a painting fool!

The new curtains for the master bedroom finally arrived last night (and I totally need to steam them, damn you last 2%).

I thought it would be fun to post the pictures of the house from our inspection...







and when we first moved in...



and before we started painting....

...and now that the room is finally us!

Lily's Bedroom Reveal!

This post is so long overdue, cheers to me for checking something off my "to post" list!

When we first moved into the dream house Matt and I both agreed that any and all major projects would have to wait. For one, we put our entire life savings down in order to make our offer the most desirable to the sellers and the bank, so putting money into the house right away just wasn't an option. (This was compounded by several thousand dollars in unforeseen expenses that come along with home ownership including but not limited to buying four dump trucks worth of gravel for the road.) Aside from not really having the money for big renovations we didn't have the time or the energy. Matt was still commuting to the city every two days and I was six months pregnant with two toddlers under foot all day.

After a couple of months in the house things settled down, Matt started working from home, and I finally stopped having heart palpitations every time I looked at our savings account balance (sort of). I had started to bug Matt about redoing the kids bedrooms but he didn't really seem all that eager. To satisfy my own itch I decided that I would make Lily's curtains and a matching comforter. I own a sewing machine but had only ever used it to hem skirts and other small tasks. Since there isn't anything you can't learn on youtube I decided to just go for it. I went to the fabric store and spent over an hour choosing "the world's most perfect pinks and purples" per Lily's request.

I used a couple of different websites for step by step instructions to make Lily's roman curtains but the one I found the most helpful was this one. I didn't take pictures of my progress as I went because there are so many great tutorials on pinterest. I am a novice seamstress at best but I have to give myself a pat on the back because I really do think they came out awesome.

After the curtains were finished I moved on to the comforter. I looked up the basic dimensions for a twin quilt but aside from that the design and pattern were made up on the fly. Again, I am not an expert seamstress and if you look carefully it shows...BUT I absolutely love this quilt. I am really proud that I made something so "Lily" from scratch. The quilt took me a loooong time and the learning curve was steep. Making the boys' quilts will hopefully go more quickly...with less cursing. I had enough scrap fabric left over to make two pillow shams too. What can I say, we are just that fancy!

The paint...ah the paint! Matt has a love/hate relationship with the colors I chose. For one they are very "Lily" but they are also very bright. He would have preferred I chose something that complimented the wood a little better but again, they are very Lily, and this is her room. We knew when we chose the paint that we were expecting a boy so it was okay to really just give the girl exactly what she wanted. The purple stripes were a little harder to keep straight and 'sharp' than we anticipated (read: never again are we painting stripes!), but in the end I was very happy!

My sister is so crafty and I am so not...but I am working on it. For her birthday Kate wanted to make Lily something for her room. For as long as any of us can remember Lily has had an elaborate bedtime routine. Every single night each person in attendance at bedtime must give her "a kiss, a hug, a big squeeze, and a snuggle." To immortalize this ritual Kate printed and framed these phrases to hang on her wall.

Last but certainly not least I wanted to add a little something to the empty wall space. I looked up a few ideas before deciding on growth charts for each of the kids' room. Kate and I did the projects from start (going to Lowes for wood) to finish (painting the numbers) in about 24 hours.

In the end I am just so excited that Lily has a bedroom that looks put together, is easy to clean and organize, and most importantly is a reflection of who she is at the magical age that is four!

Home Inspected.

(I apologize if this post is full of typos, my editor is at a wedding while the author of this blog watches our children alone on a Sunday afternoon!)

On Monday the buyers had the house inspected. It was actually kind of perfect because Matt had the day off (Columbus Day for those of you who don't live in New England) so we went out to lunch and took the kids to a small farm for some apples. Over the weekend we prepared the house the best we could. As I have said before, we are honest and we don't have anything to hide. That being said, did I paint the wall in the basement where the dog and cat food bowls are because I thought it looked moldy? You bet I did. I sprayed the wall with vinegar first and then used Kilz to paint over the area. Admittedly, I was worried that the home inspector would say the word mold and the buyers would run in the other direction. The reality, it is a basement, and we had a very humid summer. I definitely don't feel guilty for correcting a problem I though the inspector might blow out of proportion. Matt did a somewhat "lipstick" fix to the front gutter, but we disclosed that the roof and gutters were in need of some attention, so again...no guilt here :) Additionally I replaced the dryer hose, fixed the dripping toilet, and fixed the insulation in the attic. All of those things had been on my todo list for months, if not years! I also made sure all light bulbs worked, outlets were accessible, and cabinets were clutter free.

The inspection went fine, as expected, and the buyers were completely freaked out, as expected. Having been through the process Matt and I remembered feeling like the house was a total lemon after the inspection. Luckily their realtor (who we found out is the father of one of the buyers) calmed their nerves and they presented us with a semi-ridiculous amendment to their original offer. As in they asked for a TEN THOUSAND DOLLAR credit, hahaha. The one unexpected problem that the inspector found was that the furnace was leaking. I knew the cement under it was wet but thought it was just condensation. Part of the credit was supposedly for the roof but again we had previously disclosed the roof's age/condition. Our realtor was firm that they should not expect a credit for a new roof. Since we basically declined their offer they came back to us with "repairing/replacing the furnace and a 4K credit at closing". Our realtor offered to split the closing credit with us but we chose not to counter and instead asked for an extension of the contract so that we could have the furnace looked at by a plumber.

It was a long four days but on Friday afternoon a very nice guy came over to look at the furnace. After about 15 minutes downstairs he delivered the best news we could have asked for. The furnace needed a new drainage hose, the part cost 11 dollars!! We had him do another small repair to an exhaust duct and in the end we wrote him a check for $160.00. AMAZING! We were seriously afraid that we would need to replace the furnace and that financially we were not going to be able to sell the house. We texted our realtor the good news and gave her the green light to let the buyers know.

As far as I know their lawyer will draft the purchase and sale tomorrow and if all goes as planned with their financing we will be closing the week before Thanksgiving.

CUE TOTAL FREAK OUT!!

There is SO much to do and since Matt will be saving up his vacation time for the move and the upcoming holidays most of that stuff is going to need to be done by yours truly.

I will do my very best to keep on posting but I am not making any promises! At the very least I am planning a "mega house post" with tons of before and after pictures before we start packing.

Leaving this house is going to be heartbreaking but we are as ready as we can be!

Is it February or The Zombie Apocalypse?!?

Wwwoooooooooooossssssshhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

Don't look now but February is practically over. When the heck did that happen? I started Ben's 10 month post this morning and am determined to have it posted on time this month. In other news I thought I would do a short update.

Matt has settled in at his new job. He is working long hours but has found a schedule that minimizes the commute and is a good compromise between seeing the kids and getting enough sleep. I know that we were spoiled having him here all the time for the past few years but knowing that certainly doesn't make it easier to be on my own from roughly 9am until 8pm (or later). The kids are adjusting and hopefully in a few weeks things will slow down and Matt can work a little less. The long term goal is to have him work from home again, even if it is just a few days a week. Fingers crossed.

There are several pluses to having Matt out of the house more. He really appreciates being home and we really appreciate having him here, the house is always picked up!, I can eat grilled cheese sandwiches for every meal (maybe that isn't really a plus), I have stopped pumping all together, I set the schedule and this is officially "my show". Not that I wasn't primarily in charge before but now there is zero defaulting to Daddy.

I am really looking forward to spring, I hope this isn't one of those years when we have snow on the ground until April. The kids are ready to get back outside. I signed Ben up for swimming lessons this morning (side note: Lily might be so jealous that we have to cough up the cash and get her signed up too) and I am so excited to get the pool opened up this summer. Kate will be living here while she takes her CPA prep class from June to August. Having an extra set of hands and a bestie to spend the days with is going to be awesome.

It is like zombie apocalypse around the house lately. I don't know what the hell is happening. First we tried unsuccessfully to replace the microwave above the stove only to discover that the new microwave doesn't fit the opening. Yes me measured, twice. Technically is does fit I just hate the way it looks. So now we have a big ugly hole in the kitchen. We then decided to replace the upper cabinet with a smaller one only to find out that our cabinets have been discontinued. Now two different cabinet companies are in possession of our cabinet doors. Let me tell you how much I love the way it looks.

Matt bucked his brand new car (2013 Ford Focus) into the back of my car in the driveway and somehow did a thousand dollars worth of damage. The car had been in our possession for less than 24 hours.

Last Friday I moved the glider back in to the kids room because Ben is again sleeping like a newborn and I need a place to sit while I nurse him 5 times in the middle of the night. Well, while sitting in the rocker I looked up and realized that there is a large water stain on the ceiling in the kids room. Awesome. No idea how long it has been there but it obviously needs to be addressed. The skylight in the sun room is also leaking like a sieve again. Double awesome.

Then came the ants. No idea where they are coming in from but this past weekend they were everywhere. So gross. I sprayed the tiniest amount of insecticide along the baseboards, which I am not thrilled about given the two small people, two cats, and a dumb as rocks dog, we allow to live here. I wouldn't put it past any of them to lick the wall just for fun. The spray seems to have worked so hopefully I won't have to use it again.

AND then last night I spent 30 minutes trying to catch a mouse that the cats had been tormenting all afternoon. I finally succeeded in nabbing the thing by the tail and put it outside. I just couldn't kill it. (Background: I used to anesthetize dozens of rodents a day as a lab tech but this just seems different.) I am sure that by now it has found it's way back in. Whatever.

Zombie Apocalypse, I'm tellin' you. I am a little afraid of what the universe might have in store for us next!

The world's most perfect big girl bed!

I can tell you exactly why I failed to update the blog for the past three weeks.  I have spent every waking free second I have had researching and hunting down the world's most perfect big girl bed!! When I get my mind set on something there is no derailing me. At one point during my search I had 57 tabs open on my computer (yes I counted). There has to be a more efficient way to organize internet searches, but I sort of like my system., even if it does say something about my type A personality.

I knew I wanted a twin bed as opposed to a toddler bed. As a matter of fact, I would like to meet the person who invented the "convertible crib" and kick him/her in the shin. Ok, that may be a little harsh. Not to mention it isn't really the inventors fault their design was so popular at the time of our crib purchase. Maybe there is a sales person I should be kicking, hmmm. Anyway, the reason I regret the convertible crib we chose is because while the bed does convert to a toddler bed as advertised, the weight restrictions on the bed are the same as when you are in "crib mode". In our case 75lbs. I had always envisioned snuggling in bed with my little ones reading books before bed. Sitting on the floor next to the toddler bed is simply an unacceptable substitution. My kids are only going to be this little and cute once.

The plan for right now is to stay in this house a little longer and try and wait out the market. Unless we are willing to take a loss on the house, it is really our only option. With that being the case, we would like to keep the guest room just that, so that our lovely family and friends can continue to enjoy the lavish accommodation we have established for them. (Clearly I am being facetious, the room is quite simple, but we have had many compliments on the mattress!) In a three bedroom house it doesn't take long to figure out that means our kids will be sharing a room...eventually. Baby boy will be in our room for the first few months and after that we may opt to put the crib in the guest room until everyone is sleeping soundly through the night. In any scenario I decided that it would be Lily who would get a new bed. Matt definitely had/has his doubts that she is ready to move from the crib. I am just hoping that if we strike now, while the iron is so gosh darn agreeable, she will transition like a pro.

So anyway, back to the big girl bed I chose and the only thing that people really care about, pictures. After no less than 40 hours of research I had narrowed our choices to these three beds.

The first bed got decent reviews online but was sold out almost everywhere. I was struggling with the sticker shock of the whole bed buying experience when I first came across it so I put it on my wishlist and kept looking. The second bed got great reviews but was slightly more than the first bed. The third bed is actually four separate pieces, a loft, a bookcase, and two three drawer dressers. This would have been the biggest investment by far, but just look at all of that storage! Matt was convinced that Lily was going to swan drive off of the loft and break a bone. We even went to a local furniture store to see that one in person just to get a feel for how high it was. Lily scurried up the ladder like a champ but Matt wasn't completely sold. After three weeks of looking I was starting to get frustrated and just wanted one of them to go on a "I can't possibly pass this up" sale. Finally last Monday night it happened. I found a 15% off coupon code for the middle bed with free shipping and no sales tax!! 

The bed actually arrived before I had a chance to get the bedding (which is now en route and I am super excited!)    Last night Lily was amazing. We all went up and cuddled into her big girl bed and read books (which was everything I dreamed it would be) and when we were finished we showered her with praise, reminded her of the rules, gave hugs and kisses and left. She looked very small and I cried a little, but after 7:20 we never heard another peep and all was right with the world. Around 7:45 this morning she started calling for her dad to come and get her (have I mentioned how much I LOVE this kid!) and he found her exactly where she should be, sitting up proudly in the middle of the her stuffed animal army.

How about a few pictures?!

Celebrating the delivery of her BIG GIRL BED!!
(said like Oprah announcing that everyone is getting a new car!)

All set up! Daddy did a great job maneuvering it up the stairs. 

All snuggled in, happy and smiling :)

A little less sure as we backed away but happy to have company. 

She is in there somewhere! 

I will take a few more pictures once the bedding has arrived and we are finished shuffling the furniture around but these will have to do for now. Hopefully night two goes just as smoothly!

American Idol 2027

Lily has been going to Music Together (aka music class) since January. After some of the bizarre behavior she has exhibited in other "classes" we have taken, I threw any and all expectations out the window. On the first day of class my kookie little odd ball, who on more than one occasion spent the better part of gym class dancing in the corner alone, marched into the room like she owned the place. She then proceeded to greet each child loudly and overly enthusiastically. The other mothers must have thought she (and I by extension) was nuts.

For the past 9 weeks we have been singing our hearts out on Tuesday mornings. Some weeks were better than others. There were definitely moments when she refused to participate, but overall she is totally into it. Class comes with a CD to listen to at home and in the car. Personally I don't mind most of the songs, but there are a few Lily hates for whatever reason, and we always have to skip those ones. Like most toddlers repetition is her best friend, and there are a few songs we always have to listen to twice...or ten times.

Admittedly, I feel like I total wanker during class. Trust me, to have fun at music class you have to check your pride at the door. Lily's love for the whole silly thing is totally infectious. She talks about music class for three days before class and for several days after. Hands down the curtest thing though is when Matt and I catch her singing to herself in her playroom or over the baby monitor. Naturally she gets half the words wrong but the singing just goes on and on. In typical toddler-double-standard terms Lily has no tolerance for mommy not knowing all of the words to every song, right this minute! Lucky for me I have always had a crazy affinity for reciting lyrics, and I was able to learn most of the 22 songs within the first week or so.

About two weeks into class Lily and I were sitting on the couch and she was requesting songs from her personal jukebox. I was unabashedly botching the second verse of some song when she looked up and me and said, "sneaking around", i.e. the missing words to the second verse. I don't outright brag about my kiddo very often, but there is just no denying she has an ear for all things musical. You should watch her dance and clap her hand in time. Matt is incredibly musical and can play at least four different instruments, but unfortunately he can't sing to save his life. Seriously, it is bad. I can carry a tune alright but only barely played the clarinet for a few years in middle school.

I would be over the moon if it turns out this little girl can sing. Even if she only ever sings to me.

The loss of our beloved tree

Last Saturday was just your typical day around the house. Lily was down for her afternoon nap. I was desperately hunting down "the world's most perfect big girl bed" via the internet (more on this soon) and Dingle was working.

And then this happened...

Out in front of our 120 year old house stood a towering Oak that was probably nearly as old. The tree had gotten sick in her old age (a fungus) and the town had flagged it several times in the last 5 years for removal, but there she stood. (It bears mentioning here that a few years ago we went to the tree hearing to try and protect our dear tree and the arborist said he would keep his eye one it). Last summer she wasn't looking as good as she once had and we figured this this was the year that they would take her down. Turns out she had her own plan.

I can't even tell you how loud the sound of the tree crashing to the ground was because I am fairly certain that I was having an out of body experience. We called 911 and went out on the porch to see for ourselves what had happened. So many horrific things could have happened but didn't. The tree easily could have killed someone, a fire could have started from all the downed wires (the transformer was launched 30 ft across the street from the telephone pole next door), I can't even begin to imagine the damage to our house had she fallen in the other direction. Admittedly, I cried a few scared tears thinking about all of the what-ifs and then I cried a few more for our poor tree. Lily slept through the whole thing.

Once we had confirmed that everyone up and down the street was okay and that the police were on their way we went back inside to make calls and prepare for a night with no power. Lily and I were sick with a miserable cold so motivating myself to do much of anything was a struggle. I called home and let them know we might need a rescue, initially we thought we would be without power for several days and the car was blocked in the driveway (better than under the tree!). I gathered blankets and candles while Dingle brought in firewood and made calls to our electrician and insurance company. The force of the tree falling broke two telephone poles and ripped the electrical meter box off the side of our house.

I built a fire (shout out to my excellent dad for teaching me how to build a proper fire) and resumed the fetal position on the couch with Lily. Did I mention we were both really sick, ugh. It was about 4pm when the tree fell. It was dark by the time the power company and our electrician started working.  I always assumed that if the power went out we could still use our gas stove top, wrong...the stove has an a electric ignitor switch. Lily ate a cold hot dog, apple sauce, and a slice of peanut butter bread for dinner. Matt and I called for take out and Matt ran down the street to meet the delivery guy. Do I have a good man or what?!

The power company guys worked all night. Luckily our electrician finished up around 9. Eight hundred dollars later, the power box was back on the house and the power company estimated that we would have power by noon on Sunday.

Not a lot of sleep was had on Saturday night. For one, it was bright as day light and loud with the crew working just out our front door. Two, it was cold. Fireplace or not the house got down to about 53 degrees by 6am on Sunday. Dingle was able to drive the car out over the lawn on Sunday morning and came home with just what the doctor ordered...donuts and coffee!!

The power company made good on their promise and by noon on Sunday we had power again. Verizon on the other hand didn't get our phone, internet and TV hooked up again until Tuesday. It is nice to be back on the grid. When everything was said and done this was all that was left of tree...and even that was gone by Monday as if the whole thing had never happened.

And now the house looks naked!

Matt and I may never sleep past sunrise ever again. Looking at the above picture makes me sad.

We will definitely miss our lovely shade tree this summer.