Teaching in nutshell

As I enter my last three weeks of teaching, I can’t help but laugh at how incredibly true this placard I ran across on pinterest is. It has been quite the journey the last five years in the classroom, but the key has always been to keep calm and carry on.

Laundry Room:…to top!

Tags

DIY, laundry room, lighting

The beautiful new floor inspired me to go ahead and put up the new lighting fixture.  I just couldn’t wait.

The old light was original with the house and older than any of us living in it.  It was blah and boring and flickered.

The new fixture is like the crown jewel of the room.  It’s a chandelier, of course.  I would put a chandelier in every room if I could.  This brings the house total to 4…though I have plans of putting on in our master closet when the master bath gets redone (…one day….).  Obviously the “cute” yellowish ceiling halo will be painted when I get everything out for touchups.

It’s perfect.  It’s shiny and has glass accents.  It’s just the right amount of bling (which clearly every laundry room needs). Also, I am extra proud of myself because I put it up without having to have Mason hold it for me.  A year ago I wouldn’t have thought it possible unless I became an octopus and grew some extra arms, but that’s one benefit of motherhood…you can accomplish eight arms worth of things with only two

The room as it stands now:

Things are coming along and already much more functional.  Hopefully we get can get the shelving/counter in the next few weeks and then finish making her pretty.

Week 20

Tags

Bradley, weekly birthdays

The big 2-0.

You’re really starting to be more big person-like.  You reach out for and interact with things, converse with yourself, and can entertain yourself for stretches of time.  We love it!

Ms. Ainsleigh got out out her excersaucer for you to standup in and it was love at first sight.

Uncle Scott brought you a shirt back from his race last weekend which you proudly wore as you tried out “driving” for the first time.  At first you were a little confused as to what to do with the wheel, but quickly figured it out.

This weekend, you and Dad were pretty worn out and took a nap together.

You also helped Mom and Dad roll the new floor.  Such a good little helper.

Laundry Room: From bottom…

Tags

flooring, laundry room

It was time for the 80s laminate to go.  So in came a new floor.  We decided to go with Floormaster Allure floating laminate planks in Ironwood.  I have seen rave reviews and terrible reviews, but we decided to go with it.  I would not have put it in a main living space, but laminate really is ideal for a laundry room.  This laminate really does look and feel like wood once it is down.  We are quite please with how it looks.  Hopefully we will not have any issues with it pulling up since we let it acclimate for a week and rolled it after we finished.

It looks pretty grand!

I asked Dear Ol’ Dad to come over and help.  I was pretty sure Mason and I could have done it the two of us, but with all of Bradley’s “help” I knew we would need some another pair of hands.  Well Dad ended up laying most of it himself once we got moving.  The small room + my ill-timed hair appointment + the ease of the product made it a one man show.  It is quite the show stopper for a laminate laundry room floor.  It looks as good, if not better, in real life and up close.  It has a bit of a texture to keep it from looking as faux as most of the laminate wood look alikes that I have seen.   It is also about $1.25/sq foot which it awesome.

After reading a lot of online reviews, we decided it was worth it to rent a floor roller to help the seams really adhere (even though we only actually needed if for about 15 minutes of the 4 hour rental).
Mason and Bradley both rolled the floor.

 

Laundry Room: Nothing like a can of paint!

Tags

laundry room, painting

I made some minimal progress on the laundry room last weekend, but haven’t gotten a chance to take a picture until today.  I need to put on another coat (update: I did it during nap time today!), but I couldn’t wait to see the color.  I really do love a fresh coat of paint.

The color is Lime Ice by Valspar.  I was going to originally go with “Gleeful” which was one shade dark/brighter, but I want the room to be cheery and serene.  I was afraid the brighter color would make the small space glow like a room from Chernobyl.

The color looks good in all the different lights of the day and picks up the citrine in the fabric.  Below are some of the things to come: the floor, the fabric, and some accent colors.

This coming weekend is a four day weekend so I am hoping to finish painting and get the floor in.  I have also been giddy with excitement planning out my shelving.  Giddy.  After all, unlike women’s footwear, this room needs to look good AND be functional.

Updated to do list:
-New washer/dryer (from my sweet hubby)
-New floor (waiting to be laid)
-Paint ceiling, trim, walls
-Built-in counter over washer/dryer (and give it a sassy finish)
-Built-in shelving
-Curtains (waiting to be made)
-New light (waiting to be hung)
-Storage solution for household odds and ends

Week 19

Tags

Bradley, weekly birthdays

This week you have really started to lose your newborn infantness and become a real baby.  You are talking a lot more.  Smiling and laughing.  Recognizing your favorite people. Grabbing your favorite toys (Sophie the giraffe and your light up star that plays music).  We love it!

This week, Mom’s students took the College Board AP Physics Test.  As an act of support you both wore matching Bazinga! outfits.  One of Mom’s students gave her a t-shirt last year and Mom’s students this year gave you your onesie.  You weren’t really up for a photo shoot at 7am, but we tried.

You still show no interest in rolling over, but you love everything about standing and trying to walk (even though you are nowhere near ready to balance).  This week, you held yourself up in your crib when Mom tried to lay you down.

You often sit in the highchair and play with your ball while Mom cooks dinner.  This weekend, you wanted to be heard.  You didn’t utilize many of your new vowel-constant combinations, but you did practice vocalizing for at least 30 minutes.  Here is a clip:

Laundry Room: Let there be white!

Tags

DIY, laundry room, painting

As part of my Mother’s Day weekend, Mason helped me free up enough time to start the laundry room.  [He wanted me to make it very clear that he also helped with the painting.  He tried to open a paint can (very stubborn paint can).]

I was able to get 2 coats of primer and 2 coats of paint on all the trim.  It could still use another (but can’t it always?).  It is extra exciting because it is the end of the stained trim in the house.  There are a few hidden throwbacks in hidden places like inside the built-ins in the family room, behind the washer/dryer, inside the pantry, etc.  I am going to leave them there to remind us how far we have come (and because I don’t feel like painting them).

New weekend I am hoping to paint the ceiling and maybe the walls.  We also ordered the floor and the fabric came.

To do list:
-New washer/dryer (from my sweet hubby)
-New floor
-Paint ceiling, trim, walls
-Built-in counter over washer/dryer (and give it a sassy finish)
-Built-in shelving
-Curtains
-New light
-Storage solution for household odds and ends

Four Months Old

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Bradley

Four months old on
May 4, 2012

Weight – 12 lb 1 oz
Length - 24 inches

Longest Stretch of Sleep - We don’t talk about sleep anymore around here.

This month I can -
-on stomach, raise chest, supported by arms
-reach for an object
-grasp a toy held to the back or tip of fingers
-make a razzing sound
-babble (saying ba-ba-ba-ba or mm-mmm-mm-mm)

See how much I’ve grown since my first month, second month, and third month.

Before: The Laundry Room

Tags

before, Before/After, decor, DIY, laundry room

I have wanted to spruce up the laundry room since we moved in.  It has the original laminate flooring and is the last holdout for stained trim in the house. Dear Husband has always maintained that it was ridiculous to do anything in the laundry room other than laundry.  He told me early on that I was welcome to do whatever I wanted to it on my own.

Then Bradley came and the need to do laundry tripled.  And then the dryer started to go kaput.  So we bit the bullet and bought a new washer and dryer….and if we’re going to do that we might as well make the rest of the room more functional….and if we’re going to do that we might was well give it a face lift while we’re at it.

Here is the before:
 

New things to come:
-New washer/dryer (from my sweet hubby)
-New floor
-Paint ceiling, trim, walls
-Built-in counter over washer/dryer (and give it a sassy finish)
-Built-in shelving
-Curtains
-New light
-Storage solution for household odds and ends

While the above would take me a few days to a week (minus the floor) before, now I have to wait until I finish teaching and then work on it and it will probably take me a month or two during nap times.

PS…here is the real before. The above is from right before the delivery guys came and I had cleaned out a lot so they could get in.  Below is how the laundry typically looks.  A complete lack of storage and organization is to blame (at least that’s what I tell myself)
 

Week 18

This week you have developed a new scream.  It could peel paint off of walls.  Miss Ainsleigh tactfully observed that you are increasing your lung capacity.  The ladies at church thought a limb might be falling off, but that’s just you.

Your eyes have started to change color.  We think they are headed to brown, but only time will tell.

On Saturday you got to meet your Great (Aunt) Dail.  She didn’t want her picture taken, but you didn’t mind.