something for the road

Home Improvement: Girls Bedroom

I love that we have 3 girls in this room, and there is still plenty of space.  Again, I didn’t do a great job with “before” pictures.  These were the ones taken during the inspection and the room was being used as a Master Bedroom.  We have re-textured and painted.  The carpet has been replaced to match the rest of the house.  We have replaced one of the windows with a larger window and raised it so that it looks better in the room, and we have added baseboards (which were missing all over).  This is a sweet little room, for sweet little girls – I love how it turned out.

Before:

 

After:

     

M.I.A.

Yes, I have been “Missing in Action,” and feeling a little guilty about it.  On the other hand, I have had so much on my plate that it has been a little bit of a relief to set a few things aside, but I think I’m back on track.  I have been so deep into the daily  To Do’s, that I’m going to make a list of all that I’ve accomplished in the past 2 weeks, and also what still needs to be done.  By the way, it’s all about the house these days.  I have made a deadline for myself, and I’m determined to keep it.  I hope to have this house on the market by the 20th of March.

What I’ve Been Doing

• All food storage buckets and cans (about 2800 lbs. worth) have been moved to my parents’ home.
• All food storage in jars (jams and preserves) have been moved to Jessica’s.
• I rented a storage unit.
• I found free pallets at a local landscaping place and rescued them from the mud and rain and took them to our storage unit.
• I have packed up anything in the house that we can do without for the next few months, including all of the kids’ toys.
• 8 trips to Goodwill.
• Our freezer in our dining room has been emptied and we’re using our small freezer (this meant some baking and cooking had to be done to use up items).
• 5 trips to storage (including a trailer full of boxes and a few large pieces of furniture and our freezer – thanks, Dad.
• Caleb’s room has been caulked, repaired and painted.
• An IKEA trip, which helped tremendously with staging.
• Lots of assembling of items after the IKEA trip.
• The stair handrail has been reinforced, which also involved some help from a local carpet installer.
• The loft has been caulked and painted.
• The kitchen cupboards have been repaired.
• The girls’ bedroom has been caulked, repaired, and painted.
• All electrical outlets and switches have been replaced.
• We have a new deck (this is the most exciting).
• The yard has been cleaned up which involved a trip to The Dump.
• A new stainless steel dishwasher has been ordered.
• Made appointments with realtors.
• Researched the market and selling strategies.

What Still Needs to Be Done

• Make valences for girls’ room.
• Stain the deck.
• New bark for the yard.
• Plant some new things in the yard and get rid of the dead things.
• Repair the white picket fence.
• Define a pathway to the backyard and deck.
• Straighten up the shed.
• Install the dishwasher.
• Finish the trim in the kitchen, as well as caulk and paint it.
• Paint the quarter round trip in the kitchen on the ceiling.
• Touch-up paint in the Dining Room, Kitchen, and Living Room.
• Finish caulking trim and crown molding in the Living Room.
• Touch-up paint on the front door.
• Power-wash sidewalks and steps.
• Wash exterior and interior windows.
• Clean entire house.
• Photographs by Carson.
• Website by Mike.
• Decide whether to list with an agent or go it on our own.
  
  
  

Just Waiting

Aren’t we all waiting for something?  I don’t know if we look this cute . . . . .

Just Keep Swimming

We don’t involve ourselves in a lot of outside activities – we try to keep things simple and not too scheduled, because as these kids get older it just seems that we could be scheduled all the time.   So, in our family you may choose one activity a year to pursue.  Up until this point, the Gabi has tried a lot of different things – searching for the one that she likes. 

She has always liked swimming and she is pretty good at it.  Our local gym has a really neat coach and a pre-competitive swim class twice a week.  In October, her birthday gift was a month of classes to see if she really liked it.  She wanted to quit after the first week, but after some bribery she finished the month and she’s still going strong.  Now we can’t get her to stop.  For a girl who wants to turn back after a block of biking with the family, this girl can swim! . . . butterfly, freestyle, breastrock, and backstrock.  She’s amazing.

  

She just advanced from the beginner class to intermediate.  Way to go, Gabs!

Closet Makeover

You’ve heard me talk about my tiny master bedroom closet, I’m sure.  It is pretty small.  I envy those who lived in the early 20th century and had less belongings.  I don’t have many clothes so it hasn’t bothered me too much.  But, you know I’m staging (it’s on the brain right now), so I had to make my little closet “appear” a little bigger. 

Here’s how the closet looked when I began.  The closet is actually deep and the rod was hung toward the front.  So, the first thing I did was move the rod to the back of the closet, so that when you open the door it appears much bigger.  Then, I used a double hanging rod which is very useful – my clothes are on the top and Mike’s on the bottom.

Then, I bought these nifty hangers (50 for $14.95) at Costco.  They boast that they will give you more room in your closet.  And, magically, they do.  They are velvet which is a super plus because nothing slips off.  And, they are all the same which is the first rule of an organized closet.  I loved them so much that I’m going to buy another box.  Extravagant, huh?

So, here is the final result.  It’s strange how it does feel a little roomier.  And yes, my clothes are arranged by color . . . . another must for an organized closet. It may seem a little over the top, but seriously, try it.  You’ll like it.

Spread the Love

We started a new thing this Valentine’s Day.  We like to decorate cookies, but usually there are a ton of cookies, with lots of candy, and lots of eating while it’s going on.  I wanted to make it a little more meaningful – if that’s possible with sugar cookies.  So, this year, each child decorated one cookie for each member of the family and at the end we each ended up with a plateful of cookies designed especially for us.  I liked it – and the kids really got in to their special designs for a specific sibling . . . this could become a tradition!

Here’s the plate I ended up with – yummy!  I hope I don’t eat them too fast.

Pounds and Pounds

As part of my “staging” strategy for getting my house ready to sell, I am slowly moving food storage from my house to my mom’s house.  I just had to report that I moved 1340 pounds of buckets yesterday. . . . that’s 1340 pounds down my stairs to my car, and 1340 pounds from my car, up her stairs into the attic space.  Who needs a Jillian Michaels workout?!

Tutu Photo Shoot in San Diego

Does Guy know about Matt?

Mike and I are big fans of Diners, Drive-In’s, and Dives.  I don’t know what’s so comforting about watching all that comfort food and Guy Fieri chow down, but we dream of eating food like that.  Last weekend, I lived the dream.

I bribed my brother-in-law to barbecue for me because I had heard rumblings about the quality of his barbecue.  And, wow, he attacked that assignment just like he attacks all of his assignments in Medical School – with full force.

 

Matt got up at 3 am to start the barbecue and then I think (I’m not sure because I was sleeping) he got up every hour after that to “baby” the pork. Between the smoker, the rub, and the sauce, I’ve never tasted pork that good.  He shared his favorite barbecue books with me:  Barbecue Secrets: Unbeatable Recipes, Tips and Tricks from a Barbecue Champion , and Smoke & Spice: Cooking with Smoke, the Real Way to Barbecue .  So, if you’re into barbecue, check it out. I mean, look at that pork!

I’m still dreaming about that pork, Matt.  

 

I thought the company was pretty great, too. 

 

Bat Rays, Seals, Walruses, and Rides, Oh My

Nora informed me that she has never even been to a zoo.  So, her first zoo-type experience was at Sea World in San Diego.  Needless to say, she was in heaven.

Petting Bat Rays

  

Watching the Sharks

 

Kissing a Walrus

 

Visiting a Bear Cave (as you can see, she thought it was real)

Riding all the Big Rides with Uncle Matt

    

Thanks Grandma, Matt, Malerie, and Madeline!  We had a blast.