The Resolution Months 8 & 9 - Bonus Room

Busy few months and a lot to catch up on!  But wanted to start by recapping our house project for August & September.  We combined 2 rooms - the old office and the old gym - into one big "Bonus" room upstairs.  Since it was two rooms, we gave ourselves two months, and boy did we need it!  There was a lot to do in these rooms and a few hiccups along the way.  Here's a rundown of the highlights:

• Curtains:  This was as easy as a trip to Kirkland's Home for a curtain rod and some fun printed curtains in teal.  We had actually started at Target and found some beige and coral curtains that we liked but didn't love.  Then we ducked into KH on the way back to our car and found these beauties instead.  This probably made the biggest "pop" of difference in the room.
• Wall Art: In order to pull the teal color over onto the adjacent wall, we decided to re-purpose some canvas art work from our last house by covering it in fabric.  We went to JoAnn's and found the peacock-inspired fabric below.  Matt had to paint the canvas white since the previous art was darker in color.  Then a few minutes with the staple gun and we had stretched the new fabric over and hung these bad boys up.
• New Furniture: Our old desks were very basic table-tops from IKEA and our bookshelf was a hangover from Matt's college years.  So ordering new furniture was a fun splurge and took up most of our budget for these rooms.  We found this Sauder set online and had good experience with the brand (Ryan's bedroom furniture) so we went for it.  But the shipping was a bit of a debacle.  It took a while for it to get here, and when it finally arrived, a few of the key pieces were visibly scratched and had to be replaced.  Getting the replacement pieces was a pain since some of them were on backorder, so it really stalled our progress.  Frustrating, but the end result was good since we really like our new desks and bookshelf!
• Photo Array: Always looking for places to put more adorable pictures of our son, we decided to create a photo array in the bonus room.  That way we could look at fun photos while we work (me) or play video games (Matt).  I selected a few of my recent favorites, bought a few cute wooden frames on sale and Matt was kind enough to hang and level all of them for me.
• Gym: We consolidated all of our gym equipment into one area to clean up the room some and make room for the desks.  I got rid of my treadmill since I haven't been using it much (at all) lately.  It's too noisy to use while Ryan is sleeping, but if he's awake, both he and the dog want to walk on the treadmill with me.  You can see how I might not get the best workout with their "help" :)  Matt offloaded him on craigslist and our new home gym is down to just essentials.  

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 We were able to do a lot of cleaning, organizing and consolidating throughout these two rooms.  Now the Bonus room is an enjoyable, open space for both working and working out.  The old office is now an empty room - a landing space for extra storage for the time being while we try to decide what to make of the space.  Stay tuned for the rest of the housing excitement coming soon!

The Resolution: Month 7 - Master Bathroom

Month 7 is in the books!  And although I despise cleaning bathrooms, I do love me some sparkly clean ones!

We included our closet with the master bath since it is connected and we didn't have a ton to do in the bathroom itself besides extensive scrubbing.  Matt and I are both pretty good at maintaining a "Goodwill pile" - a pile of stuff we no longer need or use that is still in good enough condition to donate.  Any time the pile (hamper) gets full, I just make a stop at the Goodwill on my way to work and we are free of the clutter that could easily overrun our house.  But for some reason, we both have a hard time getting rid of clothes.  Maybe because it is so darn expensive to buy in the first place.  Or maybe because certain outfits remind me of life events and I enjoy the nostalgia.  Or maybe because the inner hoarder in all of us whispers, "Maaaaaybe you'll wear that top someday.  If you get invited to an 80's-themed Hawaiian luau..."  So our mission for the closet was to purge anything we didn't need, hadn't worn in recent history, or didn't have a good line of sight to wearing soon.  Between the two of us, we were able to weed out more than 3 boxes worth of clothing, accessories and shoes!  A little cleaning and organizing, and voila:

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A minor upgrade, but a necessary one, was switching out the stool that we use outside of the shower for our towels.  The old one was an IKEA as-is find that we got for $10 years ago and used to sit on while we played the drums in Rock Band.  Not the classiest piece of furniture we own.  Lucky for us, the Fry's Marketplace right by our house was having a closeout clearance sale on their home goods, and we were able to find the wooden beauty below at a steal.

Next came the bathtub - which has been overrun by Ryan's numerous bath toys over the last few months.  He's got boats, dogs, ducks, frogs, books, animal clings and more - and they were all lined up along the side of the tub each night to dry out.  So Matt went onto Amazon.com and ordered a nice little Oxo bath toy storage bin that has holes on all sides to drain the toys (and prevent mildew from building up.)  Then a little scrub-a-dub-dub and we called that piece done.

So many toys...

Much better

The only remaining big piece was the vanity.  Drawers needed to be cleaned out and organized, and counters/sinks/mirrors needed some TLC.  It took a while to get through all of it, but it makes such a difference in how nice the bathroom looks when everything is clean and put away!  

The rest of the bathroom was just a ton of cleaning, cleaning and more cleaning, which is boring so I didn't take any pictures.  The only major cleaning tip that I learned was in regards to the toilet, but I decided to spare the pictures on that one :)  AZ is notorious for their hard water, which leaves nasty calcified rings around the toilet bowl (and anywhere else water sits.)  I had read that a baking soda/peroxide mix was key in removing the ring, but after about 3 rounds of that, I was getting frustrated.  Matt suggested I use a pumice stone that he had originally purchased to use for the calcium lines in the pool.  Sure enough, 10 seconds of light scrubbing and the toilet looked brand new!  

Ryan Update - 15 Months

We just had Ryan’s 15 month checkup at the doctor, so I thought it would be a good time to put up some pics and do a little Ryan recap.  SO much has happened over the last few months and he is growing and learning every day.  It is seriously incredible to watch him change from a baby into a little boy.  He is so fun, loving, smart, curious, and funny and we are enjoying every new milestone with him.  First, some stats:

• He has 8 full teeth (4 top, 4 bottom,) and just broke through with 2 new ones this last week.  
• His favorite color is Yellow.  Any time he colors or has to pick from the same toy in multiple colors (like balls, cars, etc.) he will pick the yellow one.
• He now weighs in at close to 25 pounds!  In the last 3 months, he has gained 5 pounds which was a happy surprise to us after a year of only gaining ounces in between appointments.
• He also grew 2 inches taller in the last 3 months and has grown out of two sizes of shoes.  No wonder kids are so expensive!
• His head is (and has always been) in the 98th percentile for size.  Smart like his parents :)

Some fun stories and development milestones:

• A few months ago, he started making the connection between books and real life things.  So every time we would see a puppy in a book, he would get really excited and run off to find Jordan so he could pet her.  He loves to read, so we make sure to get to at least a small stack of books each day.  His favorites are his Thomas the Train set, anything with animals, and anything with pop-up or moveable parts.  On each page, we will ask him where things are, and he is great at finding and pointing out all of the people and things he knows.  
• Speaking of Jordan, the love continues to grow between the two of them.  Ryan loves to hand her toys, play keep-away with her stuffed animals, pet her and give her sweet kisses on her head.  Jordan loves that Ryan is flush with treats that he is often willing to share.

• He likes to dance to music – sometimes “real” music that we play on Pandora for him, but mostly just to the songs that his kid toys play.  Dancing is a little bounce of the knees to the rhythm, but we will sometimes twirl around the kitchen together too.
• His vocabulary is continuously expanding.  He now says (in context!) Momma, Dada, Dordan (Jordan), Up, Hop (when he sees bunnies, kangaroos, wants to hop,) Baba (bottle,) Hi, Bye-Bye (complete with wave,) More (for more food,) Hide (when he wants to play hide and seek) and Oh No/Uh Oh (for when toys fall over.)
• He loves food and is willing to try pretty much anything.  And, man, can he eat.  While he used to have maybe 15-25% of whatever I was having, he will now match me bite for bite on some meals.  His favorites are Trader Joe’s macaroni & cheese, grapes, potatoes of any sort, yogurt and applesauce.  He will even bite through the foil lid of his yogurt and applesauce and slurp the whole thing down without even needing a spoon.
• He loves to play, and plays hard every day.  I try to get him outside, although the hot weather makes that difficult for most of the day.  He likes to dig in the soil, play in the pool, play with the hose, pick out rocks and pull leaves from the trees.  He also loves to play a modified Hide and go Seek where he and I will hide under a blanket while Matt runs and hides himself somewhere around the playroom.  Ryan will emerge from under the blanket and look for Matt, and when he finds him, he squeals with glee and races back to me as fast as he can saying “Hide! Hide!”  Then I quickly throw the blanket over our heads so Matt can’t get us, and we start all over again.  He would play this all day if we let him!

Fun at the Library

Very busy at the i.d.e.a. museum

• Although it is too hot to go to the actual zoo, he has been practicing his zoo animals so he can be a pro when the fall comes and we are able to go back.  He now has a Little People zoo set that will tell you the animal’s names and what sounds they make, which he loves.  He also has multiple zoo books that he likes to read, and a few YouTube videos of zoo animals that he likes to watch.  He knows quite a few animal noises too, including elephant, lion, monkey, and rhino.  

Learning his animals

Fun at the zoo with Dad & best bud Zev

We love our little bud and will update again after the 1.5 year checkup!

Pajama Party

Easter family shot

He loves his dad!

And his Mom :)

Doing some gardening

Coloring

I kidnapped a baby duck and it was totally worth it to get this picture

Reading with Grandma

The Resolution: Month 6 - Master Bedroom

This month’s project was the Master Bedroom.  Aside from the deep cleaning involved in these projects (curse you, horizontal blinds and baseboards...) we had a few fun things to do as well.  To start with, I wanted to refresh our bedding with new sheets and new pillows.  Since we spend so much time sleeping, might as well do it in comfort!  We ordered a grey chevron bedding sheet made out of microfiber on Amazon.com that got great reviews.  It is a cute pattern and a very light, thin fabric that is breathable and great for summer.  But the chevron fitted sheet with the chevron flat sheet on top was messing with our eyes and making us dizzy, so we bought a complementary plain white set at Bed Bath & Beyond to match up with it.

We also needed new ottomans for the foot of the bed since the ones we had were from our wedding and have since lost most of the cushioning in the top.  Turns out it is really tricky to find a nice ottoman for a reasonable price – even online.  We searched for a few weeks before I finally took a trip to the Kirkland’s Home store by our house.  I found a really cute ottoman stool with a design that wasn’t too flowery or girly, and Matt liked it too.  It looked grey-ish in the store, but when we got it home and put it by the grey bed sheets it became clear that it was actually more brown in color.  Good thing the walls and carpet are brown, so it doesn’t look crazy in the room.  I love the feel these give the area – like a chic hotel

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Another big project was finally getting around to hemming the curtains we bought when we moved into the house over two years ago.  I had pinned them up after hanging them, and then life got busy and I never got around to finishing the job.  So they were just hanging around with sewing pins sticking out, which became problematic when Ryan decided that the curtains were his favorite place to hide while playing.  I pulled out all of the pins to avoid an accident, but the extra foot and a half of fabric laying on the floor was posing a tripping hazard for the hiding baby now.  Thank goodness for my sweet mother in law, Carol!  She came over and helped me to cut, iron and sew up a new hem on the four panels (and by help, I mean she did all of the work while I assisted!)  Now they look so much cleaner and better – and they are much safer for play time.

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After

Matt installed new tamper-resistant outlets in the bedroom (as he has been doing for all of the rooms in the house as we go.)  Another great safety move, since Ryan also likes to pull out the plastic child-safe covers and play around with the outlets.  He organized the cables around the TV and the nightstands and helped me to hang some pictures too.

Another major part of this month’s project was cleaning out and organizing our drawers and my jewelry armoire.  I was able to purge about 2 full bags of jewelry, part of which I gave to my sister Liz.  She is busy cleaning out her own jewelry collection, but nobody can resist fun new jewelry when it’s being offered – fact!  We worked through our drawers and I talked Matt into using a rotational system for wearing things that will bring him further into my happy little OCD world   One huge trip to Goodwill later, and we are calling our Master good.  I love the new look and it is such a treat to fall asleep in this lovely little room every night.

Next on deck is the Master Bathroom, which includes the closet.  Wish us luck – we will need it!

The Resolution - Month 5 - Ryan's Room

I think this was the hardest room so far.  Not because there was lots of stuff to clean (kitchen).  Not because we had lots of projects to do or things to buy (play room).  Not because we were busy with other stuff this month (March).  This room was difficult because of the obvious logistical problem.  It's no secret to people with young kids that when said child is either napping or sleeping is when you are able to get stuff done around the house.  So how are you supposed to clean and organize the room that they are sleeping in?  It took a lot of teamwork, but we were able to stick to our resolution schedule and finish Ryan's room. 

Just like last month there were no fun art projects.  In our defense, we did plenty of projects when originally turning this room into a nursery.  This month again was all about cleaning, organization, and safety.  Pamela efficiently cleaned everything and put away all of Ryan's old clothes during her small windows of opportunity.  I, in turn, installed the TR outlets and attached his furniture to the wall.

All his old clothes neatly put away

This shelf isn't going anywhere

Safety is the name of the game

We have already started on the next room and it is the master bedroom.  Pamela is getting excited since we get to pick out a few new items to spruce up the area instead of just cleaning. 

The Resolution - Month 4 - The Kitchen

“This must be the longest anyone has ever kept a New Year’s resolution” says Pamela as she cleans the kitchen.  It’s a true statement for me at least.  I've never really made resolutions, or if I did they were more casual thought experiments than plans of action.  But here we are; 4 months of the year past and we are still sticking to it.

No major art projects and no huge transformations.  This month was all about basic cleaning and organization.  In a room like the kitchen, that is more than enough to take up the entire month.  Tons of surfaces, cabinets, and drawers to all be moved, cleaned, organized, and put away.  Mad props to Pamela for pacing herself throughout the month and getting a little done each day.  She knew it would be a big project; more than we could accomplish in a weekend or two. 

Once it was all done, we had de-cluttered by 2 large Goodwill drop-offs.  It’s unnoticeable at first, but if you start poking around cabinets it’s clear that things are more streamlined.  Child safety latches were added to some cabinets and drawers to help keep Ryan out of trouble.  A few fun magnetic features were added to the fridge.  Most importantly, every appliance, utensil, gadget, and surface has been cleaned.  

Magnetic photo frames:  perfect for when you want to display fun pictures on your fridge but still want it to look organized.

Delta 4 Towable

Pamela and I were exploring the new summer items in our local Costco this past weekend when we saw this item; a display of boat towables.

 

But upon closer inspection, you notice everyone is happy about being out on the water except for back guy.

Why is he not smiling?  Isn't boating fun?

Boating is serious business

Serious

Business

The Resolution - Month 3

Three months of the year are over and the Resolution is still going strong.  We decided to go easy on ourselves this month and tackle a smaller area and easier project.   With all of the birthday stuff this month, and my travel for work, we didn’t have a ton of time to devote to it.  Area #3 was the upstairs bathroom, hallway, and landing at the top of the stairs.  Although bathrooms are a little bit more involved when it comes to cleaning, the hallway/landing area was very easy.  The bathroom had been decorated previously and only needed cleaning, but Pamela had been thinking about an art project for a while now to go in the upstairs hallway.

Photo Array!

Pamela mused for a while and came up with square frames in a symmetrical pattern.  I think it turned out very well.  We figure we can change the pictures out as our family grows but for now they are all of Ryan.  The giant measuring stick was found while we were shopping for Ryan’s play room and it fits nicely with all the picture frames.  We can neatly track Ryan's growth on here starting with year 1!

Jordan is officially the shortest in the house