A Space-Saving Solution

Ah, the laborious but necessary task of switching seasons of clothing for the kids!  Honestly, it is not done but a dent has been made, and until the weather makes up it's mind about whether it's still summer or we're headed towards winter, there isn't much point in continuing.

I've come to appreciate the flexibility of our little house.  Every item must have a purpose and a home (good luck with it always getting there!), but there has been a decided fluidity to the rooms throughout the past 12 years.

Case in point: a diaper changing space. 

After hearing my mother's tales of back pain from changing diapers on a low bed, I figured a changing table would be pretty handy.  I saw a darling Hoosier cabinet converted for the purpose, and one thing led to another until my father designed and built a cabinet for the job. 

Doug and a neighbor hauled the heavy piece up the stairs of our apartment, and it served us well.

Until we moved to this house.  The hall to the bedrooms was too narrow and the doorways were placed in such a way that the piece could not be maneuvered into the nursery.  After I was thoroughly assured that my dad wouldn't be offended, the back was cut out to house our ancient television (yes, we have one; yes, it's a dinosaur; no, we don't need a flat screen because this still works).

I believe at one point we had a dresser with poorly-sliding drawers that served as the changing space.  With more babies, furniture was pared and it was hauled to the street where it disappeared in a hour. 

But we still had to change diapers. Not wanting to buy any furniture, we constructed a "table" in the closet.

Diapers, wipes, and clothes were close at hand, and there was plenty of storage for all the extras.  An inexpensive door mirror entertained baby.  I even purchased cute little tags to label all the baskets of clothing (onesies, sleepers, pants, etc.), but it was one of many uncompleted projects, dying to the tyranny of the urgent.

When Josie came along, we once again had to assess sleeping arrangements, and this time baby was moved into the other room with the big boys.  Another "table" was needed.

The doors of the closet were removed for ease of use and to give the illusion of more space.  The big boys clothes easily fit on the bottom shelves, and baby's go up high.  Dresses are hung on a tension rod running back to front of the closet, and wipes, diapers and extra sheets are all easily available.

Josie has since been moved to the other room she shares with the "little" boys (another space-saving solution post right there), and Katherine now shares space with the big boys.  The changing pad is no longer needed and it won't be long before the small bins will be unable to hold the boys' larger clothes, but it has been a perfect solution to our family's small bedroom dilemna.

In Which We Celebrate Josie's 5th Birthday

She chose a rainbow theme months ago, and I was happy to oblige.

True to form, I took on one (or two) too many projects and party plans were pushed to the last minute.  But with the help of my parents, we pulled off a party to please the birthday girl.

Activities were planned (Pin-the-Cloud-on-the-Rainbow, ball toss, etc.) but mostly the girls used their imagination to make up their own games.

And the highlight, of course, was the food: a smorgasbord of rainbow delights!

Doug tried to dissuade me from making rainbow jello, but there was no stopping - it was a must - and also rainbow-colored Goldfish and fruit skewers.

After staying up until almost 1 am the morning of the party, I was dissatisfied with the birthday cake and launched into Plans B & C with the sunrise.  I'm so glad I did!

Sadly I had no pretty cupcake liners (why didn't I pick up the cute ones I saw on clearance the day before?), but the tops were what mattered.  Hands down, using candy is the easiest way to decorate cakes - from bland or beautiful in the wink of an eye!

It was so fun to celebrate this girl's special day!

Giving Thanks: Light & Bright

The sun is finally shining here and it is lovely.  As I gathered the (overflowing) basket of laundry from the bathroom, my heart was cheered by the brightness of the sun shining in.

And then I realized I'm never shared the updated pictures from our remodel two years ago.  Spurred on by the discovery of some mold, I decided we should go ahead and remodel the bathroom (despite the fact that I was very pregnant).  I did jump in and paint because the work wasn't being done fast enough, but aside from that (and choosing every.single.item) we left the gruntwork to someone else.

Here's a quick before:

And the new and improved version:

The shower/toilet area was torn down to the studs to address the mold issue.  The wall between the sink and toilet was cut down to allow more light in (yay!), and the soffit above the vanity was removed. The vanity is a custom piece by a local cabinetmaker with an Ikea butcher block top (can't beat the price and I love the way it has held up), and features a hamper on one side and a pull-out stepstool below sink.

The floor is a darling small hexagonal tile with gray grout and the walls have beadboard half-way up.

Even the ceiling has texture with this weatherproof beadboard.  The tub and shower (I still haven't put up a rod and curtain because the littles only take baths here) have white subway tile going to the ceiling.

Then there's the fun stuff like this old bottle crate I found at a local shop and had to have.

My parents had the metal milk crates stashed away and they are perfect for towels (I've almost recovered from Doug hanging them up!)

And now there's a perfect spot for stashing all the reading material for long stays.

I absolutely love the outdoor lights we used for the vanity.

In a nod to Doug's upbringing, we added a couple of postcards from the  Neshoba County Fair.

It took a while to complete (two months for this bath and the master and some work in the bedroom; another two years to post pictures), but I'm so happy with the result - it is just as I imagined it would be.

A Perfect Weekend

Spring. 

That glorious season of unpredictability. 

And the same roller coaster of temperature and precipitation has wreaked havoc on the temperments and attitudes of the members of our house.

Nevertheless, rain will eventually give way to sun and a pleasant breeze will blow. 

Yardwork was the name of the game.

New beds were arranged to hold plants that Lowe's attempted to kill.

Old beds were weeded and shaped and mulched.

The growing Sedum Obsession was carefully tended.

And in a close second comes the Hosta Obsession.

My clearance-priced purchases from last year are popping up daily.

Parsley and cilantro have volunteered to return for another year of production.

The bees, much to my children's dismay, are hard at work pollinating the blueberries so the birds will get a treat come July (they selfishly steal them before we can pick).

I am hopeful that maybe, just maybe we'll pick a few raspberries from hand-me-down vines.

All the while, there was the pleasant background music of birds chirping and the sweet peeping of baby bluebirds anxious for something to eat.

And the Avian Maternity Ward burst into full bloom for a new season of chicks.

Watering a butterfly bush yielded a colorful surprise.

All in all the work was pleasant and children were cheery

(and my own nearly broken/very bruised toe held up well under the pressure to get it all done).

But "all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy."

The day ended with dinner and games out of doors and squeals of delight

while the sun set behind the mountain.  It just doesn't get much better than this.