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.

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.

Service Charge

Trying to sort out some loose ends around the house, I passed along a broken necklace to Stephen and asked him to repair the clasp.

He returned a few minutes later with the repaired jewelry and a bill for services rendered.  He's a shrewd businessman.

Bubbles

What's warm weather if you can't have bubbles to blow?  I personally have a love-hate relationship with product: it does provide lots of fun but it's wet and icky and ALWAYS gets spilled.

 

 

 

  

 

This time I made my own solution from a recipe online: 1 c. dish soap (Dawn 'cause that's the only kind I use), 6 c. water and 2 T. glycerin.  I recycled some old freebie baby milk bottles I'd saved from the hospital when someone was born, and we managed to scrounge enough wands to go around.

They played for a long time and even returned their bottles when done...miracles never cease!

Under Construction

Twenty-eight weeks today.

 

I was feeling a bit ambitious when I posted my 20 Things for 20 Weeks a couple of months ago.  Approximately 4 of the items have been completed so far.

 

But things are looking up. 

Item #1: Remodel the bathroom(s) is well underway.

 

Doesn't everyone want a toilet on their front porch?

There's a part of me is truly inspired by lovely images on Pinterest or the super-duper-DIYer couples with amazing blogs on house transformations (notice I wrote "me" - my husband, the voice of reason in the family, isn't interested at all).  I really would like to learn to use power tools and create with wood and build something to be proud of.

 

At the moment, however, it's all I can do to keep up with laundry, learn my kids their three Rs, and stay relatively sane.  DIY home remodeling is not really in the cards for me at this stage of life.

 

 

So I was extremely thankful when after series of I'll-call-you-next-week-contractors,

we hooked up with Randy. 

 

 

 

He knows about Pinterest.

He cares about details.

He has 6 kids.

 

 

He's been great with the "helpers" around and even let Stephen assist with prying off the old tile.

Matthew enjoyed playing in the new bathtub in our living room floor.

 

 

And he's uber-patient with The Supervisor (a.k.a. Josie).  When she disappears, I know right where to go.  She always climbs his ladders, inspects his tools, and is anxious to know what's happening.

 

I can't wait to share the finished results.

Newest Fan Club Member

Levador has a new friend.

 

 

Josie followed our plumber around, examining his tools and inspecting his work while Jonathan kept up a running conversation with "Elevator."

 

Boy, this man is patient.

Honey Do

Doug made the mistake of mentioning Friday that this was the last weekend before the start of college football. (Translated, this means that for the next 3 1/2 months or so, our lives will be ruled by the SEC schedule and/or programming available via rabbit ears.) Carpe diem, so they say.

We've been planning on moving Matthew in with his big brothers before baby's arrival, and it was necessary to make room in the closet (as well as provide some organization).

Doug had plenty of enthusiastic helpers who were fascinated by hammer and nail.

By Sunday afternoon, our Presbyterian blood was showing: the contents of the closet were arranged "decently and in order."

Matthew even spent his first night with the brothers. Although it took a while for everyone to settle down, it went much better than I had expected.

Before/After

The port-a-potty is gone. The dumpster is gone. We await the final inspection. What was once a dreary basement may have just become our most favorite spot in the house (everything else looks a little shabby).

Desk/Storage Area: added a real closet and a new door to the garage

Main Room: replaced sliding door and tile; rewired; painted

Garage: added bathroom

We are now open for overnight guests should anyone wish to visit the Scenic City - come See Rock City for yourself!