Furniture Painting

The girls have needed some additional drawers in their bedroom for quite a while. We'd sort of looked around for inexpensive furniture, but weren't finding anything that inexpensive that didn't look really cheap. So, we considered waiting for yard sale season.

Then, I remembered that my dad still had the old furniture that was mine....and before that, it was Dee's. A dresser, chest and desk with hutch. I wonder what year it was bought in?

Well....here is the dresser before doing any painting.


And, here is the finished product.


Well, it's really almost finished. One of the drawer pulls was broken and we're going to take one from the desk (unpainted so far...and won't be in the same room). I still need to go get the pull from Dad and paint it.

And, here is the chest that goes with the set.



I was planning to buy new drawer pulls, but finding them in the right size (2.5 inches) is really difficult. When I could find the size, there wasn't much to choose from.

It turned out pretty well, but it took a lot of time. In fact, everything else in the house suffered since I was spending my time painting it.

I had first gotten a paint sample from Lowe's and used it on the dresser. I went back and bought a quart so we'd have enough for the other pieces. Much to my dismay, Lowe's messed up. The quart didn't match the sample. The same color was written on the can, so I know I pointed to the right color....but somehow they messed it up. So, I ended up having to put an additional 2 coats (of the "new" stuff) on the dresser. Annoying!

The girls are thrilled to have a mirror in their room now. :)

Sleeping Arrangements….and Sleep

So, you are already aware that sleep has been rough in this house since December. Mostly it’s due to Leah. Though, it seems the nights that she sleeps well, Lacey wakes me up.

We had been planning to do some room shuffling since Leah was out of her crib. The “nursery” is typically pretty cold. It’s usually about 2 degrees colder than the rest of the upstairs in the winter. I think this is because it hangs over the garage by a few inches. Also…that room is the smallest one, so it makes sense that it should be the guest room. The plan was to move Lacey from her room to the existing guest room (biggest after the master); move Leah to Lacey’s old room; and make the “nursery” the guest room. (Got all that?)

But, with Leah’s sleep issues, we decided to put them in the same room in hopes that having Lacey there would help her sleep. Even when I was pregnant with Leah (and maybe before), I thought it would be nice to have them share a room (if our 2nd ended up the same gender). I wasn’t sure about making the switch, but Dee suggested it and it reminded me of my earlier thoughts….so we took a chance.

We also ended up buying Leah a full size bed so she’d have more space. (Of course, I have more space when I have to come in & lay down with her.)

We weren’t sure it would be a permanent thing. But, they both seem like they really enjoy being in the same room. No, it’s not really helping with the sleep problems that I can tell, but maybe that will come in time.

Up until recently, I was laying down with Leah to get her to go to sleep. I know, I know. A no-no. But, it got her to sleep. My intent was to leave when she was really groggy, but I have always been so tired that I fall asleep. Then, I wake up 45 min. later, exhausted and unable to do anything except go to my bed.

In early February, I decided I’d had enough. Leah (and Lacey) earn points if they go to sleep in their bed – without me (or Butch) in the bed, too. Leah usually lays on the floor next to me (while I’m on the laptop) for a while, but eventually she gets into her bed when I remind her of the points (and the prizes that come after earning those points). The 3rd night, she slept through the entire night. I was amazed, but skeptical. Good thing I was skeptical….because I think that's only happened once since then!

The room is PINK! And, we have pink Christmas lights draped over the closet door. That makes for an awesome night light. It’s quite cute and we have finally decided they are staying together. I think they’d both hate it if we separated them now. We ordered beds that are going to be delivered next week. I'm excited to see it more "complete". Then it will be time to start hanging pictures and things! (I'll include pictures once it looks complete.)

Even though the sleep isn’t better (yet), it’s nice being able to be on the computer for a bit in the evening. During the week I catch up on work emails. And, I’m not going straight to sleep after Leah falls asleep. I can actually stay up and watch a show if I want. And, strangely enough, I think my body is getting used to waking up 3-5 times a night. I hope it can get used to solid sleep again soon, though.

Family Room

The other day, Butch asked me what I thought about having a small version of our Christmas party. We haven't had one since before I was pregnant with Leah -- partly because of the mess 2 kids create & the stress trying to keep the house clean in preparation for a party would create. But, we both would like to try again this year.

We've also been considering a switch from DirecTv to Cable since I think we can get a good deal. (We have cable for the internet, so we might get a price break if we do both with 1 company.)

These are the things that prompted me to try rearranging the furniture. To do what I was thinking of, we would have to re-route the cable/DTV wiring, so we need to know where it should go before having the cable company come out.

And, this new arrangement allows some of the kids mess to be hidden a little more. Yes, I realize we will still have a mess. And, I'm fine with having a messy, lived-in house while our kids are little. However.....this might work well.

Remember when looking at the after pictures that the TV will be moved to the opposite corner. I'll mention where in a picture below.

View from the kitchen -- near the sunroom -- into the family room -- before:
Same view -- after:
View from kitchen -- entering from the foyer -- into the family room -- before:
Same view -- after:

Behind the couch (yes, I need to organize it, but will wait to make sure we like this before doing so...and will wait to get the TV moved from there first, too):

Standing behind the couch, looking to the kitchen. The corner to the left is where the TV will go.

I think this could work. What I'm not sure of is having the couch facing the kitchen when you are watching TV. But, I think it will be okay. And, I know that the kids toys will still end up in the middle often, but at least there is a true play area to "hide" it when needed.

Thoughts?

The Deck

We've been spending some time on the deck now that the nice weather is here (well....when it hasn't been raining, it's nice). The girls like to have picnics on the deck (or "guck" as Leah calls it).



A couple of weeks ago, we decided we should grill out. We had a Jenny-O turkey tenderloin and grilling it sounded perfect. When Butch went out to get the grill cleaned up & ready....he opened it to find.....





Lovely. There was also a mouse nest....an empty one. Gross. When Butch tried to get the snake out (using a broom stick), it hid under the heating element. So, we left the lid open & just waited & watched while it slithered out. It finally got down to the ground & Butch chased it into the woods. While I wouldn't mind letting the snake die, I like that he kills the mice for us, so he was spared.

Back to cleaning the grill....only to find out we were out of propane. The tenderloin was cooked in the oven that night.

Mice

Most of you already know that I have had a mouse problem in my car. About 4 weeks ago, I saw the first signs....a mouse had chewed through a plastic food container that had some peanut butter in it. He'd also left behind poop. I immediately cleaned everything out of my car, but found no other real food source. Then, I took it to be cleaned.

A bit later, a mouse had chewed up Leah's carseat cover......right where the crumbs are dropped. Some other things happened that made me wonder. Then, I met some friends for lunch 2 Sunday's ago and came out from the restaurant to find styrofoam everywhere. The kids' carseats have some styrofoam in the bottom. I knew then that they were traveling with me.

Butch bought some old school traps. (I should mention we'd already bought poison traps, but had no luck with those.) He set 2 traps on Monday evening -- both on the floor of the car -- one in front & one in back. Within an hour, the front trap had "caught" (broken the leg of) a mouse. Butch was playing volleyball, so I was on my own. We'd put down trashbags under the traps. So, I picked up the bag and carried the mouse (who was not running from me) to the woods and set the little disabled thing free to fend for himself against predators.

By the morning, the other trap had caught another...this time really caught him.

We forgot to set the traps on Tuesday evening.

Tuesday was St. Patrick's Day and a Leprechaun had visited Miss Lisa's while the girls were napping. He left little baskets of chocolate coins for them. Apparently, I forgot to bring one of those in on Tuesday.

When I got in my car Wednesday morning, the little basket was there....the EMPTY little basket. But, I thought "maybe I dumped the chocolates in Lacey's dance bag".....because certainly SOMEthing would be left behind. The gold foil, some chocolate. SOMEthing. About 2-3 miles from my house, the car was heated good....and I could smell the chocolate. I looked down at my feet and saw a very small amount of gold foil.

I turned around and went home since it HAD to be dealt with. I couldn't handle it anymore.

I ended up calling GEICO and found that this issue is covered by our policy. I took the car to the adjuster at 1:30. They agreed to replace the carseat and have the dash removed to check for damage. When that appointment finished, Butch called to say Leah had thrown up. So, the mouse problem waited another few days.

Well, except making the car smell like candy canes. I was told my a mechanic that mice hate peppermint. So, we bought peppermint oil & soaked cotton balls...which we placed all over the floor near the dash and on top of the dash. Hopefully, that chased them away.

I finally got the car to the shop on Tuesday evening. There was some damage - just one part that needs replaced. It was due to come in on Friday & they hope to have the car ready for me on Monday.

We ended up having to rent a car, though. Butch went to DE this weekend for a volleyball tournament and I need something to get to the airport tomorrow since I'm going to NY for a 2 day trip.

I really hope the stupid mice are gone. The mechanic didn't find any nest or see any mice (alive or dead).

Next up: having a tune up done to check for more damage and getting it detailed to get rid of all those mouse germs.

Landscaping

Butch had a "free" day off work a couple of weeks ago because the Pope was in town and half of the student body was going to Mass. So, he did a lot of landscaping. The side of the house (the side that is seen as you drive up) had nothing.


And, now it has lots of shrubs and flowers. They are all fairly small right now, but it is such an improvement!