Algae Pools + Tough Month Ahead

We were so spoiled in IL with the posh pool life. We paid a hefty tax bill for great schools and a killer water park just 3 miles from home, but dang, was it nice.

Our closest pool (outside of condominium complexes or gyms) is 12 miles away. That's a 24-mile round trip to let Benjamin work his mad skillz in the water! And... they don't have memberships. It's pay-per-use. I'm considering making very good friends with someone in that HOA facility I run by at night. Because I never see anyone in that pool and it's so stinking close to home.

We went to one public pool and Benjamin killed it with the double flume slides. The kid is a maniac. So much, that the second pool we went to, the lifeguard yelled at us (among other reasons), for Benjamin being "too wild" in the pool. She said he needed to be in the shallow end if he was going to act crazy. And then we got yelled at for like 3 other things at different times and I about asked for my money back.

So we went back to pool #1. The double flume. It's in a totally sketch area of Reno, attached to this questionable middle school and behind one of the county libraries that is the size of a modular classroom (low taxes affect everything, it turns out). The first time we pulled up, the school alarm was blaring because God knows why, and no one seemed to be alarmed (see what I did there? Hardy Har Har). It's only open from 1-4pm, so the kids were warned that we would be spending a lot of time there because we were paying and skipped Claire's nap for this.

We stayed an hour. The kids got their fill apparently, but I obliged because I noticed this slimy green algae lining the entire pool interior. And of course, Claire pooped in her swim diaper. Thank God for these reusables for the environment and my pocketbook, dude, but tossing those Little Swimmers is way the heck easier to clean when the kid has el accidente. I told her she could have a Starburst today if she just told me before she pooped so I didn't have to clean her butt today. She pooped three times. None of which earned her a Starburst. Don't sign us up for the potty training bus yet. I'll pass.

sludge pool. be warned.

As we exited, I brought the POOL SLUDGE to the manager's attention who explained to me that while they chlorinate everyday and "regularly" clean, the "dead algae" just returns because they never have a chance to drain the pool, even in winter. I threw up some big eyes right then, because all places that experience winter weather, drain their pools. The reason they don't? Vandalism. So I left, vowing that pool was forever off the list and made sure to scrub the kiddies down well with soap after that incident (and well, Claire needed it anyway, because, code brown). One lady I met there with her kids (who randomly approached me to show me a HUGE splinter under her nail) told me about some of the casino pools and how it's possible I can just walk in and that she's never had a problem. So that's how things are done in Reno! Hah. I guess people just keep their swimming to the Truckee River, which is spectacular in every way, honestly. And free.

Hello Truckee River. Fresh Tahoe water... ahhhh.

Switching gears, the house update. It's exhausting, honestly. We have an offer we've accepted and it's a good one. And we're happy for the most part. About as happy as two people can be who are paying basically two mortgages, two times utilities, a lawn service and still without any of their actual furniture in their empty rental (paying top dollar for) in Reno. We knew this was the option we'd choose in order to stay together, but moving and selling a house, in particular, is pricey. And so is the list of inspection not-so-related expensive garage doors they want us to provide. But that's neither here nor there. It's just, we're feeling stretched thin and also in the process of buying a new car because moving requires new tags and our almost 15 year old car is on its last leg and very well will fail their emissions test anyway. And that cursed premium gas is going to do us in with this 40+ mile commute and my 24-mile round trip adventures to find another, hopefully algae-free pool.

It's a car we're really excited about and one that is very popular in Northern Nevada (seriously, ever other car), Oregon, Colorado, Washington, Northern California, Maine and some of the upper Eastern states. Any guesses? But new cars also come with a heavy price tag and of course the costs are feeling extra heavy these days.

We'll get through it, but as super sensible people who really thrive on saving money, it pains us to see the money we're spending and will continue to spend until our house closes at the end of next month.

Tomorrow though, you'll find us back hiking trails and engaging in a nature program along with lunch out in the Galena Creek Regional Park, because if there is one thing Reno has that totally trumps anything our high-tax state of Illinois didn't, it's free and plentiful nature escapes in real woods with real trails and real elevation gain into the {real, not trash hill} mountains. Benjamin has placed his request for a hike with a stream. It's the real deal so, challenge accepted.

$10 IKEA Art Transformed

I'm a sucker for the As-Is section at IKEA. I see low tags and great potential. Sometimes it totally pays off, like when we scored that single panel Werna curtain for our bedroom re-do for $10 instead of having to buy the pair at $50. Or the castle tent (BEBOELIG) for $10 from being a floor model. Or the toddler bed (with mattress) that was also a floor model for $60 out the door. Or even the kid's kitchen that retails for $80 that we bought for $30.

We kinda sorta love scoring deals. But you guys knew that. It's just plain fun. 

This was one of the flops though. I saw potential, but this art piece sat in the basement closet for years. In an effort to declutter and sell a bunch of stuff (which was a success!), I uncovered this old piece of framed art. The goal was to take out the old art and replace it. The frame alone was totally worth $10, being quite large. I didn't want the art, though I have nothing personally against seeing the female anatomy. I just don't really want this woman hanging on our walls. 

Benjamin's been begging for projects lately, and I'm trying to use this enthusiasm from my typically art-hating kid to cultivate some learning experiences around here. Plus, it makes for a more exciting week when the kids are engaged and not tearing up the house for no good reason. Winter, hurry the heck up and turn into spring already. 

Before and after of the naked lady transformation right here and now. (Which was super fun googling to find the image because I forgot to take a "before" picture, but then it occurred to me to just look on the back of the frame for the correct IKEA name to put into the google searchbar. Um, right.)

The picture is raised, but stuck to the matting. The white matting is just stapled on the back, so really it's a frame without the backing... not as valuable of a frame. Claire and I picked up two bottles of cheap acrylic paint at Michael's for $.79 each when we went to score that grab bag a couple weeks ago. I chose teal and she chose a wine color. We had the mustard color from a year ago when Benjamin was Daniel Tiger for Halloween and I made him a DT watch to match his outfit.

We have (what seems like an endless supply of) a collection of cheap dollar store painter's tape that I don't recommend ever using to paint a room. Frog tape ALL the way and worth the cost. But for art projects? Yeah, sure. Super easy to peel off because they barely stick anyway. I painted two layers of white acrylic paint over the lovely lady and her black background and then taped away, intentionally creating a heart because I'm always thinking of Andrew and hearts make me think of how much I love him and simultaneously how much I love his brother and sister. The heart was also strategic to cover up the actual heart (and um, breasts) of the former art behind it. My next step was using plastic wrap to cover the matting because I didn't want that ruined during the kid painting session.

We started out organized and while I knew they would probably mix paint, I didn't realize it would become a goal. Dip one, two, three and then paint the art. Okay. So kids always find a way to make it more interesting. I helped a little, but mostly just participating and not trying to improve. B spent the majority of time on the heart and I spent time focusing on mustard because they didn't use much for some reason. 

We replaced some art in our formal living room (turned bounce house/playroom) after selling the furniture in there (should be a post in itself, stay tuned!) to make it a more purposeful and fun space for the kiddos. We even took the mountain goat art from our entryway and shifted art a bit elsewhere to make the spaces work better. 

bounce house deflated, but not the action this room gets... anymore! Boring to BOMB.

Claire's Dresser

Some months back, I visited my favorite local thrift shop and came out with a dresser for $45. It's solid wood and has tons of charm. And best of all, it was in really great condition. The only thing I hated about it was the huge oval and outdated, painted flowers that adorned the front. Easy, I could paint that, I thought.

I texted the picture to the husband and posted it on Instagram. Instagram response was a solid positive. The response from the husband wasn't negative. If you have been married awhile, you know any answer that isn't no is obviously yes. So I bought it. But, it didn't fit in my car. I called my friend (who has since moved to St. Louis!) and told her I needed to borrow her van. She asked if I was at that exact thrift store (she knows me...) and she told me she'd be by in 5 minutes because she was across the same street at the grocery store. She picks the dresser up and delivers it to my house. Boom.

It sat in the garage for a month or two. Gathering up the energy to get started took awhile, but I knew it had to be done before winter and no one likes working in a cold garage. So...

Before painting, there was sanding. If anyone who has ever refinished furniture knows, the prep is the worst part. It wasn't much different than the rest of my refinishing projects except NAPTIME. I did my major dresser project for our master bedroom when B was napping. Not just napping, but two times a day for 3-4 hours total. I had gobs of time. Now, I'm lucky to get a single hour to knock anything out because B doesn't nap at all (and therefore wants books and mom time) and C naps much shorter than B did at her age (1.5-2hrs a day total). By the time I would read a few books to B, set him up with a movie, drag out all my supplies, and get myself prepped and ready, I had almost no time to actually work.

Chipped away slowly and it's done. It's not perfect and there are some things I'm disappointed about, but it's done and I'm mostly happy with the results. It will look a whole lot cuter with the picture frames of colorful, artsy cards I've been collecting above it in Claire's "big girl" room, but here's the before and after:

Notice: great big oval in the middle. Be gone, painted flowers and random oval!

Detailed projects are my favorite pieces and also the hardest to work with. So. much. sanding and cleaning in grooves.

Crystal knobs were purchased on Ebay for about $20 and sold the old ones on Ebay as well. I ordered two sizes: top small drawers and big bottom drawers

I also took a picture of the top piece unattached (and covered the bottom in adhesive felt in case Claire happens to dislike it--easy removal).

Total cost of the project = ~$100
Dresser: $45
Sanding/Painting Supplies: $20-$30 (overspent here, clearly)
Knobs: $20

Blast from the past, 2.5 years ago:
First dresser project
Second dresser project

Dumpster Dive Kid Adirondack Chairs

We didn't actually dumpster dive, but we did grab some kiddo stuff from the curbside of a local neighbor who happens to be moving and clearing out. One evening a few weeks ago, the husband went for a jog around the neighborhood after the kids went down to bed. He came back telling me that some neighbors had a hoard of kid stuff up for grabs to be picked up by the garbage truck the following morning.

I was curious, so I headed there with the car. Among the items (basketball hoop, soccer goals, etc.) were two chairs. These were actually rather dirty and unimpressive. In their former state, they would've been trash for sure. But, knowing Benjamin and his love for furniture, I thought they could use a facelift and be decent enough to put on the deck for the next year or two.

No matter how disgusting they looked, the moment Benjamin laid eyes on these chairs, he was smitten. He toted them all through my house with the nasty cobwebs stringing behind and even busted out the hose to give them a wash. Yes, he knows how to turn on the hose by himself and often does, to my dismay!

Old School Buzz Lightyear and creepy princess cat eyes. I washed the chairs first outside but brought them inside to the utility sink for a scrubdown with dish soap.

For the cost of a can of Rustoleum (2x paint and primer), I am now less embarrassed of what the neighbors see when walking through the neighborhood trails behind our houses. 

I could've put a wee bit more effort and sanded before I painted, but Buzz Lightyear remains while the princess cat eyes are but a memory.

Bye Bye Brass

We've lived in our house for about 4.5 years now. As we toured the house, we had these grandiose dreams of what we planned to change. Being young, spry and without children (though newly pregnant!), we got to work on tons of these things.

But then there were those projects that were not a priority because they didn't really bother us much. Things like, the dining room lamp. Our big dreams were to replace it with an elk antler chandelier. But as the years moved forward and we've given up on that dream. Logically so, as the room isn't quite big enough for that dream we first considered when visiting Jackson Hole, WY back in 2009. We're 5 years older and the room still had the same brass fixture we disliked when we first moved in.

Well, we didn't dislike it, just the color. It took us this long because it required I get E's involvement to manage the wires and electricity and he's always busy with more important projects. After a friend of mine posted her lamp project on Instagram, I figured it was time we do the same... so the to-do list got a little shorter that day.

I knew I wanted to spray paint it because...
1. I have an obsession with spray paint.
2. It's a relatively cheap and easy.
3. We thought it had good bones to begin with.

So for a $7 can of Rustoleum's Metallic Oil Rubbed Bronze, we had a new fixture. We only bought one can (brave!), but it was just enough.

During nap, the husband took it down and hung it from a tree in our backyard. We took turns spraying it with two sets of eyes (so many little areas are tough!) and had it hung that evening.

The left (grainy) picture was in the real estate ad for our home. We stripped the wallpaper (and used the matching drapes as drop cloths!) the first month in the house. More on that here.

A Real DIY Project: IKEA Jokkmokk Chairs Updated

So maybe my last post about my DIY water table cover wasn't exactly DIY... but I did order it myself and think up the concept. I'm just thrilled about the outcome.

This one though, it's all DIY-friendly.

We recently hopped on over to our local Crate & Barrel Outlet store and bought a kitchen table. We're totally lucky to have one of those stores just 5 miles from our house!

hello gorgeous. welcome to our humble abode.

We've owned the same IKEA Jokkmokk table and chairs since we began dating eight glorious years ago. And even then, I owned the same set in my Hermosa Beach apartment (miss you, Peppertree!) that I bought off Craigslist many moons ago. That set was left with my married Scottish roommates when we moved out into our married abode in Redondo Beach, just about 1.5 years before leaving California {sniff, sniff, tear}.

Lots of Jokkmokk action up in here. Who else has one of these sets? C'mon, America. I can bet within the whole 6 degrees of separation rule that one of you does! Anyhow, the new, much nicer, fancier table needed some chairs. The table also has two leafs (leaves?!) that are bubble wrapped and living in our empty basement. If we could sell the basement apart from the house, it would be sold to the highest bidder! Native Midwesterners think I be crazy, yo.

I searched chairs and in the meantime, lived with the ol' Jokkmokk chairs at the new table. They actually looked halfway decent as-is. Problem was, the chairs had seen a number of other DIY projects as stools and endured 3 moving trucks over their lives thus far. We considered buying some Willa chairs, but hello spicy pricetag and no thank you to the terrible reviews on paint chipping, etc. We have kids. Who destroy. I don't need them destroying $150 chairs on the regular.

I decided to spraypaint the old Jokkmokk chairs. I wanted a teal color for a pop. We definitely have a neutral palate in our home, except that crazy green laundry room! Wild chairs seemed like a fun way to be daring without having to fully commit. If we hated them? It was only the cost of some spray paint.

Turns out we liked them.

Process:
- Sand each chair fully (already had)
- Wipe down all chairs
- Use wood filler in deeper grooves (already had and necessary as these chairs were beaten up!)
- Spray each chair multiple times with Rustoleum Painter's Touch 2x Ultra Cover Paint/Primer, Seaside (Ridiculous sale =  $1.50 each can. Used 5 cans and have one full to spare for touchups as needed $9)
- Use previously owned Polycrylic Clear Satin and a foam brush to apply on each chair. I also did an additional coat on heavy hit areas like seat and top of chair/corners.

Total out-of-pocket cost = $9 because I owned so many of the necessities already.

DIY, No Sew, No Tool Water Table Cover {ON THE CHEAP}

If you're like me, you probably thought a water table would be loads of fun for your kids. It's easy! They play with water, they can't drown, it's perfect for sensory awareness and it's right in your big or small yard!

They'll just play happily while you make dinner!

Right.

Except, if you're also like me, after its first use, you have no clue what to do with the bulky table that gets all sludgy and filled with rainwater. If you leave it inside, it hogs up all the space in your garage. If it's outside, it will become dirty and you'll have to clean it before every use, thus negating the whole "what a great idea and it will be so easy!" excitement you first had.

Dirty, in the cleaning process. I used vinegar and water because a certain 2yo likes to drink the water. Barf.
The Velcro is how I "fixed" the problem of that tower thing falling down every single time we used it. Works okay. I would use tools if I really wanted the job done right. Or maybe they should just make it so the darn thing doesn't fall on kids.

I needed to cover ours, otherwise I might as well send it off to the thrift store.

I had some main requirements:
1. Water and dirt cannot get in and become annoying to clean and a breeding ground for mosquitoes.
2. It had to be inexpensive because the table itself was like $30.
3. I didn't want to have to sew anything. I don't do such things. Plus, what a timesuck.
4. No toolbelts required.
5. Cannot be an ugly eyesore.

That left me with one option: buy one. Except, they don't sell them. I saw two online DIY ideas. One was made by the lady with a *shudder* sewing machine and probably some expensive fabric she had to research and buy at the fabric store along with heavy-duty needles and whatever. I'm getting a headache just thinking about it. The second option I saw was drilling into the water table and putting this waterproof material over it and just sort of clipping it to the side. It didn't look very sturdy and wasn't very pretty either. And then, ugh, more work!

I turned to Amazon. Obviously. Water table cover? Didn't exist. But you know what did? Patio table covers. I searched those and then got an even better idea... what about a FIREPIT COVER? They are for outside use, to protect from elements, and they are just the right size for my approximately 32 inch water table diameter.

BINGO.

I bought this one for less than $15 shipped with super reviews as a firepit cover-- so it must be good for covering something plastic, right?

I cleaned up all the sludgy pieces that were sitting outside making my backyard look like a trailer park. I dried them off (because of course it was raining outside when it was naptime and the sun was of no help). I put the pieces all inside the table and covered it. The elastic band is super snug. If there was a concern otherwise, a small bungy cord underneath would handle that... but really, it's snug.

It's classy, waterproof and a time saver. $12 well spent.

Snug as a bug in a rug. Take that Midwest thunderstorms!

Thermostat Love

I follow a bunch of blogs. Some friend blogs. Some babyloss blogs. Some decor blogs. Some deal blogs.

Every one once in awhile one of these blogs has a giveaway. I've been known to enter and also win such giveaways. Hey! It's fun receiving mail, especially when I'm getting cool, new, free stuff!

I saw that one of the bloggers I was following had a giveaway for a thermostat. Ours is as old as our home (older than me!), so I figured I would enter because it would be nice to update the ol' thing. This specific thermostat by Honeywell is Wifi enabled and can be programmed from your phone. That would mean no more nights coming home to a 50-degree house or having to trudge downstairs to turn on the heat in the winter. I can just reach over on my nightstand and grab my iPhone. Well, another one of the bloggers I follow posted a giveaway for the same thermostat. And then another! I entered a handful of these and guess what? I won!

Two.

I didn't need two of course, so I asked the giveaway host if she wouldn't mind sending it to my friend for her to have. I knew she'd love it and would find it valuable since she works in the city and is quite busy.

We both received our thermostats on the same day and were excited to get them installed. I'd say my husband was more eager than me, since I've been totally sleep-deprived lately. He headed downstairs to the basement when the kids went down to bed last week to work on the electrical wiring for the thermostat. And there it was.

HUMMMMMMMM.

The sound of a failed sump pump. With thunderstorms imminent that evening. At this point, it was 9:53 p.m. and hardware stores closed in 7 minutes. We had a backup sump pump waiting to be installed just sitting there. But unfortunately, we were missing about $10 in pipe fittings and could not change it without those pieces. It was either a flooded basement (honestly, I'm so over basements that's I just assume fill it with concrete) or a 24-hr plumber (cha-ching).

The plumber got a phonecall and came over within the hour. We've used him once before and curse his name when he leaves. He's just not very nice. The husband got to work removing the old sump pump and saving us a little extra cash for doing some of the dirty work that would have cost us more. The plumber was here exactly 56 minutes, including the time he tried to sell us a different sump pump from his truck. It was a piece of cake and $390. Plumbers make bank. Not ideal to pay that much for a simple task, but imagine what it would've cost if our basement flooded?

And we have that freebie thermostat to thank for the savings of further damage. Not a drop of water in the basement.

Fits in my hand and clearly smaller than the former beast. Just a wee bit of sanding, filling & painting necessary

*Wasn't paid by Honeywell to write this, but they sent me a free, AMAZING thermostat and the story was good enough to share!

So Much.

So much going on.

Our weekend was packed to the brim. It was a surprise 3-day weekend for us (yay!) and the weather was finally nice enough to throw open the windows and get to work.

It's mid-April, you guys. And we just now are getting outside for the first time since Claire was born 3 months ago. It was a wee bit tricky with two kids to get anything accomplished, but we successfully completed the following projects this weekend:

• Dug up darn wild onions (hopefully for good!)
• Took an axe to the tree stump in the front
• Rearranged a bunch of old wood logs and separated some to dispose of
• Moved Andrew's bulbs
• Removed old Hydrangea bushes that have not flowered since we've lived here 4 years
• Filled in some areas in our yard with soil and added grass seed
• 2 trips to the Hardware store
• Prepped a bunch of old clothes for a local resale
• Began prepping maternity clothes for another local resale
• Stained our entryway bench with 2 coats of Gel stain & 1 coat of Polycrylic
• Repaired some areas on guest room bed and put on a coat of Polyurethane
• Sold one of my many strollers on Craigslist 
• Picked up new Crate & Barrel bed
• Put up new Crate & Barrel bed
• Posted our new bed on Ebay (turns out we LOVE it, but doesn't quite work for our home. A bit too modern. We'll see. Still sleeping on it, literally).
• Posted the co-sleeper on Craigslist... inquiry already to sell this week
• Finished putting the crib together (with crib sheet!) for Claire's upcoming transition to the nursery. Sniff, sniff.
• Put out garden boxes for garden I plan to start in the next couple weeks
• Finished the 11th of 12 months in the 2013 photobook I'm creating with a goal to order by 4/30

We also did these things:

• 2 park trips
• 2 bike rides
• 3 times the toddler was allowed in our cars to explore (he loves this!)
• 1 jog each (with egg hunts hopefully counting as some decent exercise...hah!)
• 4 egg hunts
• 20+ eggs found
• 3 eggs given away to kids who didn't get any eggs
• 3 Skype sessions with MD & CA grandparents and Aunt Samantha
• 1 attempt to visit the Easter bunny at Bass Pro- Bunny wasn't there at the time.
• 2 Easter bunnies examined by a 2-year old who loves characters
• 2 dinners with friends
• 1 Easter service at church (Claire's first service ever!)
• 2 children taken out of service for being too loud (3 if you count our friends next to us taking out their 2-year old!)
• 2 Easter baskets filled and enjoyed
• 2 pancakes made with bunny and duck sprinkles 
• 2 out of 3 nights Claire slept through the night
• Lots of chocolate consumed
• Lots of hugs and kisses 
• Lots of smiles and coos from a sweet little 3-month old
• Many tissues used from wiping snot (gah! Claire's first cold! And Benjamin's 400th!)
• 6 eggs not dyed on the weekend (some mom forgot to hardboil them!) but dyed this morning.
• 2 eggs cracked in the process
• 4 out of 4 cups of dye spilled everywhere
• 1 shirt stained
• 4 hands dyed blue
• 1 ruined dishtowel
• 1 amazing weekend with 1 amazing husband and 2 amazing kids
• 1 of our children always missed...

This boy loves characters. We might just do Disney in October. Claire was generally underwhelmed.

1st of 4 egg hunts. It was over in no more than 3 minutes.

These kids get hooked up. Two sets of awesome grandparents plus parent goods make for awesome baskets.

Bed we're not sure works for us...but love it, bunny boy & opening a book that was given to Dad by his grandparents when he was two! I am a Bunny... Benjamin loved it. We read it 3x to him in a row.

Andrew's bulbs moved and I LOVE the space near our front door. Bunny taking a ride and the mess of dying eggs.

The before/after of the entryway bench I finished this weekend (bought before Claire was born and weather hasn't been nice or time ample until now to finish it with stain) & a pretty little lady who was worth all that stalling on the bench project.

Gaw-bee Visit & Serious Deals

My mom was in town this past weekend and it was so nice. Those of you who have parents that live locally to spend time with the grandkids or just give you a break every now and then don't know how lucky you are! Or maybe you do.

Benjamin was beside himself with happiness that "Gaw-bee" was in town. I have no idea where he got that name, but he calls my mom that and my MIL "Gae-bee" (for Gramie I'm assuming). I have a trained ear to know the difference, but either way, he loves to "call call" them both and loves it when they are in town to love on him with 100% attention.

We took full advantage of the extra help and made our way to REI for their annual garage sale. I knew there was a very slim chance, but I was hoping to score a BOB Duallie Revolution jogger for a discount. That didn't happen. If we lived in Los Angeles, there would probably be a half dozen for the picking. Here, there was a single and that was even overpriced. I'm throwing down for one in the coming week. Let's just not discuss how many strollers I have owned. The Bumbleride Flite is about out the door via Craigslist, but yeah. I'm a stroller hoarder.

Since it was only 8:30 in the morning, we headed off to another sale. I was emailing back and forth last week with my friend Alli who is Crate.&.Barrel's biggest fan. I forwarded her this email that was blabbing about a warehouse sale and 75%+ off, etc. I feel like I get those emails from every company on a weekly basis and really thought nothing of this one. But apparently this one was different. We have an outlet store and distribution center here in the 'burbs and I almost never score anything of high value. Sure, a table runner and dishes here and there. But furniture? Nah. But when I told my friend about this sale, she said it was the real deal. Still, on Saturday I was not thinking we would bother. Until the REI sale was a bust and we decided to drive on over for the fun of it.

We got in line 5 minutes before the sale opened and there were a few hundred people in front of us. Once the doors opened, we entered the warehouse and saw tons of factory firsts, seconds, returns, and floor models in every furniture line they sell! People were throwing their hands up left and right and sold signs were being slapped onto couches worth thousands of dollars marked down to $500. We looked through and noted the gorgeous furniture. But really, we didn't need anything. I found a cute bowl and wineglass in their houseware department I wanted and got in line with my $5 bill. My husband and baby were off next door at Land.of.Nod Outlet store at this point. Just because it was fun, I asked the guy behind me what he bought. He told me he used to work there and this sale has never been done before and that he bought a King bed. He whipped out his phone and showed me a picture. I fell in love immediately. It's basically my dream bed. Reclaimed wood. Rustic. Cool shelving. The perfect mix of modern and contemporary. I asked if they had more and he told me they did. I paid for my kitchenware, ran over and found the bed. I called the husband who came running back and consulted the sales associate in the bedding area of the warehouse because the bed I chose wasn't tagged. I asked if it was sold and it wasn't. They tagged it as a complete bed and I threw my hand up to buy it. A $2,700 bed for $250. Sure, we did just complete our bedroom and buy a headboard and new nightstands, but this was a solid wood bed for cheaper than the price of wood itself!

At this point, the line to purchase was about 80 people deep. I fed Claire in the car while E waited in line and then headed across the street to Target to kill some time while E waited in line. He reserved a truck to transport the bed while waiting to pay and then we were off to get the truck. Just then, I received a call from the sales associate who tagged the bed and she told me the bed they sold me was incomplete. But, because they are awesome and I already paid for it, they will be honoring it as a complete bed and making it right. But that we didn't have to pick up that day (phew, you should've seen the line!). We headed back to Land.of.Nod Outlet and they were also having a bit of a sale. We scored a rug for Claire's room for $75. E loved it at first sight, but it took me awhile to love it. Now I really do and the quality cannot be beat.

We contemplated going back the next day for day #2 of the sale. Mostly because we live locally and my mom was in town still. We never get the opportunity to just shop without our toddler around! And, we were curious if there would be more stock put out. And of course we found about 10 things in our house we'd like to replace with better pieces of furniture for these ridiculously awesome prices.

So we went. We showed up earlier to get in line this time and were behind about 30 other people. Almost all of the people in line with us were also there the day before. All going in for the kill again. The guy who told me about his bed and is the sole reason we bought one? He was three people in front of us.

This time, we bought a queen bed to replace our 10-year old IKEA bed in the guest room that wasn't in the best shape. Still functional, but definitely seen quite a few moving vans. I sold it the next day for $100. This new bed was $1,100 and marked down to $250. We wanted to get a new media console for the living room, but we didn't find much. We liked a few, but the one we really wanted was already being claimed by another couple as we approached it. We were able to score a couple chairs for my friend Alli who wasn't there from the new stock they put out for day #2.

And the bed we bought the previous day that they have to complete for us? They are likely getting that shipped to us for the inconvenience. Man, I love deal shopping.

Benjamin had a blast with his Gaw-bee and is still on a detox from her visit. They had french fries and milkshakes and lots of playtime together. We even went to a special local chocolate dessert place together and split a few decadent cakes. And now it's Wednesday and the daily fun continues with tantrums and food throwing and overall fun 2-year old behavior.

Gaw-bee, come back. 

Four DIY Project Recaps

I've been a DIY machine lately! I wouldn't consider it nesting considering the need/nature of the projects, but I guess there might be a little in there... what I do when I am too fearful to bring pink into the house just yet. With Benjamin, I called them distraction projects, and I suppose they're back for the final 5 weeks of this pregnancy.

First up:
LEGO Table

I had been planning to make one of these for Benjamin for ages. We decided that we'd gift him with more Duplo and a LEGO table (in addition to other things) for Christmas.

Materials:
- Black IKEA Lack table for $10
- 1 piece of contact paper or equivalent for road stripes $1
- 1 XL gray baseplate for LEGO $15 on Amazon
- Duck double-sided tape (leftover from another project)
                                                                                 
 = $26

1. Assemble table (piece of cake).
2. Measure and cut strips of contact paper for corner and side road pieces (optional: I loved this idea though!) This would be best done on a di-cut or fancy Silhouette machine that I don't have and don't want.
3. Measure and tape down baseplate to the exact center (used double-sided tape because I was warned other epoxies and glues don't work or ruin baseplates by expanding inside the LEGO holes. Double-sided tape seemed like a safer option.
4. Starting with corner contact paper pieces, measure and evenly space apart road strips.

Total time: 30 minutes

Second Project:
Homemade Laundry Detergent

I noticed that our very last bottle of my stockpiled All Free & Clear detergent had only about a month left of washes to the bottle. Instead of waiting until the laundry piled up once the bottle was empty, I decided to jump ahead and get the next stage of detergent ready. I'd been meaning to make some for years now, but I literally had so much laundry detergent thanks to a crazy sale on Seventh Generation and All that I needed to go through the product first before making. I accumulated all the ingredients over time and just needed to get the ball rolling.

With a little help from my friend Renel and the many internet recipes I found, I came up with this recipe, assuming it's not a science because most vary slightly and add/subtract an ingredient or two.

- 1 box Borax
- 1 box Washing Soda
- 1 bar grated Fels Naptha Soap
- 1 bar grated Dr. Bronner's Castile Soap, Lavender Scent
- 3 cups Tide Stain Booster (oxygenated cleaner just like OxiClean-- but I had this on hand and figured I'd use it instead).
- Grater (you can use your food processor, but I bought a very serious grater at a thrift store for about a buck and it grated the soaps super fine!)

I didn't add in any additional smelling crystals/agents because we do like to keep our laundry free & clear due to skin allergies we deal with... but the Tide Stain Booster does add some scent, as does the natural castile soap. Hoping these won't affect us, as they are used in small amounts.

And all I needed was a cute scoop and container! My friend Liz picked up this cute Anchor Hocking glass cookie jar at Walmart when she was there last for under $10. I cannot remember the total cost for the above ingredients as I bought them at random over the course of a year or so, but I can estimate the cost to be about $10 worth of product for 1.5 gallons of detergent. At just 1 1/2 tablespoons each load, that is going to last us a very long time!

Total time: 15 minutes (10 minutes alone to grate the bars of soap and 5 for mixing of ingredients)

Third Project:
Art Frame Display for Benjamin's Room

This is the project I'm most proud of. When I had friends over for a tea party some Saturdays ago, they requested a look at Benjamin's big boy room. We had two walls with hangings already, but the other two walls were bare. One wall was taken care of in minutes by the suggestion of my friend Alli who has a knack for design. But the other wall... they all collaborated at once and suggested I make it a wall to display his art. I loved the idea, but wanted it to be a space we could change out often and easily. I did some Pinterest researching for something along those lines and came up with this idea. I needed 3 cabinet doors of identical size...and cheap. I struggled finding these. I searched Craigslist, Freecycle, Bookoo and everywhere I could think! I even considered using actual picture frames, but even those are not super cheap or sturdy enough for my vision.

I found that cabinet art display idea during naptime on Saturday and as soon as Benjamin woke up, we set out to our local Habitat for Humanity Restore. We were totally disappointed by the stock and prices. It was expensive and they didn't have anything suitable to make this project happen on the cheap.

But I couldn't get this idea out of my mind. I HAD to have those cabinet doors! I discovered another Habitat for Humanity Restore 13 miles away and was about to grab my keys. Until I realized they were only open three days a week, for a total of 24 hours! I waited patiently until Thursday and then we were off. I am so glad we went, because I not only found what I was looking for, but had such a variety that I had trouble deciding! The cabinet doors were $2.50/ea. and I was even able to purchase two drawer fronts (for my 4th project) for $1/ea, two brand new and full-sized bathroom rugs that were an "internet sample" still with tags, a small pint sample can of gray paint for $.50 from Benjamin Moore, and various Velcro pieces and anchor brackets for quarters each. My total was $20! I even considered buying two end tables that I loved, but we really don't need more end tables... but so tempting.

Sweatshirt Gray Benjamin Moore paint sample for only two quarters. Awesome.

No natural light with curtains closed, but we love it! Benjamin proudly looks up and says "B" at the art piece on the right that is hard to see in these photos.

The wall on the right is the "grown up" wall my friend Alli helped design. The double frame had old pictures in it that we needed to replace. We thought a picture of Big Ben & a quote by Ben Franklin were fun additions to the room. For a grand total of $2.36 prints shipped to my door, it completed the wall (to go with his Tootsie Roll Chicago stock & personalized Bears poster).

Materials:
- 3 cabinet pieces $7.50
- Flat white paint & paint rollers (owned already)...would've used spray paint, but I didn't have any.
- Gray paint sample $.50
- 3 magnetic clips (had in teacher supplies)
- Screwdriver + three small screws
- Hanging materials about $7--ultra secured these to the wall so we spent a bit more

= about $15

Fourth Project:
Chalkboard Frames

I just might be envisioning my kiddos heading off to school and just how cute that will be. When I was picking up the cabinets to be used in the art frame display, I saw a few smaller drawer fronts that were only $1 each. I couldn't pass up the opportunity to make two signs (you know, because I'm hoping to have two kids in school at the same time eventually) for the kiddos to hold on the first and last days of school. I already had the chalkboard paint from a basement chalkboard wall I've envisioned but since aborted mission because we're too lazy and just don't use the space enough to really enjoy that feature.

They're not perfect, but they do the job for the right price. :)

Instead, how about a couple cute frames for just a few bucks of material cost?

Materials:
- 2 cabinet/drawer fronts $2
- White satin spray paint (owned already)
- Chalkboard paint bought ages ago and used a very small amount of the $10 can
- Paintbrush for Chalkboard paint (owned already)

= $2

The Big Boy Room

Benjamin is still in his crib. And he loves it. Like, so much that I worry about switching him to a toddler bed because he sleeps so well and clearly feels very comfortable in his crib. Sleep at night ranges from 10-12 hours and naps are usually 2-3 hours long. When sleep is over, he often asks to be put back in his crib (after unsuccessfully trying to get in himself) to either jump, walk around, or lay down.

With the hope that we'll have a baby coming home to eventually take over said crib this winter, we're struggling with what to do with Benjamin. I don't want to buy two cribs, especially since Claire will hopefully be transitioned to that crib well past Benjamin turning two. If we're lucky, she'll be in the co-sleeper Benjamin used in our room for the first 3 months. And just like Benjamin, we'd like to transition her sometime at the end of spring into the real crib.

Which means he needs to get the boot. But sooner probably. Because we're concerned that he'll feel like he really is getting the proverbial boot because he has a little sister who is now invading his life and space. We don't want him to feel that way. Like, at all.

So our plan is to transition him before (if) she comes home. He'll have his own new room that are independent of her. After all, the crib will remain empty until months after she comes home, so the transition will be well in place and the thought of replacing him in the crib won't take place. Right?

But I'm nervous. He sleeps so well, you guys. And he loves that bed. And the transition plan we currently have in place is for DECEMBER. Like just a few weeks away.

In order to hopefully get the ball rolling on things and get him excited about the process and new things, we painted his eventual big boy room, bought a bed, new bedding, and moved many of the wall hangings and toys in there from the nursery. Some things stay behind as nursery decor, but other things are his for the win. We did this in September because I had a gift card paired with a sale at Sherwin-Williams to use for the paint. And if you know anything about Chicago weather, you know painting in the winter is not ideal because windows cannot be opened without reducing yourself to an icicle. And I'm not about letting that warm air we spend gobs on each month. Even with no-VOC paint, the primer was not no-VOC and it is still smelly to me. In fact, months later and I still think it stinks like new paint.

We got to work patching and cleaning the walls. The little boy who lived in there before really liked putting masking tape on his walls, which required a bit of sanding. There is a white chair rail in the room already, so we kept it. The room was already blue on bottom and white on top, but they used a thick brush to make textured brush lines that were just... ugly.

seewhatimean?

For a whole month after we finished his room, he was elated to go in there. He still likes it, but it's lost some of its luster. We even call it his big boy room and when we ask if he'd like to play in his big boy room, he runs, heads upstairs and charges down the hall to his room. He jumps on the bed. He lays on the bed. He plays with his toys. He pulls every single person anywhere within 50 feet of him into the closet where he has designated himself a fort. And closes the closet.

But I'm not sure he gets that the big boy room means no more sleeping in his beloved crib, in his beloved nursery.

These pictures are after I cleaned the train-wreck that it was yesterday. Just waiting for him to discover it's been cleaned and clear the books off the shelf in 4 seconds flat.

view from the hall

Toddler bed purchased because it was a floor model clearance from IKEA.
The cushion under is more for fort playing and is actually for outdoor chairs of which we don't own.
Will make for a good padding if he rolls off... or to help him up or out of the bed.

The white dresser is the one I refinished. It's bolted to the wall in three places. As is that corner shelf .

Curtains are the same we have in our bedroom. We love them. They're dark, dark, dark.

Had this baby since high school.

Nothing on the walls where the bed resides.
We have two frames to hang but having trouble deciding where to hang without leaving too much wallspace bare.

The moose was transferred as we made it during Benjamin's newborn days and just love it.
We replaced it with the ol' ABC chart passed down from Ray's cousin. We love that, too.

Since we're pregnant with a girl, the blue trunk is officially Benjamin's.
Air Force Academy Cadets all receive one and this was his dad's...still with his squadron # written on with black sharpie.

New clock. Hopefully we can teach him that he can only come out of his room when the little hands reaches the 7?

The two frames we have yet to hang...a Bears frame and his first stock from Tootsie Roll (Chicago company)

The closet, aka Benjamin's fort. That's a mattress top padding thing we bought and always hated on our bed.
If he sees you, you will be in that closet with a book and stern directions to turn on the light, sit & read. Be warned.

Paint: Sherwin-Williams: {top}: Icicle {bottom}: Bracing Blue
Bed: IKEA Kritter toddler bed, white + side rail
Bedding: IKEA white fitted sheet & Vandring Skogsliv duvet & duvet interior
Clock: IKEA Pugg
Rug: IKEA Lekplats
Dresser: Refinished piece of furniture
Bookshelf: IKEA, but no longer carried item & I have no idea the name
Car: Gift from friends
Moose: Project ala Benjamin's dad and my awesome husband (inspired by Anthropologie)
Curtains: IKEA Werna; curtain rod also IKEA Racka
Holdbacks: Menards

All is ready, as you can see. Sheets are cleaned and curtains are hung. And yet we're hesitant. It's not like we can't make do with the pack'n'play if we must once/if Claire is here safely and needs to transition from the co-sleeper. But, we don't want to mess with the psyche of our kids and confuse both of them. We want him to ideally transition well, love his big boy bed as much as his crib and stay happily playing until 7:30 each morning.

And to bring a baby girl home, have her in the co-sleeper for 3 months and transition her easily to the crib where she will sleep full nights by at least 6 months of age. I know this is all probably a pipe-dream, but dreams are dreams.

Advice for the parents who are a little scared to rock the boat with our toddler?