We bought our dining set pre-kids.  We distinctly remember the salesperson trying to upsell us into purchasing some sort of stain protector coating for the microsuede.  Instead, we opted to Scotchguard it ourselves.  Now, seven years later, we laugh, because no amount of Scotchguard could guard against the messes of k + n.

Exhibit 1.  It actually looks worse in person.

I decided to DIY some oilcloth covers.

Step 1.  Take seat off of chair.  Not a problem with this one, because the seat had already come loose. 

Step 2.  Remove old cover by removing staples from underneath.

Step 3. Realize this is a much bigger task than I thought because there are a lot more staples underneath the black lining.  This is by far the most time-consuming, labor-intensive part. 

Step 4. Cut out oilcloth using the old cover as a pattern.

Step 5. Have husband use staple gun while I try to pull the oilcloth even and taut.  Step 5.a. Get frustrated because I cannot get everything perfectly even.  Step 5.b.  Have husband remind me that perfection is impossible because I am not a professional upholsterer.  Step. 5.c.  Realize that husband is right, and settle for “good enough”.  

Step 6.  Screw seat back into the chair. 

Step 7.  Repeat process for other three chairs.  (So far 2 down, 2 to go).

At the beginning of the year, D set a budget for “home improvement”.  Well, the year is not even half way over, but with the flooring and our new sofa, we have reached our max.  My future home improvement dreams will have to wait until next year (which is OK, because I think it is better to do it over time).

Apparently, n doesn’t enjoy shopping for furniture. 

Here is our old sofa, a hand me down from my parents that has seen better days.  Salvation Army will be picking it up next week.  It served us well.  I spent many hours on that sofa, especially in our old condo, when k was just born.  I overheard k telling n that the sofa was “really old, like we had it since she was a baby”.  Haha…it’s a lot older than that!

The new sofa.  Crossing our fingers that the kids don’t wreck it!

I stole D’s facebook line for the title of this post. We had a busy weekend. I went to a Sally Clarkson motherhood conference. It was a great time for renewal and encouragement. While I was gone, we had new flooring put in our downstairs living areas. I was nervous about the color we chose, but I like how it turned out. First, I will show some “before” pictures. The carpet is old, but it was in fairly good shape when we bought our place in 2009. I remember not wanting to replace the carpet when we first moved because n was still crawling on the floor.

Fast forward 2.5 years of hard living with two little ones…Despite the Rug Doctor and various other cleaning attempts, there were certain sections that we just could not do anything about.

Here are a couple of “after” photos.

Actually, I think it looks better in person, because you can see more of the subtle detail that the camera does not capture. I would highly recommend the company that did the work, so if anyone needs a recommendation in Orange County, let me know.

Putting in the new flooring makes me want to paint our walls even more! I guess that will be our next project.

Not too long ago, k’s room looked like this:

I was in the midst of painting (a long process), and k was sleeping in n’s room.

My mom gave me an old bulletin board.

I am happy to report that progress has been made!

Sneak peak. (Owl art found on Etsy. I’m forgetting the shop name, though. These pictures hung over k’s crib, too).

I painted the room in Olympic Premium Satin color matched to Benjamin Moore’s Ballerina Pink. k said she wanted a pink room. I wasn’t sold on the idea, but when else in your life is it ok to have a pink room?? I think the color is actually quite nice, better than the orangey-beige from before.

We bought k the full Brimnes bed/headboard from Ikea. There is tons of storage underneath. We’re thankful that my dad still has a mini van for our Ikea trips!

k likes it!

My Melody does too!

I painted/covered the bulletin board and hung it over the bed. It is a good spot for the tons of artwork k brings home from pre-school. I also covered the lamp shade with an extra sheet. (I originally bought twin sheets, thinking k would have a twin bed. However, they will not got to waste. I think we’ll still use the twin flat sheets on the full bed because they do not hang over so much, and it will be easier to make the bed. I am even thinking of sewing snaps so the sheet connects to the comforter, so all she has to do is straighten out the comforter in the morning. Has anyone else thought of doing this?) I am embarrassed to say that I am still not in the habit of making my bed 100% of the time, and I feel like it is my duty to ingrain this habit in my kids!

I put a lot of work into this room, I think partly because I feel guilty that I never created a nice nursery for her. But now, at this age, she actually appreciates it, which is nice. I just hope that she’ll like it for a while, maybe until 4th grade? Is that too much to ask? I still have stuff to do on the other side of the room, but that will have to wait a little.

As for n’s room, that will have to wait too. I’m waiting to find some “boy bedding” that appeals to me. It seems like it will be a much more difficult task.

As I mentioned before, I have been on a mission to re-paint the interior of our home, which was entirely “band-aid” color when we bought it. Yes, it has taken two years to start, but I have some momentum now. It is truly addictive.

The first place I started was the smallest room, for more instant gratification.

Before:

After:

Olympic Premium Satin color-matched to Benjamin Moore Stonington Gray. Ikea Grundtal shelves. Picture is a photo collage of our honeymoon that I made 5+ years ago.

I thought our family had recovered from a virus that made its way from k–>D–>n, but it looks like we’re not out of the woods yet. On Wed. night, I saw D throw up for the very first time in the 12+ years that I have known him. Sorry if that is TMI, but I find that remarkable since he has witnessed me being sick too many times to count.

So, this weekend we’re not doing anything too strenuous and trying to recover.

Love the double shopping carts at Costco!

Had fun organizing my plasticware cabinet. Quite satisfying.

“Before”

“After” (Note that the major addition is a set of Snapware that I bought on sale for $20 at Costco today. It is supposed to be like Lock and Lock, of which I have a few. We’ll see how they compare. The set also included two cereal containers, which are in the pantry).

I also started a deep cleaning out of our bedroom/office after the kids went to bed. This is going to be a long process.

We were relieved to find out that the 37″ Vizio we bought from Costco last year would just fit into the media niche in our new family room. (We were actually contemplating buying the 42″, so good thing we didn’t.) Our house was built in 1997, so the built in media niche was designed before the wide flat screen era.

Here is what our our tv and components looked like “before”. Not pretty.

After much finagling, trips to Radio Shack, Best Buy, Target and eventually ordering online, I was able to make this area presentable. (Yes, it was me, not D who did this. He’s done other things around the house, but we can talk about that later.)
The “after”:

Ah, so much better, so much easier on the eyes. I felt a sense of triumph last night when I finished. It is also much safer, since n is starting to grab at things. This morning, k asked “Where are the wires?” Victory is mine! Now on to the rest of the house!