Master Bedroom Closet Reveal

As I troll around blogland, I see that it is common practice to do a "REVEAL!!!" post at the end of a remodeling or redecorating project.  Well, we are still in the "not done" stage of most of our fixed-up rooms, but I can do one reveal: the master bedroom closet.  Do most people reveal closets?  I don't know, but since I haven't had a closet in my own bedroom for 4 or 5 years, it's worth a reveal to me.  I might go as far as to call it an epic moment, but you can decide that for yourself.

If you scroll fast, the pictures work like those old flip-books!

Shelves and hanging rods go in.

Full-length mirror

Vanity light

Aaron's clothes

My clothes (Aaron bugged me all evening and into the next morning to move my stuff so that he could take this picture - as if I needed more motivation.)

So, there you have it: Master Bedroom Closet Revealed!  

Isn't it neat and clean and orderly?  

For now.

Tune in next week to see "True Stories of a Closet Revealed."  

Back Home Again

Well, our whirlwind vacation is over and we are settling back into our routine (well, our "only a month until Christmas" routine).  Our trip was filled with all the usual adventures that go along with traveling with kids.  One of our stops was at Charlestown Landing (colonial-era Charleston), where the kids got to explore a small sailing ship and watch canons being fired.

Just because we were on vacation, laundry still accumulated, so we had to make a stop at a laundromat.  Nothing makes you feel farther from home - or appreciate your laundry room more -  then washing your dirty clothes in a strange place.

Babies have to eat on vacation, too.  Cam wasn't thrilled with the unidentified green stuff out of the baby food jars, but he ate it anyway.

He did enjoy being carried around in the backpack - except during the middle of the presentation on the Civil War submarine.

We didn't even stop doing school on this vacation.  I mean, who doesn't flop down in the middle of a museum floor to fill out a workbook?

Especially if you get a certificate and pin when you finished all the pages.

It's hard to imagine we packed so many adventures into one week.  It was a fantastic trip and it sets me up for another new project: scrapbooking all the pictures and souvenirs!

Spontaneous Explosion

Are you a spontaneous person?  I like to think of myself as "prepared to be spontaneous."  My diaper bag is well-stocked, so that theoretically I could walk out the font door for an impromptu park trip at a moment's notice (I would still check the fully stocked diaper bag at least six times to ensure it is, in fact, fully stocked).  In summer all the beach equipment is in a box in the garage, ready for surprise runs to the beach, and in winter the sleds are piled by the garage door, waiting for that unexpected phone invitation to go sledding.  I am ready to be spontaneous.  Still.....I'm better at planning....and over planning....and extra planning (and double-checking the planning, and reviewing the double-checked plan).  So, when Aaron came home on Friday and suggested a spontaneous VACATION, leaving in five and one-half days for South Carolina, my spontaneous preparations were almost not up to the task.  Almost.....

Did I mention that one of those five and one-half days was designated for preparing and hosting Ian and Brynn's birthday party?  Oops, must have slipped my currently addled mind.

Here's my cake assembly line:

Two kids means two unique cakes (this tradition may have been a mistake on my part....)

Ian requested "a cake of our house."  Since I wasn't quite sure what he wanted, I bought him tubes of icing and let him make it himself.

Ta-da!

Her royal highness desired nothing less then a princess wand.  In my mind it was much more symmetrical.  The addition of Skittles covered a multitude of sins.

Once the presents were opened, the cakes were forgotten.

The party was a success!

Now I can go back to planning like mad to be spontaneous.

See you after Thanksgiving!

Last Push

 The past few months have been a bit crazy - as most of you readers have figured out.  First, my house was taken apart.  Then my car had problems.  Then my cell phone broke.  Finally, my camera died.  Well, my car was repaired and I got a new cell phone.  Three days ago I got a new camera (which I still need to adjust the settings on - sorry about some of the following pictures...), and now I am happy to report that my house is almost back together.  My ulcer can finally begin to heal.

This weekend was the last push before the carpet guys came on Monday at noon.  We HAD to be ready.  No ifs, ands, or buts about it.  Aaron and I needed to be at full power and go all out.  He was NOT supposed to get the flu.  But he did.  Poor guy - he somehow managed to work through it though (you can imagine the gory details) - and I am proud to report that he is THE MAN!  I didn't take any pictures of him though - nobody wants their picture taken in that condition.

So, what did we have left to do?  Take the remaining furniture outside.  It looks so sad out there, but everywhere else was already full.

 Then, while Aaron napped, I pulled staples out of the floor.  The former owner's fascination with fasteners was again made extremely clear.

 The biggest job was to screw down the floor to eliminate the horrible squeaks.  My knowledge of power tools has now increased:  I can both drill holes and put in screws!  Poor Aaron, this part was especially brutal for him.  This is a Borrower-height view of our floor mid-way through the job.

At last we finished, and Aaron crashed into bed, where he had belonged all along (I really hope I don't get those germs).  These are the rooms on Monday morning, waiting for the carpet to arrive:

Doesn't the trim and the Oakmoss paint look amazing?

Coming soon: The big reveal - carpet in, furniture in place, and maybe even some stuff on the walls!