The room IS the view!

What do you get for a guy who wants nothing?
A new bedroom, of course.

Our Christmas gift to one another was to re-do our bedroom-- and it took a few months to get it done.
So with no further ado--
Merry Christmas!


Before-- Dark walls and no trim. (No curtains or blinds, either. This made the overnight stretches less than fun. We had an elaborate system of pinning up blankets to achieve a dark bedroom)

Our goal was to lighten the room up, so it felt open and airy. We wanted a peaceful retreat.

Halloween and my ever-growing monkey

I hate scary things. I don't go to haunted houses or watch creepy movies.

 But for some reason, I love Halloween. Mostly the watered-down kid version of the holiday, but that's OK with me.

Halloween this year was a blast! I had so much fun, in fact, that I failed to take enough pictures. 

It didn't help that I had a tiny baby to tend to.

This is my costume crew:

Indiana Jones (with a shaved face!), Cosmo the BYU cougar, a Minion, and a Fox

And some of our house decorations:

A room with a view

This is my new favorite view!

We finally found and bought bar stools for the island in the kitchen. The monkeys LOVE sitting there. 

I love it too. I can do dishes, or make dinner, or just hang out with them. They are close, but not in the way.

Keeping busy, building stuff

We got a delivery the other day. Who doesn't love a delivery?

'Specially when it is 11 big, heavy boxes from IKEA!

Our family room is directly off the kitchen. It is a space we spend a LOT of time in every day. It is also a space that is bigger than we know what to do with. In this before picture you can see that our furniture from the previous house just doesn't fill the space.

Being Busy and that middle monkey

 The Doctor is home, and we are thick in the throws of trying to prep a house for sale. (BLEH!)

I have been up to my elbows in yard work and paint. I have vacuumed and rearranged furniture, and I am not done yet. (Special thanks to our dear Grandma Jen who washed walls and scrubbed a stove top and did SO much laundry while I was busy with the other stuff!)
Just to show you some of my most recent projects:

The master bathroom (before)

In the process

Finished!

I also redid the front bathroom. I can't find a before photo, but it had the same cabinets and floor as the master bath before. But now:

I also created a patio place, and we love it! Grapes is out here reading ALL the time.

 I'm sad I didn't think of this three years ago when we moved in.

So as we near the day of actually LISTING this house, I find myself hoping someone will see it and want it.
Let's be honest, I'm also hoping I'll find a house that I want in our new town too.... but we'll take one blessing at a time over here. We're not selfish.



 AND just to leave you with a laugh...
This is Sockie's school paper that came home a few days ago. The object described is bigger than a pencil, smaller than Sock, heavier than a straw and lighter than Sock.... and this picture had me really worried.
Did my monkey draw and describe a poop at school?!? How do you face a kindergarten teacher after that one?!

So I carefully asked him what he had drawn.
"It's a big block from the play spot at school, Mom."
A block?! Oh-- of course.  How could I miss that?

Super heroes and couches

Conversation I had today:

After running up and pointing, Pencil announced: Mom, you mawb-wus!

Me: I'm marvelous?

P: Yup!

I was very flattered. I mean, it's not every day a mom in her ripped pj pants and 3 days unwashed hair gets told she's marvelous. I was basking in this display of affection until I realized what was really meant.

P: Yup! Dad is I-O man and Stah-ee is Hah-guy. I'm Baa-man. (Then I think he Grrr-ed a little)

Me: Oh! We're super heroes. I'm Miss Marvel, Dad is Iron Man, Sock is Hawk Eye (although, to be honest I thought at first that Pencil had dubbed his brother Hot Guy, and I was a little worried) and Pencil had self labeled with 'Bat Man'.

Not quite as flattering, but, I guess you take what you can get.

Cy-cwops

DIY for beginners...

Begin: Garage sale TV Cabinet
Step 1: get the beast home... make quick trip to house to drop off back seat of the van and rearrange kids, cram giant thing into the back of said van and drive home with the hatch-back wide open (at about 5 miles-per-hour) wait for husband to get home because giant thing is too heavy and too wedged in the car to get out alone.
Wait 4 days to put back seat back into the van and complicate every driving trip in the mean-time.

Revealing

I know you've been waiting on tenterhooks for the reveal of this master bedroom project.
Well, let me tell you that I am officially exhausted, but the work was well worth it. I catch myself making excuses to be in my room, and it has nothing to do with a need for sleep!

So, without further ado....

*Teaser

We have been busy all day today!

 Our master bedroom is not yet complete, but here are a few clues to keep you guessing.