Parker the plumber, minus the butt...

Papa's right hand man was put to work again today in the continuing (but approaching finished!) bathroom remodel. The tub drain had a bit of a leak and a smaller hand (why don't you do this, Mom?!), but a strong one was needed to fit into the tight space to seal and tighten the connection. He learned a lot about righty-tighty/lefty-loosey and the difference between clockwise and counter-clockwise! He also wasn't thrilled with camera flashes, but since he was sitting in the closet with his arm in a tight spot, its not like he could get away =)

Bathroom day 2! (the one where Parker learns a trade)

I wasn't expecting Papa to return for more bathroom work until after the weekend, so I was VERY surprised to see his truck in the driveway when I got home from work today! Even MORE surprising was what he had Parker doing =)
Parker spread the goop, I laid the tile and Papa did the cutting where needed. It went pretty fast less one trip out to Menards for more tile (yes, we had measured!) and one brief discussion about whose blood was dripping onto the white tile (for the record, it was mine--cut finger).
You can also see that I got the last of the pink tile painted over!!! (and perhaps a small portion of the 5 year old boy that lives here) Next I'll get the floor ready for grouting and sealing! Making progress...

Bathroom remodel: day one....

The day has finally come! The upstair bathroom is getting its makeover =) When we bought this house, the bathrooms were NOT the selling features--HA! But we lived just fine with them the way they were. Both of them had/have plastic tiles on the walls (halfway up) and glass shower doors, which I HATE. A couple of years ago, my Dad put a new pedestal sink and tile floor in the downstairs bath, which was much more period to our house (the flooring was a nasty linoleum and the sink was a crappy "wooden" vanity).
Upstairs I painted the tile (and then did the downstairs!) and crappy wooden vanity and both shower doors were covered with a crisp white curtain.
But a leak somewhere under the potty (hate the word toilet, sorry) meant it was time to undertake another revamp. Tuesday night I got everything purchased and brought home and today Kurt and my Dad started. They got it gutted (goodbye vanity and tub and SHOWER DOORS!), the tub and drain are in place and all of the cement backer board is laid for the new tile that's to come!! Notice the pink tile that was behind the potty and sink!! I will be painting that to match before Papa comes back to tile!

Progress in Paxton's room!

Getting SO close to done!! Yes, I know, I need to get that top board on of my board and batten project. Just look past that, HA!
I hit Hobby Lobby on a couple of different days and got EVERYTHING for 50% off. (Just like Kohls', wait a week and what you like will go on sale!) I bought the USA license plate map, shelf, lamp, all of the wall signs and bank, photo frame and lightswitch cover. The cars on the wall of signs are actually photo frames. Paxton loves it all =)
Please excuse one small little brother on the bed!!

Truthful Thursday

WHEW! Tackled the closet. Too tired for many words, HA! Beckett helped me pull it all out. Guess who was NOWHERE to be found when it came time to put it back...

Truthful Thursday

How are those New Year's Resolutions coming along, you ask? Let's check!!
** I graduated!!!! DONE with nursing school!! Unless/until I decide to go back for a BSN degree....
** Sending out cards. Not so good. REALLY not so good. Gotta work on that...
** Keeping the checkbook register up-to-date. Sketchy. At best. Don't look right now...
** Decluttering/organizing. There's a box and 2 bags downstairs waiting to go to the Thrift store. A bag in the works for a co-worker, another bag almost ready to go to another co-worker's niece. Oh, the top shelf in our main closet got an overhaul. I've been wanting to find a basket that would work on the narrow shelf and finally hit paydirt at Target. AND, see all of those empty hangers? Yeah, eBay, baby! I listed a lot of items on eBay and all but 2 things sold. Loving a little extra bones in the account! Of course, the bottom of the closet is enough of a disaster to make one throw up in their mouth a little bit...

Truthful Thursday

Continuing with the New Years resolutions!!!!
The cabinet that holds the "tupperware" (not all of it is the namebrand, house-party variety!) got attacked over the weekend. Not that it needed it--HA! Whose doesn't, really? I returned all sorts of zip-loc containers to my MIL, the good news, by doing so our chances of them finding their way back here with yummies in them has greatly improved!! I got all of the lunchbox items coralled together in the green bin on the top and the lids to all the containers are neatly lined up in the other green bin. I am happy to say that EVERY bottom in this cabinet has a matching lid that fits =)
I have my checkbook register caught up!!! Simple, easy-peasy task right? You'd sure think so. You'd also wonder why its so stinking hard for me to do then!
I've been leaving more comments on blogs! Especially bento-type blogs =)
Decluttering continues!!!! I have been taking bags of stuff out on a very regular basis---to my coworkers, the thrift store and I've got another tub of things ready to go to consignment. Go me!!

Our patient wait-er

Back when the little boys got their separate rooms this Fall, Paxton got a new nightstand and dresser, Beckett did not =( He's been waiting so patiently and asking occasionally in an ever so sweet voice "have you gotten me a table yet"? Not that it's anything to write home about, but I grabbed a "some assembly required" piece of veneered-pressboard el cheapo nightstand to make him one happy little camper. He has spent a great deal of time choosing with great care what important belongings get to reside in the dark corners of the drawer and which books/DVD's will occupy the not-one-but-TWO shelves under that drawer. He has rearranged the lamp and clock countless times (although the combinations are not countless--HA!)
He was ready for bed by 5pm on assembly day, however his 5 year old little butt did not remain in bed at that hour =)

Dollar Store Decorating

For the most part anyway!! Our mantle is nothing to write home about, I actually do not like how much wall space our fireplace consumes and don't get me started on the knotty pine yuck that composes the face of it. But my husband loves himself a fireplace and I love him, so there you have it!
For the bulk of the year family photos and candles span the length on the mantle, but now that it's Christmas I thought I should play up what I've been handed right? Enter a trip to Dollar Tree and literally 30 minutes of time and what you see is what you get =) The glassware came from DT or Goodwill or was repurposed from elsewhere in the house. The green garland and ball ornaments I purchased after Xmas last year for 80% off. The Pottery Barn deer in the center is a gift I received a few seasons ago and the candle holders all came from Goodwill. Not that I can actually light them since they are tucked into the greenery (me thinks firefighter husband would NOT understand!)
It got a thumbs up from Arielle =)

Show Us Your life--Home Tour Bathrooms

The home tours are continued again, hosted by http://www.kellyskornerblog.com/ complete with lots of links to other bloggers. There was a week where guest rooms were the focus, but with 4 kids, there IS no guest room--HA!

So we are onto bathrooms. We have 2 here, one up and one down. They still carry traces of their 1940's post-war era design elements--some I can live with, some not so much!! The "tile" seems to be original (in quotes b/c it is a plastic-type of material, not at all what you think when someone says TILE). I recently painted the previous PINK wall tiles in the upstairs bath, along with the FUGLY wooden sink cabinetry that is currently there. I have to say it is a HUGE improvement, and I shouldn't have waited so long. You may notice bare bulbs in this bathroom--I need new light fixtures to flank the original medicine cabinet (there is a slot inside labeled "razor blades"!) so rather than put up the ugly ones after painting, they are bare. Both bathrooms have glass shower doors which I HATE, so they are covered with white cotton shower curtains.

Downstairs the room probably started as a powder room and at some point a stand-up shower stall was added, borrowing some room from the den next door. A couple of years ago my talented Dad took out the vinyl linoleum and laid white tile and replaced the FUGLY wooden sink cabinet with the pedestal sink that is more in line with what was most likely there to begin with. The "tile" here is yellow and now that I know how easy it is to change the look, I think this will be a summer project for me!!

Show us your Life--Home Tour Kids Rooms

And for my final link up with Kelly and her blog-hopping party of nursery/kids rooms. This would be Beckett's room--all to himself now that Paxton has moved next door. And, yes, I know--it needs a little TLC! The sage-y green walls are from way back when Paxton had this room as his nursery. Once he was moving to a big boy bed and the crib was going to be repurposed for Beckett, I went shopping for bedding and got a major score when I found the Eddie Bauer Bedtime Bears line for the twin bed AND all of the crib pieces as well as lamps, nightlight, stuffed bears, rugs, clock, curtains AND wall decorations. And Lady Luck was in a good mood later on when it was time to transition Beckett into a big boy bed as well because I found duplicates of everything I needed from the same line again on Ebay. Two quilts, 2 comforters, 2 regular sheet sets, 2 flannel sheet sets (VERY important in WI!!) and 2 shams. WHEW!

I am still loving the bedding, but the walls could use freshening and I will probably pull a color out of the fabric to do this with--lots of possibilities in there. He also needs a nightstand, which I am on the lookout for and he needs some wall decoration as well. After nursing school is behind me I plan to tackle these little projects =)

Show us your Life--Home Tour Kids Rooms

This is part 2 of my Home Tour of Nurseries/Kids' Rooms as hosted by Kelly in her weekly blog-hopping linky party! I can't fit a million pictures into a post (even though I've been directed HOW to do that, just need to DO it!) We're just moving on down the hall to Paxton's room. The 2 little boys shared a room until recently when Arielle moved to an apartment and Paxton moved in. I still have work to do in there, some of it I know exactly how it will be, the rest--not so much!

I did the board and batten project all by myself =) If you look closely, you can see how I need to get that final trim piece up at the top!! He also needs more on the walls than just his name above his bed--HA! The train table is a pivotal piece since he is our little train junkie! (although, truth be told, most of the time he hauls the bulk of it down to the living room and sets up elaborate pathways for us to walk over!) I KNEW I wanted chocolate and white for the walls and then went bedding shopping--you know, the exact opposite of how you're supposed to do it! But it worked out, I found the bedding at Kohl's and NOW see that there are matching curtains too--still thinking about switching those out. He loves his new room =)

Show us your Life--Home Tour, "Nursery"

Note the quotes--HA! We've outgrown nurseries here, but that's whats on the tour over at Kelly's so we're doing the best we can =) Actually, I'll spread this out over the weekend since I have 3 boys rooms to display!! First up I'll do Parker's room. I've showed bits and pieces over a few other posts, but since we're linking up, you get to see it again =) His bed and nightstand were actually my Mom's many years ago! Obviously, he's got a little love for the game of golf. He's got logo golf balls from courses that he's played displayed over his bed (minus a few since he's been known to forget to buy a ball when he's on a new course sometimes!!), his varsity letter with medals on another wall, golf ball-shaped photo frames and metal golf sculptures on a shelf and a complete set of clubs hanging on another wall! The window toppers are "threaded" onto golf clubs as well. The "stuff" kind of hodgepodge on his bookshelf and nightstand are the accroutaments of a 16 year old boy!!

Thanks for peeking---Paxton and Beckett's rooms will follow!