The Nursery Update

Well here's some photos of the nursery!

[gallery type="square" ids="663,664,665,666,667,668,669,670,671,672,673,674,675,676,677"]

There's basically noooo natural light in there (or anywhere else in the house for that matter). And yes, I may have already put up a mini Christmas tree.

This past weekend was pretty eventful. One of my childhood BFFs that I grew up next door to came down with her hubby to work on the electrical needs of our house. That includes changing out all the old 2 prong outlets for 3 prongs, some basic maintenance on several spots that have wires just hanging out of the wall, and installing some new light fixtures. Sounds like a pretty tame job....... until you realize the house might have been wired by a small child... or possibly a scurry of squirrels. I can't even begin to tell you all the issues that came up. The most excellent news is that ALL the outlets have been changed out AND the outlet in the nursery bathroom works.. (just as long as you have the hall lights on......Yeah...told you there were some issues). Brandon also got the nursery fan up, thank goodness, because that caused some issues that Cory and I probably couldn't resolve on our own. It was about 11pm when they left last night for their 2 hour drive back home. It was a very long hard-working weekend for them and I couldn't be more thankful that they were here.

And now we're down to less than 2 weeks til our due date, WHOA! This week will be rather busy and next week looks like it's going to be very not busy. We have a doula visit this evening, prenatal massage tomorrow night {YES!}, doctor's appointment Wednesday afternoon, and a work event I've been planning and have to oversee on Wednesday night.

Here's to hoping the next couple of weeks don't drag by very slowly. I'm very much looking forward to sleeping on my back again.

Revisiting The Pre-Baby Bucket List

One of my first posts consisted of a pre-baby bucket list for home improvements. Now that we're a measly 5ish weeks from our due date, I think it's time to revisit that list and see what we've accomplished.

• Remodel Master Bathroom – They're finishing this one up today! It looks great and I'm going to be so happy to have a bathtub in the house. The vanity and toilet are our responsibility, but they're ready to go in the garage.

• Finish the Remodel of the Guest Bathroom – Well, what we thought was going to be a quick clean up and 10 sq ft tile job has pretty much turned into another remodel. When I showed the room to our tile guy the words that came out of his mouth were "That's probably the worst thing I've ever seen." Luckily it's just a tiled shower and not a cast iron tub like our master bathroom.

• Landscaping – Partially done. Cory has done a lovely job of ripping most everything out and trimming, but there's still some left to do.

• Critter Removal and Blockage – Ah.. nope. Didn't quite get there unfortunately.

• Rewiring – Don't get me started on that one.... We're not actually going to be completely rewiring, thank goodness. But I just don't see it actually happening before Baby Colette gets here. Which is a shame because we've got lights and fans that need installation and a few exposed wires that probably need to be removed.

• Find a New Home for the Office – Check!

• Hang Smoke Detectors – Got a new box of detectors from my mom a while back, still need to get them up.

• Clean Out and Organize the Garage – Thanks to my family for that one. We got everything out and cleaned. Of course, that was a few months ago and we have since found a way to fill it back up. The good news is that we're getting a new garage door so we can actually park a car in there one day.

• Clean Out and Organize Everything Else – I think this is probably a lifelong project, but I have managed to get most everything put away in an orderly fashion.

• BURN THE BURN PILE – Got that done too.

• Hang New Eaves Around the Porch – Not there yet either. One day.

• New Doors – Didn't think this was a big deal at first. But unfortunately one of our doors has taken a turn for the worse. We can't even open it. It somehow collected a ton of moisture. Oops.

• The Nursery – I'm so close! The big thing left is hanging the new fan and pendant lights... And we need to paint/hang the mirror and wall art. I also need a white bookcase.

I'm fairly content with the progress. The only thing I'd really like done (yesterday) is the electrical, but there isn't a whole lot I can do about that.

In the realm of baby things, I think we're officially covered in the most important things. We had our baby shower with Cory's family and friends last weekend and it was most excellent! It was beautiful as well as delicious. (Let's take a moment for a little self-loathing because I definitely forgot my camera...)

Carseat and stroller: Check!

Baby Bedding: Check!

BOPPY: CHECK! (Love a good boppy..)

Diapers: Well... we have at least a solid week's worth.

Pack n Play: Check!

Diaper Bag: Check! (Not here yet, but it has been ordered!)

I'm very thankful for everything that everyone has done for Cory, me, and Baby Colette. Who knew anyone could be so blessed with such an outpouring of support and love.

I know I had some other things I was going to write about, but it seems they've all slipped my mind. Oh well! Hope everyone has a lovely weekend!

Nursery Business Time

I'm uber happy to report that Baby Colette's nursery has been painted. Many thanks to my husband and his mom for working on it yesterday! We haven't set the room up yet, and I would rather wait and take pictures when it's all put together, but here are a couple of sneak peaks.

These are just quick snap shots. It's a very dark room, so it wasn't easy to get an accurate shot of the wall color. It's a bit darker and a bit greener than this.

[caption id="attachment_440" align="aligncenter" width="560"] Wall Color: Behr - Dill Seed[/caption][caption id="attachment_441" align="aligncenter" width="560"] Wall Color: Behr - Dill Seed[/caption]

 

Now I'm into thinking about the layout of the room. Trying to picture it in my mind is terrible because I'm not very good with scale. So I went to the Pottery Barn website and used their Room Planner tool which was pretty helpful. Here's what I've come up with so far:

[caption id="attachment_443" align="aligncenter" width="488"] Preliminary Nursery Layout[/caption]

Lots of lights! Originally I was going to put the mini chandelier between the two pendant lights above the double dresser, but I think it would probably look better hanging above the crib. Haven't decided on a chandelier yet but here's what I have in mind:

[caption id="attachment_444" align="aligncenter" width="560"] thebellacottage.com[/caption][caption id="attachment_445" align="aligncenter" width="320"] overstock.com[/caption]

 

I did pick out the pendant lights over the weekend. (And a new ceiling fan/light fixture!) Here's the shade that goes over the pendant:

[caption id="attachment_446" align="aligncenter" width="560"] 5'' Crystal Pendant Shade - Lowes[/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_447" align="aligncenter" width="560"] Full Pendant Light[/caption]

As for crib bedding, I found some things that I like at Cottage and Cabin on Etsy. She makes some really beautiful and simple things. I requested some fabric swatches that should be here in a couple of days. If I do decide to go with Cottage and Cabin, I'll have to decide pretty quickly! Orders being taken now are for October shipping dates! *insert panicked emoticon here*

 

In other news, we leave for the beach in 5 days. Hooray!

Nursery Furniture

So we have all the furniture for the nursery now! (Erm. Except that glider I'd like to have...) It hasn't been set up yet because we still have to get it painted, but I thought I would post some stock images of it.

It's Baby Caché, Style: Montana, Color: Driftwood.

[caption id="attachment_418" align="aligncenter" width="497"] Baby Cache, Montana, Driftwood[/caption]

 

I think it will look really nice with the color we chose for the walls. You can purchase Baby Caché fron any ToysRus or BabiesRus. We got the pieces shown plus a nightstand. They also have a hutch available, but I opted not to get it. I think I would rather have some floating shelves instead.

 

We'll also be putting in some new lighting in the nursery. It's very dark in there as the large window actually only looks out into the garage. I'd like to do something similar to this:

[caption id="attachment_419" align="aligncenter" width="427"] Lighting Ideas[/caption]

 

Now, as much as I would like to have that chandelier, our ceiling is a bit too low... and I'd like to keep a ceiling fan in there.. So we'll probably just go with a neutral fan/light combo, and possibly some mini pendant lights over the dresser/changing table area. We'll see.

 

That's all for now! Baby registry list and a couple of other topic to come in the next week or so!

Pre-Baby Bucket List

The time has come to get all of our ducks in a row. And by ducks in a row, I mean a list of all the things that need to be done around the house before Baby Taylor arrives in November. Most of these things have been on the list since we moved in almost exactly one year ago, but now it's time to hop to it.

And here it is:

• Remodel Master Bathroom - Time to say goodbye to the blue tub and toilet, the faded old linoleum, and the popcorn walls.

• Finish the Remodel of the Guest Bathroom - The shower has been re-tiled, but they left the grout haze which is seemingly impossible to remove. And the small space outside the shower needs to be tiled. And the walls need a splash of paint.

• Landscaping - The monkey grass is out of control. All the beds around the house need to be cleaned out and the hedges need to be trimmed.

• Critter Removal and Blockage - Squirrels, groundhogs, squirrels, raccoons, an army of squirrels... You name it and it probably lives in our attic or crawl space. It's a bit unnerving to be sitting in the office and hear scratching and jumping above you.

• Rewiring - We live in a very old house. We have one three-pronged outlet. Yes, I said one. And, let's be honest, almost everything electronic in this house has three prongs. Not to mention the wiring itself is old and probably half-eaten by the critters mentioned above.

• Find a New Home for the Office - Ahh. I spend more than half of everyday in the office because I work from home. Unfortunately the office is the closest room to the master bedroom and is really the only nursery option. But where to put all of our work stations?! We need to keep the other guest rooms open because we like to have company over. I've been tempted to put my office in my newly remodeled studio but with that comes the need for new windows and some way to heat and cool out there. Something to look into and ponder.

• Hang Smoke Detectors - I didn't even realize we didn't have any up until my mom asked me if I needed any. I have one up now, but need to get the rest up.

• Clean Out and Organize the Garage - Certainly not an easy feat. So much furniture and junk. Of course, I say junk, but as I'm a bit of a hoarder, it's all junk I want to keep. Somewhere along the lines I have to rid myself of that mentality and purge.

• Clean Out and Organize Everything Else - Closet spaces and such in the house. Must buy more plastic bins so I can store more things in the attic. Or maybe I just throw everything into the burn pile out side and get rid of it that way. :)

• BURN THE BURN PILE - It's more of a mountain of collected limbs and branches that have fallen over the last few years. It's huge. And it's probably home to a billion snakes. But the key to getting it all burned... is doing it without burning down the well house simultaneously.

• Hang New Eaves Around the Porch - Our front porch is being destroyed by boaring bees. Time for them to find a new home. Not to mention they interrupt my front porch swinging time.

• New Doors - It's possibly time to update a couple of our flimsy doors.

And last but certainly not least,

• The Nursery - It needs new paint, furniture, and of course, Baby Taylor.

That is a huge, and quite ambitious list we have there. And it's a big list of thing I really can't do myself. (Except the smoke detectors... totally got that one.) But alas, it's in writing now. If you're interested in helping, let me know ;)