I'm a big kid now!

I had high hopes of the boys sharing a room when we moved to Schrallville. I thought for sure they would when we purchased the bunk beds. What kid doesn't love a bunk bed? 

My kid. That's who. 

Charlie has for months slept in the guest room. He claimed the guest room one night when they were being too rambunctious and we had to separate them. He apparently loved the double bed (mine from when I was a child) and has claimed it ever since. I tried and tried to ignore the inevitable but when he said "mom, is it in my room or Cole's room" I realized it was time. Time to give up the guest room and let it be his room. 

It was a little emotional for me. Partly because I was hoping a third child might join our family at some point and that would be their room. It could still happen but I decided I can't stop living our life for the "what ifs". In the meantime, we can fully utilize the spaces we have. After all, who knows what will come and I'm sure God already has a plan for that and I just don't know about it yet. 

The room started like this when we bought the house: 

Then we took the closet and flipped it in to the hallway so we could add a washer/dryer closet and we took the coat closet and flipped it in to this room's closet. You can see that here and here.  Perhaps having something to reference for scale will help...(that's our friend Todd laughing that he can't fit in the closet)

Then through time and paint it settled in to this: 

I used the curtains from the boys' room in our old house for color (which also inspired the paint color on the walls) and a mishmash of other furniture and bedding we already had. Truth be told this also turned in to our junk room. One small challenge in a smaller home is that you don't have a place to set your "stuff". You know, the Easter eggs you need to stuff or the fabric you need to use in a few days to make pillows. That kind've "stuff". So the guest room was it. 

On Sunday we finally rearranged the room (it wasn't the best use of space) and I used some curtains from our old bedroom. I loved the colorful ones but they were 8 inches too short and the fabric is discontinued. So in rearranging and making the most of what we had this is what I came up with...

We also lucked out - Hobby Lobby was having a huge sale on their metal artwork which was 100% boy. We snagged a few pieces and even let Charlie pick some out. He was super excited to get Spider Man and Batman (and so was his dad). 

I also bought a quilt, pillow and side rugs at Target, also on sale. The pillow shams are from Bed Bath and Beyond and incorporated all the colors in the room. I thought about buying the quilt to match but it was $130. Not something I could justify. The $20 one from Target. Much better on the 'ol purse strings! I was surprised that even the couch matched once it was all put together. 

Perhaps my favorite thing is that I had extra curtains and a rod so I hung it up in front of the closet to hide the winter clothes hanging in there. It's hard to tell but the curtains are a Nate Burkus design and are a grey/brown linen sheer that is also found in the couch and pillow shams. 

I still use the dresser, closet and night stands for storage. The boys get dressed in Cole's room and most of their toys fit better in there too. Charlie doesn't care. He loves that he has "his own room" even though he only really uses it for sleep. There is a basket of toys in here but they still prefer to play in the other room most of the time. Oh who am I kidding! They prefer to play with sticks, water, a large box or whatever else they can find outside most of the time!  

This room should be able to grow with him yet still be a place our guests can stay and not feel like they are sleeping in Toy Land (or on bunks!). I have to admit, it's nice to have it a bit more organized and functional. In time we'll add more artwork and other personal items so that it becomes more and more "Charlie's room."

What was Cole doing during all this time you ask? He apparently was walking around with my camera when I wasn't looking...

Anyone else have kid's rooms doubling as guest rooms? How did you handle it? 

Let's get close in the closet

Anyone ever feel like they LOST space after they moved to a BIGGER house? Somehow that happened to me in the form of closet space. Both houses were built between 1950-1954 and both had his and her closets. Somehow our his and her closets shrunk in the new house. Hello closet issues. 

I've managed to fit most of my things in my new closet but it was just not efficient. And you know me, I live on efficiency and organization in a small house. I just couldn't take THIS anymore: 

I mean how is a girl supposed to be inspired to look cute if it's all crammed in there like this!?  I kid you not I found a box of wallets and clutches when I started emptying this sucker for a makeover. I've searched for them practically since we moved in. They were buried deep. Deep. 

The picture above is actually after I cleared some things out as I started the project...

Oh and I should also mention it's after I donated a bunch of stuff when we moved in. I had a little "come one come all" Facebook post that offered extra shoes, bags and accessories to anyone who wanted to come by. I also donated all those clothes I haven't worn in over a year (OK let's say 2 years...one year seems so short). Plus after working from home for the past 3 years I don't need as many work clothes so no need to keep them. 

I of course enlisted the help of one Anna M. for this project. It killed two birds with one stone 1) kids could play together (all 5 of them) and 2) we had a fun project to tackle! 

Here's a little preview of my bedroom after we emptied the closet out. SCARY! Good thing Daniel wasn't home. This would have sent him over the edge. I can hear it now "Anna Schrall, see this is why you don't need another accessory! Is this going to be cleaned up before tonight? Oh, I gotta go." (or something along those lines)

sorry about the blur vision! Camera was in overload!

The first order of business was to raise the top shelf. I'm a tall person and the closet has tall ceilings. I needed to capture as much space as I could get. Then we moved the clothing rod back. It was placed in the center of the closet so there was all this space in the back being wasted. Here's me getting started with the tiniest screw driver while striking a pose. 

We realized that we didn't really have anything to hang our shelf so we searched outside. To be sure I had some spare wood from previous projects...oh wait. That would be at our old house. I haven't actually done any woodworking projects here yet. Hmmm...then Anna M had a brilliant idea. We used spare wooden stakes from the yard sale as our shelf ledges. Not pretty but it works! We at least put the pointed edges facing in so you don't see them (you can see them in the top right corner holding the shelf). 

The walls are plaster so it was a bit of a mess trying to pre-drill holes and then getting giant screws in the walls. Plus let's face it, the Anna's aren't much on measuring. We are more the "fly by the seat of our pants, eye ball it" kinda gals. Not going to lie...the first rod might have been a little crooked on our first attempt. At one point both of us are trying to stand on one small stool so we could put up the top shelf. If only we had someone to capture the picture! 

We tried to use as much of our old materials as possible. We took an extra board from the top shelf and turned it in to a fourth shelf for the side. Here I am using the circular saw to cut the notches to fit around the molding. (Anna M is standing on the board to hold it still...stand back. We're women with power tools and we're not afraid to use them!)

In the end, after I put back all my items and donated this stack...

I heard ANGELS SINGING! No seriously...I open my closet door and hear beautiful organizational angels singing each and every time. 

Here's the new and improved version (keep in mind it's small so pictures are hard to come by)...

Here's how we improved it: 

1. raised the top shelf to better use the height of the closet (used for baskets of small purses and other larger accessories)
2. moved back the top clothing rod and added another below it for more hanging ability
3. added an extra shelf, again to better use the height 
4. added a shelf underneath (removable) to hold the green cubes where I store flip flops and sandals, plus it's handy to put additional shoes underneath
5. moved the shoe rack to the other side so I can now use the top rack for boots (I put old magazines in them to keep them standing upright and they used to be underneath my bed)
6. added hooks to the top left to hold belts and larger hand bags

I'd say not too shabby to have done this in less than 2 hours while watching 5 kids and feeding them lunch! 

In case you're wondering, I organize my clothes by style (sweaters, jackets, sleeveless, etc) then by color so it's easy to coordinate outfits. I do my shoes the same way (wedges, boots, flats, etc)

Do you hear the organizational angels singing? 

Table of carbs, please! My first week seeing a nutritionist.

Enough is enough. I had a breakdown last Sunday when once again, my little bit of weight I've lost was gained again. You see, I’ve been on Weight Watchers for the past 8 weeks (online). Since they switched to the Points Plus Plan, I've never really been successful but was willing to try since it wasn't expensive. I used to do the “old plan” and lost 20+ lbs each time. I was determined that I needed to try and get this last 10lbs of baby weight off plus I had the camaraderie of two friends joining me. But after 8 weeks, I bounced up and down and in the end only lost .6 lbs. Yes, that’s point 6 pounds. As in not even a full pound.

I've come to accept my changed body after pregnancy. It only took me 2 years (I’m a slow in acceptance and learning in some areas). I’m not striving for skinny. I’m looking for a healthy weight and one where I’m comfortable with myself. I could stand to lose more than 10lbs but 10 is where I’d feel really good about myself and likely more maintainable. A “low size 12” as I call it. I already work out consistently (my husband is a wellness coach/trainer) so fitness isn't my problem. I knew it was diet.

So enough was enough. I finally decided to ask the nutritionist at the gym to help me. I knew my insulin resistance (I have poly-cystic ovary syndrome or PCOS) was having an effect and well…my age. Big difference between 34 and 38.

She graciously saw me quickly and gave me a general rule “If God didn't make it, you shouldn't be eating it.” Think about it…no processed foods, no breads, no sweets…wait. That was a lot of my diet. Apparently because of my PCOS/insulin resistance, my body hates me and fights against all efforts to lose weight. Super. So it will be doubly difficult for me to try and get this last 10lbs off. But it also felt good for someone to validate that PCOS is having an effect on my weight loss…well that and all the processed foods. Calories for me are very different than calories for someone without PCOS.

Armed with some recipes (that I wasn't so sure about) and general rules in addition to the “If God didn't make it, don’t eat it” rule, off I started immediately. My exercise goal was to be 30 minutes a day. Every Day.

Day 1: It’s not so bad. I was prepared for severe limitations in my diet. OK I know that’s not the outlook I’m supposed to have. I’m supposed to say “I was prepared for a HEALTHY lifestyle change” but if I’m real…its limitations. Well actually its denial. I don’t do well with limitations or denial, let’s face it. I eat well today but am not prepared because I need to hit the grocery store. I’m hungry. (1 hr of training at gym done)

Day 2: I still haven’t gone to the grocery store yet so I’m scrounging for food. Eating what fruit I can find (apples), cheese and deli meat. Sort’ve a Parisian Diet if you will. I’m grouchy. I walk by and the Easter dark chocolate eggs scream “EAT ME!”   I’m pretty sure they follow me around the kitchen tormenting me because everywhere I turn, I see them. When I open the pantry every processed food option starts vying for my attention “look how delicious I am!” – “no wait! Over here! I’m filled with all kinds of yumminess!” It’s. Torture. But at least I made it to the grocery store. I keep repeating “weight loss is more important than …weight loss is more important than ” But not so important that I don’t have a small martini. It was worth it.

Day 3: Second day of eating 2 hard-boiled eggs for breakfast (which I doctored with a little sour cream, salt and pepper). Not very satisfying but it holds me over. Feeling proud that I’m doing this. I can do this, right? Might be obsessing a little bit. I've told anyone who will listen that I’m seeing a nutritionist. My husband is a wee bit tired of it already. Or is he just tired of me being grouchy? I didn't feel as hungry today because I made kielbasa-bean soup and it tasted really good and kept me full. I also now have food in the house that I can eat. Tonight I broke down and made another martini. I needed it mentally. Oh and I ate three of those M&Ms that were stalking me. That’ll show ‘em! It fixed my craving for chocolate though and now I can have the discipline to forge on. (1 hr of training at gym done)

Day 4: I.cannot.eat.another.egg. I want to cry when I wake up thinking I have to eat another egg and I’m STARVING. Then I realize that I can eat oatmeal. I even put in a little brown sugar (whoops). Best oatmeal I've ever had. I have serious addiction issues. Addiction to processed foods, especially carb filled ones. I’m not making this up. I really feel like I’m in detox. If there was a Betty Ford Center for carb addictions, I should be checking in right now. My body is completely revolting against this new lifestyle. Cole (2.5 yrs) wants a bite of my oatmeal. My first instinct is to growl at him but I refrain. I’m his mother. I’m supposed to love and nurture. He wants more. Oh no! He wants more! Is there no stopping this child!? I manage to let him share with me without biting his little fingers as he eats each bite from my bowl. I feel better. Healthy carbs have stabilized me.   (I later learn I wasn't supposed to have the brown sugar and it was feeding my addiction. Honey or fruit would have been better. Not sure she knew my true mental state so maybe brown sugar was better!?)

I talked with my nutritionist too. She tells me I have 11 days until the detox is complete and the cravings subside. SEVEN (7!!!) more days to go. I give myself a pep talk…and look forward to popcorn. It’s all that’s getting me through the day. I’m counting down the minutes to see the movie tonight. Not because I want to see Noah or go on a date with my sweet, adorable husband but because I get popcorn for dinner. No, it’s not technically part of the nutritional plan but there’s nutrition to lose weight and there’s quality of life. I need this in order not to kill someone. Oh and the movie was awful…but the popcorn was heaven. (1 hour of training at gym done)

Day 5: I feel fantastic! Tons of energy – my cravings are less now that I’m in day 5 and I even feel inspired to go for 30 minutes of cardio after I spend all morning cleaning the house and watching the kids. Today is a good day!

Oh wait. I open a new box of Whonu chocolate chip cookies for the boys. The smell that transcends my nostrils overtakes me. I ate one. But man! was that a good cookie.

We go on a double date to a new restaurant. I’m prepared to have a salad, baked potato with limited toppings and a steak. I’m actually looking forward to it. Low and behold it doesn't work that way here (it’s the Cowboy Brazilian Steak House where they bring slabs of meat to your table). I check out their salad bar. Heaven. I see all kinds of foods I like and not just lettuce and toppings. In fact, it’s mostly not those items. I pile shrimp, cheese, olives, and artichoke hearts on to my plate. Plus I have a martini. Ahh. Great food – great company. Feeling better. And I’m stuffed…

I learned later that I felt so good today because of the extra calories from the popcorn last night. I need to increase my calories a little next week.

Day 6: I have a horrible headache. Day 5 was the only day I haven’t had a headache all week. See? I told you my body was in full detox mode. I decide to take a nap while the boys are down instead of workout after church. I’m just too exhausted and my head is killing me. I’m also making homemade marinara sauce minus the cream for dinner.

I skip the pasta tonight. The raviolis we cooked weren't very tasty and I realized not worth the processed food calories. Instead I opt for another Parisian Meal since it’s what I have on hand – olives, mozzarella cheese, salami and roasted red peppers. Meeting with the nutritionist tomorrow. I’m a little nervous. This week was hard. I mean HARD. And I wasn't the most pleasant person to be around. Please don’t let her be disappointed I ate M&Ms, popcorn and a cookie! Plus I weigh tomorrow.

Success!

I lost 1.8 lbs this week! 80% is probably water weight but I don’t care. Weight is weight. I also have a little more energy and feel much less “puffy”. Plus my nutritionist gave me goals that were realistic to work towards for next week. 

1. Eat less salt. (yeah, yeah, yeah. I gave up wine and sugar…salt was the least of my worries last week!)  
2. Eat ½ cup beans every day (hmmm…must think how I can do this. Need more recipes.)
3. Eat 3 fruits a day (Ok, almost doing that now)
4. Prepare my foods in advance. Food prep. Food prep. Food prep. Especially for lunches at home so I’m not tempted.
5. Increase my leafy greens, maybe in the form of a smoothie. (I think I can, I think I can!)

Week 2 here I come! 

(as I try to hold my head high and not think about carbs)

Updating A Shared Boys Room

Well folks I haven't posted in a while, mostly because I'm tired. Yep. I'm just plain tired. That's what happens when my real (and by real I mean paying) job overfloweth. Well that and raising two boys. Speaking of my boys, not long ago I updated their bedroom (yes, again). I believe in updating a room as the child grows through their phases. We had the nursery in our old house: 

And when we moved to the new house it has morphed. I haven't posted pictures of the boy's room in our new house because I had it painted in December and wanted to show off the new colors. If I were a dedicated blogger I would show you the actual stages. But I'm not that good. Or maybe I am in my head but it doesn't always get typed on a page. 

I'll tell you how it all transpired...we converted them to toddler beds when we first moved in September. Then we realized that Cole was the only one who would sleep in them. Charlie preferred the soft mattress in the guest room. I kept the other bed in there just in case we needed it. 

Then we had their room painted in December with stripes and it was starting to come together. I thought I might take a cute picture and post it then...until we got new mattresses given to us. Then it wasn't so pretty anymore. That's actually what motivated me to go ahead and get their new beds. I mean who turns down free twin mattresses? So that's when I started searching for bunk beds. I actually considered two twin beds but when I put down the twin mattresses where I thought beds could go - no bueno. There was NO room for the boys to play. So bunk beds it is. 

With kids in tow, Anna M and I went to a HOLE IN THE WALL furniture place called Furniture Barn (for any locals). It was a little sketchy from the outside but actually had plenty to choose from at great prices. I opted for new and a shaker style, solid wood bunk bed. Of course I hated the color but that was easily fixed with this: 

We (and by we I mean Anna M and I...Daniel prefers to stay out of all my home improvement shenanigans for the most part) painted it in her garage because of course Mother Nature refused to cooperate and I insisted it be blue. 

You can see the original color was a honey oak type finish. Not unattractive but I'm not a fan of that color wood. Plus I thought navy would match their bedding much better and coordinate with the wall colors. 

Note to all of you who decide to paint in a garage. Open the garage door more than a few inches. I *may* have sneezed blue for a while and had blue tinged hair. #lessonlearned

Probably not the smartest idea keeping the door barely open. I'm sure I inhaled a few carcinogens along the way. 

Once I put the first and what I thought would be the only coat of spray paint on I realized there were a few spots I missed. We took the bright work light and glanced over the pieces we had already done. Wowzers. Apparently there were more than a few spots that needed touching up. Note to always use excellent lighting. It can save you some time and headache. 

It finally dried and it was time to put it up in the boy's room. I consider this a massive accomplishment since it was just Anna M and myself...and 5 children who wanted to be Helpy Helpertons. 

And they were loads of help let me tell you...especially the blonds. They were banished to the hallway to "work with their tools" but they managed to sneak in from time to time. 

I'm not sure what Cole is chewing on but I wouldn't be surprised if it was one of the bolts we were searching for at one point. 

FINALLY! Several hours later, lunch fed, kids entertained and monitored, the bed was assembled and we were exhausted. It might have gone a little faster if we could have focused on the directions a little more intently (i.e. minus the blond distractions) and not had to take one entire side apart when we realized we put it together backwards. 

So without further ado, here's the boy's room now. Oh, and it includes a new bookshelf I bought for $20 at an estate sale the following weekend. Not the right color but it works for now. Disregard the race track in front of it. I was too lazy to tear it down for a "perfect shot". Keeping it real over here in Schrallville. 

I love that the stripes on the wall give it texture without competing for attention and distracting from the plaid Pottery Barn bedding. I love that on the Pottery Barn website they actually show the bedding on navy bunk beds. 

There are of course things still to happen like painting their toy chest, which I've waited to do when I got a better idea of the final room, and getting a bigger rug. But all in all, it's now a room they can grow in to. The best thing about the beds is that they also can be used separate if we ever wanted to take them apart. 

Charlie still prefers to sleep in the guest room (he's a little quirky like his dad) but Cole has claimed the bottom bunk (despite the picture). All in all, they love it and so do I. 

Who else has boy's rooms they've recently re-done? Send me pics!

Pax came for a visit

If you've followed the news, it's all over. The south was hit with not one but TWO snow storms in January (and counting?). Of course this week it's in the 70's.  It was only a few inches each time but let's face it. We don't know what to do in snow. Rain? We're good. Heat that will melt the make-up off your face in 1.2 seconds? Check. Humidity that will wilt even the most cemented of hair-do's? Got that covered too. 

Snow and ice...not so much. You can't blame us. We never (and I mean NEVER) see it around here. I've been in Columbia, SC for 8.5 years and have seen it 3x (including the two rounds this year). So pardon us if we get a little giddy (and panicked) when we hear it really is coming. 

The first snow hit a couple of weeks ago and it was true snow. They kept saying it would start mid-day...then late afternoon...well then it got dark. My boys (specifically Charlie) were so sad. But just before he went to bed...around 9pm that night because he apparently got in tp some form of crack I wasn't aware of and wouldn't settle down...it started to snow. Well so much for bedtime. Thankfully I didn't have anything scheduled the next day so I let them stay up and watch it fall for a little while. We woke up to this...

It was such a pretty soft white snow. The fun part was that Daniel didn't have to go in to work that day so we got to have a family day in the snow! The boys have never seen it before so this was super fun for them. 

Even the old man felt a little spry in the cold weather...

but that lasted a whopping 2 minutes and he was ready to rest again. 

Cole especially liked walking around in it and seeing his footprints.  So he wandered mostly...

Then there was the ice storm that hit last week. This time we knew to be prepared. Not because we just had it two weeks earlier but because Jim Cantore from the Weather Channel was in town. You know when he's in your city it's serious bid-ness. Sure enough, the sleet and freezing rain started early Tuesday. So much so that as soon as I was done with my workout, I had to go ahead and get the boys since schools were dismissing early. 

Our precipitation mainly hit overnight and all day on Wednesday in the form of sleet. The boys were very disappointed that we couldn't make snowballs this time around. Cole decided early Wednesday morning to go ahead and put on his too-small-for-me-toboggan and wear it around. You know, just in case we went out. 

Once it finally slowed down and I stopped work for an hour or so, we went out for a little family outing. The boys decided that the toy carrot from their kitchen set and the dust pan were fun items to bring out in the sleet. Random. 

 (did you notice how Stella the pug photo bombs almost all of our snow shots?)

Even the Cuban ventured out! She stayed with us during this storm for peace of mind. 

The outing lasted 20 minutes and then we went back inside. I to my work and everyone else became more and more stir crazy. What do you do when you're trapped inside with two toddlers for 3 days? Why arts and crafts! Literally it was the only novel thing I could find after play-doh, coloring and movies failed to entertain them. So we made fun Valentine's Day crafts. I literally was digging out all my stickers, cutting circles and ribbon and anything else I could make to glue on to paper. Milk and bread I bought. Arts and crafts I did not. Lesson learned. 

And when that was all done, we sat down for what else? Hot Chocolate. Putting the marshmallows in was a huge hit. Bet you can't tell that they enjoyed it...

It melted almost as fast as it came...most of it being cleared by Friday afternoon. Daniel got two whole days at home and the boys loved being able to stay at home an extra four days. It's so fun to create memories with your children. I cherish every moment that God gives me with these two cuties.