I decided a couple of months ago that it was time to give Mia some chores around the house. After putting it out there on Facebook, I realized that majority of my readers already had their young kids doing chores and I was way behind! I knew we needed to start teaching her some responsibility (and of course, I could use some help around the house, too), and I was hoping that chores would help her gain confidence in her abilities and even help out with some behavioral issues.
When we moved to Colorado, we downsized our backyard from a giant yard and patio with plenty of potential disasters for kids to a small backyard patio about 1/4 the size. It’s completely fenced in and I can see out to it from two large windows in the living room; which means I can send the kids out to play while I get some stuff done inside without having to worry about them. *Pause for a huge sigh of happy relief*
I searched the web to find ways to babyproof our odd banisters and stairs, because conventional baby gates weren’t working and the previous tenants had come up with some really unattractive options.
That’s what led to these red baby gates that I made from a $30 door purchased at Home Depot.
Moving into a new place is a pain in the a**, but it can also be really fun when it comes to decorating. So far I haven’t hung anything on the walls because I have wall-commitment phobia.
I am a crazy wall display person; blank walls drive me nuts and something about stuff on the walls makes a house feel like home. So I’ve been desperately trying to figure out what to hang where, but refusing to commit to anything in particular. Thus, the walls have remained blank. This past weekend I decided it was time to get my butt in gear and hang SOMETHING, so I started in Mia’s room.
A couple of weeks ago, I let you guys know about some of the stylish baby proofing options I had come across and was trying to implement in our new place. We have two sets of stairs (one going up to the 3rd floor and one going down to the basement), and because of our railings and large banisters, the pressure gates weren’t fitting or staying put.
This is the first time we’ve lived someplace with stairs. I love that the kids sleep upstairs and we no longer have to tiptoe around the house during naps and post bedtime, but I hate that the kids are OBSESSED with climbing up and down them. I am also totally neurotic and afraid they will fall down to their deaths… but that’s another story of paranoia.
Well I guess it’s time to return to normal life. After a long week of moving out, traveling, and moving in, we are finally settling in and life is gaining back some sense of normalcy. Yesterday was the first time in a couple of weeks that I washed and folded laundry and it almost felt foreign to me (not that I’m complaining about two weeks without laundry).
It’s been awfully quiet here this week, but rest assured – I am still alive.
It’s been a whirlwind of a weekend/week on our journey to move to Colorado (if you follow me on Instagram, you’ve probably seen pictoral evidence that I’m still alive – at least there’s always time for posting photos!).
Saturday= packing, going away party
Sunday= packing up trailer, moving into mom & dad’s house
Monday= cleaning rental, finishing packing trailer, trailer picked up, spa and dinner with girlfriends
Tuesday= finish cleaning rental, catch up on some work, stop to say goodbye to close friends, dinner with parents-in-law
Wednesday= husband leaves for long solo drive to CO (he has already arrived safely), pick up dad at airport who is returning from vacation, more work catch up
We’ve always had this huge empty space on the wall above our stove/oven, and for the last 3 years it’s housed only a simple rack from Ikea to hold our frying pans. Aside from it being an eyesore, it’s also a waste of space. Since our kitchen is tiny, I would love to build some open shelving to supplement our lack of cupboard space; but because we rent, I can’t.
I took some time this weekend to revamp the gallery wall in my living room and prep it for Valentine’s Day. The project included creating some new art, sewing a felt heart, drawing on glass with a dry erase marker, and whipping up some new embroidery hoop art. All in a day’s work (or two…). Here’s the result:
