Could this weekend have been any busier? - Part 1

Despite already having plans for the weekend, my nesting instincts took over and Craig knew this was the best shot at doing some of the bigger projects that I NEEDED done.

The kid's room had needed repainting for a while because all the moving of shelves and beds had left a number of patches. When I patched the walls, I thought we had the leftover paint to touch up but then I couldn't find it. A year later I said, enough is enough, just paint the walls white.

Since we had to move all the furniture anyway, we might as well replace the carpet since it really needed it too. And that is how, for third pregnancy in a row, I found myself putting down some kind of tile.

Carpet Tile with Baby #4

Breezeway Tile with Norah inside

Kitchen Backsplash with Jonah inside.

I promise I don't do this on purpose! But carpet tile is by far the easiest of these three so if you too feel the need to tile in late pregnancy, chose that option.

Here is the room, mostly done. Here's the view from the door. I promised the kid's that we could add some sort of decal and I think I've convinced them to go with multi-colored polka dots (like this). I also want to get some chalkboard labels for the small toy storage bin and now that Jonah is gone (I'll get to that in a second), we have less legos and more room for one more stuffed animal/doll bin in the 4x4 Kallax at the end of the bed. Norah loves baby dolls and right now, they only fit if we really shove them in there which always makes me feel sorta bad.

We keep all three kids in the wardrobe Craig built 6 years ago. It's still going strong! Our master bedroom closet space is ridiculously small so Craig uses the one in here which is actually bigger. I do keep the kids pajamas and undies in the bathroom since that is where they get used and a few of the girls special dresses in my closet so Norah doesn't insist on wearing them to play in the mud but this holds everything else. It really helps me stick to my goal of a minimalist kid wardrobe but it holds plenty. 

Lucy's still working on putting her space back together with all her favorite art work hung up. 

Under her loft was where Jonah's mattress used to be. Now that he doesn't need it, they've got a bit more floor space to play. I might add some twinkle lights to the ceiling so its not so dark down there. It's a small room but it does it's job well.  

While the room was drying and the carpet was being laid down, the big kids slept in the guestroom downstairs. The plan was always for this to be a kid room eventually but so far we haven't had any luck convincing Lucy to move down there. She doesn't dislike that room or the idea of the basement, she just really loves her loft bed and didn't want to leave it behind. And after two nights down there, she was ready to come back. Jonah, on the other hand, loved it down there and kept asking if he could stay. So we decided to let him. I really thought that 10 minutes after the first bedtime with him down there by himself, he would be dragging his blanket and water back up saying he changed his mind but its been a couple nights and he still loves it.

It was already decorated with a London/English theme that I think works well for a little boy so not much needs to change. I mean, it's come a long way since this. I've got to figure out how to cover up the electrical panel so its a little less tempting to a mischievous boy. The two beds and nightstand were a hand me down from my dad when he downsized and they are a bit big for the space but nice quality so they'll stay for now.

All I've really got to do is make some room in the "curriculum library" for Jonah's lego collection. Those are the only toys he will be keeping in here. Well, that and all his random boy treasures like rocks and the metal lid he found in the backyard and the pipe cleaner/cardboard thing he made and the broken flashlight he won't throw away. You know, those very important things. So some of the books most go. I guess I'll just record what I have and box up the later years. It hurts a bit but there really isn't a legitimate reason why my high school literature and science books need to be easily accessible. 

Unorganized boy treasures. Hopefully will be organized soon.

It does have what he most wants - a big enough floor space for lying down and building Legos. He's a simple man with simple needs. 

In theory I could move his clothes down there into the closet system which is mostly empty (it holds a few extra blankets right now but all four drawers and the hanging rack are empty) but he tends to be a bit of a dawdler when it comes to morning chores so I think having him where I can easily see and verbally remind him to keep going will be a necessity for another little while. So the move was pretty simple. We'll see if it sticks!