Nursery Update part 2

While the Nursery isn't totally complete, all the important stuff is in and ready to go :-)

Now we just need to hang some art, the mobile, curtains and put the stars on the ceiling.
I'll be sure to post again when everything is done - but since our little guy might arrive before then, I wanted to be sure the important stuff was ready to go! :-)

Basement Overflow.....

So this is what we started with. A mess on a table ;-)

Some of it moved around the corner with the 4-drawer file cabinet. 

Mostly art supplies.

My desk moved to the far wall and 

I took over some of the bookshelves for storage.

Matt's desk is now on the opposite wall instead of behind the sofa.

He's still hard at work on Grad school - but he's just about halfway through!!

I'm now at 36 weeks and can't wait to meet our little guy!

Nursery Update

Matt was able to take a week off in between grad school semesters which allowed us to finally get all the study furniture out (to the basement) and the nursery furniture put together! We are still working on getting everything set up but it's looking more and more like a nursery :-)

 The Pack n Play will most likely end up elsewhere in the house, 

but for now we are keeping all baby stuff in the nursery.

 Windows will have new curtains - fabric has been found and curtains are in progress! The pile of laundry on the floor is your dose of reality (LOL) it will be washed soon and put away in the dresser.

 Crib and 3-in-1 rocker! 

The rocker will also probably end up elsewhere in the house...

Dresser! Changing table set-up on top :-)

We still need to spackle and touch up the walls where pictures were hung before and then put up some new artwork. Stars will go on the ceiling as well as the hot air balloon mobile over the crib :-)

The last piece of big furniture is being delivered next week and I'm so excited to get it into the room and put all the final pieces together.

32 days and counting down until our little man's arrival!

Cleaning Out to make way for the Nursery

While we are waiting for the snow to melt, I've begun working on cleaning out my study on the second floor. It will be the Nursery come June :-)

Once again, I forgot to take before pictures, but here are some from it's current state and also the basements current state since that is where my study will be - the second floor will keep the guest room in preparation for grandparents and visitors.

 One of the bookcases will be staying but it's been cleaned out in prep for baby books, a few pictures and storage in the new white bins on th lower 3 shelves.

 That empty corner once held a 4-drawer file cabinet that has been moved out. I have to say that was one of the bigger projects as I had no idea how much stuff/junk/files it was holding! The cabinet is now in the basement with only the relevant items kept.

 The closet has been cleaned out and re-organized. The top shelf still holds some non-baby items but I'm trying to see if I can find a place for those too. The clothes in there are of all sizes and will most likely be gone through again to keep out only those that fit the little one when he arrives.... yes! we are having a boy! :-)

What happened to the second bookcase and all my books? Well, it moved to the guestroom behind the door! It was a perfect fit and thank goodness because I'm not sure where else it would have gone!

So this is the corner of the basement that is currently a holding area for my stuff until we get my study space set-up down there. Not all that pretty to look at, but I'm glad it's only 1 table and not 2 or 3!!

My current goal is to get everything moved to the correct floor (baby stuff to the Nursery, my study stuff to the basement) before I get too much bigger. Then items can move around to find their spots/homes from there.

What have you all been up to? :-)

To Do List 2015

Let's begin with a summary of items that have rolled over from year to year. Some of these we have decided we are not going to do, but here's the full list:

outdoor patio around bottom of deck stairs (moves grill off deck) - no longer happening
walkway from driveway around the lilacs to outdoor patio - no longer happening
living hedge border along far-side of the yard and down the driveway - started but incomplete
flowering shrubs on the inside of yard edge - no longer happening
backup generator for whole house - still a possibility but we are leaning towards no
air exchange unit for the house
new bulkhead for the basement exterior stairs
backyard shed - no longer happening
figure out garage storage
re-paint guestroom
continue clearing edges of yard
1 or 2 bonfires to clean-up yard waste and deadwood

If we take the above list and remove the items that are no longer going to happen, we have:

living hedge border along far-side of the yard and down the driveway - started but incomplete
air exchange unit for the house
new bulkhead for the basement exterior stairs
figure out garage storage
re-paint study which is now the guestroom
continue clearing edges of yard
1 or 2 bonfires to clean-up yard waste and deadwood

Now let's add a new project to the mix.... a nursery :-)

Needless to say, the list needs a bit of re-arranging! I'll fill you in more as we figure things out, but a lot of my absence over the past few months has been due to the ill-named morning sickness. I'm getting better but some days it's all I can do to get up, go to work, come home and eat dinner, so please pardon the sporadic posts!

Holiday Decor Wrap-up

Well this post is only a few weeks behind. sigh. I feel like 2015 is already getting away from me and it's not even two full weeks into the New Year! So, quick! before any more time flies by, here is a quick review of our holiday decorations this year :-)

Snowflake Tree - main colors where white and green this year

It was a lovely holiday season filled with family and friends and travel!

Holiday Decor Part 1

I am not as far along as I would like to be with our holiday decorations this year, but I thought I'd share what I currently have up!

We had a lovely little snow fall last night - just enough to freshen-up the yard and trees!

Fall in the Yard

I think being out in the yard in the fall is one of my all-time favorite things! The grass has slowed growing, most of the bugs are dead or dying, it's cooler so lugging around plants, dirt, mulch isn't as much work and the leaves are putting on a beautiful show! :-)

I came to the conclusion that the last 'lilac bush' wasn't really a bush at all this summer. It was a junk tree. I put off pulling it up thinking it would attract the japanese beetles that killed off my smallest dogwood tree this summer. I abhor those stupid things!

So I finally pulled it out and planted 2 containers of bulbs and 3 small bushes that were given to me as a few friends were cleaning out. Thus, the side garden against the garage went from looking like this:

to this:

 The new bush in a mini rhododendron

and this is where the 4 buckets of bulbs went. 

I might break down next spring a buy a more established lilac.

And the back raised garden bed - the last little one went from looking like this:

to this:

 whew! what a difference a few months make!

 I moved the 3rd NY Astor and planted another hydrangea.

It doesn't look so good right now, but there are green buds on it, so I'm going to give it some love, fertilizer and time and see if I can get it growing again :-)

Pictures I took this morning..... I love my backyard!