I think the yard is trying to kill me.

I don't think we really comprehended just how much work this house was going to be when we bought it. The yard is a challenge, mostly because of the slope, which we were expecting. However, I was so worried about the slope that I didn't really take in the shear size of the yard. The lot is almost an acre, though part of the back is wooded. There is a TON of flower beds around the house. I think we probably have about 10 times as much square footage of flower beds here as we did at our last house.

Those flower beds have been sorely neglected for the last 3 years that the house has been sitting on the market. The shrubs are way overgrown. There are weeds -- big behemoth sized weeds -- everywhere. The plants are still mostly builder grade (though some spots look like they were done remarkably well) and some are half dead. And the sprinkler system needs a good tune-up. Ugghhh...

So, earlier this week I decided that I CAN NOT STAND the status of my front flower bed -- the one along the house that everyone has to pass by to enter our front door. It was pitiful and not a welcoming sight. So, I spent an enormous amount of time and energy pulling EVERYTHING out. While I was at it, I pulled the ugly/half dead plants from the bed by the street/property line.

This morning, Jeremy announced that he wants to paint our screen porch next weekend (which also involves re-sealing the wood beam supports and railing on the deck below the screen porch). It really does need it very badly. The screen is ripped and torn and the porch is just filthy (we have a lovely spider infestation here). We can't easily reach the outside of the porch for cleaning, so we've been waiting until we could tear it apart completely. But, in order to do all that, we need to hack down the massively overgrown holly bushes that are around the bottom deck. They are so overgrown that you can't see the yard from the porch.

So, I spent the majority of the afternoon working on the front beds and the bushes around the porch. (Question: What kind of idiot does her inside projects in the morning when it is cool and then heads outside at 2:00 when it is getting good and hot?) I worked until my hands turned into useless claws, my hand trimmers were so dull that they couldn't cut through a leaf and I was so hot that I was dizzy. Ugh...I am exhausted. Though, it is that good exhausted -- the kind that leaves you feeling satisfied at the end of the day because you know you accomplished a lot.

The fun part of all of this is the new landscaping I get to put in. I have a laundry list of things I NEED to have in my yard: forsythia, tea olives, guara, roses (I'm going to try the knockout variety, as I've read that anyone can grow them), tulips, peonies and a host of other things! I can't wait to get it done and see how much better it looks! And, I'm trying something new this time. On Monday, I'm going to take a soil sample to the extension office for a soil test. I've never bothered to do this before, but the very helpful lady at the local nursery advised strongly that I do so before I began any planting. I usually have pretty good luck with my gardening without going to such measures, however I thought I'd give it a try and do it "by the books" this time.

Another one bites the dust...

I knocked another room off the painting list this week. The kids bathroom was very high on the to-do list because the thin layer of flat paint on the walls was just not adequate protection for the walls. I mean, really, the bathroom walls (and ceilings) often end up sopping wet at bath time still (thanks mostly to Lucy, as the boys have mostly figured out that they should not do canon balls in the bathtub). Plus, I hated the color. The paint the builder used has a peachy undertone to it. And, well, I don't like peach (no offense intended if you do, but I don't like it in my own house).

Here is the before:

Here is the after:

The color we used is in the color family we'll be using for the rest of the common areas of the house. I don't think the picture shows the color well, but it is a blue/gray. We'll be doing a shade lighter of this color in the kitchen, great rooms and halls. I'll be throwing this darker color and one two shades lighter around in the guest bath, laundry and office. The intent was to have a color on the walls that just hovers between blue and gray, hopefully looking a bit different depending on the lighting and causing people to stop and ask "is that blue or gray?".

I love this house, but one of my major complaints is the inconsistent use of finishes. The upstairs bathroom and satin nickel faucets, cabinet knobs and door hardware (as the rest of the house does), as well as a satin nickel shower curtain rod. The towel bars and light fixture were black. The half bath has "venetian bronze" finishes (which, is not the same as oil rubbed bronze and is really hard to find...that story to come later). The light fixtures in the entry and dining room (now office) were an antiqued brass. The master and great rooms have some sort of bronze. Most of the other ceiling fans are a rusty red metallic color, except the basement which has nickel colored fans. See the issue? NOTHING matches around here. I'm doing my best to tidy it up, but I'm also trying to salvage as much as possible. So, I replaced the shower curtain rod int he upstairs bath, hoping it would clean things up a bit. I think it worked, mostly because the rod seemed like it should match the towel bar (same shape, right?). If I need to, I'll replace the cabinet pulls, but as of now I think they look okay.

I found an extremely cute print that I want to get for the bathroom, but it is a lot more than I usually would spend on a decor item. I love it...it is cheeky and a bit irreverent, just like me. I'm still dithering over it, which is fine because the shop is currently closed.

I put the finishing touches on this yesterday afternoon...last night I tore apart the guest bath and this morning I tore apart the coat closet. There is no rest for the wicked around here...at least not until all 3200 square feet of this monstrocity is painted!

Reid's Room!

Reid's room was a lot of work to paint, but I'm very happy with the way it turned out (and so is Reid). I'll start by saying that I totally copied this idea for The Yellow Cape Cod. Where would I be without the help of the blogging world?

Here is the room today:

And this was our starting point:

The biggest lesson I learned from this project is this: NEVER use navy paint again, no matter how cute it will look. The navy required 4 coats of paint. The red required SIX, yes 6, coats of paint to cover adequately. I'm cringing just thinking about someday having to sand down the ridges that the stripes make.

I'm totally in love with the prints over Reid's bed, which I purchased from bexpert on Etsy. The prints feature the nautical flags and their definitions and I used them to spell out Reid's name.

The room has been done for a while now...I've just been waiting to get those prints hung before posting pictures (in fact, I'm almost done with the next room...the kids bathroom). I want to add some more nautical touches, but I'm in no rush and am willing to wait until the right things come up!

New beginnings for the kids!

Last Monday marked the beginning of the school year for Reid. I was extremely nervous (probably more so than last year). I'm not sure why, though I think the sheer size of the school unnerves me. It is at least twice the size of his school last year, which itself seemed huge in comparison with the schools I grew up in. Plus, his regular teacher is on maternity leave, so he'll have a sub until after Labor Day. He seems to be doing well and thoroughly enjoying himself. I'm mostly happy, but will wait until his regular teacher is there to make any final assessments. I am a little worried about him being bored...the reading materials they are sending home are WAY below his level.

Lucy & Ross had their first day of preschool yesterday. This is Lucy's first year going anywhere. It was really bittersweet. Part of me was ready to throw a massive party and the other part of me wanted to sit down and have a good cry. I ended up painting the ceiling in the kids bathroom instead. I have an admission here: I'm not a huge fan of the very young age group. I really do enjoy my kids more as they get older, though we are approaching the age where I would like to hit pause and keep everything as it is. Yesterday was wonderful taste of how much simpler life is getting (in some respects, anyway). It was nice to have time to tackle my to-do list while the kids weren't in the house, so that I could concentrate on them more when they were home. Next week I'm going to start working in the office a bit while the kids are all at school...so much is changing so fast!

Both the little ones liked their new school. Lucy was just happy to go and happy to be picked-up, which wasn't surprising. Ross, however, is pitching a fit because I won't enroll him 5 days a week (they are currently going 3 days a week). I wouldn't mind doing it, but I don't think he is ready....school really wipes him out and he is generally exhausted after going, so I don't think he can handle 5 days just yet.

Here are a few shots of the kiddos on their first day of school:

The little man's room!

I'm feeling a bit guilty, because in all honesty, Ross' room is nothing special. We painted it my favorite shade of green, which luckily matched the bedding we already had for his room (poor kid got the left over quilts from the last house). I do like his room, but it just isn't exciting...no architectural details, no exciting paint or color schemes (wait to you see what I did with Reid's room). And, on top of that, he did get the smallest bedroom in the house.

His closet was a monster to paint...I lovingly dubbed it "h!**" because it was so hot in there. It is a walk-in, though small, and has no vent. It also has a LOT of shelves, so it took as much time to paint the closet as to paint the room itself (maybe more). I'm pretty sure I'll be hiring out the re-painting of this room in 15 years. (A girl can dream, right?)

So, anyway, here is the room as it stands now:

And here is the way it was before all the green paint:

We're waiting on vinyl wall decal with his name, which will go above the nightstand. It still needs something, though, and I'm not sure what. Maybe curtains? A bulltetin board over the dresser? My wheels are turning, but not getting anywhere!

I should also mention that Ross took a pair of scissors to one of his quilts the week before I snapped this photo. My head almost exploded...I mean, seriously, I JUST painted the room to match the quilts. Luckily, I was able to patch it fairly well. If you look closely you can see the patch, but I doubt anyone would catch it in passing.

Finally...the girls room!

The girls room has been pretty much complete for a month now, but I just haven't had time to take pictures and post. I must say, I totally love this room! Lucy, however, says it isn't pink enough. What am I going to do with that girl?

Here is a little tour!

We integrated hooks into the board and batten. I'm really happy with the way these look and will be doing the same thing in our foyer (yep, more board and batten is on its way at Jeremy insistence, believe it or not).

The beds were a Craigslist find that I painted. I was going to attempt to do the same for the dressers, but couldn't find anything and, quite frankly, didn't have time to paint anything anyway. After our last kids furniture purchase -- a fairly nice set of solid wood furniture -- we decided that we'd rather go with economical (but what I really mean is cheap) furniture for the kids from now on. They really have put the good stuff through the ringer and it is rather dinged up. We ended up getting the dressers at IKEA and, so far, are pretty happy with them. And hopefully I won't mind the dents so much when they hit the cheap furniture!

The window seat really is my favorite part of the room. The vinyl wall cling is a quote from Audrey Hepburn, "happy girls are the prettiest", and is one of my favorites. I like that it says something deep (it's what your insides look like that matters, not your outsides), without being overly sentimental.

The ruffle pillows look great (though you probably couldn't pay me to make them again)!

I really wanted to put some fresh plants in the room, but I was afraid to, so I went with silk flowers instead. Maybe when all the kids are older I'll be brave enough to put a pot of dirt in the upstairs of my house.

The prints on the wall are Martin Luther's morning & evening prayers. I had them printed by an Etsy seller (Enduring Arts).

And, that is it for now. I'm on the hunt for some sparkly crystal lamps to put on one of the dressers, perhaps with some pink pompons on the lamp shade, but I'm in no rush now...I'm sure the room will continue to evolve!

Happy 15th Birthday, Hannah!

It seems hard to believe, but Hannah turned FIFTEEN today. Wow! I got to spend some time with her last weekend and we celebrated then with a special girls day out (lunch, shopping and Harry Potter, what could be better?).

We stopped and shot a few pictures at the park in Waterville...here are a few of my favorites:



I'm trying not to think about the fact that she'll have a drivers permit in 6 months...

And, that makes me think, have you heard the song "Teenage Daughters" by Martina McBride? I love it and so "get it". Google it if you haven't heard it...if you have (or have had) a teenage daughter then you'll probably enjoy it!