Isaac's Big Boy Room

As promised, here are all the details for Isaac's new toddler room!  Here is his nursery post for comparison.

It was a HUGE goal for me to have Isaac moved over and transitioned to his new room before baby #2 arrived. Jordan and I decided months ago that Isaac would move out of the nursery and occupy our then-guest room. We already had furniture in there, so not only would we save by using our existing full size bed and dresser, but then we didn't need to purchase a new crib. Luckily, we didn't even need to change the paint color!

As a side note, I had to search high & low for the paint color names for this room, because apparently, when we painted it 5.5 years ago, I was a terrible blogger and didnt include that in ANY of my home reno blogs. Shame on me. 

So my entire inspiration for Isaac's big boy room was to re-use as much of his nursery gear as possible. His crib sheets weren't particularly babyish and I adore all the little bits and pieces that decorated his nursery. I wasn't ready to turn all of those things over to the attic, so I worked with as much as I could. Not only was there the convenience factor, but Isaac has really grown to identify with the things in his room as being "his." If I could ease his transition from baby to boy by using familiar items in his new room, why in the world wouldn't I try to incorporate it??

My favorite item of his room BY FAR is his quilt. Rewind about 2 months and I'm holding 2 crib sheets, the crib skirt, and bumper wondering how I could recycle these items. (Unfortunately, I still haven't figured out what to do with that bumper.) I mentioned this to a sweet woman at my church, who scooped up the crib sheets and skirt and completely took on the task of transforming them into a quilt for my baby's bed. She oversaw every stitch, helped me pick out every coordinating fabric, and blessed my pants off by paying for every inch. Then (as if that weren't enough), she surprised me with coordinating pillow cases and a monogrammed throw pillow! I just can't even describe how much this all meant to me.

There is no significance to the numbers 5, 6, and 7 on the wall there. I liked the colors and I only had 3 frames. I have prints for the remaining numbers 1-10, so maybe I can find a way to incorporate the rest without breaking the bank buying 7 more frames. I'd also like to change the drawer pulls on the dresser... hello 1991.

All in all, I feel like Isaac's new room is a perfect little sanctuary for my growing boy. He LOVES it, and I couldn't be happier with the way things have come together. I love the colors, and I think it's still a sweet-yet-boyish room. Excluding the few new accent items I purchased, his entire room was done for pennies. It has been a major success and I hope he loves it for years to come!

Details:  Furniture: Old hodgepodge of mismatched hand-me-downs. Wall Color: Bungalow Beige and Plantation Brown by Sherwin Williams. Bed Rails: Amazon. Quilt, pillows: Handmade (find the crib bedding and blanket/pillow pictured in the chair at Pottery Barn Kids). Crib Skirt: Pottery Barn Factory Outlet. Wall Art: Handmade by Laura. Curtains: Land of nod. Wall Frames: HomeGoods, At Home (aka: Garden Ridge), Hobby Lobby. Metal Wall Accents: Kirklands from about 8 years ago. Prints: Zulily, Etsy. Book holder: Gift from a friend (modeled after this). Basket: World Market. Blankets: Homemade gifts. Dresser frame: Mud-pie. Side table Lamp: Marshall's. "I": At Home. Round Mirrors: Hobby Lobby

Rough around the edges

It's been 10 days since Jordan and I started our daily household chores and overall, I think we're both really pleased with the way things have been going. It seems backwards, because everyday I'm cleaning something, but I feel like I have more time in the day to do things with Isaac or for myself. I can take a nap or watch TV or blog without feeling guilty for choosing to relax instead of straighten up. I've had time to re-incorporate running and exercise into my weekly routine. The house is probably the cleanest it's been in at least a year (more than likely longer than that). The chores have all repeated themselves at least once or twice and things have become easier and easier to accomplish throughout the day. Shockingly, it took me only 10 minutes to fold and put away a single basket of laundry... as opposed to the hour it typically takes me to fold and put away about 4 overflowing baskets.

That 10 minutes included folding a king-size fitted sheet.

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All in all, I'm thinking that we'll stick with this plan for a while (hopefully). In addition to finally growing up and becoming an adult in regards to housework, there are some other changes underfoot. My husband has started getting up an hour earlier each day to exercise, read, and eat breakfast before going in to work. I'd love to say that I join him when his alarm goes off at 6am, but I am still too attached to my warm bed and fluffy pillow. Secretly, it's a goal I have for myself, but the laziness in me has won out each morning. Until I can force myself up, I'll groggily cheer from the sidelines. For now, I'm just thrilled beyond words to be freed from the stress of a cluttered house.

It doesn't take long to realize that having a child makes life messy. While the literal spaghetti-in-the-hair messy certainly applies, I'm more so referencing the I-dont-have-it-all-together kinda messy.  And I'm FAR from a perfect mama. In fact, the longer I'm a parent, the more messy and imperfect things begin to look. Like when I was at my wits end a few weeks ago dealing with a sick and teething child who was too tired and cranky to nap. I may or may not have laid him down and turned on the vacuum cleaner to drown out his wailing. Or that time I was out of the house and had forgotten my nursing cover or a blanket and instead used a shopping cart cover to conceal my breastfeeding son (and my boob) while eating lunch at Chick-fil-A. Howabout when I forgot to pack something for Isaac to eat for dinner and ended up feeding him a ritz cracker and half a carton of diet yogurt. Just last week, I was too lazy to dig Isaac's toothbrush out of my overnight bag and instead wiped his teeth down with the washcloth I'd bathed him with.

I'd just like to point out that Isaac is still a healthy and happy child despite all of my recent less-than-stellar choices.

It's just kind of incredible how parenthood becomes this giant spotlight or great big magnifying glass of all of your most ugly tendencies. Selfishness. Impatience. Jealousy. Stubbornness. Anger. If I thought I had a handle on these emotions before, well now they stare me in the face day after day. When life revolves around caring for a child that has no ability to care for himself, selfishness must take a backseat. (even though most days I still just want to do what I want to do.) Patience is tested to its absolute limits on those afternoons of endless crying. Jealousy becomes ugly and comparison steals all joy. I dig my stubborn heels in and fight back against unconquerable battles. Frustrations turn to anger and before you know it, I'm throwing a book across the room and calling my husband to come home and rescue me.

Wow. I can see clearly now how wretched I truly am.

And how desperately I need a Savior. 

A great, big, powerful, love-me-harder-than-I-know God who can pick me up when I am on my knees. The One who reminds me that parenting my son is my greatest calling and is quick to extend grace to a tired mama. The One who has promised that life wouldn't be easy. The One who speaks and reveals Himself through my baby's giggles. In a moment, my heart fills with love and I can't help but smile, hug, and kiss my precious boy. My strength is renewed for a moment and the marathon continues.

Putting Things Together

Wow, I got so many sweet comments and encouraging notes from you awesome blogfollowers in the wake of my last post. It was a needed boost and I appreciate every single one of you (except the one person who decided it was a good time to jump ship... #doomonyou).

After spending a few days feeling sorry for myself, I knew something needed to change in order to make some forward progress. I'd neverevernever call myself an organized person, and if you saw my purse, car, or one of 3 junk drawers, you'd totally agree... BUT! I realized quickly that in order to save myself a little sanity in the long run, I'd need to brush off the uncoordinated and embrace some structure. As a side note: at work, I'm OCD to a fault. I think most nurses tend to be. We're superstitious creatures, always believing that the pregnant-lady-bus will only make a stop at our hospital when we're the least ready. Murphy's law is real and alive, which means preparedness is next to godliness in Labor & Delivery. As it just so happens, cleanliness is also pretty high up there too... you know... the same hand I use to eat my lunch with I also use to check a cervix.

Side note over.

Back to changes: One of the things that can really manifest unneeded stress in my life is the condition of my house. In 3 words: it's never clean. Which bugs me. And the guilt & frustration become cyclical: I feel guilty that my house isn't clean, so I work on the things that scream at me the loudest. After completing said tasks or running out of time, I don't even allow myself to feel gratified by the work that was accomplished because there's still so much to do. That's where the frustration creeps in. It feels like the work is never done and I feel guilty all over again that my house isn't clean. And around and around in circles we go, where we'll stop, nobody knows. Hint Hint: A monthly maid service would be the greatest Christmas/Birthday/anydayoftheweek present ever. Just throwing that out there.

Despite feeling a little like a 7 year old trying to earn an allowance, I made myself (and my husband... he's not exempt from this) a chore chart. It seemed like the easiest solution. For years, I've done the "clean-the-entire-house-in-one-day" thing, but it was an all day event that I just don't have the time for anymore. So I broke it down and listed out the daily, weekly, and monthly things that needed to be done around the house to keep it orderly. In the words of Professor Umbridge:

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Not only did it include cleaning, but it also allowed a day for meal planning and a day for grocery shopping. That way, hopefully we don't spend unnecessary time fretting over what to make for dinner. Also, I shouldn't find myself staring into the pantry like a deer in headlights wondering how I'm going to turn pinto beans, ramen noodles, and marinara sauce into "dinner." In the end, I wanted something that would take some weight OFF of my shoulders. I'm hoping that by the end of week #1, the house will be looking pretty close to great. Ideally, once we're really in the swing of things, it shouldn't take long at all to complete each day's task (because of course, it's only been a week or less since it was last cleaned). Not like how it took For-Ev-Er to clean my bathroom the other day because it had been entirely too long since it was last cleaned. And entirely too long = I can't even remember the last time it was properly cleaned. Also, I won't have to feel guilty about leaving something out or not getting to everything, because there's a designated day for each task. Here's what it ended up looking like:

Household Chores

• Sunday: Laundry & Meal Planning
• Monday: Grocery shopping & 1 "Monthly Chore"
• Tuesday: Vacuum & Mop
• Wednesday: Laundry & Change the sheets
• Thursday: Bathrooms & Empty all trash cans
• Friday: Vacuum & Dust
• Saturday: Rest!

Daily: Make the Bed, Put the dishes away, Pick up around the house x15 minutes

Monthly: Week 1: Dust the blinds and ceiling fans. Week 2: Pull weeds Week 3: Clean out the refrigerator. Week 4: Clean out the cars. 

Jordan and I have decided we're going to make a valiant effort to fulfill each day for a solid month and then reevaluate from there. At the end of our trial run, we may move days around, increase or decrease the amount based on how the month went. Of course, things aren't totally limited to their respective days, i.e. if Mauve tracks mud through the house on a thursday, the floor will be mopped. If Isaac spits up in our bed on a monday, the sheets will be changed then. I may come to realize that I've totally forgotten something important or that pulling weeds really is the bane of my existence and should be removed at once from the list of monthly chores. Fingers crossed for a successful and less stressful month.

What works in your house? Do you have designated cleaning days? Fly by the seat of your pants? Have a housekeeper?