William has been asking us to make some changes to his room since we bought a bunk bed for Molly and Mia. His favorite color is green, so Micah got to work on Will’s great green room.

The color looks yellow here, but it’s actually a bit darker.

We had to bring swatches to Target to match them with Circo’s Backyard Friends collection. I found the quilt on eBay at half price, but it hasn’t arrived yet.

Mia spotted the matching wall decals for $3.88! I’m proud of her for shopping end caps. I’ve trained her well!

The last item (I hope I don’t regret this) was a TV. Molly and Mia have one in their room for “movie nights”, so it seemed like it was time for Will to have one of his own. We got a 19″ TV with a built-in DVD player for under $100 (another eBay find). We mounted it on the wall, which he thinks is so cool. I guess birthday presents are showing up early this year.

We also had to replace the track lighting in the living room. I was so disappointed that it burnt out, and even more disappointed to learn that no one sells Valo sets anymore. I re-wired the new set to plug it in. I had to tack down and paint the cord, and then, I added a dimmer.

The shades match the fixture in the entryway, as well as the decor in the living room. I was finishing up when one of the pendants in the kitchen broke (another Valo set). That meant yet another trip to Home Depot, which resulted in an impulsive purchase. The $19.00 clearance sticker was a welcomed sight, and I brought the brushed nickel G-shaped track fixture home. The installation was easy, but the fixture looks hideous. I keep picturing mauve carpets and black lacquer furniture, because that is the only place where this thing would belong. I think I’ll have to cut my losses and buy something else, but I need a break first.

We don’t have any big projects ahead, but we have updated the kids bedrooms a bit. Will’s chest of drawers was too small. Now that he’s getting bigger, his clothes are, too. I went to my favorite clearance center and found a great deal in the warehouse. There isn’t a mark on it!

His old chest moved into Lily’s room. Its matching dresser was already in there. We bought them about 5 years ago on eBay and painted them white. She didn’t get anything new, but all of her furniture matches!

Will also got a new rug. He has a lot of Circo items in his room (LOVE their products!), so it’s easy to match everything.

Unfortunately, the life span of a comforter is about two years around here. Molly and Mia’s comforters and bed skirts were torn and faded. I do not recommend Olive Kids bedding to anyone! I have never seen something fall apart so quickly. My parents gave them bedding sets in the “Mermaids” pattern for their 5th birthday. Now, as an early 7th birthday present, we found this:

This is the “Dream Poppy” print from Amy Butler. It was on sale, and I also had a 20% off coupon! They are much heavier/warmer than the old sets. I bought basic white sheets and bed skirts, along with some new wall art. I can’t find curtains anywhere that match! The colors aren’t exactly purple, but more of a periwinkle and indigo. It’s tough to match! In the meantime, the twins are thrilled with their room.

I updated the photos of Molly and Mia’s room, Will’s room, and Lily’s room today. We still haven’t installed the toilet in the kids bathroom! It’s tough to get motivated in this kind of weather.

The ceiling fan in William’s room was old and obnoxiously noisy. We had been meaning to replace it for a long time, but I was very picky about what I wanted. It’s a very small room, so it couldn’t be larger than 44 inches. I hate the multiple-lights-with-shades look (I had that issue in the living room, but added some nicer shades to make it look better). Lastly, I wanted to have some sort of wall-mounted wireless control. I settled for a wireless remote with a wall bracket that installs over an existing light switch. Then, I found the fan. It was the closest thing I could find to what I wanted without ordering online.

I had been looking at ceiling fans for months, but I had no idea when we would get around to actually replacing the old one. I went to Home Depot and decided today would be the day. I went home, dismantled the old fan, and started assembling the new one. And then it hit me. I’m having a baby in four days. I’m huge. What the hell was I doing? I got as far as I could, then waited for Micah to get home. I thought he’d be shocked at what I was doing, but he knows me too well. He helped me finish up and did all of the awkward lifting/holding. It was hot outside and the air was humid, so it felt like hours of work.

Out with the old…

In with the new…

Will is happy with his new ceiling fan. He says the old one was dirty.

Micah has been working hard on yard work. The lawn looks beautiful right now! Here’s a view of our front yard (half of it, anyway):

I put fertilizer down a few weeks ago, and ended up with 5 or 6 big burn spots. Micah re-seeded, and it’s already filling in perfectly. I’ve kept up with the edging around the fence, pruning the apple tree and getting rid of weeds. I’m also kind of addicted to sweeping the garage. Some people “nest”. I just get a little carried away… but the house has never looked better.

We sold the crib and changing table, then decided to put the money toward a new sofa. I wasn’t really prepared to part with the changing table, but people were only interested in the set.

The futon in the family room was broken, so our old sofa went down there. The only problem there is that the walls, sofa, and curtains are exactly the same color. It wasn’t planned that way (the curtains used to be in the dining room, and the wall color was chosen when I found the oops paint). My plan for the family room is do do something with an accent wall or accented areas, get new curtains and toss pillows. I am thinking of using dark brown for this, but I haven’t decided.

Back to the living room. The new sofa is very comfortable, and I don’t feel the need to change the wall color to go with it. I added a couple of neutral, striped panels to the windows. The toss pillows have a design similar to the black candle holders I added to the room, with a foreground that matches the roman shades. I bought pillar candles in different earth tones for the holders. It all pulled together nicely, and the whole thing was very affordable! I will update the living room photos during daylight, after the railing has been installed, and sometime soon I’ll add a few things to the family room. In the meantime, here’s a photo of the sofa:

Lastly, the kids have a few new things in their rooms. The twins have new Disney princess comforters, and Will has new toddler bedding and a “thinking chair”. I creeped back to eBay and found some really good deals on Blue’s Clues items for his room. He already loves that chair! I got it for $25.00 with local pickup (a steal even by eBay standards), but I read that it originally sold at FAO Schwarz for $400.00!

Without really thinking about what I was doing, I pulled back on the carpet in Will’s room today… and then, I kept pulling until there was no turning back. For once, I was presented with a nice hardwood floor in need of little or no work. There are a couple of spots I will probably want to sand down later, but there’s no rush. It’s in great shape. It makes me wonder what the previous owner was thinking when he covered it up in the first place. I used my leftover Reviver on it, along with the floor in Molly and Mia’s room. The whole thing took only about an hour and a half.