TaDa!

We finally got everything moved into Eric's new room this weekend, and it turned out very nicely. The room is actually very cozy, and even though the walls are a cool gray, the red brings a certain warmth to the room, along with his wood furniture.

Almost everything is the same from his room upstairs, with a few exceptions. We got the bedding on clearance at Bed and Bath, and that was the inspiration behind the whole color scheme. The red book shelves along the bed and behind the desk were ones that Dennis made a long time ago for the boys and used to be green. They work nicely to hold all of those books that he reads in bed. We put one behind his desk to keep clutter off the desk (for pens and such).
The desk wasn't in his room previously, but we've had it stored for awhile, waiting. It used to be mine, and then it was our computer desk for many years until Dennis built the built-in one in our kitchen. The clock was a "room-warming" present that Leah picked out for Eric at Wal-Mart!

Of course the chair-that has already been posted about. Dennis is planning on building a floating shelf on this wall, high up, for Eric to get his trophies off his dresser.

The closet doors were a real challenge, but they are up. I might add that Eric's closet doors are the ONLY ones in the whole house that are actually painted the matching trim white and actually installed. All other closet door are either not hung, or are still that contractor grade off-white color. They look so nice I am inspired to finish the rest of the closet doors in the house now!

And the closet shelving we got from my dad, some leftover he had from organizing his attic.

One project done, another has already begun....next up is Leah's room.

Sneak Preview

Eric's room is ALMOST done. The painting is DONE. The carpet is IN. The doors are HUNG. All that's left is for him to move in...and he sure is excited! We will probably do that this weekend, so be sure and check back for pictures.

Snow and a remodeling update

Remember that wheelbarrow that was partially buried after our last blizzard? Well, here it is now, well, at least the snow around it anyways. I just can't believe how much snow we've had this winter! It is beautiful and I may be a nut, but I absolutely LOVE being snowed in. Cabin fever is not part of my vocabulary. Anyways, I won't bore you with a million pictures of snow around here. Obviously the kids have played in the snow till they aren't begging me to go out in it every minute, though each time we get more snow, they are discussing how much better their jump is going to be, or how much longer it is until Leah can no longer walk through the snow!
You may wonder if homeschooled kids get snow days...well, yes they get to play in the snow, but not until they get their school work done first! Fortunately they have the best of both worlds! We won't be doing school until July, and they also get to sled and have fun.

Since the weather outside has been frightful, Dennis and I have gotten lots done on the bedroom. As of right now, the painting of the walls is done (no pictures yet) and the ceiling light fixtures are up. I am painting the trim and doors before we put them all up. Very exciting!

The gray walls being cut in...ceiling fan and track light for over the desk area are up.

We also punch out the wall to replace this doorway between the sewing room and the playroom side leading to Eric's room.

Above: doorway before

Below: doorway after, looking through to the exterior wall of Eric's room. The picture is deceptive. You can see in the far room a door...that is actually the old door from where the french doors are now. To the left in the background is the open doorway leading into Eric's room. I'll post a better picture where you can see it all more clearly later.

And me, painting the primer on the walls. Please disregard the Navy coveralls that used to be Dennis'. I'm not trying to make a fashion statement here :)

Little Author

One of Leah's favorite treats is when I buy Honey Nut Cheerios (I usually don't ever buy any cereal) and she can do her Cheerios book. I think most people have seen this book before:

Leah evidently was bored with the book and so she decided to create her own with the pictures she would like to add cheerios to. The only thing I did for her was to transcribe exactly what she dictated to me for the words. I love it.

Beautiful Winter

Well, our family missed the big snow here in December because we had already headed down to Florida, but we are fortunate enough that it snowed big again. I think we got about 12-14" here at our house. It snowed all day yesterday and into the night. The kids had a blast of course...and I took some shots this morning when taking Elsa out for her morning walk.

You can hardly see their faces on account of how cold it was and with the snow in front of the camera. In between Eric and Bay is their friend, Carson.Leah, trudging her sled back up the hill.

And on another note, I got to finish the cushion cover for Eric's chair. He loves it now, and will love it even more when he gets it into his new room!

January Birthdays

Eric and I share birthdays 1 day apart from each other, (I actually went into labor with him on my birthday, but that is another story!) so it is always a fun week when our birthdays roll around! Leah and Eric baked me a cake and then each of them decorated a third of it. I took a cooking class at our local kitchen store and my mom, brother and 2 friends joined me for the class. It was a superb way to spend my birthday...and it was one of the best classes I have taken.

Eric had a great day as well. I can't believe he is 11 years old! He opened half of his presents in the morning, and the rest at dinner when my parents came over.
I'm not sure who's more excited in this picture, Eric or Leah!

Shortly after breakfast, Eric and Bay took their bows and arrows outside to practice with Eric's present, a free-standing target! This is a big deal for them...no more trying to find a place to tack up the paper target anymore. And this can be left outside, which is a bonus because they always forget to bring stuff in anyways!

Eric and his Gramps

Eric chose lasagna, salad and bread for dinner with an ice-cream cake (that I usually make in the summer) for dessert. Yummy!

It's the little things...

One of the benefits of living near my parents is that the kids have a wonderfully close relationship with their grandparents. One of the ways that this relationship is fostered is through one-on-one breakfast dates. Either Granni or Gramps will take one kid at a time out to breakfast, and they cycle through the kids so each kid gets a turn. This has become something they each look forward to, but there is something else that really touches my heart as their mom.

While each kid cherishes the alone time, each one always comes back with something for the siblings left at home eating oatmeal with mom. It might be a half of a bagel, or a pack of hash browns, or an extra pancake. Whatever, it is almost like they don't want their siblings to be left out. It doesn't matter that each one always gets a turn, but they always, and I mean always, bring something back.

It is this sibling love that touches my heart.