Home Makeover Bathroom Edition - Before and After

Slowly and surely, we have been picking away at house.  Weekend by weekend.  Nail-bite by painstaking nail-bite (for me!).  Blister after blister.  Celebration dance-parties after toasts made to our dream coming true. 

Thot it's about time for an update.

Pit of despair Our master bathroom

You can't really see it in these lame-o pictures, but there were really two entrances to the bathroom.  There was this awkward little hallway in front of the actual bathroom that led out to the stairwell to go downstairs or to the master bedroom. 

 And the blue tile.  Holy smokes, the blue tile.  On the floor.  On the walls.  On the ceilings (competing with the printed blue wallpaper). 
There was this janky cabinet situation with a weird piece of stained marble on the top. 

The bathtub was so corroded that it felt like you were standing on the moon during a shower, and don't get me started on the fixtures. 

So we knocked out the wall to the hallway and closed off one of the doors to make the bathroom a little longer.  We ripped out the bathtub.  We ripped out the janky cabinet.  We ripped out everything...every piece of plaster (older homes have plaster walls and not sheetrock - not fun), and started new. 

Out with the old, in with the new.

I found the roman shade I wanted to put in the window in a catalog, and after measuring it and setting up the custom order...it was going to cost upwards of $250.  FOR A SHADE.  say whaaaaat?

So we showered with a ghetto sheet draped over a skinny rope that was tied to the ropes in our windows for several months.  You see, I am scared to death to spend money and that $250 estimate threw me right off kilter.  I knew I needed something there, but in situations in where I want something to be perfect....I do this super effective thing.  It is like the best kept secret on how to avoid doing something imperfectly.  Just avoid doing it.  It works craptastically.

So I took the plunge.  I bought material.  I cut material.  And I sewed me a shade. 

And it only cost me $24.  BOOOOM!

My friend (and decision maker) Jeannie helped me pick out everything.  And I needed a kick in the pants help for every step (fear of spending $$ + overwhelming pressure to make something perfect = avoidance technique discussed above).  The girl got mad skills. 

It is my favorite spot in the house right now.  It feels so sunny and warm in there.  It makes me happy.

Lemonade

There once were two boys with a dream...a dream of selling lemonade and cookies.

So their slave mother got all the necessary supplies together...

They recruited a few friends and discussed business plan ideas,

constructed some expert advertising,

put on their spaced out game faces,

took the message to the people,

delivered the goods,

and only came out about $4.25 in the red. 

Good thing the memory bank is full though.  

Take Me Out to the Ballgame

So, we have made a more concerted effort to vamp up our date nights lately.  I feel like it is important...not only for Shawn and I's relationship, but also for the boys to see and understand how important our bond is.

And vamp it up, we have.  A few weeks ago, the College World Series of Baseball was going on in Omaha.  Turns out, this is a yearly thing, and we have decided to make it a yearly tradition for us as well. Next, year, we will bring the boys.  It was amazing. 

Although the date ended up fabulous...it's origin was kinda sucktastic thanks to a pity party from yours truly.  Shawn is a baseball fan, and had been invited by a guy from work to go to the game one night during the week.  We had both agreed it was a great opportunity...I was excited for him.  Later that day, all hell seemed to break loose at the house.  Every outside toy the boys wanted to use seemed to be malfunctioning and I found myself unsuccessfully making an attempt at being Bob the Builder with electronics, swing set equipment and motorized vehicles.  It was hot, and my temper was brewing even hotter.  So I did what every nonsensical adult who doesn't want to take her frustrations out on her children does: I called Shawn. 

I called, not to get any practical advice...just simply to bitch. You see...I tend to be the type of person that if I am in a ditch, I like to let everyone know I am in the ditch, and then subsequently bring every poor soul I can find into it with me.  So I went off...letting him know how frustrated I was, how all of these toys were not made correctly, how I need help keeping huge motorized toys out of the rain, blah, blah, blah.  He did what he always does-listened patiently, giving me just enough support and not too much condescending advice.  I felt much better and ended the conversation. 

When Shawn arrived home after work I was surprised.  When I asked him why he wasn't at the game, he sweetly told me he felt like he had too much to do around the house to help out and wanted to use his time that night to get some of the problems solved. 

THWAT.  Sucker punch to the gut.  Delivered in a sincere and compassionate package with no malicious agenda.  Just him putting my needs first.

The real problem with that is that I let my mouth run wild and communicated to him that things were worse than they were.  In my attempt to get pity, I ruined his plans and chance for fun. 

What I love most about Shawn is that he knows me well enough to know that I do this, with less frequency than in the past but still enough to see a pattern.  But he never banks on it.  He listens, takes what I am saying for what it is worth, and acts on it. 

I begged and pleaded for him to GO!  Have a good time!  Things are great here!  You do so much! but it was too late.  The ticket had been given to someone else. 

And then, to top off his antics, he paid out the wazoo to get two tickets for us both to go the next night.

Damn, I got a good one.  And a lot to learn...

ps. I love you, Babe.  Please buy me a muzzle for Christmas.

The explanation of why I am voluntarily living with rodents

It is this little animal lover that is to blame. 

But let me back up.  One of our beloved hermit crabs, Clementine, had bit the dust about 2 months before our move to Omaha.  So we packed Sammy, her brother and survivor, and he made the move with us.  Yes...not sure if I have ever admitted this before or not, but through our 2 full days of driving from Waco to Omaha, we exited our vehicles at every rest stop, gas station, restaurant, and hotel with 2 kids, 2 adults, a dog, a cat, and a freaking hermit crab.  It was comical at best. 

So about 2 weeks after arrival to our new house, Sammy died.  After hauling his little habitat into several McDonalds and suffering through nights in hotels with him dragging his little shelled body around in the quiet dark - he just gave up.  The boys were devastated. 

Fast forward six or seven months, and I finally make good on my promise to take the kids to the "Pet Shop" to replace our two fallen shelled comrades.  While I was busy trying to pick out the least creepy and hardiest looking crab, little did I know my big boy was dreaming up a different plan, one aisle over. 

And so, with a few promises made and agreements sealed...his dream came true before we walked through the automatic exit doors.  And we welcomed Cupcake and Monjette to our family.  Two Chinese Dwarf Hamsters. 

And, believe it or not, they are delightful.  Fearful at first, they have warmed up to all of us I think due to Roanin's endless hours of holding them and whispering and magic Steve Irwin-ish stuff he does.  There have been a few episodes...a two hour stint where I chased a loose Cupcake throughout our TV room, cursing under my breath....a fatal discovery one morning by me in which I had to make a mad run to the Pet Shop to find an identical Monjette and have her in place before the boys woke up....a scary moment one afternoon when the lid was left off the cage and Pia the cat decided to "play" with poor new Monjette (no injuries were sustained THANK GOD)...and one lesson Rex had to be taught about the importance of not using the hamsters as cargo in his front end loaders.  But they are cute as they can be and pretty easy to take care of. 

Plus, I feel like I have provided Pia with her own little version of the Kardashians to keep her entertained.  What can I say...I live to serve.

And the fun continued...

This year's fourth of July was cahh-ray-zee.  I mean, straight up insane.  So busy, so fun, so hot, so exciting.  We started the morning with an annual pancake breakfast at a neighbor's house (last year we went the weekend we moved in...and didn't know anyone).  We ate, coffee-ed it up, while the kids chased bubbles and played baseball. 

The afternoon and evening were spent with my good friend, Jeannie and her family (thanks Jeannie!).  They invited us to go to the all-out best 4th blowout I have ever seen.  I would be lying if I didn't admit I kinda felt like a flippin' rockstar while we were there.  And so did the boys.  I had to warn them to keep their expectations low for the rest of their lives...because it kind of goes down hill after this...

Happy Birthday America.