Our biggest DIY project: PHASE I

When I started this, I had no idea how exhausting it was going to be. Painting a couple of rooms???? Sure I can do that. I forgot I have two kiddos under the age of three. They don't let me do anything....ever.

We started sanding the baseboards to paint and also prepped the walls. Painting went fast...it was the sanding that took forever...and we're still not done. This house needed some TLC - the wood is just too scratched, it needs to be refinished. We decided to paint it instead of staining it....made the house look younger. We plan on sanding ALL baseboards and doorways- once all that is done, we will move on to cabinets.... And eventually move on to the backyard....a little bit at a time....but we're going at a very slow pace.

BEFORE: Boys room went from white walls to blue walls and
brown trim to white trim.
 

AFTER: I will update pic once all accessories have been hung.

Since this pic was taken, I have found quite a bit of sports theme stuff for the boys' room...so I will go in that direction. The curtain rod has footballs as finials, and have found a growing chart as well. I am in the process of finding some big initials to put on top of each bed and maybe some frames or stickers to tie in the room together. I also have some cubbies (one for each child) that I want to hang to display a shadow box of their newborn/hospital outfit and show off their prints over the years (6mo-now). But I need to paint them, and I'm in no rush....so I'll update when this happens.  No more furniture in this room (except trade crib for another bed). Dom was able to score a free bed with a Bunkie board...so that was nice, but eventually I think I want the beds to be the same....so I'm on the lookout for that....not necessarily bunk beds...there is plenty of space in there.

 Below is the play room. It went from white to green walls....and brown to white trim. You will notice that the doorways and doors have not been touched...we'll get there....it's hard to sand that. We just wanted to the bottom trim to be done, so we didn't have to move furniture later on. The toys have multiplied exponentially, I keep finding them so cheap- especially little people ( I guess they're stating to change the shape of their little people, so now the old chunky ones are old...fine by me). I figured Ethan could play with those too, since it's hard to choke on them. I'm trying to avoid buying more Legos for now, that Ethan is starting to become mobile...but I know I can't stop Dom for long...
I also put up some frames with Dom's pics (Ethan's pics are pending) and some truck stickers...Dom picked them out.

Toy room went from white walls to green walls and white trim

AFTER: only pic frames need to be up....but I need to find some first.

AFTER: love the stickers on the wall. More pics will be hung.

And our room- It went from white walls and brown trim to sand-colored walls and white trim. I love how the white trim looks. Makes the house look so much younger. Brown color wood is super popular here, but white just looks more modern. I think it just makes the space look bigger...so we'll keep going and I think we might even do white cabinets in the bathrooms too (or a dark brown finish).....I'm still deciding...it's a far away project...but it's on the list. Once the trim is done, we will move on to painting the entry and the living room (and the trim there).  The trim and window sills are sanded, I just don't want to paint in little pieces. I need Dom to spend the night with my mom and Spencer to be here to help me (and he usually works nights)...that way we can tackle ALL the paint in one night...and let it dry...and just be done. I feel like I make too much of a mess when I do very little at one time.

Not a huge difference, but much better than white.

 

 AFTER: quotes to "our" song and frames

The deck was not going to be touched until we had the trim, but Spencer got bored of only having one project at a time, so he got rid of it. I guess he needed to work off some steam, and he did it in two days. We have now found out that under the deck, there is a huge mess of dirt. We need more dirt to level it off with the rest of yard. And then add seed to the rest of the back yard and see if the grass will grow back.

We have already leveled off the place with dirt, and have put in grass seeds...and slowly they are coming out. we have put in a hammock and have found some toys for Dom to play with outside. We have also re-done one side of our fence (the pool side). It looks so much bigger now. we plan to keep the grass growing, and make a wider fence gate....later.

Before picture

 

AFTER: some seeds are already in place.

RIGHT NOW: you can see the little grass

 

We finally decided to do the fence from one side. The gusts of wind have been terrible so far, and that side was a ticking time bomb...since it had two dogs and a pool...we figured this would be the first to go. The neighbor and kids...decided to help and save us some labor costs. They are so nice. I love having nice neighbors.

BEFORE: nasty fence

 

 

removing ALL the fence and putting up new posts.

Spencer had to dig up 2ft holes for the posts- 10 of them. He got done within 5 hours with 8 of them...but then he got stuck in the last ones, due to the neighbor's tree- the roots were too thick...we couldn't cut through them...I had to get a kitchen knife and I was there for a  while...ugh. I even got a blister on my hand. Finally, around 5pm, we got done and then the neighbor came by and helped Spencer with putting the new posts...so the concrete would dry all night and just put up the fence the next day. My dad helped Spencer with that...and we bought pre made panels...all they had to do was move the 100lb panels in place and screw them....8 of them. They started around 8am...and ended around 1pm. They were so beat. Spencer couldn't move. He worked hard for that fence...Mr DIY....says no more fences for him.

new fence...all DONE.

And that's the update so far....I'll keep you posted...we have several more projects coming up...like the living room and entry painted....and bathroom cabinets...and accessorizing the boys' rooms...we have the supplies, just need the time. Spencer is working more than he should...which slows things down a lot. For now...back to sanding....

We have also bought a lint eater (such a life saver), a washer/dryer set that  I love (it's so quiet!!), cleaned the tile (by hand with a toothbrush) in the Entry, and are in the process of painting the entry and the trim in the living/dining room....we're almost done....stay tuned!