Karyn’s new room has been a work in progress. I have had this vision of what I wanted to do but wanted to wait till it was closer for her to bump up.  The yellow room will stay as is and will turn into our extra room.  We moved Karyn into the other room upstairs because it was a little bigger and the closet was bigger too.  Here is the process step by step…

The room before… (this was the way it was when we bought the house)

Goodbye Mr. Frog

Hello Pink and I mean PINK!

Katie Lynn was excited.

Next it was time to add the brown.  Once again my Mom came over to help me paint, between the 2 of us we were able to balance the girls and get paint up on the wall!! It was very interesting at times…

Labor of love for sure, but nothing is too much for my Pink Princess Karyn.

(sorry, I can’t figure out how to get it flipped right)

I also wanted to add Karyn’s hand prints to the wall, we painted this March 2011.

The paint has been up for almost 2 months and we have been waiting on the furniture to be delivered and we waited on Monica to finish the school year so we could transition Karyn to her new bedroom.  We ordered the furniture at the end of April and got an awesome deal on it but just had to wait for it to be in-stock.  It arrived in-stock last week and we were able to set up delivery for this past Tuesday, it really could not have been better timing. With the help of my mom, I was able to finish getting all the detail items up in the room.  Here is Karyn’s last night in the nursery room, her first look at her new completed room and her first night.

 Bye Bye Crib

No more bars…

I will finally be free!!

Karyn’s room is finally finished and she gets to check it out for the first time.

Karyn climbed in her bed first thing and looked as if she was ready to go to sleep.

Sister was next in line to make sure there would be room for 2…I think she is ready to sleep over with Karyn.

I think she is just a little excited!

Take 2, really ready for bed this time.  Hugs, kisses and sweet dreams.

Night Night Princess

Thanks again to my mom for helping me paint, entertain the girls, paint again, hang up the details and thanks to my wonderful husband for putting up with my vision of a perfect room for our sweet Karyn.

Saturday morning we headed out and took some pictures in the down town McKinney area.  You can go here to check out some of the photos… http://www.sepperphotography.com/downtown-mckinney/ . 

Sunday was spent going to church and then out to dinner to celebrate Tom’s Moms birthday.

Monday the girls went to daycare and I spent the day with my mom finishing Karyn’s new bedroom.  Good-bye to the frog, tree and other critters…

…check back later for the finished project.

Monday evening we got to go out to dinner with a good friend of Toms.  It was nice to get out for a few hours.

Tuesday was another full day.  My Grandma Rose moved into a new place so my Mom and I took the girls over to visit and check out her new place.  The girls had a great time and enjoyed time with their Great-Grammy. (sorry, no pictures…forgot the camera)

Wednesday was a nice quiet day at home, just me and my girls.  The girls enjoyed playing with ice and water, they also enjoyed chasing each other around the kitchen.

Thursday the girls got to spend the day at school with their friends while Mommy and her Mom had a nice day out shopping and having a good time.

Friday started off great, made a trip to Wal-mart with both girls and back home to get some fruit ready for a BBQ luncheon we were invited to then there were other plans.  Karyn fell from the 3rd step of the stairs, tumbled, gouged the back of her head and busted her lip.  I had been watching her on the stairs and picked her up right after she fell.  I then realized she was bleeding, yelled to Tom we were headed to the ER.  He was off the phone faster then I could find a towel to stop the bleeding.  We got in the car and headed over to the ER, we were in and out in about an hour.  Karyn ended up with about a half inch gouge and 1 staple in her head. 

The rest of Friday turned out to be much more low key…dinner at home and a restful night sleep.

To bring the week to a close we spent Saturday morning at a dog show.  My parents were showing Moses up in McKinney so we thought it would be fun to go cheer Moses on.

The girls loved watching the other dogs run through the course.

Karyn LOVES animals, she sees them and just points and starts talking up a storm.

This other little girl shows dogs, her and Katie Lynn were playing a game.

Dad, Mom and Moses.

What a fun day!! Karyn came home and took a wonderful nap and Katie Lynn got to go to a birthday party.  This evening was a beautiful very full moon.

Here is to a restful Sunday…maybe

Weight: 25lbs (60%)

Height: 31.75 (50%)

Head: 18.75 (80%)

New Bathroom

We have now been in our house for about 2.5 years and I am so excited to share that the girls bathroom has finally been re-done.  The bath was a dull yellow with a cloud ceiling and lots of holes left over from the previous owners.  I am so lucky to have a mom who LOVES to paint and was able to come over and help me do this. 

The bathroom has gone from yellow to green, clouds to white, white cabinets to brown and new fixtures.

Before

During

Cleaning up the last little bit…

Karyn looks excited!!

Katie Lynn fitting right in.

Finished product.

New Fixtures.

Thanks to my Mom for helping me paint and Thanks to my Hubby for putting in the new fixtures.

Our first major project — hardwood floors!

We knew from the beginning that we would do hardwood floors at some point, and finally decided to go through with it!

Some before and after pictures:

Living Room

Master Bedroom

Hallway

Office

We were given an initial estimate of 3-5 days for installation from the sales person. Amazingly, the installers actually completed it in one day! Due to the dust and smell though, we decided to spend the night at a hotel so that Katie Lynn and Karyn wouldn’t be smelling and breathing the fumes and dust. Who knew we’d find probably the nicest hotel we have ever stayed in (not counting Caesar’s Palace) right here in McKinney!

We decided to put the board right upstairs in the game room.

Started off by putting up mud to make the wall flat, or as flat as possible.

3 coats of magnetic paint…….waiting….waiting…..waiting for it to dry

1 coat of chalk paint, boarders around the sides and it is ready to go!

Just add chalk and kids.

My Dad went and got 8 inch pipping and got it all ready to go.  His vision was to have something that was durable that wouldn’t rust or rot and it could go with us if we ever move.  He also wanted it to be safe and there are no hard corners to hit, nails or screws to rust.  He did a really good job of envisioning a great sandbox that is one of a kind and safe for all.

We  got an early start to our day on Sunday morning.  We first had to get rid of our old sandbox, which was in a lot worse shape than we had realized. 

First we removed all the old sand (which was full of who-knows-what) and then removed the old box.

Ready to go.

Katie Lynn was letting us know that Grams and Granddad had arrived. 

Putting the pipes together. 

Finishing up the new area, it needed to be made a little bit bigger. (I helped with this part, just no photo to prove it)

The boys put the box in place, it fits on the first try!!!

Katie Lynn we eager to try out the new toy, Granddad was ready to build something in the sand with her.

Here is the finished sandbox, Katie Lynn was so excited….as you can see.

Jump ahead to Monday night, Katie Lynn decided the sand was not that bad and that she could play in it.  I am sure she will get to a point were we will have to drag her out of the sandbox.

A big Thank you to my folks for the sandbox!! It will get lots of use over the years and I am sure Katie Lynn will share with Peanut.  Also, a Thank you to Tom for the sand. The sandbox is awesome and I love it!!!

Monica and I have said since the day we moved into this house that we were going to replace the light in Katie Lynn’s bedroom. We found a fan we liked at Home Depot about a month ago and finally bought it yesterday morning.

About 9:30 this morning, I decided to go ahead and get her new fan installed. Should only take about an hour, right?

First step was easy — take down the hideous current light fixture.

Second step — the actual fan installation. This step did not turn out as easy as the first. Installed the base, got the motor’s electrical connected, got the motor installed.. then Monica comes in and looks — it’s not level. Okay, so we talk about it and decide to use the downrod. So I unmount the motor, de-connect the electrical, and uninstall the base. So I go back to the instructions (yes, I read them..) and figure out how to install the fan with the downrod. So back to installing the base, connecting the  electrical, and mounting the motor. 

Yep, you guessed it.. still not level. So I unmount the motor, de-connect the electrical, and uninstall the base — again. Only this time around, I accidentally strip one of the screws. A call to my dad and a pair of pliers later, the stripped screw is out. Turns out that screw somehow got bent as well.

On to Lowe’s. I decided to go to the one that’s little farther away from the house because there’s also a Home Depot right across the street. I find the replacement screws, but decide to double-check with an employee that I have the correct ones since handywork isn’t my forte (as Monica correctly pointed out earlier). The employee says the ones I picked out weren’t the right ones. Got the correct ones, paid, and drove home.

Whew! Caught a break, right? Nope.

Got home, went upstairs, and attempted to start over again for the third time.. except that the screws I just bought didn’t fit. Just my luck. I notice some text on the electrical box where the screws go.. 10-32.. the exact size screw I had originally picked out earlier at Lowe’s. Figures. So back to Lowe’s I go, but this time to the closer location.

Back home again to install the fan.. for the fourth time.

Except that this time.. all goes as it should. Fan correctly installed.. finally.

Before:

Katie Lynn during:

After:

Final tally:

For everything else, there’s a handyman.

Selection & Purchase
Last Sunday, we decided to go to a local baby store to begin the arguments compromise process on choosing a nursery set. We had absolutely no intention on making a purchase, but we did see a couple sets we liked. The salesperson reminded us that most of the baby furniture companies take a month-long hiatus in July/August, so that got us thinking we didn’t have an much time as we initially thought. So after leaving that store, we headed to the closest Babies R Us in Plano.

Once there, we looked around and came across a particular set. Surprisingly, we both liked it. The price tags said “Special!”.. and the prices were definitely appealing. We discuss the set and decide we want to buy it. Instead of buying it at the Plano store, I had the brilliant idea to drive over to the Allen store since it was closer to our house. 

We get to the Allen store and locate the set. Same price tags.. but this time they say “Clearance”. Uh oh. We find the associate to see what the stock is like, and if not in stock, how long it would take to get a set in. Bad news: the warehouse is out of stock and won’t be getting any more in. Good news: they have the crib in stock at the store! No dresser though.. but the Plano store has it. Great.. we were just there!

So we call Kim & Ryan to see if they (and Ryan’s truck) would mind helping us by meeting us at the Allen store, loading up the crib in the truck, drive to the Plano store, load up the dresser, and then drop them both off at our house. 

Oh, did I mention this was all done one hour prior to both stores closing? Simple, right? Luckily, it all went smoothly. Thanks Kim & Ryan!

Assembly
I called my mom and dad to see if they would want to come over today to help put together the furniture. Of course they wouldn’t turn me down.

First task: actually getting the furniture upstairs. The dresser was.. well, let’s just say that was fun. 100lb dresser up a flight of stairs that turns twice. Simple, right? Getting the crib up was a cinch after the dresser!

Now that everything is upstairs and in the nursery, Dad and I set up to put the crib together. Forty-five minutes later and we’re done! Thanks for helping Dad! And thanks Mom for the moral support.

My parents bought me some bulbs for Christmas.  I got them planeted in January and have been hoping they would pop up.  There for a while I thought they were all going to be duds.  About a week ago I noticed that about 5 have popped through.  I am so excited and can’t wait for them to grow tall and bloom. 

Here they are!!! Maybe I can grow something!

My folks came out to help and I am so glad that they did.  The room needed a little more work than I first thought.  Between the primer, the top color and bottom, lots of work. 

Thank you to my folks for making the trip and helping the nursery look fabulous!!!

Room before

Katie Lynn is ready to go!

Primer: check

Daddy and Katie Lynn

My Dad working hard at rolling out the paint

My Mom busy, busy cutting in the edges

The room done

Next: furniture, new light fixture, & baby decoration