November

Gah...where is this year going??  We have items to tackle.

Christmas shopping/DIY-ing

Post about lastest Crowdtap giveaway

Go through more of Ian's clothing

Organize MB closet better

Share some of my Pinterest love

Layout a wall collage on living room wall

Continue search of new to us appliances and cabinets- Thanks to criagslist we have located some great leads but they were so great we missed out.

Locate reasonably priced window treatments for living room- When I told my mom the price range ($6.99 or lower) pre-panel she was shocked and not very confident I will locate them.  My plan PROVE her wrong, I have them located just waiting for a SALE!

Ready to see what else the month has in store for us.

another month has passed

As you saw on September's update we have a few leftovers to tend to first:

Refinish kitchen table and chairs- Table DONE we are undecided on chairs at the moment.

make a house to do list- DONE and it's LONG

give the flower area in front some fall lovin'- DONE, thanks to my grandparents they split some of the mums from their house and they are now in front of my house, they also gave us 2 brand new ones and my MIL gave us 1 as well.

nail down kitchen cabinet color (black or gray): yeah clueless

landscaping in front- DONE we made more sense out of the plants that were already there and just put them in new spots. See pictures above

celebrate anniversary that was back in August- DONE lunch at Olive Garden and a movie back at home

start Christmas shopping- our sitters, and my SIL are both DONE thanks to Pinterest getting my DIY on. My co-workers gifts are almost completed have to make 2 more and then get my baking on for their cookie plates.

It was a small list to start with but we can add:

Remove half eaten bunny from fenced part of the yard to out of the fence area- DONE, still throwing up in my mouth from that one

Organize Ian's clothes and sell some- DONE but more to go

Pay off helmet- completely worth every penny!!

Put some nails in the walls and hang some decor:  We have progress

We are getting somewhere with the house as well Christmas shopping.

Table

Well here it is what I've been talking about since August updated list

I know the before pictures are not the best but all I know is that is looks 100x better than it did when I brought it home.  Marcus used a black stain that had polyurethane in it, gotta love a 2 in 1 product. It took a couple coats and few lessons learned along the way but it looks beautiful.  The other thing I love is that we got the table and chairs for all of $50.  We are still undecided on the chair style we want and have yet to compromise on a light fixture. All good things come with time, right?? Anyways, I'm loving that we have a table again and not just a table but a table that I love!

Potty

On September's to do list I added start potty training. I had no intentions of doing this but when a) your child has on frequent occasions been waking dry from naps from time to time and b) asks to go. I'm not one to pass up an opportunity. Now, I have yet to cancel my amazon diaper subscription and to save $30 every month and a half. He has gone pee 2 handful of times and has left a stinky and pee 1 handful + one finger of times, but hey whose counting? Oh yeah I am.

I don't push it, I ask him if he wants to go but he does better when he tells me he has to go in which my child is stripped down to just a shirt. He's gotta have not only pants completely off but also shoes and socks. He then sits on the potty for what seems to me as hours but it's just about 3 rounds of "head shoulders knees and toes", a dramatic reading of his Elmo book, another reading from his Richard Scarry First words book and finally Elmo's ABC's on the iPad. During this time he can produce nothing or something. I was going to give him a m&m but I usually forget after I have diapered and clothed him, cleaned his potty seat and washed my hands. But please don't fret we have a great potty party with high fives and woohoo's. Followed by texting Grammie (who is undergoing a possible name change), PaPa Jim and CiCi of the most recent potty production!  *Note I would text Marcus but his job doesn't allow him to check his phone very often or ever.  So, I just fill him if we talk at lunch and if not then when he gets home.

So there you have we have started the use of the potty and thanks to my good friend Mo we are using her son's training potty.  Also, I'm all for convinence so if I need to make dinner and Ian has to go potty I'm not opposed to moving the potty into the kitchen area so I can get my multi-task skills on.

Z house Debate

Ok so Marcus and I have been having a little debate over leggings.   I like them and think they are cute if worn properly.  The below are wearing them properly and this is how I would wear them myself. 

His argument not all people wear them properly and they have ruined the legging look in his book.  I too agree but don't think that should mean that they can't be apart of my wardrobe.  I got a pair of skinny jeans and you would have thought I told Marcus that I got a jumpsuit (no offense to jumpsuits I just can't see how going to the restroom can be done without stripping completely down, therefore they don't meet my functionality needs).

the below people have ruined it for Marcus by wearing them as pants...

Now, like I said I understand where he is coming from but I won't wear mine like that I PROMISE!!

House to Home

Since purchasing our new house in June we have been striving to make it our home.  At 1st walk thru we thought it was liveable as is.  Well after the pervious homeowner moved out we quickly realized that her stuff was hiding somethings that needed to be tended too.

911

• carpets cleaned- we had these professionally done and have rented the Rug Dr and done them ourselves and the carpet in the very near future will be taken up
• fresh neutral paint in living room, master bedroom, and guest room- Marcus pulled some late nights for this to happen before we moved.  It's not the most perfect paint job but compared to what our walls looked beforehand the walls look great.

Not so 911 and were putting "our" stamp on it comes into place

• kitchen
• remove wallpaper- not gonna lie, it was a pain in the A**
• remove cabinets above breakfast nook- DONE, loving it
• purchase bar stools for breakfast nook
• paint walls- DONE
• paint cabinets
• replace wall oven and possibly cooktop
• upgrade ceiling fan
• window treatment
• replace door knobs w/brushed silver
• Dining area:
• table and chairs
• wall art
• refinish floors
• paint door
• 1/2 Bath
• remove wallpaper- DONE yes peasy
• replace vanity- DONE $60 for new vanity and mirror
• upgrade floor- went with stick tiles for a quick change
• replace flooring with ceramic tile
• paint- DONE
• paint doors- DONE
• replace door knobs w/brushed silver
• Ian's room
• paint- DONE
• Paint ceiling
• Paint trim
• replace light fixture with ceiling fan
• paint doors
• replace door knobs w/brushed silver
• replace carpet or refinish floors
• Bathroom:
• repair walls
• upgrade caulk around tub
• flooring
• paint doors
•  Master Bedroom
• paint walls
• paint ceiling
• paint trim
• paint doors
• replace door knobs w/brushed silver
• upgrade bedding
• mount TV to wall
• build better base for bed or replace
• replace carpet or refinish floors
• Living Room
• paint walls
• paint trim
• paint doors
• replace door knobs w/brushed silver
• hang pics on wall
• replace carpet or refinish floors
• Guest Room
• paint walls
• paint doors
• replace door knobs w/brushed silver
• paint trim
• purchase bed
• turn closet into desk area
• replace carpet or refinish floors
• Outside:
• finish patio bricks around pool
• walkway landscaping- DONE
• Remove bushes in front of house
• Basement:
• turn bedroom into play area
• purchase projector
• turn area into a entertainment area
• finish off laundry room
• improve flooring on finished side

Oh boy that is a long list for my very tried contractor and our small budget.  Here's to hoping we get some of these things crossed off without to much budget breaking or compromising coming from my end.  I don't like compromising nor am I very good at it.  I always think my way is the BEST and ONLY way and I don't like to steer away from my ways.  I will hopefully get to update this list every couple of months or so.  I will pull items off the above list and put them on the monthly to do list.  But this will be the master list.

October Checklist

Yes, I know the month is almost half over.

As you saw on September's update we have a few leftovers to tend to first:

• Refinish kitchen table and chairs
• make a house to do list
• give the flower area in front some fall lovin'
• nail down kitchen cabinet color (black or gray)
• landscaping in front
• celebrate anniversary that was back in August
• start Christmas shopping

There it is kinda small but I do plan on making a house list that I will update.  Since I have realized that the majority of the monthly to do list revolves around the house.