downstairs bathroom, mini makeover

I'm not known to plan these things, but Lowe's had some faucets on sale.  My bathroom could benefit from a new faucet.  Then the faucet looks nice and everything else looks shabby.  It's a vicious circle.

Here is a shot from when we first moved in.

Old faucet

New faucet, installed it myself, and it works, and it doesn't leak.
I know, I'm amazed too.  

Took down the large builder grade mirror
and added a small framed one. 

Spray painted the light fixture

Nothing crazy, just a little better

 

potty training problem

The issue seems to be

falling in love with too many kinds of underwear.

cleaning schedule

My favorite kinds of books are memoirs and cookbooks.  I'm guessing it's why I like reading blogs, I really enjoy stories of real people lives and learning what's in their ovens.  When I started blogging I mostly read adoption related blogs, I've moved on, a bit.

Did you know their are like a million billion stay at home moms that take their jobs very seriously?  It's a little intense.  Recently poked around in a blog about organizing everything in your house, ugh. Instead of organizing things I just get rid of them.  Another common theme among such blogs seems to be a cleaning schedule.  Are we in college? Do I live in apartment with a bunch of other people? No.  Then no cleaning schedule needed.  But then I started feeling a little guilty.  Is my house not clean enough?  Do I need a schedule?  Should I print out an excel chart?  Should I make Oliver a job chart?


Forget it.  Here is how we get things done, when we feel like it.

Put our headbands on.

Oliver uses his swiffer covered with a paper towel
to wrangle his toys together, then puts them away.  While
I clean the counters and tables.

Last Oliver helps "mop" the floors.

Yes, yes those are glow in the dark skulls and crossbones on Oliver's new boxer briefs, pretty much awesome.

Also, if you read the previous post and gave me advice about a new vacuum, thanks our rugs are looking forward to a good cleaning.  

help!

I really like to vacuum.  Well I use to really like to vacuum.  The vacuum I really liked died a horrible death.  I wasn't too sad that it died because I always had to wear noise canceling headphones when using it, it was so loud!!  I guess I could have taken it to one of those vacuum fix it shops, but didn't.  Instead I went to Target and picked up a new different one.  This new lame vacuum works lovely downstairs on our non carpeted surfaces.  Cleans up crumbs from the kitchen floor in a snap, sucks up burnt pits of food from the bottom of the oven in no time, rids the fridge of all those onion peels that flake off, and does magic on crumbs in the vents.  It also comes with a retractable cord, which I love because I hate wrapping up the cord, just don't like how it feels.

Upstairs is a whole different story.
A string falls to the floor from a new shirt, vacuum won't pick it up. 
Some hair falls from my head to the floor, vacuum doesn't care.
Random pits of carpet fuzz, a dead fly, a leaf from a plant, feathers that left the duvet or the pillows, and whatever else may be living in my carpet, vacuum thinks it all needs to stay right where it is.  It literally sucks nothing up from the carpeted floor, it's pretty much awful.  

So what kind of vacuum do you have?  Does it suck?  Does it even suck stuff off carpets? 

hummus

A container of hummus can cost between $2.99 - $4.50, or whatever.  Point being it seems to me that hummus is expensive especially when you consider the cost of the individual ingredients.  I've known this for years and yet I keep purchasing overpriced hummus.

No more I say!  Like I gave up the dryer last April, I've now given up on buying hummus.  See this weekend we had some people over for dinner and I decided to make some homemade hummus as an appetizer with crackers and vegetables.   

I turned to my dear Ina the Barefoot Contessa.  Ina has a passion for fresh and delicious, so I knew she could be trusted.  All the ingredients I needed, minus chick peas, I already had at home.  Bringing the price down to the cost of two cans of beans about $2.

-two cans of chick peas
-couple cloves of garlic
-juice of a lemon or two
-four tablespoons of liquid from the chick pea can
-couple dashes of hot sauce (or not, if you're not into that sort of thing)
-she also suggested I add 1/3 cup of tahini, though Jim was the one going to the grocery story and I didn't think he would be able to locate it, so I skipped it

Buzz everything around in the food processor and add olive oil as needed to get the consistency you like. 

can't relate

Every mom is different, every mom has her own style, I found my opposite at Oliver's gym class the other day.

Towards the end of class the kids have a separation time.  The moms back up and the kids play with each other.  I knew this one mom-son combo was new this week, so I thought I would chat with her.  The opening question in these situations, as I've learned, is "How old is your son?" Let's call her Martha (I got a chance to watch the Martha show today, so I've been thinking about her)

Martha -25 months, which one is yours?
Me -He is the one wearing the Red Sox shirt.
Martha - I can't believe we haven't been to this place, it's so close to our house.
Me -Oh, we really love the class it's a lot of fun, the instructors are awesome, and my son has gained a lot of confidence in his gross motor skills. (A LOT)
Martha -Well this place looks pretty safe, like he can't hurt himself.  I'm really nervous about him getting hurt.  I'm a stay at home mom and we really stay at home a lot.  I think he has speech delays because he is never around other children.

End of separation time, I go assist Oliver in the cleaning process.

I don't know her past or her story, or anything, but the conversation posted above.  For some reason this was on my mind all day.  I'm not nervous about Oliver getting hurt, bumps and scratches don't scare me.  I mean we don't spend our days chasing tornadoes, when he escapes the front door I always scoop him up quickly, and when food is too hot I tell him to blow on it....safe enough, right?  I let him climb on things at the park that two year olds don't normally climb on, he uses knives in the kitchen and stirs food that is cooking, he runs on hard surfaces, and uses a trapeze bar without a mat under it.  Living on the edge?

Is it my personality?  I'm generally a "things are going to be fine" kind of person.  Wait the psychologist called it Pollyanna.  I'm a Pollyanna.  Is it that Oliver is a daredevil and I can't imagine squelching it?  Is it the adoption, is it that I didn't start with a breakable baby?  Is it that he made it through so much already what's a kid at the gym going to do to him? 

Who are you?  A Nervous Nelly?  A free spirit? A hobbit?  A helicopter?  Or a Pollyanna like me?

potty time

We are going on a Caribbean cruise this winter.  Oliver loves water, and this is going to blow his mind!  The reason for the cruise is our cousin's wedding (hey sara), well I guess she is my cousin-in-law, is that such a thing?  Whatever.  It's going to be a super time.

I've recently decided that diapers will not be invited.  I don't want to bring cloth diapers, or buy disposable, or even deal with swim diapers.  Okay maybe swim diapers, he has issues with the pool.

So it's officially time to start potty training.  Three months, here we go...

The good
-Oliver always says when he has to poo and we have had poop free diapers for awhile
-He isn't scared of our toilet, or any he has come across
-Can pull his shorts/pants up and down himself

The not as good
-He has no idea when he has to pee, or at least that's how it seems.  When I put him on the potty he makes it happen, but never indicates its arrival...never.
-The concept of "being a big boy" or "being like dada"  or "not a baby" is foreign to him.  No bribery around that will work.


Our supplies

The motivator

Oliver, do you have to pee
No mama
Remember when you go pee on the potty you get a special snack
Yes pee
Thought so

Part of our stash of new underwear 

We have two packs of the Gerber training pants, they are a slightly more absorbent then standard underwear, but nothing like diapers.  We also have some fancy Thomas the train underwear.  Oliver doesn't know about characters, he hardly watches TV, but he loves trains and we do have a Thomas DVD that he has watched once, so he thinks they are pretty neat.  However, I find myself saying "Okay Oliver you are wearing your Thomas underwear, no peeing on Thomas, Thomas wants to stay dry"  Oh man.

The calming voice in my head comes from Sara over at Clover Lane.  She is sweet, pie sweet.  She speaks so highly of being a stay at home mom, she makes me feel like I have a real job, she reminds me that he is still a baby and there is a lot he needs to get together in order to be successful at potty training and he certainly doesn't need me to get frustrated with him.  Buckets and buckets of patience.  
-------------

So here is how it goes, well at least for the past couple days.
-Diapers only at bed time, and when he is in the care of someone else (church nursery)
-No Pull Ups or whatever the cloth equivalent of Pull Ups are, they might as well be diapers!
-A constant dialogue about peeing and where it goes
-Visiting the bathroom twice an hour during the day and a bit more often after meals or snacks
-Lots of excitement about getting the job done, and a little reward

Here is what I tried and HATED!!!
I've read quite a bit online about different methods.  A very popular method seems to be loading the child up on salty snacks so they drink lots and then have lots of pee.  Well Oliver doesn't need salty snacks to crave water or drinks.  He would drink cups and cups of water all day long if I let him.  Sunday afternoon I let him do just that.  AWFUL.  He was going every five minutes, once on the potty and three times on the floor, again on the potty and four more times on the floor, disaster.  Maybe when he understands the sensation of needing to pee this will help him practice getting there in time, but he certainly isn't ready for it yet. 

Your tips are welcome, please.

windy

So windy the pinwheel spins on its own

 

bubbles blow themselves

and all his hair ends up in the middle.

 --------------

Oliver saw a shark somewhere, and started swimming away...fast.

Do you pinterest?  Yes, then you understand the addiction.  No, well just google it.  Join if you want all your free time stolen, want to feel like you are the least creative human that ever walked the planet, or are looking for solutions to just about anything cooking, cleaning, fashion, decorating, DIY, potty training, etc.  Anyway, I finally did something I pinned.  Thanks for the pat on the back!  We made sidewalk paint, way more fun then chalk.  Basically it's equal parts water & cornstarch with some food coloring.  Oliver thought it was pretty awesome and it cleaned off easily when we watered the garden.  Please ignore the fact that our front steps have fallen off, unless you have a solution. 

turn round peas

We have friends back in Boston that have two domestically adopted children (hey pebble).  I remember Jim and I going out to dinner with them  in October of 2009, to talk about our potential adoption, and get some advice.  The two points I most remember are...

1.  It's his story.  The reasons Oliver was in the orphanage, the information about his family, that's his story.  When he learns it, he can decide who to share it with. 

2.  He might not look like you, but he will pick up your personality traits. 

Let's focus on point two.
 -When we drive to and from the highway we have to cross over some railroad tracks, if a train is coming we have to stop and pull over to watch it, because Jim insists upon it.  Now if Oliver and I are driving alone I'll look both ways to see if a train is coming and if it's not I keep driving.  Then Oliver shouts from the back "turn round peas headlight, turn round peas, cain coming, cain coming"  "I didn't see a train, we are going home now"  "waaaaaaaaaa, cain coming"  
You are your father's son.

-The 2010 BNSF calendar came in the mail the other day, love at first sight.  "coal cain, cain stopped, cain up high"  


-The sound of the food processor or mixer sends him running for the kitchen.  "cooking, cooking, cookies peas"  "snat (snack) peas" 
You are your mother's son

 -When the neighbor starts mowing their lawn Oliver says "dada mow lawn"

mini laundry room spruce up

In my dreams my laundry room might looks something like...

or

 or

However, I would certainly have a shiny red washer and dryer.  I said dreams.  In reality I've got a laundry room that looks like this

and a budget that looks like this 

Laundry isn't my favorite, and I would never drop thousands on a laundry room update, I like the kitchen so much more.  However, I'm willing to part with a few Washington's to make it a bit more functional, and pretty.

 

Pros

-It's big enough

-Has a window

-Some storage 

Cons

-I can't reach the shelf

-Stuff gets cluttered on the floor

-The ironing board cover is yuck

Game plan

-Remove too high shelving. 
The shelving is made of particle board with some laminate coating, it's fine, but I have some wood shelves in the garage just laying around.  Bring them in, bust out the circular saw, cut them to size, sand, paint.  Hang them where I can reach!  Cost -$0

Sans shelving

-Consider better looking brackets.
After considering better brackets I figured it was wasteful to purchase new ones as I have about 15 of those white one in a stack in the basement.  The previous owners really loved shelving!  So I gave the lame brackets a coat of spray paint and called them good enough. Cost -$0

-Repair the walls.
Sanding, spackling, painting, and repeating twice equaled walls as good as new.  Check out the previous color.  High gloss lime green, nice.  Cost-$0

-Bring ironing board back to life.
First I tossed the giant white plastic thingy that held the iron and board and picked up two coat hooks to hold the board.  Then I perused etsy for a better cover.  Cost -$30

Close up of ugly ironing board, lame
P.S. Why do I hang my aprons in the laundry room?  They gotta go.

 -Add a little more personality.
Brought in a few things from around the house.  A table that lived elsewhere, some vases, and some baskets for storage.  Cost -$0

The afters
total cost $30

Not glamorous, just better

Hooks holding the broom, swiffer, and steam mop...keeping them off the floor

The not so attractive stuff hiding next to the dryer
Two of Oliver's favorites the dust bunny and the paper shredder 

The other side

Where the laundry lives, caught on a good day

In the future I may
-add frames or a mirror above the washer/dryer
-attach a clothes line out the window to a tree or the deck
-add a plant

nebraska

Oliver and I had a few days off from work so we decided to visit some friends in Nebraska.

Baking, because they don't let us in without a treat

Now entering tangent territory....
Oliver is wearing his new FEED shirt from the It's A Small World collection over at Nordstrom.  The purchase of this shirt sends 150 vitamins to kids in need.  No I do not shop at Nordstrom on the regular, but this collection is just so adorable.  The Small World 45th anniversary collection ends with the delivery of the Russian Holiday collection in November, come on that's got to be precious.   

On our way up to Lincoln we stopped at the Lied Lodge in Nebraska City.  Nebraska City is the closest thing I can find to New England in Nebraska.  Lots of trees (home of arbor day), and lots of fun fall activities...not that we partook in much.

Apple picking and eating

Rock climbing

Sleeping in his very own queen size bed, now that's living

Next we drove up to Lincoln to visit my co-workers, students, and our former neighbors.  It's times like that when I miss having a job.  Oliver doesn't get my jokes and takes my baking for granted, I love him anyway.  The next day we spend at the Lincoln Children's Museum, which is less expensive than the one here in Kansas, and way way better.  Oliver loved it.  Mostly climbing in the real firetruck and playing with the toy trains.  

Go Big Red

Lastly we headed up to Omaha to see the lovely John, Michelle, and children.  Hung at the zoo, played in the apartment, and got nice and sleepy at the park.  All equaling a quiet four hour drive home, wrong he stayed awake for most of it but was happy and chatty instead of crappy and screaming. 


All in all a nice visit.  It's always fun to get away.  Whose coming to Kansas?

yo baby

Oliver loves all the delicious whole milk yogurt options that YoBaby has.  I love helping orphans.  The SPOON organization has combined the two and is offering coupons for YoBaby yogurt.  Printing the coupon will give you a $1 off your purchase and $1 will go toward helping some babes.

Go print yours!

normal?

In general, if you have to ask am I normal, or is this normal, the answer is usually going to be no.  If it was normal you wouldn't need to ask. 

Oliver has been wondering about a few things.

Is it normal to be this handsome at 8am?

Is it normal to be this excited about hanging one armed? 

Is it normal to keep hanging one armed?

 

How about hanging around upside down, normal?

Is it normal to insist upon carrying giant boxes to the post office?

My dear boy, you are not normal, you are extraordinary.  Extraordinary in the above pictured ways and a million others.  
-----
Upon arriving to the post office and mailing the above package a woman commented on Oliver's strapping good looks.  She said the combination of blonde hair and brown eyes is knowing as an American Beauty.  No no, I think in my head, he is a Russian Gem.