3 Kids and Living Room Makeover (in my dreams)

Well, it’s been 3 weeks since I last posted – or at least close to it, I think.  I went from posting at least once a week to not at all.  Thanks for sticking it out with me. 

I think I’m somewhat adjusted to a life with 3 kiddos.  (I mean, as adjusted as you can be in 7 1/2 weeks…)  It’s really not that bad. (All moms of 3 with older kids just said, “YET.”)  The hardest part is when we need to go somewhere.  Walker despises his car seat.  I’m talking, within 5 minutes of being in it, he is screaming like someone is stabbing him.  He hates it.  So going places is difficult.  It also takes forever to get 3 kids ready to go and loaded up and buckled into their car seats.  Caroline is in a big girl booster seat but she can’t do the seat belt by herself yet.  So I buckle her first, then Amelia, then buckle Walker into his seat and snap him in.  Whew.  I’m tired just thinking about it.

Our days at home really aren’t bad.  Walker sleeps in his swing in the living room during the day.  He is a super quick nurser so within 10 minutes he’s usually finished eating.  He DOES still eat about every 2 hours.  Every now and then he’ll stretch it to 3 hours.  I never know what to do with that extra hour when he stretches it out.  It’s so exciting.  Ha! 

In non-kiddo news:  I’m desperate to redo my living room.  Why?  I have no idea.  Because I am just like my mother and I like change...in my décor at least.  That being said, my décor has basically been the same since we moved in.  I have always gravitated toward warm colors in my living areas.  Beige, deep reds, olive green, goldy yellows, burnt orange – maybe that’s why I like Fall décor so much.  Anyway, all of a sudden, I want some blue in my living room.  I think I just want to brighten the room up a bit and adding blue seems like a good way to do that.  However, how do you mix a cool blue color with all of those warm colors?  Well I’ll tell you -  you change all of your decor, that’s how.  Obviously, I cannot afford to change everything I’ve done in my living room over the last 2 years so I’m trying to find another solution.  I need something with warm colors that also has a touch of blue.  So I’m looking at this fabric to make curtains:

It’s Santa Maria Adobe by Waverly

The problem?  It’s like $17.00/yd and I have 3 windows that need curtains and one door that would need a new roman shade.  Two panels on each window + a roman shade?  We’re talking like, 18 yards of fabric.  You do the math.  My husband would K-I-L-L me if I spent that much money on curtains for my living room. 

But look how pretty it is!  That’s what I’m going to say to him when he argues with me. 

I also want some new curtain rods.  Of course I do.  The ones we got when we moved in were from Walmart and are too short for our windows – so the rod is caving in the middle from the weight of the curtains. 

Have you all seen this illustration? 

I’m sure you have.  Well my curtains are the exact same as the “DON’T” illustration.  I’ve wanted to do the “DO” for a long time, but my curtains are too short to move my rod up and my rod is too short to move it out any further.  *sigh*  Supposedly it lets in a lot more sunlight – which I adore.

I really want those big chunky wooden curtain rods – but again, I’d need three.  They’re about $50/ea at Home Depot & Lowes.  Luckily, we have saved some Lowes and HD gift cards that we got over a year ago and now seems like the perfect time to use them!   

Then of course, I’d need some pillows that have that pop of blue in them.  Then some little accents around the room.  And lest we forget, I’ve asked for new couches for Christmas.  I really want a couch or sectional that is deeper than the standard couch.  When I lie down on the couch, I don’t want half my body hanging off because it isn’t deep enough.  When I was pregnant, it was twice as bad…but it definitely still does it in my non-pregnant state.  It would also be nice to have one that hasn't been pooped, peed, spit-up, and had food rubbed on it.  Even if that wouldn’t last 5 minutes.   

So you see I have a lot of $$ saving to do.  I’m having a garage sale soon – maybe that will help go to curtain money.  The couches will have to be Christmas/Anniversary…if at all. 

My amazing mother-in-law has given me the most beautiful piece of furniture.  Judd said, “Really?  You think so?”  because to him it looks like it’s falling apart.  To me, it looks like it needs a little TLC and it’ll be looking brand new!

It’s been sitting outside her house (under a patio) for about 10 years.  I want to add some big detailed feet to the bottom and stain the top and the feet a dark wood.  The bottom half I want painted white.  It’s going to go where my china cabinet is now.  We never use my china, so I’m going to store it for now. (Sidenote:  Does ANYONE actually use their china?)  We sanded the top last weekend and did a little sanding on the bottom half.  It’s looking great so far!

I can’t wait to get finished.  My goal is to finish it by Thanksgiving.  I’m sure if I had more time to devote to it, we could finish it sooner – but I don’t.  So Thanksgiving is my goal!  I want to be able to decorate it for Christmas.  I think it’s a great place to hang our stockings since we don’t have a mantle.  It’s as tall (without the feet added) as our bar – so it’s a tall piece of furniture! 

ANYWAY – I’ve made up for 3 weeks of not posting all in one post.  This was quite a menagerie of topics in one post.  Gotta keep ya on your toes.  

You now know all of my hopes and dreams for my living room.  Next post, I’ll tell you about how I wish I hadn’t put carpet in the girls playroom because it’s now a sticky-cereal-bar-jello-gummy-snack-goldfish-crayon-infested-mess.  Do all people make lists of things they “someday” want to do to their houses?  Or is that just me? 

Next time!