#ThompsonNumber3 To Do List: Preparing for Jack-Attack

Since I am only four one week away from #ThompsonNumber3's debut I figured I better make a list of things I still need to do in order to be ready for him to be here! 

Things to get out of storage: 

• Newborn sized clothes 
• Infant car seat and base
• Arm's Reach Co-Sleeper
• Various swings and bouncy seats

Things to do: 

• Put clothes into the dresser
• Install infant car seat into the car
• Pack hospital bag
• Complete birth plan and print out a few copies to take to the hospital
• Hang up artwork in his room
• Put crib together

I am actually surprised at how much of the list has already been completed but there is always more to be done!  Typing up my birth plan is the BIGGEST thing that needs to be done as soon as possible- Jack could be here tonight or in six weeks... lets hope it's sooner than later! 

Around the Nest: DIY Chalkboard

In our last home we had an awesome chalkboard wall and we loved it! It was fun to write notes to each other and let Everett scribble on.  When we moved to our new place we didn't have a wall that we could use as a chalkboard wall.  After we had lived here for a few months I finally found a place that we could have our beloved chalkboard on, it's a small area that is actually behind a few chairs but it works. 

Here's the space we decided on for the chalkboard wall.

The space where I wanted it has a chair rail but the railing doesn't go all the way to the sides of the wall so we couldn't just paint the whole underneath portion of the wall.  After some deliberation Tyler decided that he could trim in the chalkboard, which would give it a defined space and would make it look much nicer than just a black wall. 

Gathering up his tools.

This ended up being a very affordable project as we only needed to purchase the trim that we needed since Tyler had all of the other items (saw, nails, etc.) 

Trim is up on the wall! 

Aunt Tonya graciously offered to come over and paint the area for us. After a few coats of the chalkboard paint we were in the chalkboard business! 

Aunt Tonya taping off the trim, getting ready for the paint!

Here is the finished project! Everett loves drawing and doodling on the chalkboard and when we are done we just put the chairs right back.  We love the chalkboard wall!  Thanks for helping us out Aunt Tonya! 

Ta-da! 

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Come One, Come All!

Hanging up posters!

A few friends and I had a multi-family garage sale this past weekend and it was a great success! This was the first time I have hosted and even participated in a garage sale so I was a little nervous about how it was going to go.  I did a little research about what I needed to do in order to make sure that people showed up and actually bought the stuff I was selling.  Young House Love has a great post about hosting a yard sale, here.  The biggest thing is to advertise your sale.  I posted an advertisement in the local newspaper, Craigslist, and on facebook.  Additionally, Tiphany and I hung up signs and balloons around the area the day of the garage sale. 

The main goal, for me was to get the items out of the house and any money that I made would definitely be a bonus.  Since Flubber is going to be here sooner than later I really have started cleaning out all of our nooks and crannies in order to de-clutter and make more room for any new stuff that may be making its way into our house.  

The front of the drive way

We tried to place our items up on tables so that when people were browsing they didn't have to get down on the ground to check anything out.  I did place some toys and things on a sheet on the ground so that it any kiddos that came by would be able to see them.  We also placed all the larger and bulkier items together up toward the front of the drive way so that they could be seen from the road.  

Sonja's "station" on the side of the driveway

We also made sure to let people know that we were willing to negotiate the prices of our items.  Overall it was a successful garage sale!  We had a great turnout (people started showing up before we were even set up) and sold a lot of our items! :) 

Around the Nest: Pantry Organization

$1 each at the dollar store! Score!

I have mentioned before that I have OCD and you know since I am pregnant and all nesting has definitely set in so the other day when I walked into my pantry and saw how terribly unorganized, cluttered, junky, and messy it was I decided it was time to get to work!  I went to the dollar store and got a few bins to organize some of the loose items and headed in.  Tyler was nice enough to entertain Everett so I was able to knock it out in one evening! 

I had a few "goals" in mind: 

• Items that we use frequently needed to be easily accessible  
• Items that we do not use frequently need to be put up higher
• Items that were similar should be grouped together (laundry items, games, canned goods, breakfast items, etc.) 
• Items in front of the shelves should be put away, relocated, or thrown away. 

Before

After (Notice my little helper!)

Before: Above the washer/dryer

After: Above the washer/dryer

Before: Pantry area

After: Pantry area

So... what do you think? Does it seem like I made any improvements?  Have you been organizing anything around your house? 

Around the Nest: Clean Up Clean Up Everybody Everywhere

Now that I have that song stuck in your head hopefully it will get out of mine! :)  We have been doing some serious spring winter cleaning around our house this past week and it makes me all warm and fuzzy!  I love to organize things and get them all nice and neat. Blame it on the pregnancy, my OCD, or my type A personality, whatever you want!  

This all started because I could not figure out how I wanted to organize the kids clothes. Silly right?  Most people would say, "put them in their closet."  Well it's not that simple because we room share.  Everett has been sharing the large closet in our room with me and while that has been working for just him, it wouldn't be big enough for two kids. As things were, his dresser (which was only three drawers) was in his closet and his shirts were hanging on the bar above the dresser.  I figured that if I moved him to one of the other closets in our room I could fit his clothes and the baby's clothes in together.  I had my mom look for a larger dresser that could house two children's clothes.  She luckily found a very nice one which fit (like a glove) into a different closet in our room.  

So once I got all of Everett's clothes into the new dresser and the new closet I needed something to do with the old dresser.  I decided that three drawers in a dresser are better than two shelves on a changing table so I took out the changing table and am now using the dresser as a changing table.  The pad fits almost perfectly on top of the dresser and the drawers provide plenty of space for his cloth diapers and other diapering accessories. Winning! 

Are you following? Here's a breakdown... 

So after all was said and done I ended up with a bigger closet, the boys have more space, the changing table has more space, and everything was organized! Winning! 

I also moved all of my jackets, dresses, and sweatshirts into the "new" section of my closet so that everything was more spread out and this freed up more space in the closet in the foyer (aka coat closet.)  I did leave my heavy "outter" coats in the coat closet but brought all of the ones that could be used in an outfit into my new closet.  Additionally, I went through all of the junk that had been piling up in the coat closet and organized that as well. 

So that was the beginning of our winter cleaning... I still have plans for my "office" area (which is located in our kitchen) as well as the laundry room/pantry.  Have any of you been up to winter cleanning?

Around the Nest: Christmas Time at the Thompson's House

Welcome to our Christmas wonderland here at Casa de Thompson!  To be honest, it has been "Christmas" over here since the day after Thanksgiving.  I couldn't wait to get the decorations out and get our house and us in the holiday mood! So here is a little preview of what our house is looking like these days! 

And the stockings were hung by the chimney wood stove with care...

The Santa in the lower right hand section is Tyler's from when he was a kid! 

Even the cut out got a little holiday sprucing! 

This is a hard area to photograph because of all the natural light- it is right when you walk in the front door. 

Bernard, the elf guards our front table! 

Naked tree!

All dolled up! 

So there you have it! Come back this week and read about a few of my favorite Christmas traditions! Do you have any favorite traditions? I would love to share some here on the blog! 

Around the Nest: Family Bedroom: About 95% Complete

Looking for Mouth Watering Wednesday?  Not to worry! I am switching things up a bit and alternating Mouth Watering Wednesdays and Nifty Thrifty Friday/Nap Time Craft Time from week to week! I will be back next week with a delicious recipe for you to try! 

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As promised (a while ago) I am finally getting around to posting about our house updates! I am trying to post about one room at a time and keep y'all updated! :) 

Here is what the family bedroom looked like when the previous owner lived here.  They used it as a master bedroom with a sitting area.  The bathroom is through the doorway on the right side of that white television. 

Here are a few photos of what the room looked like the day that we closed on the house.  It was pretty much a blank canvas.  We did end up taking down the two wall lamps and we replaced the carpet that was in there.  It was definitely getting a little dingy and I think that there may have been a dog or two to "mark their territory" in there! 

Here are a few pictures of the bathroom from closing day.  It is hard to get good pictures of that room! 

 

Here are the photos you've been anticipating! :)  Our newly redone and definitely improved family bedroom! You may notice my little helper in a picture or two!  

This first photo is taken from the same place as the photo from the previous owner.  As you can see we use the space a lot differently than they did. We still have some things that need to be hung on the wall.  We have a large mirror that will go on the back teal wall and we haven't decided what will go above the changing table.  The problem with hanging something over the changing table is that if it is low enough, Everett with most certainly mess with it! 

Now you can see why we call it our family bedroom.  This set up works for our family and that's all we are concerned about! 

One of my favorite parts of our room is that I have a great space to display my cross collection (above the dressers.)  They are not only beautiful but help to remind Tyler and I to keep Christ at the center of our relationship.  And yes, that is a Big Bird book in the middle of the floor! Thanks Everett! 

Here's the bathroom.  Not a lot of changes going on in here, mostly just adding our own stuff.  I still need to hang something on that back wall. 

Eventually the window from our old bathroom will hang on this wall above the toilet. It is going to look great in this bathroom, especially since all the tile is pink! 

So that's it! We still have a few things left to do in this room but we are pretty much done! 

Here's our to do list:

• New carpet
• Take down wall lamps
• Paint
• Move in furnitrue
• Hang crosses
• Hang pictures

Around the Nest: Playroom- It's Done!

Looking for Nifty Thrifty Friday/Nap Time Craft Time?  Don't fret, come back next Friday for a fun and exciting craft project! 

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Well the first room to be completely done in our new house is, of course the playroom! A lot of work has gone into this room and I can't wait to share the final product with the world! 

So here is the blank canvas that we started out with. 

Here's the room with the landscaping added...

So we have been working on getting all of Everett's toys and fun stuff in there and having a great friend of mine, Lisa come and paint Dr. Seuss characters on the wall.  She did an AMAZING job and if anyone in the Fredericksburg area needs a mural painted please contact me and I will get you her info. Without further ado, here it is folks! :)

  

  

We LOVE how it turned out and Everett really enjoys playing in there! 

Around the Nest: Playroom- Paint's Going Up!

Welcome to the new playroom... errr well the in progress playroom! I have big plans for this room and we are hoping to get most of the to-do list crossed off before we move in. 

Here is what the playroom looked like before any changes or improvements were done: 

Here is the to-do list for the playroom: 

• Dr. Seuss mural
• Paint the background
• Paint the characters 
• Create a book nook out of the closet
• Take the closet door off the hinges
• Add "bookshelves" 
• Add curtain and tie back
• Add some sort of seating (bean bag chair, etc)
• Move in all the "stuff"
• Futon
• Changing table
• Organizing shelf
• Toys
• Rugs

Not a large to-do list but it will take some effort to get it all done before the move in date. Today while Everett was playing at a friends house (thanks again Jana) I painted the background of the playroom.  I can't wait to see all of the characters up on the wall, my good friend Lisa is coming over tomorrow to paint them! 

Here's what the playroom looks like with the background (note: I didn't cut in the ceiling or around the tops of the windows because I forgot to bring a ladder!) 

Stay tuned for more fun!