Basement Renovation 2018

I have posted before that when we bought our house a few years ago, we did so knowing that we wanted to finish the basement. It was a huge space, and we bought the house because the staircase was on the side and made the space appear bigger, this is different then 95% of the houses in our neighborhood....

We got a few prices to have all the work done last year, and Hubby was not impressed with the labor costs when he knew he could do the job himself. A few meetings with the township building office last Fall, and in February we were cleared to start building!

I posted here about our large delivery orders and progress, but now the final product!

Please excuse the mess, the kids moved in as soon as the carpet was installed:)

We made the space with a few distinctive areas, a TV space back by the stairs, a large open space for toys.....

 My workout area

A kitchen/craft area without carpet

 A full bathroom

I am more them impressed that Hubby completed this all in about 5 months while only doing it on weekends and nights and still working full time, going to all the kids events and games, and not missing any family functions. It was a labor of love and we are so happy with the way it came out.

Basement Renovation

When we bought our house a few years back, we knew it needed a few things done. Mostly all cosmetic changes and nothing too big....well except the basement....

Yup that was the basement, a giant unfinished space. When we first moved in, we turned the office right off the kitchen into the girls playroom. It was perfect, they were close, but it had doors to close off the mess. It worked, but we always knew we wanted the office back, one day. We decided 2018 would be the year of the basement renovation. It took us a few weeks and a few trips to the Town office, but the plans were all approved and permits issued!

Next was a huge delivery from Lowe's

Yes that is a forklift at my house and that is only 1/4 of the wood pile....

Next the first wall went up...

And less then a month later....we had all the walls up.

More to come on this one......

Old Becomes New Again

We love projects in our house, and reusing things, and not throwing away things that can be useful. Can you see where this might be going? My mom was selling the house that I grew up in and we had this table in the basement (for years and years)

My grandfather and his brother hand built the whole thing. It is huge and heavy and been in the family for decades. I did not really have room for it as a table, but I did still need a headboard.

The amazing hubby cut it down to size, stripped all the old stain off, and used the backing to make legs for it.

Then he white (well gray) washed it, after we tried a few colors of paint on the pieces that came off. Finally it was time to bring it in the house and here it is!

The Great Closet Project

When we bought our house a few years ago, I was thrilled to have his and her closets in our master. Of course Hubby let me pick which one I wanted first. Well within 10 minutes of trying to put my clothes away, I decided I wanted the other closet! (I know, I know such a female move). Now don't get me wrong, I have a nice size closet and I do did love it, but it just did not work for me. Ok so the 30 shoes boxes might have played a part in that. So here is my closet before, Hubby took everything out (check out the cute photo bomb -who was awake that night at 9:30 when I emptied my closet)

 

So no it was not horrible, but lots of wasted space. Here are the empty pictures:

       

I think it was just odd placements of shelves and either not enough space or too much in certain areas. These shelves left tons of wholes in the walls, but the amazing Hubby fixed all of those and gave the closet a new coat of white paint.

 

So fresh and clean.

Then it was time to re-install the shelves. Since it was Closetmaid products in the closet before hand (and we did not want to spend a fortune), we went with the Closetmaid  Shelf Track. This allowed us a lot of flexibility when we were putting up the shelves to move things around and find the best layout. (Also I can move things at any time now as well). We were able to use all the shelves (cut a few down), rods, and rod holders, and just got new brackets and these fun shoe brackets!

Here is my after pictures:

 

I really have to thank Hubby for doing such a great job with my new closet. It is so much more functional and I love it!

*** No compensation was received for this post, I paid for all the products we used, the labor was free though;)

Shed Organization Project

We do not like to not have anything to do in our house. Hubby and I always are coming up with new DIY projects. We are currently trying to look for projects that also are on the saving end of the budget. (We had to do this project because we bought new patio furniture, hence the saving comment). So bring on the great shed re-organization.

When we bought our house last year, we had almost no outdoor furniture or items as we did not have a place to store then or yard to use them in beforehand. So we have acquired and build a lot in the 12 months since then, see posts here and here. And the shed that we just keep putting stuff into now looked like this

It was a bit more then this overly organized Mom could take. So the first step was to move the extra fence pieces on to the back wall and actually move some of the back shelf. This gave us a lot more room for the kids toys. This is only part of the way into the project and look how much nicer!

After a quick trip the Christmas Tree Shop, we got some additional boxes for storage and the project was complete! 

I put the sand toys in a laundry basket, then the chalk and balls in plastic bins. We put all the patio cushions in these amazing bags from the Container Store. You can see them in the picture and they are the best and so easy to carry all the cushions in. I just love them. 

We hung all the yard tools on the side wall

and put the big stuff up against the back

This gave us a TON of free space in the front of the shed. I am so excited that we did this whole project for under $50! What has been your favorite easy project?

Spring Holiday Decor

I love decorating for any holiday (and all holidays, just ask my Hubby). But I am also picky about my decorations and I like them to look a certain way. So I was loving all the wooden signs for the holidays and loved the idea of reversible ones, this was my inspiration

* I would link to this item but it is gone from Etsy.

I had hubby cut me some blocks from wood in the garage (luckily he saves all his extra wood). Then the girls and I went to AC Moore with a gift card for craft paper. Lucky for us it was on clearance and we scored 2 huge books!

Then a little Mod Podge on the paper/wood and let it dry.

They I made letter stencils (printed out a font I liked in the right size and cut them out) and made the letters with permanent markers.

Decor done!

VTech Go! Go! Smart Wheels Ultimate RC Speedway Review

First of all this item is awesome! My only do my girls love the VTech Go! Go! Smart Wheels Ultimate RC Speedway (both the 18 month old and 4 year old can use it, it is so simple) but the hubby is obsessed as well! It took a little while to set up with all the stickers and pieces, but it has been so much fun I have already ordered the other 2 cars!

Here is some info about the Speedway from VTech

• Enhance your child's creativity with Go! Go! Smart Wheels RC car toy race track; kids build their own race track and race Smart Point RC cars around for maximum fun RC car toy race track
• Toddler toy uses the steering wheel-shaped remote control for an exciting interactive experience with the Go! Go! Smart Wheels RC SmartPoint Racer; includes 9 SmartPoint locations and 8 mechanical features
• Light-up driver button on the race car toy activates fun phrases, music and sounds; teaches the letter R and vehicle name; RC SmartPoint Racer can be used in standard and remote control mode
• Vehicle playset works with all other Go! Go! Smart Wheels and Go! Go! Smart Animals playsets (each sold separately); inspire the imagination and build an entire world with VTech
• For more interactive fun, get another RC SmartPoint Racer (sold separately) and race a friend or add other Go! Go! Smart Wheels vehicles (sold separately) to the Ultimate RC Speedway
• Toddler RC car track makes a great gifts for kids for ages 1 to 5 years old; Car requires 3 AAA batteries (included for demo only, use new batteries for regular use); remote requires 2 AAA batteries (not included)

This seems to be an item that will get a lot of use in our home! Thanks VTech!

**I was not compensated for this review but was sent the product shown to review. All opinions are my own. 

HAWMC- I take it back

 Write about a time that you lashed out at someone close to you because of
frustration/fear/anger resulting from your health condition and you wish you could take it back.
Forgive yourself and let it go.

I touched on this a little bit before, but it was been a rough year for Hubby and I, with my back being in so much pain. Right before I went to the doctor, I broke down in tears and yelled at Hubby about my back hurting like it was his fault or something (I was in a lot of pain and actually laying on the floor because it hurt so badly).

I really wish that I did not take it out on him, now I realize that he was just worried about me, but at the time I thought he was not being sensitive enough. If I could go back in time I would have told him a lot sooner.....

HAWMC- Hindsigh

 What have you learned about being a patient/caregiver that has surprised you most?

I thought I would pick this one after a recent conversation with the Hubby about how I act when my back and leg pain bothers me. I actually have a high pain tolerance (which is why I normally wait too long to get help when I have a problem), but pain does put me in a bad mood. When the pain in my leg "bites" as I call it, I can go from being fun and happy to very b**chy quickly. I feel so bad about it and don't realize that I am actually doing it at first. But apparently I let my pain get the better of me.....

I am working on getting better about this and trying to be proactive about not letting the pain get bad, but that does not always happen :( I have to be better about stretching and doing yoga ever few days to keep the pain away. So my goal is to not allow my pain to affect my mood (too much!) when it does sneak up on me.

Sorry hubby, I love you!

Working out as a family

Talk about being crazy busy lately, I feel like we have been nonstop and it is not even summer yet! After a very relaxing vacation for Hubby and I, we decided that we need to both get more serious about working out. We decided we were going to buy an elliptical trainer for the house since a gym membership would not really work with our schedules. Lucky for us, my aunt was trying to get rid of her elliptical at the same time!

 This is not our exact one, but similar. We have only had it a few days but so far so good. The only problem I had was that I could not get my magazine or book to sit on the controls (I love to read when I "run"). Well after much "Googling" (had to change my search from how to read on an elliptical to how to read on a treadmill) I found this:

It has been ordered from Amazon (I love them and there quick shipping) and now I will just wait to use it and try to "run" without reading :(

Once the weather gets nice (I say this as a snow storm is headed our way) Hubby and I would love to start running again outside with Little Miss, however we want a jogging stroller that we can both use. Anyone have recommendations for a jogger that the handle bar adjusts? (I am thinking I might ask for one for my birthday..... )

A built in desk for the weekend

In the recent months (or since Christmas when we became overrun with toys), we decided that the basement office area needed a redo. Here is the original set up

This was changed before Little Miss arrived and we pushed the desk against the one wall to make more floor space for her to play. (Hubby got so excited for the project, I did not get the chance to take a picture before he took the table down!)

We decide that it would make more sense to have a desk with storage and add some storage above as well. This would also allow us to free up some other storage areas in the house as well. Hubby came up with a plan and we decided to go with pre-made cabinets to save the time (with Little Miss we really did not feel like finishes the cabinets ourselves). So off to Lowe's went the Hubby (did you know if you get a Lowe's card you save 5% on EVERYTHING!?!) So with discount in hand, Hubby and my FIL picked up all the supplies and set off to work. They finished most of the job on Saturday and Hubby and I completed the rest Sunday morning after a trip to Jo-Ann's for cork tiles.

Here you have it:

I love my new desk and all the storage it gives me.

Here is the other side (the playroom) that also looks huge now!

What is your newest organizing project?

Small Business Saturday

I am a huge fan of my American Express card, because we get great deals and some amazing cash back. I know that some places do not accept AmEx and that apparently they charge a huge fee to small businesses, but they are one of the sponsors of Small Business Saturday each year. Small Business Saturday is a favorite event in our house. I first learned about it 3 years ago when a small business near us ran a special if you used your AmEx that day. Also if you register your AmEx at the Small Business Saturday webpage you get a $25 credit if you spend $25 at one location!

Of course you know that I would be all over that! Since Hubby and I each have an AmEx we where able to sign up for 2 of the $25 credits. After much debate (and a crazy day on the Saturday after Thanksgiving) we decide to order food from 2 local places for dinner and to have on Sunday to eat (and as it worked out the rest of the week too!) Here is the haul, and with our credits this was all less then $5!

We had a ton of food, not all healthy, but this was about 5 meals for us! And we realized the pizza place near us does a pasta dinner with soup, salad and bread for about $13 (which is more then enough to feed us all - seriously it was over a pound of pasta, yes we did weigh it.)

Thank you Small Business Saturday  can't wait to see you next year!