Lila's new room

After Megan moved out, we thought about how we might rearrange our space to utilize it better.  My sewing room is currently in the open space in the basement and Lila was upstairs close to Thom and I.  Megan's room, the guest bedroom, is downstairs next to River, so we decided to move Lila down there to be close to her brother.  Then we can move my sewing space upstairs to Lila's old room, and open up the old sewing space as a playroom for the kids.  That way I get a space to work in with a door that closes, the kids have a much larger space to play in, and no rooms are unused.

Last week we worked on the first part of the change: moving Lila downstairs.  It was a slow process, but it's turned out pretty nice.  We touched up the old lavender paint on the walls and painted the white bricks chartreuse.  I added some huge leaves to the walls to complete the garden theme already in place with flower and bug decals on the walls.

On the right is the entry door and the left is her closet door.  The changing table and diaper pails fit nicely in the little alcove at the entryway.

Here's her closet - which still needs a little organization - but the dresser fits nicely and right now her hanging clothes fit fine on the bar.

In the opposite corner is her crib and rocking chair.   You can't see it here, but there's actually some floor space for her to play on.  I think eventually we'll need to get rid of the chair to open it up some more, and the room is just begging for a fun new rug.

To the right of the crib is the door to the storage closet/tool room.  She has an assortment of toys in the fun zoo baskets and plenty of board books to keep her entertained.  Of course both kids have more toys than they know what to do with, and most of those will eventually end up in the playroom.

So step one is done.  Next I need to do some work on Lila's old room.  I've removed the decals from the walls and it needs a fresh coat of paint.  I'll add some shelving to the closet then move my sewing table and accessories in. We'll get a couch with a pull-out bed and use it as a guest room when needed.  Much better use of space than keeping a queen size bed in an unused room.

We already have some fun ideas for the playroom and I'm pretty excited for the kids to have a designated play space.  When we moved into this house I always imagined downstairs as the kids' den and we're definitely making strides in that direction.

Don't let those sweet faces fool you

I've been searching for a new sitter since December, and I think I'm close to finding one.  I had an excellent phone interview with someone a few days ago and I'll be meeting her in person this afternoon.  I got off the call and said to Thom, "I love her.  She seems perfect. Please, God, I hope she's the one."  Can you hear the desperation? If she doesn't show up with a hook for a hand and a bag of dead puppies, it should be a lock.

Without any help this past month, I've been basically surviving the daily grind.  No time for sewing, no time for blogging, and without a date night with Thom to remind me I'm more than a mommy machine, I'm kind of going crazy. I've had more than few days of feeling ready to be strapped down in a padded room, but the end is in sight.  I thought I would enjoy my solo time with the kids a bit more, but this past month has brought some insane developmental changes in Lila and a whole new round of monstrous testing and tantrums from River.  So what I thought might be leisurely days at the library or playing dress-up have turned into nearly non-stop screaming matches with a 3 year old broken only by the occasional trek through the house to picking up EVERY. SINGLE. ITEM. pulled from our drawers, cabinets, and shelves by Lila.

So if you've noticed an absence here in Summerland, now you know why.  Hopefully, my sanity and I can make an appearance again soon.

Christmas wrap-up

We had a wonderful Christmas holiday in Las Vegas with the extended family.  Here are some highlights.

 River wore his new super hero cape pretty much everywhere, including this trip we made to the Natural History Museum.  Here, he and dad are hot on the trail of a T-rex in the NHM parking lot.

 The kids had a blast in the aquarium section of the museum.  Lila, Nanu, River, and Thom especially loved the shark tank.

 We all got to meet little Kian Doyle for the first time.

 Dadu set up this awesome cardboard playhouse and of course the big kids had to get in on the decorating.  I was so happy to see Jenn and Alex during their short trip to town.

 Syd and River enjoying some brief outside time between days of rain.

 Lila got ready for her big birthday bash with a million balloons.

 Christmas morning at my folk's place.  Mommy and Lila opened her stocking together.

 Nanu and Dadu looked through their photo album from us.

 Finn spent some quality time with his new brother, Kian (on the right I think), and cousin Quentin.  The little ones share the same birthday.

 Christmas morning was so exciting!!

 Dinosaurs were the theme at Oma and Opa's house.  River got two buckets full of them, two huge figurines, and a dino shirt.

 The remote control buggy was a favorite present.

 Doyle men (and Kian).

 Mommy and River relaxing with a morning snuggle.

 Little Jawa Lila playing outside at Oma's house.

Footy pajamas!  My Christmas darlings had a wonderful time in Vegas, and now we're all glad to be home (except for that pesky time adjustment).