St. Nick came.
This is what my TINY downstairs 1/2 bath looks like right now. But I am so excited about it. I picked out my tile and wallpaper in one day-I got so lucky because I adore them both-and spent hundreds less than I thought I'd have to. I will do a before and after post when it's completed. By the way, we are not doing this work ourselves-just so you know-that would be scary. And it would look just like that picture above for the next 20 years if that was the case. Why did I start this project weeks before Christmas? I ask myself that several times a day.
First snow flakes.
I let them.
Because of your one post about the toys you buy that make your kids use their brains, I decided to do the same and found an awesome gift for my three year old called marbulous! Thanks for the ideas!
ReplyDeleteYou know I'd be all over color sorting that pile! I'd love to come over and we could chat about your bathroom remodel while we sorted. :) Can't wait to see the before and after photos! And that is just what I have been thinking - why did we start our little (or should I say HUGE) project in December? I think people like you and me need things to be crazy. Or at least crazy is the norm. We'd feel really crazy if things slowed down!
ReplyDeleteColour coding.....well I admit I considered it......but then NO!
ReplyDeleteWe always manage to do renovations before Christmas, like having the lounge painted and had to have the air-conditioning on cos its so hot outside - it is so stressful I wonder why we do it to ourselves. I have learnt, its taken a few years, but I have learnt to say NO we can do it in the New Year.
Sarah, Craigslist IS addicting. I have always viewed it as a conscience-clearing tool. In other words, if I'm inclined to get rid of something, I'll post it on craigslist first. If I make a few or a lot of bucks on it, great! If not, I can take it to the thrift store, guilt-free.
ReplyDeleteOne regret I still have is when I finally convinced Mark to get rid of a universal-type weight machine. I listed it FOR FREE! No wonder we had about 6 guys with high school-aged boys clamboring for it, literally racing to our door. I kick myself thinking that I could have gotten SOMETHING for it. Oh well.
In fact, somebody's coming today to buy something I listed.
This is the first year we aren't in the midst of a project during the holidays! Can't wait to see the new bath. And yes, I too would color sort those Legos!!
ReplyDeleteYou are so funny. Thanks for the smiles this morning. Have a great day.
ReplyDeleteI can't believe how big Patrick is looking! I think it's the big boy haircut! We sold an old fridge on Craigslist within 24 hours and also got full price. I just can't part with all the baby stuff. :)
ReplyDeleteOh can't wait to see your new bath! How exciting! I'm guessing you'll be getting a new sofa too? Can't wait to see! I was very nervous with Craigs list too, but it sure is addicting! We had a local celebrity's daughter come by to buy something one time...that was fun! And yes, it took that visit to make me realize everyone uses it and they are not murderers. ;). Although I still get nervous!
ReplyDeleteAround here it's Kijiji but we haven't had a Kijiji killer thank the Lord.
ReplyDeleteSo what part of your heritage makes you celebrate St. Nick on the 5th? We are Dutch, so it's Sinterklaas on the 5th. Lots of fun. Our elf even did something Dutch.
YOU MADE ME LAUGH!! I BET WHOEVER IS DOING THE BATHROOM REDO IS HAPPY FOR THE JOB....ESPECIALLY RIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS! SANTA ALWAYS NEEDS A LITTLE HELP:)
ReplyDeleteALSO, I WAS WONDERING ABOUT THE RAZOR 360 YOU POSTED ABOUT....DO YOU THINK A 5 YEAR OLD IS OLD ENOUGH TO HAVE ONE?
"the dibers" is so right. i bet it's a blessing to the person working on your bathroom. it's hard times right now for builders. can't wait to see the final bathroom! jen over at "i heart organizing" did a post a few months ago on how she organized her boys legos. looks tempting for sure! i love it that my girls love legos and are asking for them for christmas. such a timeless toy.
ReplyDeletewe have a similar lego pile, which i color coded a few years ago (and it maybe lasted a year as well)....i don't know if i'll ever get around to doing it again, and they seem perfectly happy to play with it as-is....
ReplyDeleteThat is so funny about the legos. When Joey was sick, we sorted all the kits and put them in ziplocs. For me, it seems like once something was built, it was never touched again - same with Kinex. TinkerToys were much more open-ended and used a lot. So I thought if I took all the "free" legos and sorted them into an unstructured box they would get played with. For some reason I sorted them (probably from the first project) and they never got used.....
ReplyDeleteIf it makes you feel any better, my front entranceway is in almost as sorry a state as your bathroom. Our original plan was to get it done before Christmas, but in the last couple of weeks we decided it just wasn't happening if we wanted to stay sane over the holidays :) There is lots of spackling and sanding to be done and I can't handle dealing with all that dust right now - so it will get done the week between Christmas and Boxing Day and that will be just fine! Our family and friends are pretty used to our fixer-upper being in some type of mid-reno so no one will give it a second thought, lol.
ReplyDeleteHaha about the CL killer! I always get scared when I sell something on CL too! If my hubby isn't home, I call him as they're pulling in the driveway to buy whatever, and he stays on the phone with me until they're gone.
ReplyDeleteI love those Pottery Barn pillow covers....great deal!
Can't wait to see the before and after of the bathroom.
I love your Ordinary Days posts, Sarah. Actually, I love all your posts.
ReplyDeleteI wish you'd come to my house and separate our Legos by color. I did that once--but that was when my oldest son was in 6th grade. He's now a junior at Duke. Time flies! Anyway, I think we probably have at least four times that many Legos now; my youngest son is a Lego genius. And as far as I'm concerned, there's not much that I'd rather a boy be doing than building with Lego bricks!
this post made me laugh! i'm so glad you didn't get whacked by the craig's list people!
ReplyDeletexo
katie
I have been meaning to ask you how you organize your Legos.
ReplyDeleteNever mind.
We sold my minivan on Craigslist after just 2 days of it being listed and got full price...CASH money too! wahoo!! It is very addicting. We have a great little resale store in town and I take stuff there every few months and make a little quick cash. I give away a lot of stuff too, but sometimes it helps to use that money towards the things my family needs. Good all around...minus the crazies of course!
ReplyDeleteUpdating to say the people came to get my freezer and I was SUPER GLAD they didn't have to come into my house to get it! Nice enough, but whoa! Can you say "DELIVERANCE!" They wanted to buy other stuff in my garage. (Which I might take them up on later in the week-what the heck, they already know where I live).
ReplyDeleteI'm ashamed to say-and even more ashamed to publicize the thought that-I did wonder whether they needed the freezer for their serial murdering.
I love to play in the legos with my children. They start looking for one particular tiny little piece, and after they have gone though the pile three times and can't find it, I get down there and look for it (and almost always find it), so that they can move on and have fun. I love to help them be successful.
ReplyDeleteOK so I know we're secretly related. I sorted my boys lego by size (yes really) earlier this year and I totally freak out if I find it not put back properly... but I know it won't last.
ReplyDeleteOh I wish I would've known your sectional was for sale! I'm from the area and so would have loved to snatched that up! I've been looking for a sectional for over a year now, but my husband won't agree to parting with him bachelor furniture (all the fluff has worn out - it takes a crane to try to get out of the cushions).
ReplyDeleteI'm putting my foot down - it is time. I injured my shoulder while trying to get up out of the couch with my 20+ pound sleeping baby in my arms. It still hurts almost a week later.
Do your kids still love legos? My oldest used to do the kits and now all the pieces (except a few prized ones) are apart. I discovered some neat books on Amazon.com though this year and are getting them for him for Christmas. There is one called The Ultimate Lego book and it shows them how to make all kinds of things out of their Legos! (not kits just using their pieces!) Then I found some others that go with that theme! AWESOME! Can't wait to get them!
ReplyDeletei am TOTALLY with you ... i color coded all our legos a couple of years ago into separate bins. since we kept all the instruction books, it was much easier looking for a specific piece in the appropriate color-coded bin.
ReplyDeletei happened to mention this on my blog, and boy did i get a lot of comments that day ... most along the lines of "are you completely insane???"
;-)
Love the Lego picture...that is a ton of Legos! My oldest is only 4...and I though we already had a ton of Legos...makes me look forward to the future...haha!
ReplyDeleteThat is an enormous pile of Legos. Thanks for your book suggestions. Can never have enough books in the home.
ReplyDeleteLOL I have sorted our Legos by color before. I think yours lasted longer though!
ReplyDeleteI recently started selling stuff on Craigslist too and it is addictive! I was also nervous for the first sale but I think the buyers are also nervous. So far, all of the people have been really nice and 'normal'!!!
ReplyDelete