Talk about yer "honey-do" list... AKA The "Befores"

I have been working like cuh-razy in our house over this break.

 In order to get the baby's room ready, we had to start in the computer room. This is because the baby's room is currently filled with John's clothes as well as my shoes and the ironing board. We rearranged the computer room in order to use the ironing board in the computer room.

Next, but still before getting to the baby's room, is our closet. We decided to buy a closet kit and do some demolition on our closet so that it will be more aesthetically pleasing and organized in order to get both of our clothes in there.

Once our closet is done and John's clothes are in our room, we can move on to getting the baby's room together. My mom and I went to IKEA today and got all of the furniture. I am really happy with everything we got, because I feel like everything was priced really well and will last into our next kid, Lord willing (though it seems crazy to be thinking about future kids when this one isn't here yet!) since we just want to get the most for our money. The bedrooms are pretty small, so I wanted furniture that wasn't imposing but also wasn't cheap. We tried to beat up the crib as much as possible, imagining a kid who could stand up and jump up and down in it, and it seems sturdy enough. I got the matching changing table and some really cute storage options (a dresser, desk and cabinet that all connects but can be added to or rearranged).

I found the color scheme that I want to do on pinterest, and we think we found fabric and a rug that will tie everything together. We will go to some fabric stores tomorrow to find some other patterns.

All of this is in my mind, though. Each one of these rooms involves putting together multiple pieces of furniture, cutting into built in closets, hanging curtains, painting, hanging closet kits and arranging furniture. I pretty much can't do any of these things. Which means John pretty much gets to.

Poor thing. He is such a hard worker he hasn't complained about it yet. I am also trying to keep my mouth shut about the fact that I want every single one of these things done RIGHT THIS SECOND. I am working on patience. :)

putting together a pantry type cabinet for the computer room. We like that it has doors to be able to hide stuff. He will also finally get to display some of his trucks this way.

One of the piles of things that came from IKEA.

The other pile of stuff from IKEA.

Computer room Before: This is after A LOT of work went into it. This room ends up being the dumping ground for extra things. It was stuffed full of odds and ends from the living room that I didn't want in there because of Christmas decorations. Once I sorted through that, I went through the closet (which was full of stuff from when we moved!) and went through drawers. I consolidated both of the computers onto one desk and got rid of my white computer table. This room will be finished when the cabinet John is currently building will go into the corner of the room.

The following are the baby's room Before pictures. This is actually really organized. Once our closet is done, we will go through John's clothes and consolidate them into our room. We will paint and set up the furniture. I am hoping to start from an organized place so I will be able to keep it that way as he gets more stuff. I know that this will be VERY hard for me to stay on top of, so I am hoping that investing this much time, effort and money into the room now will keep me motivated.



I think the crib will be the first thing you see when you walk in the door. I want to find a really cool hanging mobile to hang in the corner of the ceiling.

We took the doors off of both closets and plan to hang curtains. This makes the room seem bigger and also gives easier access to the whole closet.

I still haven't figured out what I am doing to do with my shoes. This is downsized, believe it or not, and I haven't bought a new pair in positively ages. (I used to come back with a pair every time I went to Target.) This wall will have our modular cabinet set.

 Our goal is to get my closet back to normal before I go back to school on Monday. This involves a lot of work in the next few days, so we will see how that goes.



Stay tuned for the "Afters," and hopefully they will be coming soon!


PS I just took a moment to realize how many decisions I have made and how much work I have done in the last week. I am pretty sure they amount to as many as I made in all of 2011. I am surprised at how motivated I am stay on top of things all of a sudden, even when I am so tired. Doesn't nesting usually happen later? Is this the burst of energy everyone is always talking about? Because not only did it burst me through pregnancy feelings, but it burst me past how lazy I am usually. It is awesome, and I hope it lasts...