House of Estrogen

SoCal Day 9: Surf's Up Breakfast and Heading Home

For our last morning in Anaheim, we got checked out of our condo and headed over to the Surf's Up with Mickey and Friends character breakfast at the PCH Grill at the Paradise Pier Hotel.

Most of us had fun meeting the characters.

Nina would have been happier at a non-character meal, but she was a good sport when they came over to her.

The breakfast buffet was good - all the usual suspects - bacon, sausage, Mickey waffles, fruit, made-to-order omelets, muffins, and... uh... rice. I'm completely baffled at why Addie came away from the Danish/waffle/muffin/syrup/fruit filled table with a plate of rice.

We got final autographs in autograph books.

It was a nice way to say farewell to Southern California on our last morning.

After breakfast was over, we headed to John Wayne Airport in Orange County. That's a great little airport if Disneyland is your destination. It is really close to Anaheim, an easy drive, and the rental car parking is super convenient to the terminal. It is definitely better than the madness that is LAX.

We had such a great trip! Good-bye Southern California! Thanks for the memories!

Master Bathroom (a.k.a. If You Give a Mouse a Cookie)

 
It all started with this lovely leak in our kitchen ceiling.

We called our insurance company and got an estimate for fixing and painting the ceiling, and fixing and replacing the old, cracked, mildewed, leaking shower floor above it.

That was simple enough, but then it was like we plunged headfirst into the "If You Give a Mouse a Cookie" book and couldn't get out of it. If you aren't familiar Laura Numeroff's books, one thing leads to another which leads to another which leads to another and so on. The progression makes for charming children's books; however, when adapted to home renovations, it gradually leads to bankruptcy.

When choosing new bathroom flooring, we couldn't help but think, "we should really get rid of all that dreadfully boring white tile in the shower at the same time...

and go for frameless shower glass too.

If we were having someone come in to do all that tile work anyway, it was a perfect time to get rid of the hanging shower caddy, right?

Sure, the insurance payment wasn't going to cover a dime of (not one, but two) custom built-in shower shelves, but you know... since it was all ripped apart anyway, it only made sense.

I never did like that white tile floor with the little black accent squares. And who was the genius who thought white grout was a good idea?

If somebody was going to be working on laying tile anyway, then obviously it was time to get rid of all the builder's grade white tile and replace it with travertine. Obvs.

Insurance was going to cover the cost of replacing the tile around the edge of the tub.

But you know... those big soaker tubs have always looked so inviting. Apparently, if you give a mouse a cookie, she's going to want a new bathtub to relax in while she eats it.

We initially planned on keeping the existing cabinets, countertop, mirrors, and lighting. The white would still go with all the new tile, and of all the things I have hated about this bathroom since we moved in, the light fixture was never one of those things.

So much for best laid plans.  If you're going to spring for travertine floors, you gotta get the travertine counters to match, right?

 

And if your contractor is going to the trouble to build new cabinet drawer and door fronts (we did actually keep the existing cabinetry), then why continue to use the purchased-from-Target-20-years-ago medicine cabinet?

If you give a pig a pancake, he's going to have the contractor build a brand new medicine cabinet to hold his syrup.

Oh, and since the toilet had to be lifted up to replace the tile...

Then clearly, it needed to be replaced with a stronger flushing one with nice flat sides that don't collect dust.

So, it all started with a little insurance money to fix a leak in the shower floor, and it ended with a completely renovated master bathroom, a very modestly updated kids' bathroom, most of the upstairs painted, both stairwells painted, a new closet built in the office, new walls built in the playroom, new lighting in the playroom, and the entire downstairs ceiling painted. I think our poor contractor thought we were going to make him move in.

I have to say though, I'm very pleased with the transformation. From the sterile grey paint with the white tile, white tub, white counter, white floors, white sinks, white cabinets, white trim, and that horrendous white grout...

 to our own little warm, inviting spa-like retreat.

Now we just have to figure out how to convince the insurance company that the little leak in the kitchen necessitated work being done all over the house. That shouldn't be too hard. Surely they have read "If You Give a Moose a Muffin", right?

 

The Great Granite Decision of 2014

As kitchens go, ours wasn't bad. The cabinets are good quality, it has hardwood floors, and the laminate countertops had a little wooden edge around them to give them a little style over your standard builder-issue laminate. The colors might not have been my first choice, but it was all relatively attractive for a kitchen where you didn't choose anything yourself. That said, after living here more than 10 years, we were ready for a change. I always pictured our kitchen with black granite counters, so that was the main goal.

Unfortunately, J.C. and I don't have a decision making gene between us, and so "The Great Granite Decision of 2014" began. We looked at this one,

and this one,

and this one,

 

and this one, and more, and more, and then more.

 
Sometimes the kids went with us,...

sometimes we took measurements, and...

sometimes there were chickens.

 

After months of spending an unhealthy number of hours touring every granite distributor in the area (with numerous visits to each one), we were pretty sure we would never redo the kitchen and just continue looking at granite for the rest of our lives. (Just a side note... we're currently at that stage with our bathroom reno.)

Finally though, we came to the conclusion that there was never going to be a "perfect granite", and we simply had to choose one.

We selected cosmos black with a leathered finish. (Bonus points if you can spot the chicken in this photo.)

We had the granite installed back in February, and finally chose a tile backsplash about a month ago. We are nothing if not painfully slow with decisions. It is now done though, so here are a few before and afters.

Close-up of the tile and counter before...

and after.

The first thing I notice in these pictures is that the white outlet covers need to go. We'll now spend the next eight months choosing what color faceplates to buy.

And the sink before...

and after. I have to say the new black sink is probably my favorite part of the kitchen. It is a Swan granite composite sink, and I adore it. Is it OK to adore a sink? Maybe I shouldn't have admitted that.

Area by the fridge before...

and after (probably should have cleared the fridge for the after shots. We have kids though. Is it possible to have clean refrigerator doors with kids?).

 

And one more before...

and after.

Anyway, it is finally done, and we're happy (with the exception of those darn white plate covers that I hadn't even noticed until I looked at these pictures). It isn't a huge overhaul, but it is new, fresh, bold, and more us. (And I really love the cool black sink.)

 

Laundry Room Loveliness

OK... so maybe "lovely" is too strong a word for any room that by nature requires you to wash, dry, sort, fold, hang, and iron clothing, but I do feel like ours is so much more lovely now than how it started. In planning this laundry room reno, our goal was to make the laundry room more functional. We brainstormed every possible way of making the room more spacious - knocking out walls, eliminating a closet, adding on to the house, moving plumbing, and finishing our attic. In the end, we couldn't justify the expense of any of those major renovations, so we settled on doing the best we could with the space we have. Here are the before pictures:

Depressing place, eh? With a family of five, we spend a lot of time in here. Although the space is tiny, there had to be a way to make it a little more usable and inviting.

The first step was new flooring and paint. JC laid the tile. The tile was that "sale tile that is always on the end cap at Lowe's" stuff... cheap, and perfect for this project.  Then I painted. It is already cheerier, right?

Next, our plans called for a front loading washer and dryer, so that we could have counter space across the top of both for sorting and folding. Sadly, we discovered while shopping that the space wasn't deep enough for a front loading washer. We wouldn't be able to open the door to the laundry room which makes actually using the room a bit difficult. Since that plan fell through, we went with the next best option - the highest capacity top load washer and front load dryer that we could find with a counter over half. If the counter top looks familiar, it is our kitchen island, conveniently recyled and repurposed into a laundry room counter. Although the counter space isn't as big as we had hoped it could be, it is still a vast improvement over what we had before. The new hooks give us some space for hanging swim suits and delicates too.

Every laundry room deserves a little decor and whimsy, so I added a fun vinyl decal from TweetHeartWallArt on Etsy. "Self Serve" is definitely appropriate too. Addison is the only one in the family who gets help with her laundry, and I'm weaning her off of that as fast as I can. Unfortunately, right now, she is too short to reach the bottom of the washing machine without falling in.

We didn't bother to upgrade the nasty old stained sink since it is mostly used for washing out paint brushes and stained clothing anyway, but I think it looks a bit more chipper and festive with new artwork as well from CarolAlden on Etsy.

We also found a new home for the ironing board behind the door. Perfect.

Laundry is still by far my least favorite household chore, but I think our laundry room improvements have made it a little more tolerable. Wouldn't you agree?

  

Holidays are in da House!

We are in full-on holiday mode here. The kids are out of school for the month, report cards have come home, and we are DONE.WITH.HOMEWORK for the year. Done. Having the month of December off of school has to be one of the greatest perks of year-round school. We can enjoy holiday parties, weeknight shopping, and Christmas TV specials without homework and school bedtimes interfering. Being done with school also means that we have a month of not having to face the school bus driver at the end of the day to hear her report about our little kindergarten school bus bully. <Sigh> Apparently one of Addison's quotes on the last day of school was, "I'm going to kick the poo out of your vagina." Nice. If she doesn't get kicked off the bus before the end of the school year, it is going to be a miracle. Yes, a month off of school is something we all desperately needed.

Back to holiday mode... our trees are up.

The stockings are hung, and the folk art Santas are chilling on the mantle.

We have finished up the school holiday parties,

made Christmas trees at holiday camp,

and attended the holiday mini-build at the LEGO store.

Elise has performed in her holiday band concert. (As a side note, you can see her braces are in the holiday spirit as well with red and green rubber bands.)

Addison has done rounds at a rehab center with her Daisy troop, singing songs, and doling out homemade ornaments. When I asked her how it went, she said, "Two people didn't have any legs, and one person was missing all their fingers."  I'm just picturing this entire troop of girls staring at injuries, completely forgetting to sing. I hope they didn't traumatize any of the patients too much. (For any of you fashionistas taking note... yes, she is wearing Oilily with cowboy boots. That's how she rolls.)

I have purchased mint chips and red and green m&m's under the guise of baking. We'll see if any baking actually occurs. Buying supplies is the first step though, right?

I haven't put up any outdoor lights yet, but I'm contemplating skipping them this year. If I consciously make the decision to forgo outdoor lighting, then I can say that job is done. I'm kind of liking that plan.

All in all, the holiday spirit has definitely taken over here at the House of Estrogen. Holidays are IN DA HOUSE!

The Party That Persevered

Against all odds (and possibly against all rational thought), we kept to the schedule of holding Addison's birthday party yesterday. There were many discussions of postponing it, but there was really no available date that worked. Plus, Addie was in birthday party countdown mode, and you can't easily explain a change in countdown to a four year old. Despite my mom's broken hip and subsequent surgery on Wednesday, Addison's strep throat diagnosis on Thursday, Elise's screaming migraine on Friday, and my spending every moment those days caring for my dad rather than prepping for the party, we charged forth.

Addison's birthday is 8 days before Christmas... a pretty crappy date as birthdays go. I know in the future we will need to have a serious separation of birthday and Christmas. As of now, she hasn't figured out her rotten lot in life, so we went with a gingerbread decorating party. A bit Christmasy, yes, but what kid doesn't love decorating gingerbread?

We started out with gingerbread coloring pages.

Then, we moved on to gingerbread crafts.

Then, just when they were beginning to think there wasn't any actual gingerbread involved in this party, we moved on to decorating the real gingerbread men and houses.

No child left without an excellent sugar high.

After they were done with their masterpieces, I provided a shock to their systems - a little bit of fruit and veggies with lunch.

No birthday is complete without a cake though, so we topped off the sugarfest with a cute gingerbread cake.

Then, the birthday girl opened presents, and said thank yous and good-byes to friends.

It has been a stressful, chaotic week, but having Addison's birthday party injected a much needed bit of fun and levity! I'm glad we decided to stick with it. After friends left and the gingerbread crumbs were swept away, I headed to the hospital to pick up my mom since she had been discharged. No rest for the weary!

Great Room Swap, Part 2

The great room swap is now complete. (Here is a link to Part One if you're interested.)  Working with Nina on her new room was a change for me. With Addison, I simply bought what I wanted, and decorated her room however I chose. With Elise, I would show her things to get her approval, and she would say, "Yeah, sure. That's fine." With Nina, I was merely the general contractor, painter, and financier. She was the designer, decorator, and decision maker. She carefully selected every item in this room herself from the lamps and chairs to the finials on the curtain rod.

Here are a few before photos. This is when the room was Addison's mermaid room before we moved that theme into the bunk bed room.

I miss those cute pigtails...

I'm still not entirely convinced that switching rooms was worth the effort. I loved that room. Despite any misgivings I may have, what's done is done, and both girls are happy with their new digs. Without any further ado, here is the reveal of Nina's new room!

Uh, well... first you have to get past the door. I just ignored the sign. Moms are "alod" to do that, right?

This was definitely a room reno on a budget. The sheets, comforter, sheers, and curtain rod are by Walmart. Yes, you read that right... Walmart. I hate going in that store, so we shopped online. The wall vinyl was from Etsy store Supreme Decals and the cute print on the wall is from Etsy seller Full Moon Frog. You can't see it well, but it is has ice cream sundaes and cupcakes ice skating. Nina loves it.

Nina was dying for a desk in her new room. Knowing Nina (who went to school with blue streaks in her hair this morning), this will function as a hair and make-up vanity rather than a desk. The desk was a Craigslist find, and the chair, lamp, write-on boards, and trash can came from Target.

This funky chair in the corner is by far Nina's favorite piece in the room. It unfolds to become a lounge chair or bed and has already hosted a couple friends for sleep-overs. The chair and throw pillows are from Walmart as well.

I have no idea what J.C. was actually saying when this picture was taken, but I'm going to imagine that he was admonishing her to keep her new room clean and that she obeys. A mom can dream, right?

Her new room suits her well, and it was fun working with Nina to pull it all together. She is such a decisive kid. I think she had fun being in charge and making her mark on her new room.

The Writing is on the Wall

Literally, that is.

My building at work is was a lovely building with offices overlooking a five story atrium filled with palm trees, comfortable seating areas, and a little cafe. Now, it is more of a construction zone with chopped down palm trees, machines that look like giant transformer toys, and lots of dust. It is on its way to becoming a lovely atrium again with more seating, a nicer cafe, and a Starbuck's, so we are all patiently enduring the construction phase knowing better things are to come.

Through the middle of the building, the contractors put up temporary walls to give us a walkway while isolating the construction zone. One day, somebody "vandalized" the temporary wall (is it vandalism when the wall isn't a real wall?). I thought, "Oh man... that's really not professional in an office setting. I bet we'll get an email telling us not to write on the wall."

Imagine my surprise when the exact opposite happened! Instead, they attached boxes full of markers to the walls, and we were encouraged to vandalize away!

Our building is full of geeky software developers (and yes, I include myself in that category), so the geeks have come out in full force. Anyone else know 110 digits of pi from memory?

Where else will you find mathmatical proofs next to big green blind monsters?

And for Lost fans, there is a little commentary on Lost.

Employees' kids of all ages have come to experience the wall.

And one girl used up an entire purple marker working on her design. It says she spent 4.5 hours working on it. Gotta wonder... was she on the clock?

Yesterday, I decided my kids had to get in on the action before there isn't any space left to draw.

Every artist needs a plate full of chocolate teddy grahams, right?

I think they enjoyed making their mark on the wall.

As much as I am looking forward to the nicer cafe, renovated atrium, and the Starbuck's that takes payroll deduction, it is going to be a sad, sad day when the wall comes tumbling down.

Great Room Swap, Part 1: Addison's New Room

When Nina and Addison first approached me about swapping rooms, I was all, "No way. Nope. Not gonna happen."  Nina was wanting a bigger bed, and Addison was jealous of Nina's bunk beds. I had put too much effort two years ago converting Addison's nursery to a big girl room that I was not about to undo all that work just for bed jealousy issues. Then the girls got J.C. on their side. It was three against one. I was outnumbered, and they were hounding me about it daily. I finally decided that if I could find a way to do it with a minimal amount of painting that I would tackle the swap. Nina's room was mostly lavender. Although I didn't love lavender with the mermaid bedding, I figured I could make it work.

Here is a before shot of the room.... not a bad space per se, just NOT Nina's taste at all any more.

She hasn't been into princesses since she was about five,

and the ballerina window treatment was so 2007.

The vibe of the room was definitely, "I'm three, and I want to be a pink princess ballerina when I grow up" rather than, "I'm eight going on sixteen, and my sisters better stay away from my lip gloss collection."

It just wasn't working for Nina any more.

Now for the big reveal. (These pictures leave me wondering why I didn't use this lens for the before photos. It shows so much more of the room.) My first task was replacing all the yellow with blue to coordinate with the mermaids. Excuse the mess in the top bunk. It is more of a play loft than an actual bed. I didn't bother to tidy it up.

I don't love the lavender paint, but not having to repaint the whole room made me like it more.

Hindsight being 20/20, I would have done this quote in some color other than white. To say it doesn't "pop" is an understatement.

I still love it though.

The room works reasonably well, and most importantly, Addie loves it.

She has her bunk beds now, so all is right with the world (even if the full-size sheets and comforter are a bit saggy on the twin bed).

Next up is the transformation of Addie's original mermaid room to Nina's new cool digs. That's going to take a little more time, money, paint, and furniture though, so don't expect pictures any time soon.

 

 

A Little Christmas Spirit, Finally

I've been feeling a bit lazy and Scroogish so far this holiday season. My Christmas cards have been sent, and much of my shopping is done, but I just haven't been able to get myself geared up for the baking and decorating. The kids need a tree though, so putting up the tree was today's mission.  J.C. is the ultimate Scrooge when it comes to the tree. In his words, "It is a wasted weekend day putting it up, and another wasted weekend day taking it down. Bah humbug."  Nice. Clearly, I was getting no help from him. Elise and I tromped around the attic until we finally found the tree.  Those tree boxes weigh a ton. We managed to drag it over to the top of the stairs. Then I slid it down the stairs, nearly crushing Elise in the process. There's a nice holiday headline for you: "10 Year Old Girl Crushed by Artificial Tree, Mother to Blame."

Eventually, we got it standing and plugged in and got busy decorating.

Addie started off the morning trimming the tree as a ballerina... a Sugar Plum Fairy, perhaps?

At some point, she decided a Pocahontas costume was more appropriate for the event. Doesn't everyone have multiple outfit changes for these occassions?

Nina asked me to take this picture of her. I'm not sure what the expression means, but I obliged.

Although J.C. would rather not be at all involved in the tree decorating process, we force him to help put the angel on top. It would not be pretty if I tried picking up Addie like that. That headline would read: "Christmas Tree Collapses under Three Year Old Dropped by her Mother."

 

In years past, I have often hosted gingerbread parties; however, this year, our local Panera Bread was offering gingerbread decorating. How can I turn that down?

I didn't have to buy anything OR clean up the mess! Plus, a few of our neighbors were there too, so it was just like a party at home... kind of... well, if you ignore all the other people we didn't know who were there too. Really, it was just like home but better. Plus, they make lattes!

I think our day of Christmas cheer got me more in the Christmas spirit. I mean how can I look at this face and not get excited about Christmas?!

Only two weeks until Christmas! Are you ready?