I take full responsibility with the co-sleeping situation that goes on in our house. To be honest, I am not looking for any input, shaming, or suggestions to how to rectify it. It works for now and I am okay with that. You can read about EV’s stint at the NICU (HERE). It was horrifying, I may never be over it and I am so jealous of the people that say they never think about there time there or don’t remember it (Sean is one of these people). I think about being told by a doctor in passing and one that I would never see again until strangely the day we took EV home that I should prepare myself for not taking her home. Let that sink in. In. Passing. and to add insult to injury Sean was not even with me, a girlfriend was standing next to me and looked just as horrified as I did. EV came home with a heart monitor and could only sleep two ways (which carry on to this day)…both of which were big no no’s according to every nurse I had spoken to, mama blog and person on the internet and that was in her newborn lounger and on her tummy. Cue collective sigh and judgey looks, but I am a 100% okay with this too and I can guarentee you my girl can outsleep any of your kids any day of the week ;).
To put it in persepective…roll the tape.
We literally curled up against the lounger to be as close to her as possible lol
Wild-eyed hair EV will always be a fave.
The heart monitor was terrifying, the slightest thing would make it go off giving the most loud shrill you could ever imagine and pulling you out of a deep sleep terrified that your little one has stopped breathing. I thank the big man every day that with the excpetion of false alarms, her not breathing never happened. The point of this shortest story longer is to say that the first time that newborn-ish EV got sick, I put said lounger and EV into our bed and kept a hand on her back all night to feel her breathing. Lets just say that this was the catalyst and she never left from this day forward. Let’s just say that ee learned a lot from this day. At about three to four months old, we transitioned the Commodore from the bassinet in our room into EV’s room (having us and the kids in one room during these months was anything less than festive) where the crib was with little to no difficulty and we moved him even easier from the crib into his big boy bed at about 2 years. I thought for sure going from EV’s room to his room was going to be a situation since it was not only a new bed, but a new environment also, but boy were we wrong! We tested everything out during naptime and he loved it so we decided to go full steam ahead for bedtime whereupon he slept through the night and never looked back. It could’nt have been easier.
The first morning he woke up in his toddler bed. He looks thrilled about me documenting this moment. I put his Pottery Barn chair on the side of the bed so that he could easily get out even with the bumper. We did this for about a month or two and then just purchased THIS stepstool and that’s it, he swings his little legs up and over with no problem and never a tumble.
However, almost as if she knew what was coming down the line, the minute EV’s bed was put together, she developed an intense fear of the dark like a full on vomiting Excorcist situation. She used to love the dark….not anymore. We even bought her THIS nighlight that she loves, but it is not enough to get her to want to sleep in the bed….even for naps…when it is still daylight out…cue face palm emoji. If your little is a fan of Spirit Riding Free and even if they are not afraid of the dark, this nighlight is amazing and well worth all the rave reviews it gets. It emits awesome stars in a variety of colors on the ceiling, it is very vivid and there is a 20 minute timer so it goes off, but it is easy to click on and off as your littles see fit. I love that it is a pillow pet so its great for travel and for cuddling. The best part although it seems to be a downer for a lot of people is that there is no music. She is in our bed, so you could see how this would be a plus for us.
I hate even writing out the next part into the universe, but I think we are going to have to be those parents that put a tv in her room just so that she has white noise to fall asleep too. I am a 100% okay with the judging in this scenario…its the Kindle situation all over again and I am judging myself, so have at it
I will admit although the crib is going to one of my best friends twins that he is having at the end of the year, I was a little weepy knowing that the breaking down of the crib was also the last “real” baby piece of furniture that we had in the house. At the middle of the pandemic, Sean and I began to talk about wrapping up all the projects in the house that we had left. It included the guest bathroom (HERE), traditional closets for the kids and us, toddlers beds (we purchased THESE from Ikea and I love them and the extra storage), and of course the garage. One of our neighbors was/is a general contractor and after the completion of our bathroom he did state that he had no problem continuing with the closets until his next job started the following week. In full transparency there were a lot of issues with the rushed job, we should have put more thought into it by considering the timeline he was working with, but we figured we were secure by paying him prior to the job so we shouldn’t have been too surprised where there did come a lovely time where he just stopped coming, but the job was so close to being completed that we just used a friend of ours who does a TON of work around the house to finish it out and in pure Carlos fashion, it was perfection. You all need a Carlos…or a Tio Carlos as my kiddos call him in your life!
It is amazing how having two kids who are now toddler age can make a good sized three bedroom house all of a sudden feel like you are living in a dollhouse. My mother had told me at the very beginning that I was making a mistake not buying furniture for EV’s room for her to grow into and sure enough, she was right. The more stuff we acquired for EV the more stuff that we were cramming into the closet and finding space for which meant that I was finding brand new things months after she grew out of it (in places you never would have imagined) that she never got to wear or enjoy. When we began to plot out Commodore’s and EV’s closet, I not only used THIS and THIS for inspiration, but even the measurements were spot on, so getting the materials suggested was absolute perfection and required little to no work from Sean and I. The gold closet bars were no longer sold and the ones they did have were REALLY expensive. With the amount of clothes my girl has, it didn’t make sense making the investment since it really wouldn’t be seen so we got the rubbed bronze bars instead and IMO look just as amazing. The end result of EV’s closet was more than I could ever dream and would be a dream closet for any little girl.
The bottom right is for EV’s playdresses so there are easy for her to reach and pull out and choose what she wants to wear.
I absolutely loved THESE hangers and the they are true to color shown which for hangers like this never seem to be the case (they are a brilliant hot pink with rose gold hardware). I bought extra boxes of them since they do sell out fast and there is not another seller that has the rose gold hooks and the silver looked wildly different (the pink were different as well), so I didn’t want to have two different sets of hangers in EV’s room. I also bought the black with gold for Commodore’s since we did have a lot of the silver ones and it did not look terrible to have black hangers with mixed metals. My favorite part of the closet is that it is DIY and you can easily add more shelves or drawers to this and the drawers themselves are only $25, so if you feel you need extra afterward or as your kiddos grow, it is an easy addition. The ones in EV’s room are wide and were perfect for Jammies in the top, shorts, pants, and leggings in the middle and swimwear in the bottom (this includes goggles, swimmy shoes, coverups and towels).
The shelves provide extra storage beween the hangers so again it keeps from things getting crammed in the bottom of the closet never to be seen or heard from again and EV can actually see what she has. What kid actually thinks to get on their hands and knees to check the back of the closet for things they are looking for like shoes unless they intentionally hid a treasure there?!
Those black Minnie patent shoes with bows are a point of contention with me. They are the ONLY kids shoes in Primark that do not come in a child’s size 4 which would fit my feet. They stop at a size three, do not even get me started.
Those that know, know my little is obsessed with Ahsoka Tano so of course getting her the Loungefly backpack was a must. The Haunted Mansion hatbox from ThisDFLove is actually EV’s Disney ear carrying case (Grandma likes it when she is extra). It was a specialty order, but with Halloween coming up it may make a second round and THESE other hatboxes are from Target. They are paper/cardboard but they are super cute and the largest size is big enough to hold several pairs of regular Disney ears if you do not want to spend $ on a case) or other hair accessories. I use one for her headbands and the other for hairclips. They are perfect for a little girls room because they come in three different sizes so they look cute against one another and you are not spending a fortune for extra organization.
My favorite part of the closet is the amount of storage it allows between the shelves up top (EV’s collectible dolls and other things that are nice for her to know she has, but might not be of the age to play with quite yet tend to be here) and the lower shelves are for design elements (figurines, framed pictures, etc) and special things that I want her to have access too which she can reach and enjoy (special books, Minnie, Elena’s sceptor…the ush). Doing this also keeps her from being less curious regarding whats on the higher shelves.
If you ever get an opportunity to score fun storage baskets or containers from the Bullseye Playground at Target (the start of school and holidays seem to be the best time), I suggest getting several and even putting them aside. If you are anything like me you may not always have a plan for them right away, but will be grateful to have them later when you need them (case in point our ‘built-ins’). I loved these wire ‘trash’ baskets and they came in the cutest colors. At the time I had bought three and I just started using them now.
Slippers which look adorable, but are barely ever worn because we live in Florida
The turquoise containers and multi-colored ones in Commodore’s room are always launched at the beginning of school supply time and come in a multitude of colors and shapes. This years turquoise was beautiful and I bought them in a variety of sizes, plus I love that these containers are stackable to it makes them easy to store. We use them for things like action figures, loose blocks or puzzle pieces, markers and crayons, learning books, or anything else that we have multiples of that need a stacking place or storage so that we do not step on something and kill ourselves.
As you can see with the ones in the closet, there were lids that you could actually buy separate for $1. The gold basket and the woven ones on the right were also from Bullseye. As mentioned and as seen, I buy multiples because even if I do not have a plan for them right away, they will get used.
One can never have enough storage, especially in a kids area or any area for that matter. I love seeing all the ways that people utilize storage containers in their home and there is something about organization, baskets and chalkboard labels that give me all the feels. Can organization also be a love language?! I love a lived in space, but at the end of the day, I want it to be a clean space so that I do not feel overwhelmed with clutter. In giving myself (the kids) a place to just throw things into, it leaves that much more time for me to hang out with the kiddos and less time giving them a “pick-up” song that they are just glazing over while I am singing…and poorly at that.
EV’s room with the crib prior to the last piece that would make it a “big girl” room…I absolutely loved (still love) this room so much and each piece was hand selected and so it was very special.
Gah! Excuse me while I get extremely weepy.
My love of all things storage and being able to transition, made the Ikea Hemnes daybed a no-brainer bed for both kids. It is a great size for the kids to grow into, its super clean looking (doesn’t look like its a childs bed) and can either fit into a lover of the modern or farmhouse style (I fall on the brink of both). I actually first fell in love with the bed over at the blog Momfessionals where she bought it for each one of her three kids all of different ages which shows how it can be used for years to come (see hers HERE). You can actually buy it with the mattress, but I got a mattress during Black Friday for a great deal and it ended up being less, so we only got the bed itself from Ikea (plus the mattresses tend to be really thin for the price). The three drawers underneath the bed are great. I use them for extra sheets and blankets and each kid as a blanket that has their first year onesies, so I keep that in one of the drawers as well (for safe-keeping as my four year old would say). EV is also REALLY into ‘pack-packs’ (backpacks) so having a drawer for this and not having to cram them in the closet or finding a place to hang them is another bonus. I found THIS awesome Star Wars Forces of Destiny quilt set which has all the ladies of Star Wars along with THIS Ahsoka Tano pillowcase (IYKYK) and EV is pretty much in Star Wars loving big girl bed heaven. Now just to get her to actually sleep here.
The Ahsoka bear is from Build-A-Bear and during one of their awesome sales, I scored the Rey bear for $8 and then bought the Ahsoka costume for about $16. Best. Of. Both. Worlds.
First things first though….get yourself an adorable handy assistant.
I suggest pulling everything to the opposite side of the room that you want the bed on and build the bed actually on the side that it plans to be on in parts. The drawers should be at the farthest end since the back of the bed will need to be picked up and placed on top of the drawers and bed frame. The backing of the bed is quite wide and unless your door frame is large, as well as the space to swing the bed into (even in parts) you may find yourself not being able to get the bed into the room, so save yourself the hassle and from putting money into the swear jar and just bring everything into the room and build in there.
True story with exception of labor, EV’s entire closet maybe cost…$300-$350 and Commodores was around the $250 mark. If you are on a budget and looking to refresh your closet for what a fraction of a design company or other retailer is going to tell you when they give you the free estimate, this is the way to go. My best friend told me of a nationwide organization that came in and did everything in their home (beautiful work mind you, but she is in Orlando and had a totally different experience than me). I am not going to put them on blast, but one of two things happened (keep in mind Pandemic I as we like to call it was in full swing). First, she asked if she had to put her mask on although she could clearly see that we had two small children and we were wearing ours. Second, every time she walked into one of the rooms (we wanted an estimate of everything together since she was there) she kept remarking what an amazing organization skill set I had and she didn’t know why we needed them. Then she proceeded to give me an estimate of $5,000 just for our bedroom closet alone. Gobsmacked I tell you. Especially since one, they only install. Meaning, you have to break down ANYTHING prior to them getting there. Anything that they have to do is an additional charge, two you are responsible for any touchups. You are literally paying $5,000 for higher end particle board (I had done some deep diving on their reviews and found that there material is pretty much the same as Ikea) and for them to install it. As someone who considers herself an organizational maven, I am beginning to regret my life’s choices and feel that I have missed my calling in life. Anyone looking for an up and coming organizational maven party of one?!
If you do not know a contractor or your friends/family do not know anyone they can recommend you can always go on the Nextdoor app and if you feel safe, collect a few names, have them come to your house, give you estimates and basically interview to see if they would be the right fit. It is a great way to potentially give a contractor who might have been furloughed with the pandemic a job and rarely are neighbors that much of *ssholes that they are going to recommend someone that is going to screw over you or your home. We chose someone in the middle that although was not the cheapest, had the most experience and who actually lived down the street so we felt pretty safe that if we had to run out for any reason that we could leave him in our home with no worries. As mentioned he did a great job, but at the tail end we asked him to help with the closets and he had also taken a pretty large job as well and gave us an out, but we stuck it out with him. There was one final piece that should have been completed that he just never responded about even though he was paid so we ended up having Carlos do it. I know it should be a bigger issue than I am making it, but he charged us an unbelievable price for the closet install to begin with so one shelf that Carlos could assist with was not a big deal in the grad scheme of things. Plus, at the end of the day we love our neighborhood and it wasn’t worth glaring at someone for the rest of the time that we may be living here.
In other news…
Someone is a big fan of their new bed…two someone’s in fact….maybe not sleeping in it, but having a lounging area seems to suit her just fine.
At least she is happy to be in there with her brother so I will take the wins where I can get them….
The Storage Cube Furniture on the right is from Target and I adore the weathered gray as it goes perfectly against all the furniture and the tile. This storage console is what I was using originally for EV to store her clothes. You can see how she grew out of it fairly quickly and why it was so easy to not use all the clothes she was given, since things were just being crammed into the storage cubes. I love those fabric storage cubes though and now we use this piece to house clothes that she hasn’t grown into yet, play purses, small lovies, holiday outfits, etc. She loves being able to pull the cubes out and rifle through everything and because this is no longer being used for her everyday clothes, I am not a maniac that I have to fold everything over again after she pulls everything out.
One would think in looking at these pictures that she would be dying to sleep in her room. Right?! Not. Even. A. Little. Bit. Curious. LOL.
Anyone else create a painstakingly gorgeous room for their kiddo that they never want to sleep in?!
