something magical

Dear Everyone,

Please consider this a public service announcement. Do you know what is great about living in 2015??? Online grocery shopping.

I repeat: Online grocery shopping.

magic

Yes. It is a real thing. And it is the best. Here's the scoop: I'm sure several places do this now, but near me that store is HyVee. They've always had great service and pretty great groceries, but I always thought they were a tad more expensive than other options. But then they offered online grocery shopping and they won me over.

So I shop from my couch. While the girls are asleep. Read: while the girls are not squirming in the cart or wanting food they see in every aisle. My girls have always done pretty okay at grocery stores, but when I would get to the checkout I was so overwhelmed. Unloading the cart, reloading the cart, keeping the occupied, getting the car, loading the car... whew. That was the really tough part. Not to mention it took up an entire morning since I have to drive at least 20 minutes for the nearest store. 20 minutes there, at least an hour shopping, at least 20-30 minutes to check out and load van, 20 minutes back, and then to unload and put it all away.

Online grocery shopping.

It was like Jesus said, "You know what? Grocery shopping is the pits. Here."

And so I shop online. And I spend the same amount as I did before because I'm not walking down the aisle and seeing things and throwing them in the cart even though they aren't on my list. And I can see the amount before I check out. And I can edit my cart if I don't want to spend that amount. And then I pull into the parking lot, I call a number, I wait a few minutes, and someone brings me my bags and I put them in the van. And then when I get home to unload them they are all packed according the sections: freezer, produce, cans etc. It is awesome. And it's free if I spend over $100. Which. Duh.

And I am kind of picky about produce and meat when I'm shopping, but they've done a great job so far.

No. This isn't a referral program. It's just something you should totally do. That's all. As you were. [Unless "as you were" is fighting through the grocery store.] 

Giant picture: a cheap and easy tutorial

I first saw how to make these giant pictures on Pinterest years ago. Like, before Pinterest was cool. < That is probably a lie because I rarely do anything before it is cool.  I did it with an up close picture of Blythe at 8 months old, and my land I loved that thing. It hung in our living room until about Christmas this year when I realized, as a second child, that I needed to take it down unless I did one for Becks. Originally I was just going to do a new one for her, but fell in love with one of Blythe's 3 year pictures and so I just went for it with both of them. Here is the best picture I could quickly find of the picture of Blythe...which, yes, is basically just a selfie with me and Becks...but peek in the background. See it?

Okay. But how do you do it? Because you totally should. It's pretty simple. Here is how.

Find a high resolution picture you love. Sorry, but a picture from your phone won't work for this one. Get out your real camera and snap away, or make sure you have a photo release from your photographer. Put that picture on a flash drive [it's a lot easier than pulling it up from an email] and head to your nearest office store [Office Max, Staples, etc.] [Or have an awesome friend volunteer to do this step for you so you don't have to wrangle children in and out of car seats. Your call.] 

Ask for the engineer print. It can only be black and white and it is on paper. Don't let them tell you it is a poster print and let them charge you a photo price. Haggle. You can convince them. I think. Anyway, mine were 2X3 FEET and were just under $5 per picture. Make sure you let the image dry before you roll it up and take it out of the store. These pictures aren't absolutely crisp, but they really are pretty great if you make sure your originally image isn't blurry and is high resolution.

Then run over to Lowes. You could go to Home Depot or Menards, I suppose, but we go to Lowes. Grab some foamboard--it's for home insulation. The person in the vest will know what you're talking about. It's about $11 and you can get at least two pictures [of this size] out of it. If you can fit it in your vehicle full size, don't let them cut it in half for you in the store because in my experience they didn't cut straight and it could lessen the amount of pictures you get out of the board. Just saying. But if they must, just make sure they cut it with enough margins for you to get the pictures out of it that you need. [If you click on the link at the beginning of this post, she shows you how to mount it to a board if you want it sturdier.]

Grab some acrylic paint if you don't have any before you leave the store. [I did black last time because my picture was darker around the edges. I liked the look of it. This time I chose white since my pictures were mostly light around the edges and it looks okay too. You could even do a pop of color is your fancy/cooler than me. ] Also you'll need spray glue if you don't have that.

Now the fun part.
Get out your mom's electric meat knife that she probably got as a wedding gift. Seriously. Find an electric meat knife. It works so much better than an exacto knife. TRUST ME. And it's a lot quicker. Measure where you need to cut and mark it and cut it as straight as possible. If yours is perfectly straight tell me your ways. 

Once you have the foam board cut, bust out your paint and paint around all the edges [while watching Friends on Netflix, preferably]. Spray paint won't work. It eats the foamboard. If you don't believe me, try it. Do a couple layers of paint as it tends to soak in. Also, I like to paint the edges and come around the side a little bit in case my picture doesn't go on straight or some of the board is showing [because it is really difficult to get your picture on straight. ] 

Allow a few hours for the paint to dry. Next, get out your spray glue. I used Elmer's both times and it has held like a dream. I made the first picture 2.5 years ago and that picture still isn't budging.  This step is best done with a little help. Spray on your glue in an even layer. Really layer it on there too [I used almost the entire can by time I was done with both pictures]. Then enlist someone to hold the picture for you and slowly and meticulously place it on the board. Start on one end and carefully push it down, rubbing out bubbles as you go. If you've never used spray glue before, it's intense. Once you lay that picture on there it is on there. Which is why my picture of Becks ended up crooked and it makes me so upset...but whatever. I'm working through it.

Press the picture down once more by gently rubbing your palm over the picture, especially at the edges.

AND YOU'RE DONE! It's really super easy.  And now let me show you how I messed up, so you'll feel better when you do [but you probably won't because you're better than I am]. Maybe if you cut the board slightly smaller than your image, and then trim the picture after placing it on the board? 

See. That's why I paint up over the edge a bit. Okay. I need to stop looking at this because it's upsetting me again. Glad I don't have a ton of $$$ invested in this :). When you come to my house, just don't mention it.

Also, sorry about the phone pictures. It was late and I just wanted to be finished and didn't want to get my big camera. You understand. 

And here is how I hang them: Push pins. Seriously. I just make a little indention in the foam board on the back where the pin will be and I hang them that way. They are super light so they don't require much. You could even use 3M strips if you're weird anxious unsure about holes in your wall. 

I was originally making these for my bedroom. We recently rearranged and had a perfect location about our bed. But they were just too awesome to hide away in our bedroom. So I made a spot for them in the main area of our home. I love that from the living room when you see them they are just below the sign I made a few years ago that says, "What I love most  about my home is who I share it with." These two little ladies sure make our home a lot of fun. 

that is one of the lights left in our home that is originally. Brent hates it. 

You can see that the foam doesn't look fancy by any means, but it really does finish off the picture and almost looks like it is a giant canvas [for probably about 1/20th of the cost].  

I knew Blythe would like them, and she noticed them first thing the day after I hung them up. What surprised me was Becks' reaction: she loves them. I ask her where Blythe is and she points and she knows which one is her as well. They really are fun... the pictures and the girls. 

Now let me know if you make one and how it turns out! And if you have any pointers on getting your picture on there perfectly straight. 

the details

Remember when I used to blog every day? Sigh. Moving on.

There is something you should know about me:
When I was a little girl I hated to clean my room, the bathroom, the living room, the stairs...okay. I hated to clean anything. This is probably true of most children. Yet my mom was persistent and I at least learned how to do the job well, even if I didn't like it. My parents were more lenient on my room [which I wrote a little about here], but every so often I'd get the edict to clean it.

I'm sure my mom was always afraid I would become like the girl that Ross dated on an episode of Friends once. You know, The One With the Dirty Girl? Ross is trying to explain to Joey how dirty this girl's apartment is and says, "You know how you throw your jacket on a chair at the end of the day? Well, like that, only that instead of a chair it's a pile of garbage. And instead of a jacket it's a pile of garbage. And instead of the end of the day it's the end of time, and garbage is all that has survived."

To everyone's surprise though, I've actually become quite the opposite. I like to keep things clean. Truth be told, I even enjoy the therapy of cleaning [I still hate dusting]. But more than that, I like organization: a place for everything and everything in its place. Am I the best at it? By all means no. If I had money to blow though, you better believe I would shop everyday at thecontainerstore.com.

It's just this: towards the end of college, though I was still sleeping with a pile of clothes at the end of my bed, I realized that everyday life was just easier and more enjoyable if I kept things semi-organized. I.E. if I knew where my folder of essays was and didn't have to dig through the coffee cabinet to find them in the five minutes I allowed myself to get ready before heading to class [time management? That's another post for another day… :/] .

When we moved into our house, I knew I wanted to keep things simple and organized. But here is the kicker: we went and had two babies and a system that worked for two adults, just didn't cut it for two kids [and all their crap necessities]. It's been a work in progress, but I feel like I've finally nailed down some "systems" that work for us.

// purge, purge, purge. I routinely get rid of stuff. I try to touch everything in every closet twice a year, which typically results in donating and throwing away a large amount and therefore freeing up space we need, or just freeing up space and helping me breathe a little easier. When there is an extra shelf open in your closet, it just makes you feel better, right? [Is there something wrong with me?]

//contain, contain, contain. I wrote a post awhile ago when I organized my kitchen again. I talked a lot about the need for containers…AND how those containers don't have to designated for JUST ONE PURPOSE. I think a lot of people get overwhelmed with organization because they think they have to have a spice rack for spices, a magazine rack for magazines etc. etc. etc. [Right, Kali?] But really, you just need a container that fits your needs. I have baskets of all shapes and sizes all over my house for a variety of purposes. The key is: they each have a purpose. I only have one that is used as a catch all. When everyone in the family knows that basket's purpose, it's easy to keep the right things in it [and to know where to find them the next time you need them!] Some examples of containers in our house:

\I have two small baskets outside the girls rooms in the hallway. When they are napping or sleeping and I find something that belongs in their room, I put it in their basket. When they are awake, I can easily transfer things from their baskets to their rooms. 

\ I have a basket on the bathroom sink that holds lotion and washcloths and medicine we use frequently. I know if I didn't have this spot then that stuff would just get left all over the counter or thrown in a random drawer. 

a terrible iphone picture of my bathroom. 

\ I have a basket in the living room for Becks and Blythe's books. Otherwise they would get dragged into the living room and find a place somewhere they didn't belong, never to be returned to a bookshelf. 

//pictures and labels. I needed to make things simple enough that a two year old could do it. On all of the baskets that contain Blythe's toys, there are pictures and labels of what goes there. It took about a day of insisting she put things where their picture was…now it's just second nature to her. 

Nothing fancy, but labeled so Blythe can do it

And that's about it. We have found if there is a place for something, we tend to put it there. Of course, every few months there are certain baskets I have to go through [like the bathroom one, or our mail/bills one], but usually they stay pretty organized as is. Also, when it comes to Blythe's toys, I find that organizing them by type not only helps her, but it makes it easy to see when there is too much of something. Before I sorted things this way, I thought she needed more "cookware" and utensils, but now I can see she has a basket full, and that is more than enough. [This is the hardest thing for Blythe to sort and keep organized on her own: plates and pans and forks etc are in one basket, and her food is in a different one. She's catching on though.] 

Beyond organizing things though, it's important to me to keep things picked up and cleaned also. Here is my basic schedule I try and stick to:

Everyday:

Pick up

Clean Kitchen

* I load/unload dishwasher, wash dishes on counter, and wipe up all the counters and table. 

Monday: 

Bathrooms

Meal planning 

*A lot of times I touch up bathrooms throughout week, but every Monday I try and deep clean them. 

*I usually meal plan for two or three weeks in advance, so usually this is an every other week item. [This is also something that, if you ask Brent, has been on the back burner since baby #2 until recently. Whew. Took me a bit to get back on this saddle. ]

Tuesday:

Laundry

Clean up Mudroom

*I TRYtryTRY to wash AND fold AND put away on this day, but I loathe folding laundry so much that this often gets pushed back. 

Wednesday:

Floors

Empty all trashcans 

*I sweep the kitchen and mudroom [mop every other week], and vacuum other rooms. [I sweep around Blythe's spot daily… I should get a dog. And I often vacuum more often because I enjoy it.] 

Thursday:

Dusting

*I hate dusting. That is why I leave it as the only thing for this day, thinking I'll actually get it done. 

Friday: 

Bedrooms

Budget/Balance Checkbook

Saturday & Sunday:

What needs it

Projects

*I try to leave the weekends open to spend time with Brent or work on bigger projects I don't get to during the week

Usually one day I clean out our van too or it just implodes on itself [does anyone else have this problem?]. 

Why do I create a schedule and think organization is important?

Because I think there is freedom in boundaries. I was explaining to Brent the other day that I was so much more relaxed now that I was back on track with my cleaning schedule after softball. If I don't stick to a schedule, I jump from place to place and never fully clean anything and perpetually feel like there is something that has to be done. It stresses me out. The schedule gives me freedom because I know that if I have dusted today, that's all I have to do. I shouldn't feel like I need to clean the bathroom too. I don't need to throw in a load of laundry. Everything has its time.

I wrote in this post that I'm reading "The Shaping of a Christian Family" by Elisabeth Elliot. There is a chapter titled "A Habit of Order." She talks about how, growing up, her home was orderly and how she took for granted "the sense of things being placed." She went on to say "Our little world could be counted on to stay the way it was, safe, structured, and pretty much the same every day." To Elliot, an ordered home meant "not only acceptance of God's arrangement of authority,… but also making sure that there [was] a place for everything. If there [wasn't], it probably [meant] there [were] too many things."

This view of "uncluttered efficiency" struck me, because it wasn't something I had ever really put words to, but once I read her description I thought, Yes! That's it! 

And so, if I come over to your house and you don't live like me, that's totally fine. Seriously. It is. I love you and your dirty microwave. However, for me there is freedom in the schedule and less confusion in the sense of things being placed. So I will cling to my label makers and storage containers; I will cling to my uncluttered efficiency.

the accumulation of a life

The other day I was sorting through a closet. Something I do with semi-frequency. And I thought to myself: How does one accumulate so much stuff? 

When we moved from college to Louisville, we already had a cattle trailer full of items, but that was small potatoes compared to what we packed into the back of our moving truck two years later in route for Missouri. And now? NOW?! If we were to move tomorrow I can guarantee we'd have to pack up in an even bigger moving truck than last time.

And then I thought: Stuff is stuff. But what about this LIFE I have accumulated since I first packed my bags and left home?!

Every day that passes, I tuck more and more life inside these walls.

When we moved to Kentucky-- me, kicking and screaming-- I wrote a reflection [here] about unpacking old memories in my apartment: unloading memories of summer trips to the pool and bike rides with my dad and making "recipe soup" onto the shelves of my one bedroom apartment. I talked about how the new apartment could only store so many memories, and that I needed to leave some behind to return to.

And now, in my three bedroom home, I wonder how many memories I have unloaded into these closets and shelves; how many nearly forgotten happinesses lie in these cupboards, just waiting for me to find them.

Perhaps if I pull down the winter clothes from the attic the snow fort I built with my wingmates when I was an RA will tumble down with them? And behind the washing machine could I find some memories of my first dates with Brent? In the hall closet I pull out the feeling of holding my first daughter on my chest, examining her first new breaths. And behind the vacuum I discover I still have the memory of my first successful writing lesson with my students.

And little by little, memory by memory, I am amazed that we can accumulate life so exponentially.

So I throw out the stuff to make room for the life. I want to have space to remember what we lived here. I want to have empty places to fill with big memories.

a collection of thoughts about leaving and living and strength

I have written about moving before. About dealing with changes. About how I often stink at it.

This picture popped into my head earlier today:

It is the last picture I snapped as Brent and I closed our apartment door for the last time in Louisville. It was our first apartment together. It's was the place we clung to only each other when everything around us was new and different. Moving there was an exciting time, but scarier than I ever dreamed it would be to leave everything I knew, move in with my new husband in a new city, and begin a brand new career.

And then we left and I cried.
And the fact that I cried nearly scared me more than when I arrived. That place and that time had been important. I hadn't realized that while living it. And then it was too late.

When I left for college, I realized how wonderful my home was, and part of me ached to return to my childhood. But it was gone.
When I moved to Louisville, I realized how wonderful college was, and I ached to return to residence life. But it was gone.
When I moved to Missouri, I realized how wonderful Louisville was, and I ached to return to the simplicity of those first years of marriage on our own. But it was gone.
When I had a baby, I realized how wonderful "just the two of us" was, and part of me ached for the ease of that life. But it was gone.

When I had a second baby, I thought of the picture of my empty apartment.

I thought about how each stage of life has been so full and heavy of good things. I thought about how, because of that fullness, each stage sometimes felt like more than I could handle. More than I had bargained for. More than I had expected. More in the wrong ways. But as each season of life has passed, I can look back and see that the fullness-- the heaviness, the more-ness-- are so very commingled with the beauty and grace that came to me during that time that I can't separate them. In fact, often it's the fullness of that stage that I want to return to.

I look at that empty apartment and am reminded that we always want to go back. We always want to relive seasons of our life that are gone. And I wish I had been more present for many of those seasons. I wish I would have realized how good I had it. Even in the hard, messy, unfilled in parts.

Right now I am potty training and discipling a two year old, and nursing and nurturing a two month old. My days feel very chaotic and messy and exhausting and overwhelming. I was thinking about teaching and how much I miss the structure of those days. And then I thought about Louisville and how much I miss our little-one-bedroom-apartment-evenings. And then I thought about that picture. How leaving was so hard because I felt like I hadn't sucked all the marrow out of life that I was supposed to while I was there. And then I looked at my baby and my even smaller baby, and thought to myself: You're in the middle of another season, Kels. Someday this will be past. Don't begrudge this time. You'll want this season back too. 

I thought of that Donald Miller quote again that I love:

…everybody, every person, has to leave, has to change like the seasons; they have to or they die. The seasons remind me that I must keep changing, and I want to change because it is God's way. All my life I have been changing... Everybody has to change, or they expire…. I want to keep walking away from the person I was a moment ago, because a mind was made to figure things out, not to read the same page recurrently. Only the good stories have the characters different at the end than they were at the beginning.

And this season is changing me. It is shaping me in new and different ways than my time in college did, or my first years of marriage, or even having one child did. And it is the heaviness of that changing-- the fullness and grit of it-- that sometimes makes me want to cry and wish this time away. But I am trying to live with 20/20 vision, instead of saving that for my hindsight. I am trying to relish in this season of my life that I know I will look back on fondly and miss someday. 

During my quiet time [which is not so quiet these days], I was asking God to give me the grace to know how to live that kind of very present way; I was asking Him to show me how to not feel so exhausted and overwhelmed. And then in Deuteronomy I saw: "…and your STRENGTH will EQUAL YOUR DAYS."  

When I was a "weary" college Junior in the throws of finals and missing my fiance, next to that verse I had written in purple pen a quote by Robert Louis Stevenson that Elisabeth Elliot referred to in one of her writings. It says, "Anyone can carry his burden, however heavy, until nightfall. Anyone can do his work, however hard, for one day. Anyone can live sweetly, patiently, lovingly, purely 'till the sun goes down-- and this is all that life really means." 

Anyone can do his work, however hard, for one day. 
Your strength will equal your days. 

So today I will try and live sweetly, patiently, lovingly, purely. I will take a deep breath when Blythe fights her nap or has an accident on the carpet. I will whisper a prayer for more patience when Becks wakes up only twenty minutes after I put her down. Or wants to eat…again. I have been given enough strength for this day. And because of that, I can enjoy it more. I can treasure it more. I can accept this season with unclenched hands and hopefully when I look back I will think: I was exhausted in all the right ways and sucked every ounce I could out of that season. 

And if one day we choose to leave this home, and I snap a picture of the empty walls and space as we are leaving, hopefully I will smile and know that our time here was filled with all the best kinds of MORE because there was a wife and mom who embraced each season of life she was given. 

all grown up

Back in February my friend, Meagan, came up and helped me brainstorm a few ideas for Blythe's "big girl" room. We knew we were going to be moving her to what had been our guest room, and that the nursery would be staying essentially the same for Baby Girl #2. Since I wasn't changing much in the nursery, I wanted to do a little something special for Blythe in her new room. I had some ideas, and Meagan helped me nail down the paint choices and furniture arrangement [which was tricky: We wanted to keep the full size bed for when company comes, but also wanted it against a wall so Blythe didn't/doesn't fall out [thoughtful of us, I know]. The only 'good' wall is up against the kitchen, and I didn't want her there simply for noise sake, so Meagan had the idea to make the bed a "day bed" for now, and then when we don't fear her falling out as much, we can switch it back]. 

Then it was time to get busy. Brent and I were able to get it painted in one afternoon, since the chair rail was already painted. I love the pale aqua we picked for the walls, and knew the coral would pop against it! My aunt had given me a dresser that didn't work in her house, and my grandparents set to work repainting it. My parents recently redid my old high school bedroom, and came up with two extra shelves that my grandpa had made for me back then. So those were painted the coral as well. 

Why am I explaining all this? Let's just look at the pictures [which aren't great…the lighting in that room is awful, but you'll get an idea:)] :

And can we just talk about this headboard for a minute? 

I fell in love with this bright, coral fabric, and thought it would be fun to do a covered headboard. That was the extent of the instructions/ideas I gave my grandma and grandpa and they created this beautiful piece! Right now we have it lengthwise, to create the daybed look, but it will work as a headboard for the top of the bed as well! Love the way it turned out. 

I had fun with this little "gallery wall" as well. I knew I wanted the beautiful canvas that my friend, Micah, had made for Blythe when she was born to be the focal point, and other than that I rummaged for old frames around the house, painted them white, and printed a few things and used some of Blythe's current artwork. It's fun. 

And the other day when Blythe woke up she randomly pointed to it and said, "Mommy do that. Good job, Mommy!" It was funny and out of the blue, since she's been in this room for well over a month now. 

Across from the bed is the vanity that was always in my room growing up. It's a very cool piece of furniture [I didn't get a good shot of this wall or the vanity.] 

We moved the rocker from the nursery into here, because it's the best chair ever, and because I wanted to get another chair anyway, so I figured giving Blythe "her" chair might make the transition easier anyway. My aunt recovered this chair when we were doing the nursery [are you catching on that I have incredibly talented people in my life?!] 

And look at those curtains! Beautiful. They match the headboard and I LOVE them. 

I also moved Blythe's canvases with her character traits on them into her room and they flank the window. Ask her to say "modesty" and "hospitality" for you sometimes-- it's awesome. 

I also wanted to bring in a little more of the coral color, so I quickly painted over some existing canvases I had and slapped up some favorite lyrics from a favorite hymn. 

And obviously the picture collage HAD to be hung up after all it had been through. 

I think the dresser is my favorite piece in the room [the headboard a close second?]. It is absolutely my favorite shade of coral, and I like that we decided to leave the old hardware on it. Not only does it look incredible, but it is huge and functional too. 

Across from the window and dresser is where I decided to hang the shelves. This room is situated kind of funny in our house: it has a door on one side that leads to the hallway [normal], and a door directly across on the other side that leads to the kitchen [kind of not normal]. Blythe loves the two doors and when she wakes up she'll point to which door she wants to go out of, and sometimes halfway there she changes her mind and says, "NO, that one!" and wheels around. Having two options is awesome when you are two. 

Anyway, all that to say, it kind of serves as a hallway of sorts, so we couldn't put any big furniture against that all. The shelves ended up being a good option and her awesome dollhouse sits below them. 

One of my favorite things about putting a "new room" together is getting to decide on all the little finishing touches. I had a budget of $0 for this part, so it was really fun to go shopping around the house and pull out certain things and see how they worked here and there.

Micah painted this awesome canvas, especially for Blythe's new room. It is incredible. 

This is the framed outfit Blythe came home from the hospital in, as well as her cup from Great Grandma Ann, her piggy bank from Great Nini Pat, and two cases that will one day hold her "first tooth" and her "first lock." I have a feeling her first tooth may happen before her first haircut! 

I've had a lot of fun documenting Blythe's life, and these books had been in a closet, so I pulled them out for display. The boots were her first pair from Aunt Lesa [don't worry, she already has another pair], and the little pink piggy from Aunt Beth. 

I took these out of the nursery for her. The canvas I made with lyrics from Shane and Shane's "The One You Need", and look at sweet 4 day old Blythe in the frame!

I wanted to do a mini name-banner for her [the baby has a bigger one just like this, waiting to be hung up in the nursery!]. I found free, pre-made printable letters online and love the way it turned out.

I also wanted to do something a little whimsical in the room, since she is just two. So I borrowed some hole punches and used a sewing machine for the first time ever. I strung the circle garland all around the room and it adds a little color and a fun touch. 

 Blythe transitioned PERFECTLY. Seriously. The best advice we got was from my sister, and she said, "Just act like it's not a big deal. The night you decide to put her in there, just do business as usual and lay her down." That's what we did. She never even questioned it. She never asked to sleep in her crib again.
And she only fell out of bed once. 
The first morning she slept in like usual and when I went in to get here she was up playing with her dollhouse, and had turned off her fan, and had thrown her blankie and paci back in her bed like she knew she was supposed to! What's funny is, that is the ONLY time she has ever gotten out of the bed. We never really "coached" her on it, but I guess she just figured out we want her to stay in there. She's awesome.

I think she kind of likes her new room.

I had a lot of fun [and obviously a lot of help] putting it together and I love the way it turned out!