Master Bath Remodel

One of our big house-projects this year is the master bathroom. My wonderful mother gave up pretty much ALL of her spring break to help us get it together -- she's fantastic! It took us 2.5 DAYS to scrape all the wallpaper off -- I swear, I think they used super glue in some spots, it took forever! The toilet/shower area and the sink area all bare naked

James even got in on "helpin' hammerin" the wallpaper, as he called it :-)

He was SOOOO thrilled to help Daddy "make noise" and drill the towel bar anchors in to the wall

The (almost) finished projects! Just a couple of things left to hang and some plumbing to make sure is secure and non-leaking -- but we can put the first part of the check in the "done" box!

Baking Cookies

Again with the glasses from the medical kit -- James is so goofy -- hysterical when he gets his laugh going -- man, we are in trouble when he gets to school :-)
Gma Chele came over to cash in on her Christmas sugar cookie mix that James gave her. She made the dough and let it chill while he finished up his nap. It took a few minutes for James to get over being dirty and having his hands messy, but then he couldn't get enough. He first helped roll out the dough.

Then he used cookie cutters to cut shapes (airplanes, circles, stars and hearts)

..and a "flipper, Mommy" to put them on the cookie sheet. He was very patient while he watched them cook in the oven.

Grandma and James showing off (and diving into) their creations :-)

What To Do???

My big summer project is to get the front bedroom re-decorated. It currently has wallpaper on it that is probably older than us -- pretty little flowers all over it and the other 3 walls are the opposite of this one. The biggest problem is this wall though -- the top uses plywood and a 4x2 or something used to hold up the lighting and the bottom storage shelves are all mdf board (which, upon research, may emit urea formaldehyde if not properly coated --awesome -- which I'm doubting wallpaper prevents, so need to Kilz it a few times). Anyway, we are looking for a way to re-do the room, keep it gender neutral (we are thinking it will become James' room when he's ready but it's not set in stone) and leave some room for personalizing when the time comes (stickers? decals?) Open to any suggestions on colors, design ideas, etc! Thanks!
I'm so happy this wallpaper is coming down easily -- I guess it helps that the glue has given way after +30 years of being up!

Can't just rip it down because there is no carpet down behind it and the electric is running in there too to some degree.

Bathroom is Done

Above :: the downstairs bathroom has been finished for a couple of weeks now -- GG touched up the ceiling and the edges and Jimmy hung the shelving and picture back up. I really like how it turned out -- not bad for a spur of the moment re-model!
Below :: just before GG was coming for her Spring Break, we had a huge storm go through that had hail pelting the house -- they were hitting the brick in the backyard and bouncing back halfway up the house! Needless to say, we have an adjuster coming out soon to check out the damages.

Downstairs Bathroom Re-Model

It's been sippy-sailing for me since last week!!! No more bottles for this big boy :-) He's gonna eat us out of house and home if he keeps eating like he has been -- I couldn't believe how much he ate over the weekend -- but it's good to see him eating table food (he refuses to eat fresh fruit -- must be a texture thing -- so I still mash it for him so that he gets some in his diet). The pic below is gross because of the food in his mouth, but you can kind of see his top teeth pushing through the gums -- his top left came through Saturday and I think his top right will be the next tooth he gets.

Sunday early afternoon Jim found the downstairs toilet leaking and that led to quick, impromptu bathroom remodel. So he went to the hardware store to get some new seals for the toilet and we spent the day stripping the wall paper border (it took forever to get that darn stuff down -- I would like to have a good talkin' w/ the person who developed the glue for wall paper). Jim got the paper down and filled in the holes from hangy thingies and I got the glue down on Sunday -- then Monday I spackled and sanded behind the sink and where the toilet tank had been (they used a flat paint last time so there was some water damage) and Jim painted the ceiling. So today we are hoping to get the walls painted and finish this project off -- 3 days with work and a toddler around, I don't think that's too bad for a project!

ABOVE :: pre-painting