Honey Get 'er Done List

I'm on a bit of a project kick these days. After all, this is my summer break (well, I have two weeks before my summer class starts, but still it's just one class after a semester of teaching four) and I figure that it's not like I'm going to be less busy anytime soon. And maybe I'm nesting? Anyway, I have a list of things that I want to get done, which I realize may not be very interesting reading, but here it is anyway, to keep me accountable:

* Organize upstairs closets. There are six of them. Man, that seems like a lot of closets. Zuzu's nursery, Zuzu's big girl room, the original closet in our room, the ridiculous monstrosity of an add-on closet, the small closet on the landing, and the bathroom closet-that-is-really-a-cabinet. I think it will be time-consuming, but I know it will be really satisfying, so I want to knock it out this summer. (Read: before Rerun!)

* Speaking of Rerun, s/he needs a space. I'm not ready to move Zuzu out of her nursery. I just decorated it for her a year ago, and I'm so not ready for her to be in a "big-girl" room OR bed. So far, she's still happy in her crib, and we are still happy sleeping with the Angel Care monitor beeping its reassurance at us. (I recently realized that we totally lucked out getting the Angel Care monitor with two sensor pads--makes all the difference in the world in being able to use it for a toddler as well as a newborn, since she moves around so much in her bed.) Our plan for now is to have Rerun sleep in a bassinet in our bedroom for the first few months. We did this with Zuzu and it worked really well, both in terms of keeping our anxiety in check (thanks to the Snuza monitor) and getting us the maximum hours of sleep.

Even when Zuzu slept in our room, though, she still had her room for toys and clothes and diaper changes. And while we could definitely share toy space, I don't want to venture into Zuzu's nursery for middle-of-the-night diaper changes, and (let's be honest) her closet is at capacity! So my plan is to make some kind of nursery space for Rerun in the sitting room off our bedroom. There's plenty of space up there, it's just somewhat awkward given the size/position of the windows and the fact that it leads to our closet.

I'd like to get a dresser that can double as a changing table and a small bookcase for toy and accessory storage, as well as a rocker/glider. I'm scouting Craigslist for this stuff and trying to convince myself that I can pull the trigger to do some prep work before Rerun gets here. (Oh how I envy moms who can decorate the whole nursery while pregnant and remain absolutely convinced they'll bring home a baby to put in it!) It's a bit of a battle with anxiety for me, but it's not like I'll have a lot of time in mid-August to be driving around town meeting random Craigslisters. So I'm working on it, and I actually have a lead on a dresser that I'm pretty excited about! I'll keep you posted.

So, as sub-projects under "Make a space for Rerun":
- sew/buy curtains and light-blocking blinds for windows (we're still living with the heinous beige polyester farm-kitchen curtains and the roller-shade that former owners left behind)
- purchase and paint/refinish a dresser to double as a changing table
- purchase (and possibly paint/refinish) a bookcase
- purchase some kind of glider/rocker
- area rug?
- art for the walls (something to personalize the space so it feels both like a sweet baby nursery and like it still connects to our bedroom)
- purchase/repurpose baskets for toy and accessory storage

* Paint the dining room. We painted it already, I know, but I've decided the blue is too dark for the center of our house. With the two small stained glass windows, the room doesn't get a lot of natural light, even though it's open to the living room and the back room. I also feel like the blue doesn't really flow the way I want it to. So even though David shakes his head at me, I'm pretty sure I'm going to take Sherwin Williams up on their latest coupon offer and slap another coat of paint on those walls.

* Locate a chair for the desk in the front room (I still need to post pics of this update, I guess, it just doesn't feel very thrilling yet). I want an acrylic ghost chair (David has expressed his uncertainty about this, as though he gets a say in the matter--isn't that cute?). However, I have other spending priorities right now that beat the ghost chair (like Rerun's room). So I'm keeping my eye out for a $15 chair I can spray paint (or better yet a free one sitting out in a city alley because ya'll know I'm not too proud to dumpster-dive).

* A new rug for the front room. I am SO OVER the rug in there. I've been over it for years, honestly, but I haven't known what I wanted to replace it with and damn wool rugs are expensive and if I'm going to spend money on a rug, I figure I might as well spend enough money to buy a nice one made of natural fibers. So I'm scoping out Joss & Main, Wayfair, RugUSA, Home Goods, and Craigslist, as well as a couple of local consignment shops to see what I can find. I'm pretty sure I want something colorful and bright as opposed to muted, but we shall see. Anything will be an improvement over the beige blah we've got going on in there, but I've really got to love it to pull the trigger on spending that much money. Rugs be spendy!

* Curtains for the backroom. I have a vague idea of what I want back there, but it is still lower on the priority list. One of these days...

* Plant lemon grass in pots and surround the patio with them. I'll probably assign this project to David, but I'm already getting feasted on by mosquitos and any kind of natural repellent is preferable than slathering myself in deet just to go outside.

I think that just about covers it... These are pretty much in order of priority, except the lemon grass, which needs to happen soon! It does kind of seem like a lot to do in nine weeks (holy moly NINE weeks from today!!!), but deadlines get stuff done, you know?