Planning ahead...

One of the best things about moving is getting to pick and choose what your new spaces are going to look like. I did this a while back with the nursery before little Lumberjack was born. This is the space that we are in right now.

We moved the bed off of the frame and on to the floor so that he wouldn't roll out of bed and get hurt. For quite a while, we had a crib set up and I would try putting little Lumberjack back into bed, only to have him wake up immediately. Back and forth to the crib we would go, hour after hour, day after day until I finally just gave up and gave baby his own side of the bed. We donated the crib, put the mattress in the closet, and called it good. Little lumberjack can freely come and go off the bed to play with his toys or make a little lumberjack sized mess.

When not cleaned for showing, the top of this dresser space doubled as a changing table. We cloth diaper the little lumberjack so normally there is a wicker hamper where the trash can is. I don't really like to keep a lot of things in the drawers, even for my own possessions. The top two drawers have diapers, as does one of the middle drawers. The other three are filled with pajamas, pants and socks. Those things are too difficult to hang in the closet.

Lastly, this is the other side of our nursery. That big dresser holds my toiletries & essentials while the other drawers hold clothes, a few pictures and my bibles. The little desk has toys and books. This set up has worked wonderful for us during our 6 weeks of showings. However, before that desk was moved in, there was a low to the ground shelf system that held the baby lumberjacks favorite toys.

Little lumberjack and I will be parting ways once we move to the farm. My dresser and belongings will move back into the master bedroom where they belong. The only drawback about the farm is that the nursery will be about half of it's current size. Also, there is no closet. MAYDAY!

I am not certain that I have come up with a concrete plan. Thank goodness we have been trying to minimize our possessions and purge like crazy!

This will be the new nursery. Obviously these are the current owners possessions. There is quite a bit in this room. Three chairs, ottoman, writing desk, side table, book case and in the very left corner is a cedar chest. The room itself is roughly 8'x10'. Now, I want to keep with the Montessori method which also lines up pretty nicely with minimalism. Bedroom are for sleep, rest and self care. Right now I am thinking that his new little sleigh bed along the back wall, centered with the window, a long bookcase turned on it's side, 5 cubbies for favorite quiet toys and room for a couple more on top, a mirror mounted at little lumberjacks level above the bookcase, artwork mounted at his level (right now he loves looking at family pictures), a night light, and his new Melissa and Doug town rug. The only other thing I may add would be his little rocking chair (which was my little rocker) to complete a space for "reading" his books. That makes 2 pieces of furniture, a rug and possibly a little chair that would take up floor space. I believe this will give him enough room to actually play with his shelf items while also keeping things so minimal that he can easily pick up after play.

The dilemma of where his things are stored, where we will change diapers haven't completely been decided. I really am not one to change a baby in the middle of the livingroom. I prefer to take care of "business" in an area that is set up specifically for that purpose and is stocked with anything and everything I need within arms distance. The master bathroom is HUGE. It's actually bigger than the nursery. I am seriously considering moving his dresser to that location so that we can diaper and dress in the mornings and after baths.

That space under the window is 7' long if I remember right. I might have just enough room for the dresser in the second picture to fit and use as a changing/dress area. I'll be able to make the final decision when I get in to paint ( I have nothing blue in my house besides clothes), as I'll be able to measure this area.

That's it for today. Sometimes just sitting down and writing about what your ideas are help you to see them in a clearer way. While writing this I changed my mind three times about the contents of baby lumberjacks room. Who knows, I might stumble upon something that I like better between now and then, but at least I have a plan.

Till next time~ I'll be packing, purging & praying! 15 days or so to go!

Baby Lumberjack's New Lair

One of the best things about moving to the farm is that baby lumberjack will be transitioning to his own bed, in his own room. Roughly 2 years ago, when I was about 5 months pregnant we set up the nursery. The nursery had a beautiful crib and a full sized bed in which I could crash during those first few months of nursing every couple of hours. About this time, I came down with something that resembled whooping cough. I simply could not kick it and being pregnant I couldn't take anything for it. I ended up loosing about 13 weeks of my summer. I was miserable. As a consideration to the Lumberjack, who works in one of the most dangerous industries in the world, I moved out of the master bedroom so he could rest at night.

Fast forward to when baby lumberjack was born. He is a very light sleeper and would wake every 2 hours for feedings. Somewhere along the way, I ditched the crib because it was valuable real estate space. I remained in the room. When he turned 8 months old, desperate for a full night of sleep I attempted to move back into the master bed. Baby lumberjack was having none of that. So here I am, he is nearly 15 months old and I have decided that this child of my womb is getting his own space and I am going to get a full nights rest. I have not slept an entire night in exactly 24 months.

So, the Lumberjack, always swayed by my female charms agreed to a sleigh toddler bed. He promptly picked it up and it has been placed where the crib used to sit.

Now that baby Lumberjack is getting his own lair, I decided that maybe we should upgrade from his giraffe nursery, even though I absolutely adore his accessories, and get something a bit more toddler like. It just so happens that both myself and the beautiful one with healing hands bought this fantastic fabric at JoAnn's this Christmas. When I opened the fabric package up, it was a total confirmation that this was the direction the nursery was going. I should also add here that we are doing the Montessori method with little lumberjack. We encourage simplicity and experience. His little den will have his bed, some art work placed at eye level,  an area for self care, and a toy shelf that contains 6-8 sturdy wooden toys/puzzles to encourage quiet play. He will also have a couple small shelves that hold his books. That is it. Nothing more. Baby lumberjacks den is the only room in the house that doesn't need painted once we move. It is a light sage green color and would really clash with the brown and cream/orange of the giraffes. However, this new fabric is going to look fantastic!

Reality says that I should go ahead and pack up all of my sewing supplies. Desire says I might actually eek out a little bit of time between now and then to work on this sewing project.

I love sewing. I taught myself how to do it this last year and have enjoyed every single minute. I just can't seem to find enough time in my days to do it as often as I would like. More than likely I won't see a single hour to even create a pattern between now and moving day.

The grand plan is to make a Duvet cover that fits over his very beautiful quilt that my best friend made him in celebration of his birth. It's nice and thick, cuddly sort of blanket. This fabric is flannel. Warm in the winter and cool in the summer. Most importantly... It's lumberjacks! I am seriously considering one additional item in his room for decoration. It's a cast lumber truck that I found on the Hobby Lobby website. It matches this truck almost to perfection. This checkered flannel I will use on the back and will also use in the coordinating pillows. I probably will also make matching sheets.

One of the best stress relievers I have found so far has been dreaming about what could be. Remember, the Lord spoke to me about how this home was a blank canvas on which I can write my life.

It's so good to dream again.

19 more days to go!~