Extreme Home Makeover... Nanny Edition

OK, maybe "extreme" is a slight overstatement. We didn't tear down any walls, or build a house from scratch in 7 days... BUT, this little home makeover was 50 years in the making. My precious Nanny has lived in the same house since my mom was 6, and well, since we all know she just celebrated her 39th birthday, I guess 50 years isn't quite accurate, but close. ha!

After having 3 kids and 6 grandchildren trampling through her house for decades needless to say it was a little worn and frayed. I can't remember her and my Papaw ever taking the time or money to do anything for themselves, they just gave, gave, gave.

So... when the mere mention came of "sprucing up" the ole home place, I jumped all over it! I was dubbed the "Ty Pennington" of the project (you know my obsession for before and after photos.)

I doubt, however, that Ty ever fell off a ladder while holding a full cup of paint, spilled it all over the furniture or forgot to measure the oversized chair to see if it actually fits in the room... but that's why I work for free. ha!

Our whole family came together one weekend in March for a painting party. That was the first time we had all been back in the house together since my Papaw died 15 years ago. It was truly a reunion long overdue.

When he was alive, he cooked Sunday dinner there nearly ever week. (Somehow, his cooking gene skipped me) After he died, it was just too hard to go back. We moved Sunday dinners to my mom's, and although we have continued the tradition he loved so much we haven't all had a meal at Nanny's since. It was great to be finally doing something for her, in the home they shared.
Did I mention, I accidentally scheduled this weekend "painting party" during March Madness? Something else I'm sure Ty would never do. Oops, sorry guys...at least I made sure they got to paint the rooms with TV's in them. My brother nearly disowned me.

Please tell me it's level now...
There were 4 different carpets in Nanny's house (none which were very attractive.) The other was a dark gray but I couldn't fit it in the picture. She got brand new neutral carpet throughout the whole house... wow, what a difference!


We were also celebrating my mom and Emily's birthdays and Luke's new job at Volkswagen.

Tim, my Nanny's cousin and neighbor came over to "inspect" our work...we kept handing him a paint brush. He kept handing it back.
One of many loads to the Goodwill.
The second work weekend was Easter, by then the walls were painted and new carpet was in.

The house was torn to pieces, we hardly had room to put out the food, we sat in the floor on blankets or at TV trays and ate off paper plates... but it didn't matter.

Is your side straight? Cause my sides straight...
We surprised Nanny with a big screen TV for her den. She had been watching that little hand-me-down console for as long as I can remember. That was just one of the many times throughout this makeover I saw her bring her hands to her mouth and gasp "oh, my word!" with tears in her eyes. That made it all worth it!

My cousin Laura helped entertain the troops...
But finally... tonight I hung the last curtain (it's been a slow process) and was finally able to take my cherished "after" pictures.

The den before...
(some of my "befores" were taken after we had started patching holes and filling boxes)
And after...
~removing a/c unit
~ painting paneling and trim
~ new carpet
~ new window treatments
~ new TV
(We still need to recover the couch and recliner, but all of her old furniture stayed)


I took a lot of her pictures and made big collages to hang on the wall... gotta love Kirklands!
The kitchen before... (again, I ripped most of the wallpaper down before I took the before pictures, but you can still see some over the sink)

And after...
~new paint
~new floor
~ new kitchen table
~ new curtains
~ new cabinet pulls
~and thanks to Appliance Epoxy, no more harvest gold dishwasher


The middle bedroom before... (which you walk through to get to the den from the kitchen)

And after...
~new paint
~new bedding
~new carpet

And finally...the living room beforeAnd after...
~removing old a/c unit
~new paint
~new carpet
~new couch and chair
~new light
~new curtains




I can't decide which room is my favorite. But I do know this. What started out as a fun project in turning something old and outdated into something "pretty" became a lot more than that to me. It is one of those things were you begin doing something for someone else and in the end you receive the biggest blessing. The time I got to spend with my grandmother during this remodel is something I will cherish forever. I looked so forward to picking her up and going shopping with her, or going over in the evenings and doing little projects.

She has said repeatedly how much she appreciates all I did... but this was a drop in the bucket compared to all she's done for me in the last 35 years. I hope that when she sits in her "new" house, she feels how truly loved and adored she is by her family.

To teach is to touch a life forever...

37 years...

37 first days of school
37 Christmas vacations
37 much needed Spring breaks
37 last days of school
37 summers

countless...
dried tears
tied shoelaces
bear hugs
buttoned pants
bandaged knees
teacher stares
wiped noses
books read
report cards written
... lives changed

Last night, colleagues, friends, neighbors, and family gathered to celebrate and honor my dear friend Lynda, who next week will retire after 37 years of teaching... and loving children!

She is the teacher every mother prays for and every child deserves. When I think of all the children's lives she has touched over the years, it amazes me.

She taught at only 2 schools her entire career, and has been at Woodmore for the last 26 years. There is no doubt, there will be a huge void in that building and community next Wednesday when she leaves it.

Surprise!

Lynda and Penny (in the green and white shirt) have been best friend and taught together for 25 years.

I was incredibly blessed to get to teach on the same team with Lynda and Penny for 4 years before I left when Trace was born. They took a rookie under their wing, and I will always be grateful for all they taught me! Not only the "how-to", but what the true spirit of a teacher should be. They will forever be my friends and mentors.

My Woody girls... don't know what I'd do without them!
Her beautiful family...


Lynda and Lindsey
Her best surprise... her first grandson Xander was there to celebrate with her.

Jared was once one of her first graders... now look. I actually taught with her when he was in first grade, that makes us both feel old.
Mrs. Paris (center) is Jared's granny and was our first grade assistant for years. There were MANY days we wouldn't have survived without her!!

She now gets to move on to another love and a job I'm sure she will cherish everyday... taking care of baby Xander.

I put this quote on the picture board, and it sums her up perfectly...

"A hundred years from now it will not matter what my bank account was, the sort of house I lived in, or the kind of car I drove... but the world may be different because I was important in the life of a child."
~Author Unknown

So, so, true... love you Lynda!!

Sleeping like a baby... in a big boy bed

So, it was time for Trace to go from his toddler bed to a "real" bed. My denial lasted only long enough to observe him on many mornings curled up in the fetal position... not because it was comfy, but out of necessity.

His full bed was delivered on Friday morning and I couldn't resist taking one last picture of what his "nursery" looked like before...
I am very symmetrical (some call it anal... I prefer symmetrical) and it drove me nuts to think of his new bed not being centered on the wall and under his name and bible verse. There is something so peaceful about knowing your child is sleeping under the Word of God.

When we found out he was a boy and we knew he would be James Franklin III, we wanted a verse from the book of James to put above his crib. We scoured the chapter and when I read James 1:17 Every good and perfect gift is from above, I have never felt words more true. We just knew that was the one.

Four years ago when we bought his crib, we decided on a "lifestyle" crib, one that converts from crib, to toddler bed, to full size bed. The bed I ordered last week came with free rails (a nice surprise) and so the process began of taking his crib apart (sniff, sniff) and assembling his big boy bed.

Oh... and I do mean "process."

Jimmy worked and worked trying to get his headboard to match up to the bed rails that came with it. Just before he was about to throw them through the 2nd story window, we decided to call the 1-800 number on the box."

(We've all been there ladies... them handing you the phone and telling you to call, claiming their hands are too full or they are busy driving, when really it's just the male ego refusing to ask for help. ha!)

The company informed me that for "safety reasons" you can only use their rails that must be purchased at the locale retailer for a mere ...$159. So much for basking in the pride of "free bedrails with mattress purchase."

Apparently, while in my glowing state of pregnancy, I managed to pick the only line of "lifestyle" cribs that you then have to go back and buy their company bedrails in order to convert... of course I did. They probably told me that at the time, but I pleaded placenta brain and have no recognition of that conversation.

So, off to Children's Fair I go... with my checkbook. I get them home, and we proceed once again with assembly. After many screwdrivers, allen wrenches, electric drills, and four letter words the headboard, footboard, and bedrails were all one piece!

Now time for the box springs and mattress... that's where it gets ugly.

I wish I could have taken a moment to compose myself and capture a photo, but since I didn't, picture in your mind the story The Princess and the Pea.

That is about how high Trace's bed was. I even had to be hoisted up... can you imagine a 3-year-old climbing onto it. No way was that going to work.

Then Jimmy tried it without the box springs... better, until we realized it couldn't be pushed up in the corner (like I had planned) because of the 2 inch lip on the head and foot board. After all that work, and money, the bed was still not happening.

By this point, it was late in the evening, we are all frustrated and in need of sleep... but this is what Trace's room looked like at bedtime... 1/2 crib, 1/2 bed
So, he bunked with me in the guest room. (Two adults, a toddler, and a dog just don't mix in a bed together)

The next day we decided that until he's old enough to not roll off the bed, he will just have to do without the pretty head and footboards... so off to the attic they went, attached to some very expensive but pretty bedrails :) Not exactly the vision I had for his new big boy bedroom, but safety comes first.

By that night, he was snug as a bug in a rug tucked into his new bed and sleeping like a baby.
Does it look like he cares that there is no headboard?

I arranged his furniture so that he has a little play area of puzzles and books and his rocking chair to sit in. I took a picture because I knew his room would never be this neat again.

Sleep tight, sweet boy!