Ethan's Big Boy Room

               Before and After

It started with a rug.

  

Ethan's BeBe gave him this awesome road map/city scene rug to use with his toy cars (stashed under the nightstand) for Christmas, and I immediately knew it would be going into his big boy room when I began converting the guest room in January. It was the first thing chosen and dictated everything else.

 

Then came the painting above his bed. I had seen it at Target and thought it would fit perfectly, but I couldn't bring myself to spend $30 on a piece of mass-produced "art." So I passed. Yet a few weeks later, I kept coming back to it in my mind. So I finally gave in. It was closely thereafter followed by a set of navy light-blocking curtains (also from Target and seen better in another picture) and a $30 bedding set from Big Lots (yes, his bedding cost the same as that picture). We kept one of the nightstands the same, but repurposed the other, as seen below. The lamp was in the original guest room, but we added a new Target shade that fit the base better. The nightstand also holds his favorite truck book and Mater. The trashcan was free at a church sale. The "E" was moved over from the nursery when Ethan was, and I made the book sling out of a couple of curtain rods and some fabric for Ethan's most often-read bedtime books for added convenience.

 

 

The headboard was the final project in here, completed less than 24 hours ago. I had seen a tutorial in Young House Love's book for a headboard made out of two IKEA Lack side tables. So we picked a couple up last weekend on our trip to Charlotte, and C helped me make it and mount it yesterday. I'm quite pleased with how it turned out! Ethan absolutely loves it, mostly because the surface is quite reflective, and he likes watching himself jump on the bed and make faces into it!

 One of my other favorite areas is Ethan's reading wall and poof. I asked C to build several shelves to hang for all of Ethan's books, and then we spray-painted them in coordinating colors. Then I sewed a floor poof using this tutorial for Ethan to sit on while he reads. My mother-in-law crocheted a Pete the Cat in response to Ethan's new obsession with those books after he discovered them now that his book covers face out!

The lamp was another IKEA purchase. We don't have much overhead lighting in our house that's not recessed. Really just one in the kitchen, two in the master bath, and one in this room. Unfortunately, the one in this room was the ugliest of them all, old-fashioned and brass. So when I discovered this pendant fixture that matched the colors in his room and was so bright and cheery, I had to have it! A bit of electrical work (skills I honed while replacing our outdated outdoor fixtures a couple of weeks prior), and now Ethan has a light that matches the cheeriness of his room! It may not grow with him quite as well as some of the other elements, but I believe I would be able to change out the shade for a less childish one if he eventually requests it.

The other side of the room. Here are the navy curtains (still lacking a formal tie-back...) with a homemade Roman blind underneath. It's the same IKEA dresser that was originally in the room, but instead of holding a typewriter as in its former incarnation, it now holds Ethan's noise machine, a wire basket to eventually be filled with toys, and, during the day, Ethan's Twilight Turtle. To its right is the other nightstand, now converted into a tool bench inspired by this post. This was a gift from Santa, and Ethan absolutely loves it. He insists on sleeping with some of his tools at every nap, and he loves having them right here to pick out. 

Behind the door is Ethan's growth chart, moved over from the nursery. If #2 is a boy, the nursery artwork will stay where it is, and we'll probably find something else to add to this mostly-bare wall. However, if #2 is a girl, his "Someday" prints will be moved in here and hung above the dresser and tool bench.

Above the dresser is a homemade floating shelf I asked C to make for Ethan's various knick-knacks from the nursery. They include a bank one of our pastors gave him at the hospital, the Bible he received at his baptism, his two silver cups, a rock with a Bible verse on it, a sticker from the first midwife appt. he went to with me, a picture from the GA aquarium, and some stone animals given to him by my maid-of-honor/college best friend before he was born.

The final side of the room, showing the entrance and the closet. There is a small bit of wallspace here that was perfect for finally hanging Ethan's certificate of baptism and the birthday party photo-sets I've been making. Each frame holds a picture of the three of us on that day and then a defining moment from his party (cake at his 1st birthday and watching the goats with friends at his 2nd).

 His closet is currently a bit of a mess since there are two seasons' worth of clothes in there. But you can see he has plenty of space, to be sure! His new door organizer is mostly empty at the moment, just holding some socks and a pair of shoes. The upper shelf is currently storing a tub of cloth diapers that will be removed once #2 fits the OS diapers around 2 months. But it also holds a change of sheets, shoes in the next size up, gifts to give for birthday parties, and his baby book and box of memories. On the left is his hamper, and the floor of the right side is his hidden book nook. I stuck a floor lamp that had nowhere else to go in there and stuck the cord out to a nearby outlet. Then I put down his sheepskin and a couple of pillows that had been on the guest bed. Next, a Goodwill basket was revamped with a new cover by my mother-in-law and filled with all his stuffed animals. An IKEA magazine rack houses all his nature magazines that Grandpapa subscribed him to. Ethan loves cuddling up in there with a book from his shelves or a magazine. It's his own secret hideaway!

So there you have it! It only took almost 4 months to complete, but Ethan's big boy room is finally complete! Amazing how different a room can look without even changing the paint! I'm pretty sure it's my new favorite room in the house!

Oops... (redux)

Well, so much for being better about updating! Before I finally post pictures of Ethan's big boy room (which was just completed this weekend, so that's why I was slacking on that post), a quick recap of the past few weeks, as they've been quite eventful!

First of all, I referenced a meeting with my DS in my last post and promised to update afterwards. And then I didn't. Well, the meeting went well, the job possibility I had worked out was approved, and I was all set to go with a job that would allow me to be commissioned this June! I was excited about it, but I still had one outstanding resume at a church that had yet to start reviewing applications. So when I received a call from that church requesting an initial interview, I decided to go ahead and go along with the process just for the heck of it, even though I already had a job lined up at our current church.

The interview seemed to go well, and less than an hour after my interview was over, I received a call from the head of the search committee letting me know I was the only candidate they were pursuing and asking me to come back for a second interview in two days. Well, that was unexpected! Since my parents were coming into town that weekend, I asked to push the Saturday interview to Monday, which gave me more time to figure out what I was going to do. Monday's interview lasted 3 hours between dinner with the pastors, a trial lesson with a group of kids, and more questions from the search committee. I thought it had gone well, but I was no closer to an answer for what I was going to do if I was offered the job, which it seemed like I would be. Sure enough, Tuesday morning, the pastor called to offer me the job. What should have been a joyous event was instead full of stress and heartache. I let the pastor know I was now deciding between two positions, but that I would try to give her an answer as soon as possible. And so it began.

Over the course of the next 24 hours, I received countless calls and emails from members of the search committee, telling me how much they wanted me, telling me that I was an answer to their prayers, and telling me they would do whatever it took to get me. Despite this, by Tuesday afternoon, I had pretty much decided to turn down the offer and continue with the job I'd already planned on taking. Sure, this new offer was vocationally where I needed to be, but it was a 30 minute commute instead of a 5 minute one, and with 2 kids, would that really be manageable? I had to do what was best for my family, right? Still I kept praying for guidance, and eventually came to a place of peace. I decided to tell the senior pastor the following morning what they would have to do to make it work for me and my family and let God take it from there. Well, God is good, and the following Monday I was able to outright accept their offer to come on staff as the minister of children. Tomorrow is my first day! So yes, I'm still sad to be leaving our church home of the past 3 years, and yes, the commute is going to suck at times, but I am so excited about the opportunities at this new church and so grateful for God's all-knowing answer to my prayer for a job!

In addition to it being basically the perfect job for me vocationally, the church approved my receiving 12 weeks paid maternity leave (even though I will have only been there 3 months before the baby is born), only having to come in one morning (in addition to Sundays and Wednesday morning staff meetings) every other week for the next 3 months of baby's life, and then only having to come in one additional morning a week for the following 6 months of baby's life. So for at least the first year, I will have amazing flexibility! I can keep baby with me in my office for as long as it works and then, any time after 8 months, I will have free on-site childcare in the form of their Parents' Morning Out program. Ethan will be going to the PMO program on Wednesday mornings through May and then M/W/F until the baby is born, and he'll also be able to go to the PMO camp each summer when preschool is over, so I won't have to worry about childcare at all, really, between preschool and PMO. You can see why they made it an offer I couldn't refuse!

Anyway, that's been all the vocational turmoil-turned-celebration, so my only other update is just that all is going well with baby #2! My anatomy scan came back totally normal, so everything looks good. Tomorrow, before I head in for my first day of work, I have my 24-week midwife appointment and will be doing the glucose tolerance test, so fingers crossed all looks good there, too!

It's certainly going to be busy around here the next few months, but hopefully I'll find time to check in now and again =)