MIA

Missing In Action. That's me, lately. That, and you could add "running around like a chicken with her head cut off" to my title as well. Right now is just one of those periods where I constantly feel like I'm clawing my way to the surface, but I just can't get enough of a grip to hold on up there. (Not emotionally, mind you, but just feeling behind on everything.) Thanksgiving is a WEEK away from tomorrow. What?! How did that happen?! I was planning on having my Christmas shopping done by then, and yet, haha, I haven't even started. And Thanksgiving is at my house this year. My currently very messy and completely unfinished house this year. And Christmas? A mere four weeks after that!!!

But anyway, back to my reasons for being MIA lately. I have been up to my eyeballs in painting. And sanding. And caulking. (Caulk is my new best friend. Forget diamonds. It's all about caulk for me, and how it makes everything look sooooooooooo nice.) And painting some more. After working on my son's room for 4 days now (give or take some hours of trying to keep up with the household chores as well), my mom and I are halfway through our first coat of real paint. It took almost 11 hours just to prime it all. Then another 4 or 5 hours to sand it all. Then caulking was at least another 2 hours. Then starting the first coat of paint took 4 hours so far. We still have to finish the first coat, lightly sand it all again, and then paint the last coat. Then the woodwork will be done, and we can start on painting the ceiling and all the walls.

Are you exhausted yet just from reading my long list from this room? I sure am.

But don't despair. I am very happy with the way it is all shaping up. And I've gotten just a teensy bit of satisfaction from the fact that my mom and I have done almost all of this process by ourselves, and it looks nice. Reeeeeeeeeeeal nice.

Here are some before pictures (before being after the carpenter left):













And here is what it looks like right now:



It's hard to tell, but the white on the woodwork is actually an off-white shade. The walls are going to be painted in a medium shade of greyish-taupe. Nice and neutral, folks. Enough work has gone into this little man's room that I have no plans whatsoever to go back in every few years and change the wall color. The train shelf is so cute. The carpenter added a little platform on each wall coming out from the shelf where I can put a building on -- we are buying a water tower, a church, a barn and silo, and a ranch house, one to go on each wall. We also still have to put up the curtain rods inside each bunk, which means I also need to make curtains. And I think I will be making a new Roman shade and panel for the window, although I have yet to figure that one out. My goal is to have all of the woodwork done by this weekend, except for some changes my husband needs to make that then must be primed and painted to get caught up with everything else. I hope by Sunday at the latest that I will be starting in on the ceiling and the walls.

So, what do you think?