Room shuffle, part one million

 I have often joked that this house is like one big room of requirement, and this sentiment came true again over the weekend as we finally reshuffled bedrooms to give the boys their own. And! We did this for almost zero dollars.

We spent

$80 on paint

$60 on lamps and an end table

$75 on extra bedding

$80 on 2 twin beds from FB marketplace

(But then I sold a bunch of old clothes to Plato's Closet for $50 and we made $20 on Harry's old bunk bed).

Coop's room, boob light and all: (yes there are 2 TVs because what if you are doing a flight simulation over the ocean and need to also watch a show?) (I have already taken a Zoom call in there and can confirm it is perfect and very quiet).

Jack's room (the first time in his entire life that he has had his own room!!) (yes there is vinyl on the floor-- this was our playroom when we built the house) (yes there is tape on the floor-- Jack and Harry made a squash court a few years ago).

When Harry is home for the summer, I think Jack and Coop will move back in together, but we'll see. Maybe we will get a pull out sofa for the family room and someone can sleep out there? Keeping our options open for sure, and I have no doubt that the house will present a magically perfect solution when the time is right.

5-ish on a Friday: Autopilot

Like I mentioned in my dinner post, I am finding that with our fall schedule, a routine that I can mostly set and forget is really helping life feel easier-- and not just at the dinner table.

I have started using Notes on my phone to mange my blog content ideas-- I have never actually managed these in any systematic kind of way before, and I like how cute Notes can be. I have a one note with headings for each month, and I have even already started on NaBloPoMo:

Other decide once/set-and-forget things I am loving right now:

(I basically aspire to be a human crockpot or the person equivalent of hot rollers. THIS IS MIDDLE AGE)

Picking out clothes for the week. Minnie does this on Sunday night with me, and we have actually cleared out a dresser drawer to stage her outfits. She selects clothes, any accessories she might need, socks-- everything for each day. We fold it neatly, stack by day, and stash it in her dresser. When she wakes up on school mornings, she can start getting ready for her day all on her own. I am choosing my teaching outfits and potentially clothes for other days I HAVE to be on campus on Sundays as well, which is when I do any ironing, track down belts that go with dresses and locate any shoes that might be hiding on the shelf. Dorothy has also been getting in the act, but she only picks like 3 good outfits and then runs out of steam and tosses whatever in her pile. SPOILER: when she gets to the "whatever" clothes at the end of the week, she doesn't want to wear them and scrambles for other options. Soooo she is working on tweaking her process.

One plan for Friday nights: scary movie and poker-- this is **chef's kiss** and something we all look forward to.

School lunches on repeat. When everyone wants the same-ish thing every day, shopping and prepping is a BREEZE. Same for after school snacks. Cooper always gets a chicken apple sausage, a fruit, a protein drink, and a pouch of Yoggies, and whatever leftovers we have on hand (if there are no leftover, perhaps some chicken nuggets). Dorothy brings an apple with caramel dip, string cheese, and chocolate-covered pretzels OR if it is a dinner-at-dance night, she packs 2 school lunches-- one for school and another one that I bring her after school to eat at dance. SO EASY YOU GUYS.

Coffee Fridays-- such a fun treat for Dorothy and Cooper (and me!)

Getting outside every single day (thanks to HAVING A DOG and also the CBWC)

Starting every single morning with a run-- it's THE BEST (who the hell am I?!)

Room Makeovers!!!!! WE ARE DONE! (except for one picture for over Minnie's bed)

 WE did it!! By WE I mean BEN who painted, laid laminate planks, and assembled the bed and vanity ALL BY HIMSELF. (Coop put together an IKEA book shelf).

Ok! First up, Dorothy's room. 

Here is the before:

And here's the after!!!!

I LOVE IT SO MUCH!

All the new stuff in Dorothy's room meant that Minnie got a glow up, losing her toddler bed and Newton crib mattress (LOL FINALLY) and gaining some cool stuff

Old Minnie room:

(Can you even with tiny Annabel??)

NEW MINNIE ROOM!!

I love both of them so much, and so do the girls

Next up: we make our storage room into a 6th bedroom/den, and the boys all shuffle-- stay tuned!!

Both trees were on the curb by 6pm YESTERDAY

 And! I have un-christmassed 4/7 beds with plans to do 2 more today! (Harry's can wait until he goes back to school. Hos room in an unbelievable disaster right now, and I have asked him to please keep the door closed).

I am still so proud of us for pulling off the car surprise! We parked it in our neighborhood for DAYS before The Big Day and made sure to walk by and turn it on (remote start for the win) and move it every now and then. We always planned to buy him a car before summer, and when the dealer had this one (2121 Kia Forte)  that was in our budget and in really good shape, we knew it was meant to be. I also really like buying certified used from Kia-- you can reinstate the OG warranty, and everything inside and out is covered until 2031 or 100K miles. This makes me feel much better about my kid driving far away from home. Plus it has roadside assistance, flat tire assist, etc etc etc.

Harry had fewer (and smaller) gifts than the rest of the kids, and his last present was a pair of gloves from Costco like the ones he used to borrow from my dad. The key was inside, and we asked him to try the gloves on to make sure they fit.

We had a fun Christmas Eve at our favorite Thai restaurant, and the kids opened gifts from Ben's parents. Dorothy got the sweatshirt she has been DYING for, so her holiday was basically made. Ben and I decided at the last minute to buy a few small things for each other, and Dorothy helped me shop. We decorated Santa cookies and made gingerbread houses from scratch.

The kids got me a Comfy

Minnie adores frosting

Christmas dinner!

A cozy morning

A weighted vest!!!

I made a flourless chocolate cake and ate myself literally sick.

DREAMS CAME TRUE all around

The elves use way too much tape.

Sisters.

Dorothy only wanted the sillies tthings.

Thank goodness someone still loves dolls.

We had our family yankee swap on Christmas Eve. The theme was purple.

Ugly sweater twinning.

Dinner

matchies!

They opened their stockings together. Satna delivers them to bedrooms.

Gingy houses

Our elves brought matching jammies (including Annabel and Minnie's dolly) and games

Santa cookies!

Ladies who lunch

Cheers!
 

(Jack took this with his new camera)