New Year, Less Junk

I'm waaaaaaaaaaay behind. So be patient with me. Kapish?! ;)

The Fannings rang in the new year in true old married couple fashion. On the couch and ready to fall asleep but determined to keep our eyes open for one midnight kiss. Well let me back up a bit....we didn't start out the evening on the couch. We accepted an invite down the street to spend the evening with our favorite neighbors. Jai and Ryan had plenty of good food and dangerously yummy drinks (wowza, I was quickly reminded that I had forgotten to eat all day while I was painting away in Hal's room after I downed just one glass of champagne punch that night!) Hallie joined us for the evening but she seemed tired from the get go when we got there around 8:00. I spread her blanket out on their bedroom floor and put a plate of snack options in front of her with Disney on tv. The four adults settled in and just chatted the night away.....until......Lil Red creepily made her way down the hallway dragging her fingernails along the wall until she finally poked her head around the corner.....it was clear that she wasn't exactly herself. I joked that she was being far too creepy and might just kill us in our sleep like some horror movie with a possessed child. Well she wasn't possessed. But she was running a fever. Jai was my hero and had a forehead scanner which I used to check her temp. 101. We reluctantly headed home in the chilling cold weather and put her to bed in her big girl room for the first time. She perked up a big right before she fell asleep to take some pictures with me......

And then she was OUT......

She passed out holding my hand which was a perfect reminder that this sweet girl is always going to need me even if she is big enough to have her own big girl bed......

The fever remained throughout the night and the only reason I know this is because I was a paranoid freak who woke up three times to check on her, give her medicine and make sure she hadn't rolled out of her bed. She woke up fever free and thrilled to be free to roam around in her bed. No slats, no walls of the crib to restrict her freedom! Just a two foot drop that she was unwilling to jump down from. ;)

I spent Tuesday and Wednesday of the new year de-Christmafying our house. It was sad. Well mostly it was frustrating because I repeatedly asked myself "Ashley, why on God's green earth did you decide to put up this many decorations!?!?!?!" No really, I still can't figure out why I did it. But I did. And so I had to find a place to put it all. I wasn't the only one with a sad face about the departure of lights and glitter. Hallie was pouty-faced about the whole scene as well. The sweetie grabbed a strand of lights that I was packing away and dragged it across the room to plug into the outlet. Must've been her official "goodbye".....

After all of the boxes were stashed away I wasted no time putting my Christmas dough to good use by stopping at the furniture store to make some purchases for our den. Well, at the moment it's referred to as "Hallie's room" or the "playroom"....but at some point it will be known as the den. Just don't tell Hallie quite yet. I picked out a tv credenza and ordered a couch to match the reclined that is already in there. I spent quite a bit of time organizing the room and making sure we had room for everything. Too many toys!!!!!!!!!! But it was looking cleaner than it ever has once we removed the huge floor puzzle and the big oversized chair that I sold to a friend. I just couldn't resist taking a panoramic pic of the room while it was in tip-top shape......

Not only did we give the playroon a makeover, but as I mentioned above I transformed Hallie's baby room into a big girl room. It took about seven short hours of painting, glazing, moving furniture and organizing her room. From the playroom to the big girl room to our bedroom......this was the real challenge. Ya see, we had this slight problem with junk accumulation in the corner of our room. In fact, it was a pile of junk that has been moved from place to place during our transitions and finally ended up on our floor where it sat for a year. My excuse was that we didn't have a desk yet. Did you know that it will take me approximately ten years to save for the Pottery Barn wall unit that I really, really want??? So like I said, my excuse was that we didn't have a desk. Well, I couldn't really use this anymore once we moved the red desk out of the playroom that we replaced with the new credenza. Ya following? So the red desk served as a great temporary desk which meant that I had no choice but to sort through "the pile." Four hours later I was done and wishing I would've done it a year ago. A huge burden was lifted. Our important documents were organized and filed with labels, our keepsakes were placed in labeled boxes and the corner of crap had vanished! I have no picture because it was scary. And I'm embarrassed. While I was busy getting the guts of our home organized and put together, Riley was outside getting his man zone in tip top shape. He never ceases to amaze me. He has finished his shed that he built himself....every step of the way....every board....every nail....everything....without one bit of help. In awe I stand. He was so happy to be able to empty the garage which was piled with junk, boxes and lawn equipment since our move last December. Our garage is now barren which is a small miracle! He shined up the floor and is preparing to pain the walls. Four rooms attacked. Wait, FIVE rooms!!!! I forgot to mention that the "junk room" received some attention as well. I swore when we moved here that I wouldn't create a junk room. I'm now convinced that it is inevitable. Our junk room needed some TLC. So despite my extreme lack of concern for the aesthetics of this room I tackled it and made the junk more presentable. Mission accomplished.

Not only is our home getting a makeover but our bodies will hopefully be following suit. New gym, new year, new motivation. Yes, I have made a very cliche new year's resolution. Salads, chicken, water and sweat. Well, I guess there is a lot more involved but that's the summarized version. Did I mention that the new gym is fun? Yes, I just used the words gym and fun in the same sentence. I suppose our focus for the new year is "CLEAN." Clean house, clean bodies, clean minds.

2013 has treated us very, very well so far. It has exceeded my expectations thus far and we are only in the third week! Come on 2013, keep up the good work!!!