The Home Renovation Diaries: The Great Switch

Following my Feng Shui consultation with Ken Lauher, we decided to do what I'm now calling "the great switch." What does this mean? We live in a four bedroom cape with two bedrooms upstairs and two bedrooms downstairs.

It was the subject of much debate and agonizing (back when I used to "worry" about these type of things) to decide where to put the bedrooms and where to put the home offices. We decided to put the offices upstairs for two reasons:

1 - So I would feel a sense of "separateness" between work life and home life, being a freelance writer who works from home

2 - This now seems a bit silly, but so that I wouldn't have to trek down a flight of stairs, pregnant, in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom.

So the offices went upstairs. But after Alex came along, we realized Ashley's room is far too small for a twin size bed, plus crib, plus 2 dressers PLUS all their toys and other stuff that comes with kids. We really don't have a specific "space" for their toys. And, thanks to my shopping addiction and a Grammy and Daddy who loves spoiling them, they really do have a lot.

So I decided we should switch the rooms. Now TJ's office is going in the basement, I'll be in what is now Ashley's room, and the current master bedroom is going to be the playroom to end all playrooms. I'm talking flat screen TV, books and books lining the walls, a kitchen, a workbench, and a little round Little Tikes table Grammy is buying for Ashley's birthday. (And a few more pieces of furniture I won't reveal yet.) We'll also put the futon in there in case Ashley maintains her affinity for sleeping on couches.

After posting on Facebook asking about paint colors for our "new" home of 61 years old (the last 2 with us!) I decided I should start a blog about the adventures, to ask questions, get feedback. Then I saw my list of blogs I've started and abandoned and realized, since I'm manifesting the means to do all this, The Manifesting Mom is as good a place to put it as any. I'll SEO optimize it once I decide what it should be optimized for, but in the meantime, it's one of those "mom blogs" I tend to make fun of.

It's for my family and friends and anyone who wants to hear cute stories about the kids. It will chronicle my home renovation adventures as we go about turning this suburban Long Island cape into a home, talk a little bit about Feng Shui, and a whole lot about life, love, family and positive thinking.

Check back often and I promise to educate or entertain. It's also devoted to my mother-in-law who, when I shared Ashley's latest story, said, "You should be writing all this down." Well, Mom, now I am. :)

Until next time...