FacebookXInstagramPinterestTiktok

A Recap of the First Year with Cochlear Implants

It’s been a year since SJ had her cochlear implant activated. There have been a lot of highs and lows, but I feel like FINALLY, we are getting some momentum and everyday SJ is saying new words and responding with a new level of understanding. In order to document what’s happened this past year I wanted to do a little recap. And even though SJ’s situation is not typical, especially compared to a baby diagnosed at infancy, I still hope that this time line could be informative for parents of deaf children researching what to expect. Here is the progress from SJ first 12 months of hearing beginning at age 2 1/2.

1. On November 21, 2012 SJ cochlear implant was activated. They call this the hearing birthday. It was not the party I was expecting. She barely responded and she did not want to wear it. I tried to be positive and I didn’t even expound too much about my disappointment on my blog, but I actually cried a lot after we left the audiologist that day.


What may look insignificance was a huge milestone for SJ. It was exactly 6 months a

4. February was a big month for SJ because even though the surgery was scheduled the audiologist was not on board (because she is, in her words, conservative about these things) and we had to write to her respectfully disagreeing with her decision. We had run-ins with insurance as well, but following the advice of SJ’s ENT, teachers, therapists, and our own intuition, we pushed through until we could get 
was going to be best for our daughter and had the surgery approved. 
After all that we geared up for surgery, and it was successful.

At this point I was able to see a little more response from SJ in terms of hearing, but not much and her school was concerned because their professional diagnosis showed that she was not even detecting speech sounds and needed a new mapping. And they were right!

5. At the end of February SJ was activated on her left side and hearing bilaterally for the fist time. Despite the direct requests from the school and ENT, SJ’s audiologist still hesitated to add much volume to SJ’s implants (again she was self proclaimed “conservative”). In the meantime SJ’s was healing well and we were becoming more comfortable with the cochlear implant devices.

6. The school volunteered to have their audiologist take over with SJ’s mapping and it was like NIGHT AND DAY! It is so important to have the right mapping (in layman’s terms this is basically the setting/volume, it’s a complicated process). When SJ had her CI’s remapped in March she was really hearing most sounds for the first time and it was amazing to watch. She even said her first word, “up”

     

7 & 8. SJ continued to grow leaps and bounds once she had the proper mapping she was consistently turning to environmental sounds and to her name. She started saying uh-oh, more, and some animal noises on her own and many other words with prompting.

9. We raised money for SJ to be able to go to summer school and her vocabulary continued to grow to up to 20 words. Some days were better than others as far as communication related frustration and cooperation with even wearing the implants, but we were excited about the upcoming school year where SJ would be going full time.

10. On SJ’s first day of school we had to pick her up early to have a CT scan at the children’s hospital because her right implant was causing her pain. The scans came back fine, but apparently she had some shifting that is not traumatic, but does take a few weeks to heal before the scar tissue sets the device back into place. This was scary, but praise the Lord everything turned out fine.

 
11. At this point between IEP meetings, a research study group, and observations. I felt  like things were at a stand still again. It’s hard to see your child be so far behind her peers, but luckily I now know that it gets better.

12. In October SJ had a breakthrough. She can now refers to several people by name and she knows over 60 words. Everyday I hear her saying new things and I really, Really, REALLy believe that the worst is behind us this time.

*I am going to get a better video up soon! One where she is talking on her own without being fed all the answers! 

By |2023-06-12T06:22:57+00:00November 22, 2013|Cochlear Implants, Hearing Loss, Our Hearing Loss Journey, Uncategorized|3 Comments
Read More

Is Your Girl Man Enough?

I’ve seen a lot of content online lately that is trying to give more credit to young girls by not limiting them to be a little beauty queen in the making. Yay, this sounds good! Here’s the deal though I HATE to be THAT mom that takes a good thing and finds something negative to say about it, but here goes nothing. I’ve kind of touched on this before in my response to anti-dove campaign when I said “I am not about to relinquish femininity just because it’s been distorted”. 

On a similar note I saw a kickstarter campaign last year that talked about a construction toy for girls that would promote building and engineering skills the same way Legos and Erector sets do for boys.

 I loved how creator, Debbie Sterling, did her research to find that making a building toy pink isn’t good enough. She found that girls are prone to enjoy reading so she incorporated a book so the toy would be both spacial and verbal and that’s how Goldie Blox began. I also love what Sterling has to say about her invention because she acknowledges that girls like to be princesses and play dress up and she embraces that, along with broadening the scope of what girls can do and be! The kickstarter talks about how only 10% of the engineering field is made up of women and Goldie Blox is determined to change that.
Fast forward a year and Goldie Blox is now funded and on the market! I just saw the commercial for it yesterday and I don’t want to pick it apart because it’s really cute. I even voted for it to be shown during Super Bowl and you can too if you want. 
The commercial shows a group of little girls creating a genius contraption, set to the tune of a Beastie Boys song except the lyrics are changed to 
“Girls! You think you know what we want. Pink and pretty it’s just like the 50’s. You like to buy us pink toys, and everything else is for boys, and you can always get us dolls, and we’ll grow up like them- false. It’s time to change. We deserve to see a range, cause all our toys look just the same, and we would like to use our brains. We are all more than princess maids…” 

The only thing I would urge parents to consider when trying to inspire and cultivate “spatial skills” in their daughters is that there are a lot of girls that may use these skills and have no interest in engineering. Believe me when I say that I am all about girls using their brains! I am just saying that the fact that the majority of girls are into horses, reading and writing more than rockets and forts isn’t necessarily a problem to be fixed. 

My sister-in-law is an engineer of sorts. She has a computer science degree and works in a male dominated field as a programmer analyst. I am extremely proud of all that she has accomplished in defying the odds and I would be thrilled if SJ followed in her footsteps. I also have 7 other sister-in-laws and several adult nieces  Most of them are nurses and teachers. The statistics for these jobs are the same as the engineering fields, but in reverse (way more women than men). Is it because we are stuck in the 1950’s like the commercial boasts, or is it that something inside of men are more inclined toward building and something inside of women wants to nurture? Sure there may be more men inventing, but behind every great man is… a mother that got him out of bed every morning and read to him every night. Or perhaps a female teacher that challenged him and kept him on track, or a wife that makes more money then he does as the CEO of a company (I am not totally old school here). 

I may not be an engineer, but I am certainly not a brain dead trophy wife. After having 3 children I know enough about breast feeding to be a lactation consultant and I’ve blogged so much about SJ’s diagnosis I could write a book about genetic sensorineural hearing loss or first language acquisition. It’s street smarts YO. Don’t be hatin’. Okay, that last part was a joke, but I am serious about the part that says we do not need to demean or discredit girls for following a more traditional roll as a woman. I know that even mentioning the “tradition roll of a woman” doesn’t fall in line with the more popular politically correct, abstract gender rolls of the 21st century, but I’m okay with that. 

Just to make sure I have been clear I think the Goldi Blox toys look amazing and I would definitely get something like that for SJ if she were a little older. We love the educational toys, always have. I like what Debbie Sterling is doing because there is so much garbage out there marketed towards our girls. But when I read on Forbes that “Ideally every occupation would be 50/50, with both genders bringing different perspectives to the table.” I beg to differ. We don’t have to make girls into builders to build and empower girls. 

By |2015-05-14T23:15:33+00:00November 21, 2013|Uncategorized|3 Comments
Read More

Oh A Girl Will Be So Fun To Dress… They Say

This time 4 years ago I found out I was having a baby GIRL! From the moment we received the news everyone, whether they knew me or not, had something to say about the gender of the baby on the way. “OOOOOH a baby girl! They have the cutest stuff out there for little girls. Get ready to go shopping… the bows, the dresses, the shoes! You are going to have a blast”.

Now, I am not too much of a girly girl. I never have been that type, but I definitely got into the idea of having a little mini me sporting some trendy hipsters styles.

Then the sweet little baby doll arrived and for a brief time I got to play dress up. But SJ started dressing herself when she was a year old and since then it’s been like What Not To Wear child edition. In place of the secret footage like they do on the show, I have phone photos from the past year. 

She is wearing about 6 layers in this photo and her baby brother’s tie! 

More layers (that’s a fleece sweater underneath a short sleeved sweater) with flip flops. 
She’s got a Dora phone in her pocket, this girl is ready to do business. 

The plastic bag makes a good cape. 

Another cape? 

The white band across her forehead is backwards goggles. She went through a big time goggles stage. 

A baby romper as a shirt and a gazillion bows on the the neck and in the hair. 

Regular socks pulled up like knee highs and the usual conglomeration of color. 
I know a lot of kids like to do these kinds of things at home, and that’s one thing, but who on earth would let their child be seen in public like this?
 Me. I would. Why don’t I just pick out clothes and make her wear them? I will show you. The kids got I love Paris shirts from their grandma as souvenirs. I thought it would be a nice gesture to send her a photo of the kids wearing these gifts. SJ did not want to wear the shirt. These are the results. 

I never did get her to smile or look at the camera, but at least there is one shot that doesn’t look like she was being subjected to hellacious torment (the purple shirt in her hand is what she wanted to wear. I could not remove it from her kung fu grip). 

She doesn’t always get her way, but I choose my battles and I think we’ve both learned to compromise. So maybe getting to coordinate outfits for my daughter isn’t what I thought it would be, but I love her for the unique, determined individual that she is. Let’s just hope the worst is behind us and with any luck she’ll get it out of her system before she’s a teenager. 

By |2015-05-14T23:15:33+00:00November 19, 2013|Uncategorized|4 Comments
Read More

Look Whose Talking (and walking, and reading)

 I feel privileged to be able to watch my children grow, develop, and blossom on a daily basis. I remember when we had a garden in Texas and I would get that giddy Christmas morning feeling everyday before I would go out to see if there was any knew growth. Maybe some seedlings have come up, or a flower bud on the summer squash vine, or a watermelon that is ready to pick and eat. It was my happy place. 

I think I am candid enough about my imperfect life that I don’t even need to go into how challenging motherhood can be, but right now I wake up with a Christmas morning feeling and it’s not because of the Holiday season. It’s because my children are on the verge of something new and I am anxious to see the growth. 

Ezie is walking and talking more and more. I finally got some of it on video. Excuse the mess. It’s like an obstacle course for the poor little fella. 

SJ is at a really fascinating place right now. I will do another post with more details, but the winds have changed for her recently and she is starting to really take off with oral communication. Since her vocabulary is so limited she will be very broad in how she uses the words she does know, and for me it is cute and exciting because I can literally see her learning to talk! For example she called a lobster a spider (lots of legs and exoskeleton),  a donkey is a horse (similar), a lollipop is ice cream (they are both sweet things that you lick). She says mommy or mama now! Be still my beating heart, I have waited so long for this. Like I said, I have a lot more to share about SJ, but for now the short story is that we have had some major breakthrough. 

Z is really excelling with his reading and writing skills, but he claims that math is his favorite. I met  with his teacher for a conference a couple weeks ago and it turns out that it is not my imagination, Z is a really bright kid that is testing above his age level (we are still keeping him in kindergarten though, for those wondering). She said he started out having some typical discipline issues at the beginning of the year, but now that he knows the expectations he is fine and he hasn’t given her any problems. I wish it were that simple at home! He’s doing well though. I love that he is at a place now that he can dress himself completely, including picking out his clothes. He can help load and unload certain parts of the dishwasher, and bring in light loads of groceries which is like Hallelujah Thank you Jesus! It’s so cool to have a big kid on my team!  

So that’s the latest with my 3 little bears. There are times you don’t even notice your children changing until you look back at a photo or something because it’s so subtle. Then there are times that you are watching them embark upon the next milestone right before your very eyes. I LOVE that! I can’t wait to see what they start to do next.

By |2015-05-14T23:15:33+00:00November 14, 2013|Uncategorized|1 Comment
Read More

13 Year Makeover

J and I just celebrated 13 years of marriage.


Photo by Cracker Jack Photography taken on our 10 year anniversary

I feel a little guilty because what should be a celebration of the two of us as a couple, felt more like pamper the wife day. But J insisted and I am only going to resist the offer so many times, right?

They recently added “What Not To Wear” on Netflix and I have been ripping through each episode since I don’t have any other shows that I am watching right now. Watching Stacy and Clinton work their magic has definitely inspired me to spruce up my own look. Even though it’s a superficial endeavor I really feel like there has been one blessing after another allowing me to do something for myself.

First off I have a super sweet friend send me a gift card for clothes for me and the kids. I was able to get this sweater, the boots, and sooo much more for this upcoming season (Gap Clearance Store all the way!).

 I am honestly overwhelmed with gratitude.

 Then yesterday my parents watched the kids so that J and I could go out. First we hit up the mall and as soon as we walked into Dillard’s a lady handed me a card promoting Clinique’s latest offer which was to have a consultation and get lipstick and perfume free. It took me a minute. You want to give me a  makeover and free stuff? Right now? I don’t pay anything? Okay, where do I sign!?

The consultant was fabulous. I sat there with my eyes closed and mostly just forgot where I was. It was wonderful! At that point she could have given me clown makeup and I didn’t care. I was just happy to be sitting down and not responsible for anything. As the makeover progressed the other ladies at the counter starting commenting, and oohing and ahhing.

I was so anxious to see what the results would be. This lady spent more time on my eyes than I do on my entire face (and hair actually). Then it was just like on What Not To Wear with Carmindy, she was done and I could look in the mirror. It was dramatic and SO different then what I would normally do (on the days that do anything), but I loved it. I had a blast and J loved it too.

After the makeover we did some more shopping and just had an amazing time together. We love our kids, but do I even need to explain why we were thrilled to be childless?

Right now I would rate my marriage as a 10, but not all days are a perfect 10 you know? I don’t even like to think about the tough times our marriage has been through, let alone announce it on the internet, but there is no denying that there have been ups and downs in the past 13 years. It’s definitely not like the fairy tale you read about, and I think it’s important that we are honest about that. In fact, to quote a friend that has been married for over 30 years, “there were times if he were a fish I would have thrown him back in the water”. The good news is though, he is not a fish, and I am glad because I would have missed so much. J is the best husband I could ever ask for. My favorite thing about him, if I had to pick, is his integrity. I feel like we are finally learning how to express our love for each other and my love tank is full! If you would have seen me at the mall yesterday you would have caught me beaming, maybe even floating. I have tried to pinpoint what this feeling was. What is this thing that I have, for various reasons, never really allowed myself to feel for the longest time? Then it occurred to me. I can feel his adoration. I have learned how to be adored and it feels good.

By |2015-05-14T23:15:33+00:00November 11, 2013|Uncategorized|4 Comments
Read More

Happy Birthday and Happy Hormones

I shared about Ezie’s first birthday last month, but it was all about the party. I definitely need to get caught up on his latest milestones before he takes off into toddler hood.

I can’t believe how much Ezie has changed in the past month (maybe I should just copy paste that sentence into all of the one month updates at this age).

At 11 months he said his first word. It’s hard to say which one came first because sometimes he is imitating, and sometimes it’s an approximation, or you think he may be babbling. Or maybe I am over analyzing because I do speech therapy everyday.

Anyway, here is a list of the words he can say

bye bye
uh oh
ma ma
da da
bubbles
ball
stop
beep

He has also taken his first steps and is on the verge of walking. We started doing the step counting. I don’t know if anyone else does this, but first you count how many seconds they stand without falling. Then when they even lift a foot and move it an inch that counts as the first step. Every time they attempt walking from then on you see if they can break their previous record. Z and I have counted up to 17 steps, but crawling is still his forte for now.

Last month I reported Ezie’s love for straws, but he is really into more complex play now. He likes to put on other peoples shoes, or take my keys and try to put them in the door, or act like everything is a phone and talk on it. It is absolutely one of my hearts greatest joys to see him explore and discover the world around him. And that is where the hormones come in.

Admittedly, if you would have talked to me right after he turned one you would have caught me at an emotional time. I NEVER lamented my other two kids growing up and doing new things, but this baby has been different. I have been through so much change already that I really felt like having him as a baby, like he had been for the past year, was the best thing for me. I knew it was not realistic, but baby Ezie was so easy to handle. He didn’t resist direction, he didn’t have an opinion, he mostly just sat there and looked cute, and I was okay with that. Of course I wanted him to grow and develop in a healthy way! I was just struggling with the idea of chasing a toddler around while already being exhausted as it is.  I just have had to trust God to believe that it was even doable at all. That’s how I felt, and granted I may feel that way again on certain days, but the Lord has a way of molding a mother’s heart and I feel completely different about it now.

The other day Ezie put a box on his head and would crawl around like that until he bumped into something (or the box fell off) then he would say “uh oh” and repeat the whole process all over again. This month as I watch Ezie try to join in during playtime with his siblings, or I heard him sing, or saw him stand up on his own, or dance, I remembered that this is actually one of my favorite ages and I am so looking forward to this next year! I can’t wait for him to be a full blown walking talking toddler.

Then I think about him being two, but I stop, because right now I have a whole year before I have to worry about enjoying that stage.

By |2015-05-14T23:15:33+00:00November 7, 2013|Uncategorized|4 Comments
Read More

31 Excuses

Can I just say that with as much as I loved the 31 day challenge, I thought about giving up several times. I just barely inched my way across the finish line on October 31. The topic writing really stretched me and I feel so accomplished by having completed the challenge. It wasn’t easy though, and I didn’t even manage to blog every day. Honestly, it was a miracle that I even did 25 posts with how crazy October was for me. I thought about giving 31 excuses for why I didn’t blog everyday in October, but I thought a little recap might be more suitable .

First of all, at the beginning of October I started working again. I always tell people that being a stay at home mom is a full time job and being a special needs mom is like working a second job on top of that! So I haven’t been working outside of the home since we left Texas. However, when my brother in law offered for me to take on a part time administrative assistant position from home with the luxury of setting my own hours, it was hard to pass up. J and I discussed and prayed about it and so I’ve been working for 4 weeks now!

On top of that I worked 3 weddings in the past month too. I haven’t done wedding photography since, well, since I said that I stopped working, but my brother has started getting into videography so I have been assisting him on occasion. You can see some of our work here and here.

 Then I had a chance to fill in as a photographer at a wedding that was desperately seeking someone after there original photog bailed. EEK! The theme was masquerade, so that was a really neat opportunity.

I’ve enjoyed hitting the wedding scene again. Maybe I’ll go back to that someday when things settle down.

Besides all the extra work that’s come in, the kids school schedules have kept me on my toes, let me tell ya. Between field trips,

parties, conferences, fundraisers,

and dress up days I am lucky that the worst mix up I made was more of an embarrassment than a real problem.

It happened to be one of the days that SJ was out of school. My afternoon alarm went off on my phone signaling that it was time to go. So I raced the two little ones down to the bus stop, which I was bummed to find completely vacant. I couldn’t believe I missed the bus! I was so stressed out. I put the kids in their car seats and started to head to Z’s school, but on the way there I called to find out where I needed to be. When I explained my position to the lady on the phone she informed me that school was still in session and they had not released the kids yet. Doh! My alarm was set for when I needed to pick up SJ (who gets out first), but since I had SJ with me already I automatically felt like it was time to get Z.

  Both kids have had enough schedule changes lately for me to rip up the original schedule and just wing it. When one has the day off the other has a special assembly to attend. Or when one has early release the other has a parent teacher meeting. One has picture day the same time the other has crazy hair day, and thank goodness I didn’t get that one mixed up.

I have had to enlist my mom on several occasions because even with as super as I may try to be,


This was my “costume” for SJ’s school party. I took this pic as a joke because I have snot on my shoulder.

I CANNOT be two places at once. Today for example Z is off, SJ is at school now, but needs to be picked up early to go to an ENT appointment. Then tomorrow is book fair for SJ and the 50th day of school for Z (so he is supposed to dress in 50’s attire). Then I have a scheduled observation at SJ’s school, AND I am scheduled to go to the auto body shop because when I was writing my series in October I never got to mention that I was rear ended in the middle of a down pour! Bahhhh!!!

That’s enough details about how busy and chaotic my life has been. I did want to catch up though because I have two more weeks of an extremely packed calendar, so I might not be writing as much as I would like to. Although, I at least hope to touch on some very special milestones soon; like baby Ezie’s first steps, my 13 year anniversary which was yesterday, and the year anniversary of SJ’s cochlear implant surgery which is TODAY! So lots of wonderful things are happening. I just have to figure out how to juggle it all. I am sure many of you can relate. 

By |2015-05-14T23:15:33+00:00November 5, 2013|Uncategorized|2 Comments
Read More

There is HOPE

October is coming to a close and that means it’s time to conclude this 31 days series of finding lots of hope in a little home, even though in the end it was more like 25 days, but less is more? I wanted to throw out a couple disclaimers before I wrap this thing up

1. I’ve said it before, but just to be clear I am not anti-big houses. In fact as we (I say we because J helped me a lot in this series) discussed this topic we began to talk about what we miss most about having an average size house. For me I think the number one thing is a washer and dryer. For J it’s a garage for building things. I totally agree. I did videography of a wedding a couple weeks ago and both the bride and groom were accountants. During the consultation they said “this should be easy becasue we are numbers people, we leave all the art up to you. Do your thing and we’ll stay out of the way”. “Numbers people” make better minimilists because they work with information. Artsy people USUALLY need to create with their hands. Whether it’s a theme party or a coffee table J and I are always creating and that takes up space. So I like the idea of space, it’s just that for some of us a lot of space is not our reality right now, and for others it’s not even on the wish list, so that’s what this series was focused on.

2. I have shared a lot of pictures in this series. For my new readers you might be thinking why do you call yourself the messy mom if you have 5 people living in 800 square feet and your living room still looks like this?

Well, I hate to shed some light on the illusion, but this is the photo I took when I was checking out where I needed to stand for the shot.

So that is reality. I just didn’t want to show a bunch of messy house photos because this series really focused on design, function, furniture, and arrangement of furniture which would be difficult to see with all the distractions. So yes, I did clean up for you!

The reason I wanted to talk about lots of hope for the little home is because I wanted to show that there is potential for the place that you are at right now. I talked about having multiple purposes for things in your  house. I discussed thinking outside of the box and seeing the advantage of things like room or bathroom sharing. I didn’t even get into the smaller electric bills and less cleaning (which I absolutely LOVE by the way). Beyond just the practical tips and tutorials though, this series has been very personal for me. I am getting choked up even as I type this, but the reason I know that there is lots of hope in a little home is because I have experienced it on a deep and meaningful level. It’s not just about the house, this series is also a testimony of what God has done for my family spirtitually as well. We have been through so much and we’ve seen his goodness in a way that is beyond what we’ve ever known. We are closer as a family (not just because of the lack of square footage). My marriage is the best it has ever been and even my dreams are bigger than they were before. When I declare hope for the little home I am not just talking about furniture and flooring, I am telling you that your home no matter what the size can be filled with hope. You are a beacon of hope! Each member of your family is a light. We all have a story that can impact people. Because I have been through the fire, and I still have a long way to go, but His strength carries me. He was with us a year ago when we trudged through unemployment, and nurtured a pregnancy, and labored to bring new life into this world. And when we faced the diagnosis of hearing loss and stood up as advocates for our daughter, and  plowed through the recovery after surgery. Then when we climbed up the three flights of stairs to move into an empty apartment far away from all we knew we still saw hope at the threshhold and today we still see lots of hope in our little home. I hope you will too.

By |2015-05-14T23:15:33+00:00November 1, 2013|Uncategorized|5 Comments
Read More

The Bedroom

I have saved our bedroom for last, not because it’s a big show stopper. Not at all! The reason I waited because I was hoping to have it finished by now and it’s not, but I did hang some pictures. Which is a quite an accomplishment for me. I have been planning out this composition for months. I wanted something on the big blank space where a head board would be. I couldn’t decide what would be appropriate, but when it started clicking I knew exactly what to do.

Black and white photography, art, travel- these are all things that J and I love and I had these frames that someone dumped that just needed to be painted. So I chose 5 images that all represent the previously mentioned theme.

The top left is a photo from when we drove through Canada a couple years ago. The one beneath it was taken in Chicago last year. The middle photo is from when we went to England on a mission trip  10 years ago, and the top right is at J’s parents farm in Sanger Texas (from when we renewed our vows). Finally the bottom right is a photo of the white sands in New Mexico, which was taken about 7 years ago. So you have different states, different countries, different parts of our marriage, and I love alternating the nature shots with the architectural ones (two more things we love!). So this collage is very soothing and uplifting to us and I am happy to have this project finally complete.

Other special touches in the room are the two night stands J built.

They are custom made to be taller than the average night stand because when we moved into the apartment we put our bed on cinder blocks to be able to have more storage below.

The other thing that I find to be really special about this COZY little space is that I had this grey paisley sheet that I bought from a thrift store on a very memorable trip to Austin Texas. I wanted to incorporate it somehow, so I had my mom turn it into curtains for me. I then brought the material to Ikea to find a somewhat coordinating duvet cover.

I snapped this shot on my phone because I like this cover and I wanted to remember it and save up for the purchase. Well, believe it our not there was one in the clearance section on the way out that was TEN dollars. That’s crazy for an item that is new to the catalogue! Of course I snatched it up, but it gets better. Days later I was at a thrift store here in Ohio and found the exact coordinating pillow case that was in perfect (like brand new) condition. These items were bought used and purchased YEARS apart in different states. What are the odds? My plan is to make throw pillow cases out of it and add some other coordinating pillows eventually, but this what I’ve got for now.

You already saw the closet area which is on the opposite wall and there is a little vanity too. That’s about it though. That’s our little room.

*** I am posting my closing blog back to back with this one because I am behind and today is the last day for the 31 day challenge. You can read that post next and the rest of the series is listed here. ***
By |2015-05-14T23:15:33+00:00October 31, 2013|Uncategorized|4 Comments
Read More

The Loft Style Closet

One of the biggest issues you have to face in living in a small home is the lack of closet space. The obvious solution is to get rid of stuff, but even then you may still find yourself dreaming of a bigger closet. Even before we downsized we did not have walk in closets, but we did each have our own. So when we moved J whipped up some clothing rods for when we lived with my parents because their home, though quite large, does not have any closets because it was built in the 1800’s. 
I am glad he invested in that because we used them again when we stayed in my brother’s basement (no closet there), and again for the world’s longest yard sale (as a display rack), and now we are using them again for our little apartment.
 I use the master bedroom closet, which is quite small, and J uses the pipe closet. He came up with this design on his own so it doesn’t really have a name, but we’ve called it an open closet, the wall-less closet, and for this series I have called it The Loft Style Closet, because it’s urban feel would go perfectly in a studio apartment or an industrial loft. 

If you are feeling handy and want to throw something like this together here are the supplies used 
Materials 

(2) 8 foot 1 1/2 inch threaded plumbing pipe that can be bought at Home Depot or plumbing supply house

(1) 3/4 inch threaded 6 foot plumbing pipe
(2) 1 1/2 X 3/4 T fittings
(2) 1 1/2 floor flanges  
Paint
Screws 
planks of wood  
The first thing you do is screw the 8 foot poles into the 6 foot one using the T fittings. 
Next attach your 8 foot poles to the flanges.
 In our case J welded them, but since welding isn’t the most practical option for everyone you can use flanges that screw on. As shown here. 

The next step is to paint it, but this is optional. J used rust-oleum spray paint to make ours black.
At my parents house he was able to screw the poles right into the wood flooring, but there are a lot of situations where that isn’t an option. In that case you can screw the poles onto a piece of wood to make it stand up on it’s own.
  
Even when we do have our dream closets we will be hanging onto these because they have come in handy on so many occasions. 
What about you? Do you have your dream closet? I’d love to hear from you! 
For more of this series click HERE.
By |2015-05-14T23:15:33+00:00October 30, 2013|Uncategorized|2 Comments
Read More
Go to Top