I’ve spent the last few days cleaning, organizing and rearranging the boy’s bedroom. I know it isn’t as exciting to hear about it as it is to see it, but I can’t help that right now. DT’s got my digital camera with him on his school’s trip. I don’t realize how much I love using my camera until I don’t have it.

Monday my dad and I spent the day putting in laminate flooring. We used a brand called Tarkett in Walnut. For a couple years now I’ve wanted to rip out the carpet in their room. I was just grouse. Four boys in the same room for years and years, you almost want to wear shoes when you’d walk across the floor. Hello?

So, since the younger boys were going to the cabin with grandma and DT was going on a week-long trip with school, I prepared for the Carpet Out, Laminate In. I thought I’d do most of it myself, but… involve my handyman dad in anything and he’s bound to take over. I was his apprentice for the day. We measured, cut, dropped, grunted, tap-tap-tapped the floor into place. After stopping for doughnuts and coffee 1/3 of the way through, dad got even more gung-ho and was tap-tap-tapping some of the planks with such exuberance that we chipped an entire case of them. Thankfully we used them as cut pieces.

I enjoyed working alongside my dad. He can get temperamental, but even when I was young I felt pride when I could hand my dad a tool, assisting him in whatever project he was working on. Just me and my dad.

Thoughs for next time: The tap tool came in handy. A small, 6-inch grooved piece of plastic that fits over the end of the plank so you can tap it into place without (for the most part), ruining the plank. Then also a big shoe-horn looking doohicky that cradles the end of the plank so you can tap them in place horizontally. And soap. If the planks weren’t fitting in, we soaped them and generally that did the trick (dry soap rubbed along the edge seam of the plank).

After the floor was in, we put the twin beds in place. New beds (simple, frame+box spring+mattress). Comfortors from Target. Some closet organizers. A rug from Wal-puke. I found 2 white shower curtains at Target on sale for a little over $5. I’ll use those to cover the closet (we took out the sliding doors years ago). It’s been a long-needed change for the boy’s room and I’m happy that we are able to provide them with that. It feels good to accomplish some spring cleaning, too.

I’ll take pictures when I’m able. We’ve still got a lot of work to do, just organizing and fitting everything back into place. And then painting, which I basically detest. But it needs to be done. No point in going to all that work on the floor and leaving the grungy walls as they are. I swear we just painted those darn things, too.